Series Introduction MARKAN BOOKENDS The very first scene wherein Jesus appears is one in which he is baptized by John in the Jordan River (cf. Mark 1:4-8): And it happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And then as he came out of... Continue Reading →
"Through the identification with Bartimaeus and subsequent minor characters, the reader is encouraged to move beyond faith in Jesus and his power toward a more faithful acceptance of the demands and values of Jesus." - Joel F. Williams1 MARK 10:46-522 46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples... Continue Reading →
"Mark, wanting to make a theological point, locates the event in a place whose name is associated with casting out demons – the language, as Marcus points out, does kinda support this. This strengthens the exorcism theme of the pericope– seems legit. A few years later, Matthew, using Mark as a source for his own gospel, either misses Mark’s theological point or... Continue Reading →
In her excellent book In the Company of Jesus: Characters in Mark's Gospel,1 New Testament scholar Elizabeth Struthers Malbon uses the tools of narrative criticism2 to analyze the story we find in the Gospel of Mark. As the title of her work suggests, Malbon focuses on characters that we find within the Markan story, characters that are often... Continue Reading →
Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, In the Company of Jesus: Characters in Mark's Gospel (WJK, 2000), 209. In addition to their significance in extending the continuum of responses to the Markan Jesus, minor characters often appear at significant points in the narrative. Especially when Mark's Gospel is heard rather than read, certain stories of minor characters serve to... Continue Reading →
Few Christian doctrines are as bizarre as the doctrine of the Trinity. Most people have a vague understanding of what the doctrine entails but far fewer can articulate it without accidentally falling into some cesspool of heterodoxy. Lest I follow suit, I'll allow the Westminster Confession of Faith1 to define the doctrine: In the unity of... Continue Reading →
The story of the death of John the Baptist feels like a hiccup in the narrative flow of Mark's Gospel. In 6:6b-13 we read of Jesus sending out the Twelve to preach the message of repentance as well as to perform exorcisms and healings. Then in 6:30 they return to Jesus and "told him all... Continue Reading →
In addition to my regular Bible reading schedule and my verse-by-verse translating of the Gospel of Mark, I've also been reading a Markan pericope a day each weekday. Today I was in Mark 14:43-52 and something struck me as really odd. Jesus is in Gethsemane (14:32-42) with a few of his sleepy disciples when Judas... Continue Reading →
Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, In the Company of Jesus: Characters in Mark's Gospel (Westminster John Knox Press, 2000), 60. Within the Markan story, only the women follow Jesus to the end. At Gethsemane one of the twelve betrays Jesus (14:43-45) and the remaining eleven forsake him (14:50). The women, on the other hand, witness the crucifixion -... Continue Reading →
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