Mark Introduction
Introduction
Mark appears to be written for an audience in Rome. A Roman centurion’s declaration near the end of the book – Surely this man was the Son of God! – models the witness to Jesus this gospel calls for.
The opening half of this fast-moving drama keys on the question: Who do you say I am? An episode at the end of the first half shows Jesus healing a blind man in two stages, so that he slowly comes to see. In the same way the disciples have only gradually come to recognise who Jesus is. Then in a key moment in the story, between its two halves, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah.
Now the conflict moves out into the open. Jesus has come to introduce a radical new way of life that will undercut existing power relationships. The second half of the drama depicts this in three acts:
: First, Jesus and his disciples travel to Jerusalem.
: Next, Jesus teaches in the temple and clashes with the established leadership.
: In the final act, that leadership executes its plan and has Jesus arrested and crucified, seemingly overturning all he has done. But then God overturns their deed and raises Jesus to life. So Mark’s readers are called to be faithful to Jesus, even in suffering, because this is how God continues to overturn the existing order and establish the way of life that Jesus taught.
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Mark Introduction: NIVUK
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Mark Introduction
Introduction
The Gospel according to St. Mark presents the story of Jesus in a popular and engaging style. The narrative is fast-paced and dramatic, not dwelling long on detail. The emphasis is much more on the deeds of Jesus—his healings and wonders—than on his teachings, and through these Mark conveys to readers the striking impact his ministry had on people in Galilee in the early first century a.d.
Mark is the earliest of the four Gospels and if the word of the theologian Clement of Alexandria (a.d. 150–215) has merit, it was written for an audience of Gentile Christians in Rome around a.d. 70. That Mark translates Aramaic words, explains Jewish customs, and ignores Old Testament connections confirms this audience. The first nine chapters cover Jesus' ministry in Galilee, and the final six chronicle his journey to Judea and into Jerusalem (chapter 11) for his final week.
The underlying aim is to show that Jesus is the Messiah (“Christ” in Greek). That is already declared to readers in 1.1, but the author wants readers to see the centrality of Jesus' cross. In Mark Jesus is the suffering Messiah whose compassion led him to the cross, not a militaristic Messiah who would overthrow Roman occupation forces. Lest any in his audience misunderstand the new life in Christ as being about self-advantage, Mark says to the contrary that it is about selfless serving—that all who follow Jesus must also expect to take up their cross and follow him in the way of the cross. The author of Mark never identifies himself to the reader. Early church tradition associated the book with Mark, a companion of St. Peter, who would have learned what he reports about Jesus directly from the apostle.
Outline
Jesus Prepares for His Ministry (1.1-20)
Jesus Does the Work of God's Kingdom in Galilee (1.21—9.50)
Jesus Teaches and Works Miracles in Judea (10.1-52)
Jesus in Jerusalem (11.1—15.47)
Jesus Is Risen from the Sepulchre (16.1-20)
[NB: Some very important ancient manuscripts of Mark lack 16.9-20. This is generally regarded as a later ending added to Mark. The KJV translators did not have access to these ancient texts.]
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.