Bible Introductions

Sources
    Where did Mark get his information from?
      i] If Papias was right, Peter's sermons were obviously the main source.
      ii] Interviews with the disciples and other eye witnesses was an important source. It looks as if Mark himself was not an eye witness, although the reference to the young man who followed Jesus after his arrest could be taken as a personal experience - was this Mark? Mk.14:51-52.
      iii] Quite a large amount of stock stories and sayings of Jesus were obviously common knowledge in Christian circles. Some of this material was possibly written down, although there would be nothing unusual if it was just retained as the common oral tradition of the first century church. Mark could have well used such material. It's impossible to know how much of it Mark used, but we do know that he ignored large slabs of it, especially sayings of Jesus. Jesus taught in poetical form and so it was easily remembered. Matthew preserves much of the teaching tradition.

Date
    The gospel was probably written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD and after the death of Peter. Tradition has it that Peter died in Rome during Nero's persecution of Christians around 64AD.

Relationship with the other gospels
    A quick reading of Matthew, Mark and Luke leaves the impression that someone is into copying. Most scholars today agree that Mark was first to write, then Luke used Mark as the source for his gospel and added some extra material and then finally Matthew used both Mark and Luke, again with extra material. The problem is, why would Luke, a scholar, follow Mark's gospel so closely? It is possible that Mark's gospel was accepted as the standard for apostolic tradition. Luke would then be bound to follow closely Mark's record. Yet if all three were working from stock oral tradition, or even an existing document of sayings and stories, this would explain their similarity, and also the differences. It is of course the differences that are most interesting.
    John on the other hand, being an eye witness, presents entirely his own view.

Mark's purpose
    i] To write an historic record of the life and teachings of Jesus. The original eye witnesses had now virtually all passed away and therefore it was imperative to record their testimony of Jesus. There is far too much missing in the gospel for it to be just a historic account.
    ii] To write an evangelistic tract. The cost would be prohibitive.
    iii] To write an evangelistic/exhortatory manual for new Christians. Pre-baptismal instruction. The book is much too subtle for such a limited perspective. Although it could be used in this way.
    iv] To record Peter's sermons for posterity. Literary form implies something deeper.
    v] To produce a piece of exhortatory writing, even theology, for use by Christians. This is most likely Mark's purpose in writing.

Consider Mark's gospel as a piece of theology:
    a) He uses a gospel literary form. The gospel in minimalist form is "The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand." "The time is fulfilled" is the announcement that Jesus in his life and death has completed the events that were prophesied in the Old Testament, events that were to proceed the establishment of God's Kingdom. Thus the Kingdom is a present reality that may be entered right now. The Kingdom primarily is seen in God's rule over his people, and God's presence with his people (blessings). Thus gospel-form tends to be a run-down of a life-long relationship that is now possible with God through Christ. cf. 1 Cor.15:3-8. Mark uses this literary form.
    b) He follows a fairly accurate historic order throughout the gospel, although he is not overly concerned in maintaining strict order or detail.
    c) His source material is a collection of sermons, possibly Peter's sermons.
    d) He has arranged and changed his source material to convey his own exhortatory message.

Message
    Mark lets us into a secret, a mystery, a secret that is actually revealed in the gospel. It concerns the Kingdom of God (God's gathered people, directing and blessed by him) and the relationship of Jesus and ourselves to it.
    The mystery that Mark sets out to unlock for us is that Jesus in his person, work and word, has fulfilled the preliminary events that usher in the new age of God's Kingdom. He himself is faithful Israel, the servant of the Lord, obedient unto death. Thus as representative Israel he fulfills the preliminary events as prophesied in the Old Testament, and so enters his rest (the Kingdom) and receives his reward (reigns).
    By aligning ourselves with Jesus (believing, trusting, putting our faith in Him), we are similarly accepted as God's sons (faithful Israel), for we follow in the footsteps of one who has gone before and who has opened the way into the Kingdom. The way that we must travel may bring hardship and strife. It will certainly require dedication, for the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are many things that would draw us aside. Yet victory is ultimately assured, by grace through faith.

Theology
    Mark paints Jesus' life as a replay of the Old Testament history of Israel, from the Exodus to the entry into the promised land and the overcoming of God's enemies. This pattern of events precedes the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel in 1000 BC. The prophets predict a repeat of the events prior to the re-establishment of the Kingdom in power, and in Jesus' life these events are fulfilled.
    For a better understanding of the theology of the Kingdom of God refer to the link below, "The Kingdom of God".

