 
## The Mystery Of The Kindom

## (The Gospel of Mark)

by Marcel Gervais, Emeritus Archbishop of the diocese of Ottawa, Canada

Nihil Obstat: Michael T. Ryan, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Imprimatur: + John M. Sherlock, Bishop of London

London, March 31, 1980

This content of this book was first published in 1977 as part of the JOURNEY Series By Guided Study Programs in the Catholic Faith and is now being republished in Smashwords by Emmaus Publications, 99 Fifth Avenue, Suite 103, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5P5, Canada ON Smashwords

Cover: "Though he was in the form of God he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. hut emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." Phil 2:6-7

COPYRIGHT © Guided Study Programs In the Catholic Faith, a division of The Divine Word International Centre of Religious Education 1977. Reproduction in whole or in part is Prohibited.

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1 How the Gospel according to Mark was formed

Chapter 2 The mystery of the Kingdom (Mark 1:1-6:6a)

Chapter 3 - Servants Of The Kingdom

Chapter 4 Eyes that do not see (Mark 6:7 - 8:26)

Chapter 5 Ears that do not hear (8:27 10:52)

Chapter 6 - The King

Chapter 7 Judgment on the People

Chapter 8 Endings

Chapter 9 Jesus is judged

Chapter 10 End and beginning

About The Author

Bibliography

## Chapter 1 How the Gospel according to Mark was formed

When we study and pray over the Gospel 'of Mark it is very easy to come to believe that it was written right there, on the spot, by a reporter. There are many passages which are so lively, so realistic, that they seem to suppose eye-witnesses. Certainly eye-witnesses are involved in the formation of the Gospels, but there is more. The Gospels were not written during the lifetime of Jesus, but many years later. Basically we can speak of three stages in the formation of the Gospel according to Mark: Jesus, the Church, the Evangelist.

Jesus

In the years of his public life Jesus taught and did many things, so many that the whole world could not likely hold all the books that would have to be written if all were recorded (John 21:25). But Jesus was an excellent teacher. He taught his disciples well, explained things to them. Jesus knew how to write (John 8:6f), but as far as we know he left none of his teachings in writing. He depended entirely on his disciples and on the work of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). As far as we know, no one wrote down the words and deeds of Jesus during his time on earth.

Jesus left it to the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, to sort out what was to be preserved in writing. And this is what the Church did in the years after the Resurrection of Jesus. However, what the Church preserved of Christ's life in her preachings was not necessarily preserved with a view to writing. As her life progressed, the Church preserved what was essential to her knowledge of the Lord and to her life in union with him.

The Church

_Preaching_. The Church did not get right down to writing the Gospels as soon as Jesus was raised from the dead. The very first thing that the Apostles did was to preach about Jesus (eg. Acts 2:14ff). When we use the word preaching here, we are using it in a special sense: proclaiming the essentials about Jesus, the Lord, in order to bring people to believe in him. They proclaimed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the Promised One, the Messiah; that through him sins were forgiven. They proclaimed his death, his resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit to form the Church, the renewed People of God. They received into the first Christian community all who came to believe their preaching. In all this they were aware that it was Jesus, present among them, who was speaking and acting through them.

_Teaching_. Preaching alone was not enough. In order to know Jesus, present and working in their midst, there was a need, especially for those who entered the Church, to learn more about him and what he said and did. So his parables were taught, accounts of different events in his life were told. In these first years of preaching and teaching, we are dealing mostly with eye-witnesses. But as time went on and new members who had not known Jesus personally in the flesh had to preach and teach, these had to rely on the witness of those who came before them.

_Pastoral needs_. The first and second generation of preachers and teachers had to look after the pastoral needs of their communities. For example, when problems arose about marriage, they would recall what Jesus had said about it; when greed and selfishness sprang up, they would teach what Jesus had said about that subject. When non-Jews began to enter the Church, the leaders of the communities had to recall what Jesus has said and done which could help them deal with this new pastoral question. What gave value to their words was not so much the fact that these had been the very words of Jesus as the awareness they had that Jesus was now present among them, speaking in and through them.

