Thoughts on the Gospel of Mark (detailed outline)

GOSPEL OF MARK

CHAPTER ONE

Baptism -- Water (John); Holy Spirit (God): Introduction of John and the forthcoming of Jesus (preparing for Jesus arrival). Jesus great ness over that of John’s (focus on the Devine over that of earthly-human). [1-9]

God speaks to Jesus: you are my son and I am pleased with you [10-11].

Jesus tempted by Satan in the desert (40 days). Wild animals and angels. [12-13] (fully man and fully god complex)

John message of time to begin to repentance. [15]

Jesus calling on people and them leaving their fathers to follow Jesus (first introduction to that we need to be prepared to put the Devine above all else). [16-20]

Not allowing demons to speak as they know he is the Son of God. [34]

Jesus preaching, healing, and driving out the demons: trying to focus on teaching. Realizes people will not lesson to his teachings if they are worked-up: today you almost would say he was trying to get a low-key, but eventual loud mumble going (if he wasn’t God that is and if it was in modern times in politics)—nature of people (if a person is not to talk about something, they are going to). [21-45]

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CHAPTER TWO

First sign of persecutions to come for Jesus. Jesus forgiving a paralytic of sins (only God by law has this right). Jesus saying anyone should be able forgive (to forgive is divine, not just reserved for the divine). Paralytic walking, thus proving Jesus is God (they are unable to openly accuse Jesus for blasphemy, even through they would want to because he is a threat to their position/way of life). [1-12]

Analogy of Doctor and patients vs. Doctors and healthy. [15-17]

Analogy-foresight of fasting of what it will be like for us after Jesus’ death. [19-20]

Sabbath. Continuing theme against being too legalistic: “…they are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath…Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’” (translation: the Sabbath is meant to serve the needs of man, not man to serve the Sabbath) [24-27]

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CHAPTER THREE

The “appointment” of the twelve apostles [14]

“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand…If Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand” [22-26]

Again message of needing to be prepared to leave ones (earthly family), like Jesus, and joining the Christian family. [31-34]

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CHAPTER FOUR

Jesus as the one spreading the seed, word of God as seed, those lessening as the soil. [1-20]

Other parables illustrating the ways of heaven. [21-33]

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CHAPTER FIVE

Demons and pigs: symbolism of low status of pigs; possible the mercy of Jesus (demons not having physical form); animal instinct to kill themselves. Animals/pigs knowing/fear the evilness inside of them; speaks to the pigs/animals not having souls (no needed for the pigs to agree to the possession—not possible for animals to sin). [10-11]

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CHAPTER SIX

Jesus giving “authority over evil spirits” to the Twelve Apostles and instructions for their journey(s) ahead. [7-11]

Pre-runner of pilgrimages (people enjoy imitating those whom they look-up to and as away to show how devout they are). [8-11] I can almost see people going on pilgrimages and not bring anything with them to imitate the Apostles.

The biblical justification for (Christian) communions (people living together) – the breaking up the bread and fish. [39-44]

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CHAPTER SEVEN

· Cautions about hypocritical acts and legalism. [6-13]

· Jesus’ words possibly being used for trench warfare between religion differences: spiritual cleanliness; the difference between outward and inward cleanliness (and creating legalities to excuse behaviors). I can see how people could have used these words to label religions rather acts individuals to be unclean (i.e., fear mongering, religious politics). [14-15]
1. “What comes out of man is what makes him ’unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality…” [20-21]. First time sexual immorality is brought-up (gives no definition or examples of acts).

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CHAPTER EIGHT

Peter says Jesus is the “Christ” [29-39]

Jesus reveals the persecution he will now face. Peter “rebuke[s]” Jesus; Jesus “rebuked” Peter. [32-33]

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CHAPTER NINE

Power of prayer [29]

Protection and innocence of children [36-37]

Atonement for immoral deeds: cutting off ones hands, etc. being equaling/mending. [43-48]

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CHAPTER TEN

Definition of marriage between a male and female: “…and the two will become one flesh.’…Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” [8-9]

Marriage after divorce, definition as adultery: “…Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery” [10-12]

The importance distancing/separating oneself form material possessions: “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” [23]

Jesus’ assurance that faith will be rewarded: “…no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age…and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are the first will be last, and the last first” [29-31]

Start to show the faulty character(s) of the Apostles, they are human after all: “Then James and John, sons of Zebedee, came to him...Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory…Jesus said, “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,’ they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink…but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” [37-40]
Faulty character: greed, vanity, worries, doubting their faith.