Mark's gospel structure
    Mark only deals with the preliminary events. Thus his account begins at Jesus' baptism (ie. Exodus) and concludes with his death and the empty tomb, (ie. victory over the powers of darkness). The theology of the Kingdom of God aligns with Mark's gospel structure:

      Preliminary events = "the time is fulfilled"
      Kingdom of God established = "the kingdom of God is at hand".

    Mark deals in detail with the "time is fulfilled". The prophets foretold that prior to the establishment of the Kingdom of God, certain events must take place. All these are fulfilled in the life of Jesus the Son of God.
    Unlike Israel of old, Jesus did not put God to the test in the wilderness. Moses led the people into the desert and they grumbled, even when God supplied bread from heaven (manna). The people heard God speak to them from the mountain, but they quickly forgot and worshipped the gods of Egypt. Moses led them to the borders of the promised land, Canaan, but they refused to enter and take the land. They were afraid. So they were cursed to wander in the desert until all those who had doubted God were dead. Then they entered the promised land under the leadership of Joshua, but it was not until David that they finally captured the land.
    Mark depicts Jesus as the faithful son of God (Israel). He depicts the journey of this faithful son of God, of this new Israel:
      Through the waters of release;
      Standing the test and trial of the wilderness;
      Struggling against the powers of darkness;
      Finally winning the victory;
      Entering into his rest, into blessing.
    Jesus, as the representative Israel, the faithful son of God, is the people, the prophet like unto Moses", the priest like Aaron yet perfect, and also the sacrifice (ie. Lamb of God), and finally the king like David and Solomon, (ie. the Davidic Messiah). Thus, as well as being the faithful people of God, he is the bearer of truth (the word) and master of all (Lord). Ultimately he is none other than God himself.

The proper response to the gospel
    Mark makes a point of describing how people respond to the revelation of Jesus as Son of God. The proper response is faith. Very few actually believe (ie. have faith), we are not even sure about the disciples. What Mark attempts to do is to face us with the issue of our own response. Do we have faith in Jesus, or are we like the many who are just awestruck by him, or even worse opposed to Him.
    The content of faith for Mark is best described as total dependence on Jesus as Lord and saviour. It is relying completely on Jesus. In aligning ourselves with Jesus we too become sons of God, faithful Israel, members of the Kingdom of heaven. Our status of sonship has been won for us by Jesus' sacrificial death on our behalf.
    As the new Israel of God we must follow in the footsteps of the faithful son of God who has shown us that the way to glory is the way of sacrifice - death to self. It is a journey through a dry and troubled land, but the victory is ours. We will soon enter our rest. The individual, as well as the church, is to see their life in terms of Jesus' life. It is a journey from Egypt to Canaan - release to victory. A journey filled with adventure, trouble, pain, joy etc. with its ultimate purpose the establishment of God's Kingdom. To achieve this end we must overcome great difficulties. Satan, although Jesus has broken his power, will fight hard to resist us. Yet with the sword of the gospel we will release his prisoners and bring in the Kingdom.

Key words
1. Son of God. The title given to Jesus by:
    (a) the demons/evil spirits;
    (b) Mark 1:1;
    (c) God the Father 1:1, 9:7;
   (d) the gentile soldier at Jesus' crucifixion and
    (e) accepted by Jesus.
The possible meanings are:-
    a) Messiah - common Old Testament usage.
    b) King - David was "son of God".
    c) Actual father/son relationship.
    d) Israel/people of God. Although not a common Old Testament usage, it is most likely the way Mark wants us to understand the term. Thus Jesus represents corporate Israel. We become children of God in union with Christ.

2. Son of Man. Jesus' title for himself. The title has two aspects:
    a) Glorified Son of Man. A messianic title found in Daniel and referring to the one who comes to rule, Mk.14:62. It was not a common title for the messiah so Jesus was able to use it and still maintain the secret of his identity.
    b) Suffering Son of Man. This describes Jesus' lowly role - humiliated, despised. Note: whenever he says the "Son of Man must suffer", he always follows it up with a call to true discipleship. The disciple is also to be a suffering son of man.

