Mark
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
Contents |
Chapter links
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
Introductory notes
Most non-LDS scholars believe that Mark was the gospel written first and that the other two synoptic writers used his gospel as a kind of first draft. In contrast, most LDS scholars believe that Matthew was written first because Matthew’s version of things is what we find in Christ’s teaching to the Nephites. We are not certain who Mark was, but a strong and very old Christian tradition says that he was the John Mark mentioned in Acts. There he is Paul’s assistant in missionary work (Acts 12:25; 13:5). He appears to have been a member of a wealthy Jewish-Christian family in Jerusalem and the cousin of a wealthy landowner, Barnabas (Acts 4:36-37; Colossian 4:10). Based on that, some have speculated that his family owned the Garden of Gesthemane and that he was the young man who escaped capture when Jesus was arrested in the Garden, but the evidence for that speculation is not very strong. The fact that he gets Palestinian geography wrong is reason to believe that if he was from a Jerusalem family, he did not live there long himself.
For a reason that we do not know, Paul refused to continue to work with Mark at the end of the first mission, though Barnabas used Mark (Acts 15:37-39). However, Mark and Paul seem to have been reconciled later, for his name appears throughout the letters of Paul (for example 2 Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 24).
Mark also seems to be the person to whom Peter refers as “my son” (1 Peter 5:13). Tradition has it that he was Peter’s interpreter, though that can mean “the person who explained Peter’s teaching” rather than “the person who translated them from one language to another”, and it may be he rather than Peter himself who after Peter’s death wrote down 2 Peter, which appears to be a collection of Peter’s sayings comparable to The Words of Ezra Taft Benson rather than an original speech by Peter. If this is correct, then Mark may also be a collection of Peter’s recollections recorded by Mark, perhaps after Peter’s death.
According to the early church historian, Eusebius, Clement (the bishop of Alexandria in the second century A.D.) said that Mark’s gospel was written for those being taught in Rome and that, after it was completed, Peter read it and ratified it for use in church. Though that seems to me to be reasonably possible, some other early writings say that Mark completed his gospel after Peter’s death. If so, he may have been writing down the things he had learned from Peter. The Greek of Mark is much less sophisticated than that of the other gospels, and he focuses on a series of brief and self-contained stories that prepare the reader for his lengthy treatment of the Garden of Gethsemane, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. For Mark, events are the focus rather than doctrines. Eusebius also says that Mark did not put the events of his gospel “in order,” but he is unclear as to what he means by “order.”
Outline: Chapters 1-5
Here's a possible outline for chapters 1-5. In this outline, you’ll see that the narrative focuses on Jesus’ power and powerful works, but that focus is interrupted regularly by moments when apostles are called or instructed. These interruptions are marked with double asterisks. The movement is stories of power - organization of the church - stories of power - organization, etc.
| Mark 1:1-13 | Jesus' mission was divinely ordained and he is in conflict with Satan. |
| Mark 1:1 | The title/theme of the work. |
| Mark 1:2-8 | John the Baptist. |
| Mark 1:9-11 | Jesus' baptism. |
| Mark 1:12-13 | The Temptation in the wilderness. |
| Mark 1:14-15 | A summary of Jesus' mission: "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel.'" |
| Mark 1:1-13 | Jesus' mission was divinely ordained and he is in conflict with Satan. |
| Mark 1:1 | The title/theme of the work. |
| Mark 1:2-8 | John the Baptist. |
| Mark 1:9-11 | Jesus' baptism. |
| Mark 1:12-13 | The Temptation in the wilderness. |
| Mark 1:14-15 | A summary of Jesus' mission: "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel.'" |
| Mark 1:16-3:35 | Jesus has power from God (to which there is opposition, though he is always victorious). |
| ** Mark 1:16-20 | Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John. ** |
| Mark 1:21-28 | He heals a man of an unclean spirit. |
| Mark 1:29-31 | He heals Peter’s mother-in-law. |
| Mark 1:32-34 | He heals many others. |
| Mark 1:35-39 | He preaches throughout Galilee, healing many. |
| Mark 1:40-45 | He heals a leper. |
| Mark 2:1-12 | He heals a man of palsy and says specifically that he does so "that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins" (verse 10). |
| ** Mark 2:13-28 | Jesus calls Levi (Matthew) and confronts the Pharisees. ** |
| Mark 3:1-6 | Jesus heals the man with the withered hand, drawing the Pharisees’ criticism and enmity. |
| Mark 3:7-12 | Because of his healing—recognized by unclean spirits—he withdraws to a private place. |
| ** Mark 3:8-19 | He teaches and ordains the Twelve. ** |
| Mark 3:20 | The multitudes demand more miracles. |
| Mark 3:21-30 | His friends think he is mad and, urged on by scribes from Jerusalem, they try to stop him, but he rebukes them. |
| Mark 3:31-35 | His family asks him to come out of the synagogue to see them. (The context suggests that they may also wish to stop him from continuing his mission.) He refuses and denies that they are his family. |
| ** Mark 4:1-34 | The kingdom of God. ** |
| Mark 4:35-5:43 | Jesus has power from God, but his disciples do not understand that power. |
| Mark 4:35-41 | Even the elements of the earth must obey him. |
| Mark 5:1-20 | He casts evil spirits out of a possessed man and into a herd of swine. |
| Mark 5:21-43 | He heals the daughter of Jarius and a woman with a hemorrhage. |