_Liturgy_. From the very beginning the Christian communities celebrated liturgy. They met for the Breaking of Bread (the Eucharist), where they recalled the death of Jesus. They met to baptize new members, to pray for the sick and anoint them with oil. At each of these and other liturgies some event or teaching of Jesus would be used, much as we do today. At the Eucharist the last supper would be remembered, possibly an account of the passion and death of Jesus would be recited. At a baptism they would recall the baptism of Jesus, or how Jesus forgave sinners, how he healed the sick and cast out evil spirits. Many other examples could be given. All of these words and accounts served to heighten their awareness of the invisible Lord whose presence with them they celebrated at these important moments of their lives.

_Oral tradition_. In these ways the sayings and deeds of Jesus were used and remembered. The requirements of the life of the Church dictated what would be remembered. In the first years there was no real need to write down everything. It was enough that people could recount his parables and his acts by heart. It is also important to notice that there was no particular order in all the parables and actions of Jesus which were preserved in this tradition. For example, it was not especially important when and where Jesus put his arms around the little children; all that mattered was that he did do it. It was not important whether it was in Galilee or in Jerusalem that Jesus taught about marriage, as long as his teaching about marriage was accurately repeated. In this way, the truth about Jesus was preserved, but there was no real need to remember just where and when he said and did everything he said and did. What was essential to know was what he was saying and doing, then and there, in their midst.

At first it seems that almost everything about Jesus was preserved in the memory of the leaders and the communities. Many incidents and sayings of Jesus were memorized; people could recount them word for word as they had been taught them. As you would expect, as new communities were formed, and as these oral traditions about Jesus were handed on, some changes could take place in the tradition. But it is well known that people had much better memories then, than most of us have today. Still it is not surprising that one community might remember a saying of Jesus in one way and another in a different way. Exact uniformity in every detail was not important as long as the truth about Jesus was preserved.

_From Aramaic to Greek_. In the first decades after the Resurrection of Jesus the Church began to spread to Greek-speaking peoples. Most of the traditions about Jesus had been preserved in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, as long as most of the Christians spoke Aramaic. But when Greek-speaking people started to respond to the preaching and teaching of the leaders of the Church, then everything had to be translated into Greek. As you would expect, some changes naturally had to take place to make sure that the Greek-speaking people understood correctly what Jesus said and did.

_From oral to written tradition_. No one knows exactly when people began to write down the traditions about Jesus. It is very understandable that the Christian communities, as they moved further and further away from the eye-witnesses and as they found that there was a danger of too many variations in the oral tradition, started to put things into writing. Parables were written down, important events in the life of Jesus were put into writing as they had been handed on to the communities. The passion and death of Jesus was probably written down quite early, because it was so important. It is very possible that people began to make little collections of his parables, or collections of his actions, his arguments with the Pharisees, and so on. But these writings were all separate. They had not all been joined together to make a smooth continuous account. This is where the Evangelists come into the picture.

The Evangelist

Mark was one of the very first to tackle the job of gathering, selecting and organizing the oral and written traditions about Jesus. He did a marvellous job. He had, from the tradition, a general framework of history — Jesus started his public life by being baptized; he began his ministry in Galilee where he was very popular at first. As time went on opposition began to form. He made one final trip to Jerusalem when the tension was at its highest. He was enthusiastically welcomed by the crowds, but the authorities felt very threatened. They took action against him, arrested him, tried him and had him crucified. It was a general kind of framework of the public life of Jesus which Mark inherited, but this broad outline did not tell Mark exactly when and where Jesus spoke this or that parable, or for example, when and where he argued with a Pharisee about this or that. It was Mark who had to decide on a fitting time and place in his Gospel for all the sayings and events for which there was no clear setting.

Some events did have a clear setting (eg. Peter's profession of faith took place at Caesarea Philippi, Mark 8:27). Whenever the tradition gave Mark a clear indication of time and place, Mark would of course use it.

Mark the evangelist had to connect all these pieces of tradition together; he had to write connecting links. He also had to compose parts on his own, based on his personal knowledge of the faith. Mark was a compiler and an editor, but more than these, he was a true author. He served the traditions of the Church — he was not free to invent whatever he liked — but he was free to emphasize some things more than others; his own insights into the meaning of Jesus came through his work. Mark also was conscious of the special needs of the communities which would read and study his Gospel.

How did Mark organize his materials? Does his little book have a clear plan? These are difficult questions. Saints and scholars have for centuries probed Mark's work and have come up with dozens of different plans Mark might have followed. We propose one plan. It is not the only possible plan, but it is general and does not seem to force anything onto the Gospel.