3. Response words. A person's initial response to Jesus is one of "awe", "fear", "amazement", "wonder" and "astonishment". This is the result of being "without understanding" or having "hardened hearts".
    This initial response leads to either:
      a) "Offense", "unbelief", or
      b) "faith", "belief".
    Mark emphasises people's response to Jesus because he wants us to respond correctly, ie. in "faith". The gospel begins with people astonished and questioning ("What is this?") and finishes with the women "wondering" and "afraid" at the empty tomb. We must move beyond "wonder" to either "belief" or "unbelief".

4. Movement words. Words such as "immediately" give a sense of speed and movement to the gospel. They give us a sense of journey similar to the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. Such words image the necessary movement of the Son of God toward his victorious overcoming of evil upon the cross.

The apostolic preaching and Mark's gospel
    The structure of Mark's gospel follows very closely the sermons in Acts (especially Peter's), but minus the Old Testament support texts. Obviously he is writing to Gentiles and therefore doesn't need to show that Jesus has fulfilled prophecy. Yet he is faithful to the gospel structure.
    The sermons in Acts stress "the time is fulfilled", that is they recount the preliminary events fulfilled by Jesus. Naturally if this stands proved then the "times of refreshing" (the Kingdom) must come. Mark similarly stresses "the time is fulfilled" and so proclaim that the "times of refreshing" have come. We inturn should follow in Jesus' footsteps and so "work to hasten the day".

Interpretive outline

The journey begins
  The children of God in the 15th Century BC., set out from Egypt under the mighty hand of God. They soon discovered their special place in God's purpose as they struggled on their journey to meet him at Mount Sinai. God made their way straight, overcoming their enemies, and even making nature submit to his plan. Similarly Jesus, the Son of God, set forth from the river Jordan into the wilderness, his way made straight. A way for us to follow. This first section answers the question "Who is this man Jesus?".

1. Introduction
  i] The forerunner John the Baptist, 1:1-8.
  ii] The Exodus in the wilderness, 1:9-13. Jesus' baptism and temptation.

2. Son of God
  i] Theme, 1:14-15. The time is fulfilled (therefore) the Kingdom of God is at hand.
  ii] The call to follow, to set out on the journey to the promised land and gather in others for the Kingdom, 1:16-20.
  iii] A day in the journey. Jesus demonstrates His authority, 1:21-39.
  iv] Popularity. A leper cleansed, 1:40-45.

3. Conflict
  i] Authority to forgive sins, 2:1-12.
  ii] Sinners called to follow, 2:13-17.
    The call of the tax collector.
    Eating with sinners.
  iii] Something new is here, 2:18-22
    No time for fasting.
    The old has no part in the new.
  iv] Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, 2:23-28.
  v] Jesus heals on the Sabbath, 3:1-6
    The Pharisees seek how they might destroy him.

4. True Israel defined
  i] Jesus "the Son of God" - Israel, people of God, 3:7-12.
  ii] The 12 appointed - the new Israel of God, 3:13-19.
    To be with Jesus and declare the gospel
  iii] The true Israel, 13:19b-35.
    Genuine members of Jesus/God's family.
    Jesus' natural family sees Jesus as mad.
    Religious Israel sees Jesus as demon possessed.
    True family - those who do the will of God (ie. believe).

5. The Word. Parables concerning the good news of the Kingdom.
  i] The parable of the sower. The word saves some, but only those whom God has prepared, 4:1-20.
  ii] The fulfillment of the purpose of God, 4:1-12.
  iii] Exhortation on true hearing, 4:24-25.
  iv] The parable of the growth of the seed - the Word achieves its end unnoticed, 4:26-29.
  v] The parable of the mustard seed - the word is seemingly insignificant but achieves mighty results, 4:30-32.
  vi] Riddles for the crowd, 4:33-34.

6. Powers defeated
  i] Nature - calming the sea, 4:35-41.
  ii] Devil - Gerasene demoniac, 5:1-20.
  iii] Sickness - woman with a hemorrhage, 5:25-34.
  iv] Death - Jairus' daughter, 5:21-24, 35-43.

The journey to God's mountain
  The children of God, filled with distrust/discontent, reach Mount Sinai and receive God's law. Jesus similarly makes his way to the mountain surrounded by disbelief. To a remnant who see (believe) he reveals God's word. This section is marked by a growing awareness of who Jesus is. Amazement and bewilderment leads to disbelief or belief.

