Jesus’ first public miracle in the Gospel of Mark is an exorcism (Mark 1:23-26) This is no coincidence; neither is the fact that it is contained within a pericope portraying Jesus as a teacher (vv. 21-28). On a narrative level, the Markan author desires to show how Jesus is the one with unique authority: he... Continue Reading →
INTRODUCTION The central question of the Markan Gospel is found near its narrative center in Mark 8:27-30. “Who do people say that I am?” he queries the disciples on their way to Caesarea Philippi (v. 27). A flurry of answers proceeds: people have speculated he is John the Baptist or Elijah or one of the... Continue Reading →
John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina, vol. 2 (The Liturgical Press, 2002), 193. If Mark reacts in any way to the Cynic tradition it is rather to distinguish Jesus and his disciples from that tradition and implicitly to reject it as a lifestyle for Christian missionaries. Jesus' disciples are... Continue Reading →
John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina vol. 2 (The Liturgical Press, 2002), 160-161. Especially significant [to Mark 4:35-41] is Ps 107:23-32 (LXX 106:23-32), which Mark's narrative virtually paraphrases. According to that psalm people "went down to the sea in ships" and "saw the deeds of the Lord" (v. 23).... Continue Reading →
Gerd Theissen, The New Testament: A Literary History (Fortress Press, 2012), 43-44. The Gospel of Mark is artfully structured. It consists of individual pericopes, each of which makes its own point. Through their arrangement into a gospel they acquire a "surplus of meaning": in the framework of the story of Jesus they point to the mystery... Continue Reading →
In last week's installment of "Musings on Mark" we looked at the Markan Jesus' take on divorce where we concluded that if we ask the Markan Jesus, “Is divorce permissible?” his answer would be a resounding “No!” Why? Because marriage is a union of one flesh that no one can separate. Not Moses. Not a certificate of... Continue Reading →
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her...." - Jesus In Mark 10:1-12 we read of an encounter between "some Pharisees" and Jesus over the question of divorce. They ask him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" (10:2, NRSV) to which Jesus replies, "What did Moses command you?"... Continue Reading →
Following the feeding of the four thousand (Mark 8:1-10), the Pharisees confront Jesus and begin "asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him" (8:11). The sign would serve as divine verification of his messianic ministry. Yet Jesus is a bit flustered. We are told that "he sighed deeply in his spirit," a phrase... Continue Reading →
Every superhero has a back story, a tale about what made them the way they are. My favorite superhero is DC's Batman. What disturbing thing happened to him that made him want to dress up like a bat and beat up bad guys in the middle of the night? As most people know, when Bruce... Continue Reading →
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