At this time the Apostles are probably thinking: things have been going quite well for us, everything considered. Son of God is here and we are under the protection of him. But he soon will not be walking among us, and those that wish to, and will, prosecute him [“…the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will raise”] will do the same to us. What assurances do we have? What in it for us? How do we know we should not be abandoning him before it is too late? It sounds like Jesus was trying to say, like an adult explaining to a child, ‘you may think you are ready, but you are not ready…’ I t could be argued that the true test of the Apostles faith occurs once Jesus had died. That no longer did they have the psychical of Jesus to bring about the compulsion to say, ‘this is the Son of God’ without out him physically being there doubt may take over. Could the reason that Jesus rose was to demonstrate that even after death he was the Son of God. This may have been especially true as they would confront people that would doubt Jesus’ words as they challenged their way of life (in terms of their moral conduct) as well as justification of rulers by religious laws. I will need to research this to see what evidence there is to support this claim of Jesus challenging or being perceived as a threat to power authorities. Certainly, it seems he was a threat in terms of priests, etc. positions that where based (there authority and thus there livelihood) on the pre-Jesus ways: i.e., if the priests where wrong would anyone lesson to them and thus goes their authority/power. Can the same be said of modern day Christian Churches: yes, what examples? History: grain mills (monopoly economy.

The other way this passage could be interrupted, and I think it has been used to raise the status of the Apostles. It could be interrupted as highlighting the devotion of the Apostles to Jesus, despite their naive ness of what they would be committing themselves to and their lack of skill (i.e., they have not been “prepared” for that roll). It could be interrupted as justification to raise their stature in the eyes of Christians above where their stature should be that they have/will “…drink the cup [Jesus drank] and be baptized with the baptism [Jesus got] baptized with…” Note: the passage states “we can” not ‘we have’. That is the Apostles state they can be in the same light as Jesus (while not being equal to him). I do not see why it should be taken literally to mean that they literally drank from the same cup as Jesus (drinking Jesus’ blood symbolism) or being baptized in the same waters or by the same person as Jesus, if this was the case.

Jealousy or revelry among the Apostles, “…When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be the first must be slave of all.” [43-44] I can see the Apostles reveling among themselves to be Jesus favorite or making a pack that no one will be hirer than the rest so non of them lose stature, and Jesus saying (1) you must work for it, and (2) you must humble yourself not only before myself but also yourselves (people).

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

· “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you and your sins.” [24-27]
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CHAPTER TWELVE

· “…What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”[9] Analogy of what is happening to Jesus. Tenets are those persecuting Jesus. Tenets could also be interrupted as anyone that does not follow the word of God. Analogy could be associated with the fall from Grace.
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CHAPTER 13

· “…birth pains…”. End of the world associated with the renewing of righteous: earth being cleansed [ch. 13].
· Preamble keeping watch; we do not know when it will happen (possible after the “rooster crows”). [35]
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CHAPTER 14

· Judas Iscariot betrayal [10-11]
· Jesus revealing that he will be betrayed by one of the Twelve Apostles. [18-21]
· “…Take [the bread]; this is my body…Then he took the cup…This is my blood of the covenant…” [22-25]
· “You [as in all the Apostles] will fall away…Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not…Jesus answered, today—yes, yes tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times” [27-30]
· Jesus goes prays to for God to take the covenant away; when he returns to his Apostles they are all (including Simon/Peter) sleeping (even after he said to them “Stay here and keep watch”. [34-37] Is ‘here” earth? Jesus going to pray, returning and finding them a sleep happened three times [41].
· “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” [38] Culture affects of this passage such as whipping flesh, the flesh being a portal/threshold to sin, etc., which would be contradictory to 7: 20-21. Why did these cultural trends come about: was it to prove they could over come their animal nature and thus be worthy of salvation or was it to “keep watch” both literally and metaphorically?

Eluned Summers-Bremner in MacLean’s magazine states that resisting sleep in the Middle Ages was a trend (March 17, 2008: 18). That is a person (she cites the example of “Saints) that could go without sleep was thought that to have God actively influential in that person’s acts (18). Eluned made the conclusion that this culture trend was the result of the operation of monasteries in which the monks would begin their days at 3am chanting (18). She also said to some extent it was a practical reason that people would take turns staying-up such as to keep the fire going as it was the source of heat (18).

I now wonder what role 14: 34-38 played in this trend. How concerned were the people in the Middle Ages of the world coming to an end that they stayed-up all night “keeping watch”. Did they consider staying awake instructions from Jesus? Did they considered a cautionary note from Jesus that if they did not keep watch that perhaps that would be the time of the end or be caught by surprise? Did they believe that sleep was a time that they might be attacked by evil forces or be more easily seduced into temptation because of not being conscious to resist? What role did they believe praying had in resisting temptation and/or staying awake? Were they trying to improve their behavior beyond that of the Apostles (a Christian regret of sorts)?

· Peter denying his association with Jesus to “one of the servant girls of the high priest” twice (once when she asked alone, once when she called him on it when she was apart of a group) [66-68] and he denied his association with Jesus a third time when those around cursed him [71], thus disowning Jesus three times: “…Immediately the rooster crowed the second time…” [72]

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CHAPTER 15

· Jesus and the Pilate: the release of Barabbas (at the Feast) from prison because of the actions of the chief priests [6-9].
· Jesus crucifixion [25-39]

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CHAPTER 16

· Jesus rose after the Sabbath [1-8]

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Work Cited

Eluned Summers-Bremner. March 17, 2008. “Insomnia: The Truth about a Modern Epidemic.” MacLean’s Magazine, pp. 16-19.