1. Growing discontent
  i] Jesus' own countrymen are astonished and take offence at his teaching. He is seen as demonic. He marvels at their unbelief, 6:1-6.
  ii] The twelve are sent out, 6:7-13.
    Confusion the result, 6:14-16.
    Imprisonment and death of John (obviously Elijah), 6:17-29.
  iii] Feeding of the 5,000. Manna for all. Jesus completely reveals Himself. He feeds his people as God fed his people in the wilderness, 6:30-44.
  iv] Jesus walks on the water. He is Lord over the powers of darkness. Yet even the disciples still do not understand. They did not understand the significance of the feeding of the 5,000, 6:45-52.
  v] Back at Gennesaret. Growing faith because of the faithful witness of the former demoniac, 6:53-56.
  vi] The religious leaders are also without understanding. They are confined by their narrow interpretation of God's word, 7:1-23.
    Defilement according to the tradition.
    The conflict between commandment and tradition.
    True defilement.
  vii] Israel's blindness forces Jesus amongst the Gentiles where a stranger believes, 7:24-30.
  viii] Israel still fails to see the signs (the deaf hear and the dumb speak). They are still astonished, 7:31-37

2. Growing faith
  i] Feeding the 4,000. Jesus again reveals his true identity, 8:1-10.
  ii] The Pharisees are still blind, but the penny is about to drop for the disciples, 8:11-21.
  iii] Christ opens the eyes of the blind, 8:22-26.
  iv] Peter's confession. The disciples begin to see, 8:27-30.
  v] Jesus' teaches suffering and true discipleship #1. Deny self, 8:31, 9:1.
  vi] The transfiguration. The ultimate revelation upon God's mountain. "Hear Him", 9:2-13.

3. The new law
  i] The healing of a possessed boy. Discipleship requires steadfast faith exercised through prayer, 9:14-29.
  ii] Jesus teaches suffering and true discipleship #2. True greatness (Humility), 9:30-37.
  iii] Partners in discipleship, 9:38-42.
  iv] Discipleship demands dedication, 9:43-50.
  v] Divorce. Ideals and the principle of oneness, 10:1-12.
  vi] Children blessed. Humility, 10:13-16.
  vii] The rich young ruler. By grace through faith and not works of the law, 10:17-31.
  viii] Jesus teaches suffering and true discipleship #3. Service, 10.32-45.

4. Faith   A blind man who came to see through faith and who followed (Discipleship) his master, 10:46-52.

Entering the promised land
  Under Joshua the children of God marched into Canaan to execute God's judgement on an evil people, to overcome the enemies of God in preparation for the establishment of the Kingdom. Jesus the warrior King, Son of God, now enters Jerusalem with sword in hand.
  The evil and blindness of Israel is developed in this section and is associated with conflict and judgement themes. The actual judgement on Israel took place in 70AD. Here Jesus overcomes Satanic Israel (Jesus called the Pharisees "children of darkness") and prefigures judgement in symbols and prophecy (Ch.13). The conflict here is in preparation for the ultimate conflict with Satan at Calvary.
  The actual time from Jesus' entry to his death is usually seen as one week. He teaches in Jerusalem during the day and sleeps at Bethany. Mark's gospel could easily allow something longer, even six months.

1. Judgement in symbol and parable upon Israel.   i] Israel has failed to live by faith and so will wither and perish. For the disciple no less a faith is expected.
    The entry into Jerusalem, 11:1-11.
    The unproductive fig tree, 11:12-14.
    Temple cleansing, 11:15-19.
    Faith and prayer, 11:20-25.
  ii] The controversy over Jesus' authority, 11:27-33.
  iii] The parable of the defiant tenants. Judgement on Israel, 12:1-12.

2. Blindness. The blindness of Israel exposed
  i] The Pharisees' question about tribute money, 12:13-17.
  ii] The Sadducees question about the resurrection, 12:18-27.
  iii] The scribes' question about the first commandment ,12:28-34.
  iv] Jesus' question about David's son, 12:35-37.
  v] The warning concerning the scribes, 12:38-40.
  vi] The widow who gave everything, 12:41-44. A display of the religious poverty of Israel.

3. Prophecy
  Prophecies concerning the Kingdom of Israel (primarily its destruction), the present spiritual Kingdom and the heavenly Kingdom. It is a word of warning. Israel, God's historic people, have been blinded and judged for their evil, their lack of faith. The nation will soon be destroyed. Therefore we ourselves need to take the warning to heart. We must be faithful as we await the day of the Lord's coming, and don't be caught unaware as they were. "Watch!", 13:1-37