The plan we propose centres on the answer to Mark's most important question, "Who is Jesus?". Mark gives us two kinds of answers, both saying the same thing — Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God. The first kind of answer is revealed by the Father and by Jesus himself. This occurs at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the Gospel.

Baptism of Jesus (1:11)---Transfiguration (9:7)-----------------Trial of Jesus (14:61f)

_"You are my Son"----------"_ This is my Son"----------------------" _I am (the Son of God_ )"

The second kind of answer to the question " _Who is Jesus_?" comes from the Church in the words of Mark himself representing his community, the words of Peter, leader of the Church and the words of the Roman soldier at the foot of the cross, representing the Gentiles. These too are found at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the Gospel.

Mark (1:1)--------------------------Peter (8:29)-----------------------Roman soldier (15:39)

" _Jesus Christ, the son of God_ "-----" _You are the Christ_ "---------" _This was the Son of God_."

Mark seems to have given his Gospel a clear beginning, a mid-point and an ending. In each there is revelation of the identity of Jesus, and in each there is the response of the Church echoing this revelation.

We will consider the Gospel of Mark in three sections:

Mark 1:1 - 6:6a. This section is set in motion by the words of Mark and the voice of the Father, both declaring Jesus of Nazareth to be the Son of God (1:1, 11). Jesus begins to announce the Kingdom of God in word and in acts of power. He begins to gather followers to establish the new People of God. His popularity is great, but opposition begins to form. The action centres on Galilee.

Mark 6:6b - 10:52. This section builds up to and flows from the confession of Peter (8:29) and the words of the Father (9:7). Jesus spends much more time with the disciples and the Twelve in particular. He begins to teach them about the necessity of his suffering, his death and resurrection. His teaching is heard but not accepted. The qualities of the renewed People of God are more clearly described. The action takes place both inside and outside Galilee; the last part of the section has Jesus approaching Jerusalem.

Mark 11:1 - 16:8. We use this section to describe the kingship of Jesus. This section of Mark builds up to the words of Jesus at his trial where he openly admits he is the Son of God, and to the words of the Roman soldier (14:61f; 15:39). The final days of Jesus are spent in or near Jerusalem. The high point of the whole Gospel comes in the simple words of the angel at the empty tomb: " _He is risen_ " (16:6).

Who was Mark? We would all very much like to know for certain, but we simply have to live with some uncertainty. The traditional answer to the question is that he was the Mark (John Mark) who accompanied Saint Paul and who was with Saint Peter for a while (Acts 12:12, 25; 13:13; 15:37ff; Col 4:10; PhIm 24; 2 Tim 4:11; 1 Pet 5:13). We have to admit, however, that Mark was a very common name and it could be that another Mark was the author. What we do know for certain is that Mark was a man of extraordinary talents, talents brought to perfection by the Holy Spirit in the service of the Church.

When was the Gospel of Mark written? We are not certain here either. it could have been written as early as 55 AD or as late as 70 AD; a date somewhere between these two is satisfactory. Whatever the exact date, we are treating the Gospel according to Mark as the oldest of our written Gospels. This is a theory which has been very commonly held for the last hundred years or so. It is only a theory, not a proven fact. It has more support than any other theory about which Gospel is the oldest, and it has proven most helpful in explaining the Gospels.

## Chapter 2 The mystery of the Kingdom (Mark 1:1 - 6:6a)

**The Beginning (1:1-20)**

Note: While Mark does not use the expression the "People of God" in his Gospel, we have chosen to use it throughout. We do this we want to make explicitly clear what is only implicit or suggested in Mark.

For several hundred years before Jesus came, the People of God had not had any great prophets: of this they were very aware. To them it was as though God had abandoned them, leaving them without any signs and prophets (Ps 74:9). They looked forward to the day when God would once again send them a true prophet (1 Macc 4:46; 14:41). Many of them believed that God would send back Elijah the prophet. Since Elijah had been taken up in the fiery chariot into heaven, it was believed that he was still alive and would one day come back to earth. (See 2 Kings 2 and Malachi 3:23.)

Many of the People also believed that when God sent them a true prophet again, it would be a sure sign that he was about to send them the Messiah, the great promised one who would bring an end to all their troubles. So when John the Baptist appeared, crowds rushed to see and hear him. They all wanted to find out whether he might be the hoped-for prophet.

