The Gospel of Saint Mark is evidently written for Gentiles, and for Romans in particular, and portrays the person of Jesus more by what He does than by what He says. It is characterized by a vivid, direct style that leaves the impression of familiarity with the original events.

Although the Gospel of Saint Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, it pays close attention to matters of human interest. He is fond of linking the episodes of Jesus' ministry together with catchwords, rather than editorial comment; and frequently he interrupts a longer story by inserting a smaller one within it. - Mark 5:21-43, 6:6-30, 11:12-25, 14:1-11 -

There are two parts: Jesus' ministry in Judea and Jerusalem, it begins with the appearance of John of Baptist, followed by the baptism of Jesus. He comments on the temptation of Jesus only briefly and concludes his introduction by a capsule of Jesus' message, 'The time has come, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe in the Good News.' - 1:15 - Then follows a series of phenomenon, depicting Jesus as a teacher, healer and exorcist in and around Capernaum, and Jesus often is in conflict with the Jewish authorities of His day. Then, it followed by a number of Jesus' parables and in each parable He uses common experiences to tell who God is and what man can become. Saint Mark then resumes the activities of Jesus as an open-air preacher and healer.

The first half of the Gospel reaches a climax when Jesus is enroute to Caesarea Philippi and asks His disciples, "Who do people say I am?" And they told him. 'John the Baptist' they said, 'others Elijah; others again, one of the prophets.' 'But you' he asked, 'who do you say I am?' Peter spoke up and said to him. 'You are the Christ.' - 8:27-29 - Jesus then shocks the disciples by explaining that the Christ must suffer, die and resurrected, and whoever desires to be His disciples must be prepared for the same. A glorious TRANSFIGURATION of Jesus immediately follows this pronouncement; it shows that the Father in heaven confirms Jesus' role as a suffering Messiah.

Jesus tries to drive home the truth and practices leadership with service. 'You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and the great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen to you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.' - 10:42-45 -

One of Saint Mark's key objectives is to portray Jesus as God's Son. At decisive points in the Gospel, he reveals the mystery of Jesus' person. At the baptism - 1:11 - and transfiguration - 9:7 - the Father in heaven calls Jesus "My beloved Son." thus indicating that Jesus shares a unique relationship with the Father. Demons recognize Jesus as God's Son, too - 1:24, 3:11, 5:17 - testifying that Jesus is equipped with God's authority and power.

He, however, is careful to avoid portraying Jesus as an unrealistic superstar whose feet do not touch the ground. The Son of God is not immune from the problems of earthly life, but enters fully into them. Jesus is obedient to the will of the Father, even to death on a Cross. Jesus is the model of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. Thus, Jesus tells a parable, which ultimately reflects His own earthly life: the only son of the owner of a vineyard suffers rejection and death at the hands of rebellious tenant farmers. - 12:1-12 -

Furthermore, Saint Mark does not emphasize Jesus' divinity at the expense of His humanity. Jesus appears fatigued - 4:37-38 - "Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep." -  amazed - 6:6 - "He was amazed at their lack of faith." - disappointed - 8:11-12 - "The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with him; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, 'Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.' And leaving them again and re-embarking he went to the opposite shore." - displeased - 10:13-14 - "People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.'" - and sorrowful - 14:34 - "And a sudden fear came over him, and great distress. And he said to them, 'My soul is sorrowful to the point of death.'"

Faith and discipleship have no meaning apart from following the suffering Son of God. Faith is not a magic or illusion that works independently of the believers's participation; rather it draws the believer into intimate union with Jesus as Lord. Jesus' disciples are to be with Him as He is with the Father, and they are given the same tasks of proclamation and power over the forces of evil as He had. As the Son of Man serves in self-abasement, so too must His disciples serve. Discipleship with Christ leads to self-denial and suffering.

This, however, is not a matter of a religious desire to suffer; rather when one loses his life, he finds it in Christ. It is only through the Son of God who suffers and dies that we may see into the heart of God and enter into fellowship with the Father. "But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the veil of the Temple was torn into two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, 'In truth this man was a son of God.'" - 15:37-38 -

In the Gospel according to Saint Mark, it has long puzzled readers why Jesus, who came into the world to make Himself known, would work at cross-purposes with His mission by trying to remain hidden. The puzzle can be explained in part by realizing that Jesus' command to silence was intended to protect Himself from false expectations of the Messiah that were current at that time. For most of Jesus' contemporaries, "messiah" brought up pictures of a military hero overthrowing the Roman rule of Palestine. Another reason why Jesus tried to conceal His miraculous power was because He realized that faith could not be forced upon people by a spectacle. - Matt. 4:1-11 - Not sight but insight into Jesus' life and purpose could evoke true faith.

Finally, Jesus demanded silence because no title or label could convey Him adequately. Saving knowledge of Jesus needed to come through personal encounter and experience with Him. Indeed, until Jesus died on the cross He could not rightly be known as God incognito who reveals Himself to those who are willing to deny self and follow Him in costly discipleship.

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -