Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mark: Class 2

Sunday night was a stormy one in Fresno. Still, we had a group of nine for our study of Mark. Determined to make up some time this week, I got us all the way to Chapter 1, Verse 2! Well...technically I skipped some stuff about verse 1 that I want to go back to...but we had some fantastic discussion.

Mark gets busy right away in his Gospel. In the very first verse, he has declared Jesus to be both Messiah and God's son. And in the second verse, he makes a powerful suggestion. By quoting from Isaiah and Malachi, citing verses that proclaim one who will prepare the way of The LORD, Mark sets the reader up for the story of John the Baptist. But wait! John the Baptist is preparing the way for this man, Jesus...not for Yahweh! Could Mark be declaring, already in verse 2, that Jesus has equality with God?? That's a bold statement!

We spent a good deal of time discussing methods of translation and Biblical versions...important stuff. And stuff we need to get at what Mark is saying. Because already in the first two verses we have some significant differences from version to version. We touched on the powerful need for the Holy Spirit in writing, translating, and reading God's Word. I'm finding that the hour flies by as we go deep into the Gospel message.

posted by Thurman8er @ 3:33 PM 2 comments

Monday, January 11, 2010

Mark: Class 1

We had 10 people for class last night and got all the way to Mark 1:1!

We spent some time talking about our personal experiences with the Gospel. Most of us had never studied it in a church setting before. Mark is overshadowed by the other three Gospels.

Indeed, Mark has been largely disregarded by the church for its entire existence. Early on, it was thought to be nothing more than an abridgement of Matthew. The language is coarse Greek. The transitions are inelegant. In short, Mark has never thought to be much of a writer.

Until, that is, the past century. Scholars started to wonder if perhaps Mark had reasons for writing the way he did. If so, then maybe we've been missing something for a very long time.

Why are the disciples treated so shamefully by Mark? They never seem to get it. And Mark includes none of Matthew's grace notes, redeeming the disciples when they fall short. But it makes sense when we realize that Mark was, in essence, writing Peter's Gospel. In most of the stories, the eyewitness was Peter...Mark was just the recorder. And this was the same Mark who deserted Paul and Barnabas; he could relate with Peter's desertion of Christ.

So the Gospel of Mark becomes a Gospel of redemption, a Gospel of forgiveness. And when we think of our own failures and shortcomings, Mark reminds us that Jesus stands ready to receive us back and forgive us completely.

posted by Thurman8er @ 8:05 AM 2 comments

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