John was a man who spoke like a prophet, powerfully, convincingly. His message had all the marks of prophecy: he boldly convicted the People of their sins, he called them all to repent, he threatened them with the judgment of God. He even dressed like a prophet. It seemed clear that in John the Baptist God had finally broken his centuries of silence by sending a true prophet. The Messiah must be very near.

Reading Mark 1:1-8

Mark and all the Christians he served saw in John the Baptist the beginning of the fulfilment of all the hopes of the People of God. He uses two short quotations as examples of this: " _Behold I am going to send my messenger_. . ." This is from the Book of Malachi (3:1f). The second quotation is adapted from the Book of Isaiah (40:3-9): " _A voice cries in the wilderness: prepare a way for the Lord.. ._ " John is in fact the one through whom God renewed prophecy.

John himself expected something more to happen after him. He too hoped that God would send one greater than himself, the Messiah. John's own work brought forgiveness through a simple human gesture, washing with water; but the Messiah would produce the very work of God himself, a cleansing with the Holy Spirit of God.

In John the Baptist God seemed to have begun to come close to his People again. They were looking for the Messiah to appear. Mark, however, is about to show us that what God did was much more than the People expected. In fact it was more than the greatest hopes of the prophets. Ezekiel had hoped that God himself would come to look after his People (Ezek 34:11); Isaiah had hoped that God would come to be with his People (Isa 7:14). Another prophet longed for the day when God would " _tear the heavens open and come down_ " (Isa 64:1, or 63:19). Mark is about to show us that God did all of this and more.

Reading Mark 1:9-11

Using the few words of John the Baptist as introduction, Mark presents Jesus " _from Nazareth in Galilee_ ". It is clear that Jesus is " _the Lord_ " whose way John prepared. But Jesus is a man, a man who comes from the little village of Nazareth, a real place on this earth. As though that were not startling enough, Mark underlines the fact that Jesus too went to hear John preach, that Jesus was moved to undergo the baptism of repentance along with all his fellow citizens. Even though we know that Jesus was without sin personally (Heb 4:15 - 5:10), he did not think of himself as being above his own people. He considered himself one with the People of God. All the People as a whole were in need of conversion, and Jesus, as a member of his People, did what was expected of all the others. Jesus was not ashamed to unite himself to sinners and to be taken as one of them. This attitude marked his whole public life, from the beginning here in his baptism to the end on the Cross as a convicted criminal.

_". . .he saw the heavens torn open_." The People of God thought of God as enthroned above the waters above the heavens. The heavens were thought of as a firm kind of dome holding back the waters above, and separating mankind from God. The real barrier, however, was not the firmament of heaven, but the sinfulness of humanity. It is precisely as Jesus identifies himself with sinful humanity at his baptism, that he sees " _the heavens torn open"_ ; the barrier between God and humanity is torn apart. In Jesus God is showing his love, his acceptance of humanity as it is.

It would have been easier to believe that God would first purify, take away the sins of humanity before taking the human race to himself. The unexpected, surprising act of love for the human race consists in God's loving us while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8). This is made known to us in the very first public act of Jesus, his baptism.

_". . .and the Spirit descending on him like a dove._ " The Spirit of God which anointed Moses and the elders (Num 11:16-30), the Judges (Judges 6:34), David (1 Sam 16:13), the prophets (eg. Ezek 11:5) now anoints Jesus. The new and perfect leader (the Messiah, Anointed One) which Isaiah had hoped for and upon whom the Spirit of God would come fully (Isa 11:1ff) is Jesus.

" _You are my Son, the Beloved. On you my favour rests_." Jesus is not simply the Messiah, the great man whom God would send to save his People, as he once had sent David. Jesus is the Son of God himself. In Psalm 2:7 David had been referred to as " _son_ " of God by adoption; here in Jesus we have the true Son of God. In the Book of Isaiah the prophet had promised that God would one day declare to his Chosen One, " _Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am well pleased_ " (Isa 42:1). Now at the baptism of Jesus this declaration is made: Jesus is the Son of God, the Servant of God.

It is very possible that Mark and his readers saw something deeper in the words of the Father at the baptism. " _You are my Son, the Beloved_ " suggests the words of God to Abraham, " _Take your son, the beloved, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering_ " (Gen 22:2). If this is so, then we have from the very beginning, at the baptism of Jesus, a hint of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. (The Greek word translated " _beloved_ ", agapetos, can be translated either as " _beloved_ " or " _only son_ ". The same word is used in Mark 1:11 and in the Greek of Gen 22:2.)

