TORN IN TWO
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; Matthew 27:51a
The narrator has shifted in style. Jesus is still at the center. His death remains the main focus, but now the topics of miracles act like loaded exclamation points to the subject of the crucifixion.1 The temple, the center of the Jewish universe, is split, the veil torn in two, the captives are set free. God has spoken.
Mark does not include the miraculous acts listed above, but illustrates the change of location from earth to heaven through comparing the earthly Jesus, “the temple made with hands,” who was “given as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45) to the risen Jesus.2 The ripping of the veil in Mark, exposes the very face of God, splitting the heavens and opens a heavenly passageway, revealing God to all.3 “Certainly the significance of the fact that the torn veil reveals God's "face" in the face of one enthroned not on the ark or the cherubim, but on the cross, would not be lost on cultically sensitive and discerning readers!”4 The purpose of Mark’s Gospel is to reveal God. The first Gospel begins a Christological conversation that continues throughout the passion narratives and interrelated scriptures.
Matthew refers heavily to Mark’s Gospel and goes beyond retelling the story. He asserts important theological concepts while building on Mark’s revelation that Jesus is God. Matthew demonstrates through references to the Old Testament, Mark and through connections within his own composition that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s Eschatological and Salvific promise. “This expansion brings the preternatural signs surrounding the death of Jesus to a dramatic climax: at the moment of Jesus’ death, the temple curtain is t...
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... the the Death of Jesus. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007)174-17513 Chronis, Harry L. “The Torn Veil: Cultus and Christology in Mark 15:37-39.” Journal of Biblical Literature 101 no 1 Mr 1982, 114. 14 Daniel M. Gurtner. The Torn Veil: Matthew’s Exposition of the the Death of Jesus. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 172-177.15 Paraphrased from conversation with Pastor Colier McNair, Zion City International Ministries, Madison, Wisconsin, April 17, 2014.16 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 105.17 154 Ulrich Luz. Matthew 21-28: Hermeneia-A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005), 563.18 Daniel M. Gurtner. The Torn Veil: Matthew’s Exposition of the the Death of Jesus. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 199.
The beginning and ending of the Gospel of Mark really support the four main themes present within the Gospel. The four main themes in the Gospel are: Jesus as being enigmatic, Jesus as a sufferer, Low Christology and Apocalypticism present within the Gospel. The beginning and ending of this Gospel support Jesus as being misunderstood because in the beginning, there is no birth story of Jesus or any background information presented, Jesus is just there. This makes one question where did he come from and who was he born to? In the end of the Gospel, the tomb is described as empty and the last sentences of the Gospel in Mark 16: 8 says: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (1743). This ending of the Gospel is enigmatic because there is no mention of Jesus’ resurrection or whether anyone ever found out that Jesus had ascended to Heaven. The beginning and ending, not to mention the entire Gospel, leaves one wondering many things about Jesus, because his whole existence in Mark is very mys...
One can also say that the story shows the kingship of Christ. The theme of Matthew is the kingship of Christ. It would make total sense f...
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the origin of nearly everything the Christian Church teaches about Jesus. The Gospels, in turn, serve as the scale or test of truth and authenticity of everything the church teaches about Jesus. It is said that the Gospels are the link between Jesus of Nazareth and the people of every age throughout history who have claimed to be his followers. Although the Gospels teach us about Jesus’ life they may not provide concrete evidence that what they speak of is true there are several other sources.
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
The crucifixion periscope is one of the most read and studied stories of the gospels, second only to the story of the resurrection. Luke’s presentation of the darkest day in Christianity is appropriately not as poetic and literary elegant as some of his other writings, yet dramatic. He stresses some common Lukan themes of forgiveness, prayer and universalism.
One of the main characteristics of the gospel of Mark is it’s length. Mark is much shorter than Matthew and Luke, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. The author of Mark does not slow down the gospel story and makes sure that only important and relevant details are included. When Mark is compared with Matthew and Luke, it becomes obvious to see what Mark has eliminated. The author’s omission of Jesus’ birth, lineage, resurrection, and ascension denote careful planning and purpose in the gospel of Mark.
Hall, Gerald. "Jesus' Crucifixon and Death." Academics' Web Pages. School of Theology at McAuley Campus. Web. 26 Feb. 2012.
Jesus is shown in Mark’s Gospel to us as a worker of miracles through. three different forms of a. Mark presents Jesus as the Son of God. The miracles can be divided into healing and exorcism/nature/life/death. Here is an example of a healing miracle from Mark’s gospel. It takes place in Capernaum on the Sabbath.
With little focus on the actual life of Christ, or His resurrection, confusion arises about any greater purpose to the horrific affliction and death He endured, portrayed throughout the film. Certainly, inclusion of pieces of Christ’s Passion from each of the canonical Gospel are depicted, alongside the integration of several scenes containing material not found within the written Gospels, perhaps for the purpose of dramatic effect. Nevertheless, from a historically critical viewpoint, questionable elements do arise throughout. Presented by Gibson as a graphic theological interpretation of Christ’s sacrificial suffering and death, with inclusion of mixed elements from each canonical Gospel in a somewhat literal fashion, conjoined with artistically licensed material, the film does bear misleading historical inaccuracies
Upon the cross, Judah hears Jesus say, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” After Jesus’ death, a rainstorm begins and his mother and sister are miraculously healed. Judah declares, “And I felt His voice take the sword out of my hand.” This is Judah’s final transformation in
In the Bible’s New Testaments the book of Matthew is of Gospels genre. In the Old Testament God appointed the people who we know as prophets. They were the ones to describe Jesus life and work. What they wrote, those things did happen during Jesus life on earth. The book of Matthew explains to everyone who doesn’t believe it that Jesus is Christ. It means that Christ is God’s King. People were told by the prophets that they will be saved by the Christ from punishment for their evil deeds. This is the book about Jesus life. It teaches what Matthew wrote in this book about what Jesus taught. It even included the speech by Jesus called “The Sermon on the Mount” in chapters 5-7. It even went on to say that many ill people were cured by Jesus, blind people were able to see again, deaf people were able to hear again and Jesus even freed people who were possessed by evil spirits. There were some people who happen to hate Jesus. Jesus was killed by those who hated him on a cross. According to the prophets they had already written that Jesus would die (Isaiah 53; Matthew 12:40). Jesus was the one to suffer all the punishment from other people’s evil deeds after his death (Matthew 20:28, Matthew 26:28).
Mark 2:1-12 illustrates a relationship between faith and healing, with Jesus (referred to as the Son of Man) at the center of the narrative. The story starts in Capernaum, which is referred to as Jesus’ new home. Four friends bring a paralyzed man to Christ, who was surrounded by a crowd of people, by breaking through the roof, since houses at that time often had a flat roof made of mud. Jesus first says to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5).
...f God’s glory and for those that have questioned their faith. The book urges the reader to consider the sacrifices Jesus made, his role as a messenger and mediator, and the ability of people to find salvation through the acceptance of Jesus. These are central messages that other portions of the Bible touch on but do not discuss with the same degree or urgency.
Matthew directed this passage toward the Matthean reader for it supplies instruction and a sense of warning to those who wish to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. “Matthew uses tension and surprise, in both form and content, to address this situation, while affirming that Jesus Christ, “God is with us,” is the defining figure around which the community’s self-understanding, imagination, and social relations are to be formed” (Saunders 871). By presenting the text in the form of a parable, the message of God’s will is omitted in a historical and cultural context that enables society to comprehend the meaning behind the words chosen by Matthew.
In the gospels of Mark and John, both showed a vivid portrait of Jesus in their writing. Mark’s gospel describes much more of Jesus' life, miracles, and parables as suffering servant. However, John’s gospel was written to convince people to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Nonetheless, both John and Mark present many of the crucial events of Jesus' life, including his trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.