Jesus, after his baptism, undergoes temptation in the wilderness. (The number 40 is symbolic and means "enough time to do what is necessary".) Mark gives us no details on the nature of these trials except to say that they were an encounter with Satan, the enemy of all that is of God. Jesus is victorious in this contest with Satan.

Reading Mark 1:12-13

The whole of the public ministry of Jesus will be a fight against evil in all its forms. The message of John the Baptist emphasized the sinfulness of the People and the fact that his own work was only a preparation for the one who was to come after him. By contrast Jesus places all the emphasis on the action of God: Good News from God! The Good News from God is that now in the person of Jesus, God's Kingdom is at hand. This means that the will of God is finally about to be accomplished on earth. Since God is good, and his will is concerned only with what is for the good of the human race, then the realization of his will in this world is Good News.

Reading Mark 1:14-15

Jesus begins his work in Galilee many miles north of Jerusalem. He announces the coming of the Kingdom of God. The faith of the People had spoken of God as king, the king who is known for his kindness, his faithfulness, his mercy, his love of justice and integrity (see Pss 97, 98, 99). When the Rule of God is accepted then kindness, faithfulness, mercy, justice and integrity are lived out among people. God's Rule is only really effective, he only really rules as king, when his will is obeyed by people on earth. When people obey the will of God then the Kingdom, the Reign or Rule of God is revealed.

Jesus invites his hearers to accept the great truth that God is about to make his will prevail upon earth. We know, as Mark and his first readers knew, that it was in the person of Jesus that God's will was perfectly lived, so that we can say that the Kingdom or Rule of God breaks into our history in Jesus. We also know that the full expression of the Rule of God will come only at the end of time, when God's goodness will bring to perfection what he has made. But this great, final day has begun to make itself felt on earth in Jesus. In Jesus the Kingdom of God has come. Jesus calls people to believe that this Good News is true and that they should turn to it and live accordingly.

Mark immediately brings us to the call of the first disciples; they are the ones who first accept the Good News. In Mark these four begin to follow Jesus, even before any miracle is reported. Three of these first disciples, Peter, James and John, are the core of the group which will form the renewed People of God.

Reading Mark 1:16-20

Jesus calls and these men follow him. The action of Jesus and the immediate response of the four disciples is written in such a way as to suggest that Jesus is acting with the power and authority of God himself, as when God called Moses, the prophets or other leaders. It is clear from the way Mark has placed this call of the first disciples immediately after his statement of the preaching of Jesus (vss 14-15), that Mark intends us to understand that repenting and believing in the Good News is the same as following Jesus.

Peter, James and John will share in the most personal experiences of Jesus; they will be witnesses to his work from the beginning of his public life. Later, after the Resurrection of Jesus, they will become known as the " _pillars_ " of the Church (Gal 2:9).

New and powerful teaching (1:21-35)

The expressions " _Kingdom_ ", " _Rule_ " or " _Reign_ " of God have basically the same meaning: God's desires for the human race are being accomplished. When, at the end of time, God rules completely, all human suffering, all sickness, all disability will come to an end for those who have entered the Kingdom. In our present world suffering, sickness, death and sin all point to the incompleteness of the Rule of God. In the language of the Gospels suffering, sickness, sin and death are not the direct work of God, but the work of God's enemy, Satan and his demons.

In the days of Jesus people who suffered from epilepsy, insanity or severe emotional disorders were considered to be possessed by spirits (demons) who made the sufferer unclean, that is, unfit for the company of men and God. Such sufferers were looked upon with suspicion and barely tolerated. Today we would not use the same language, we would not call sicknesses " _possession by evil spirits_ " for fear of making the suffering of such sick people even worse. Nevertheless we should retain the idea that illness is not what God wants for the human race. When God really has his way, " _every tear will be wiped away_ " (Isa 25:8; Rev 7:17). Sickness represents not the Rule of God, but the rule of Satan, the enemy of God.

When Jesus sets out to make the Rule of God present, he does so by healing, by casting out devils who keep people bound in sickness and insanity. He overcomes the rule of Satan and makes the future Kingdom of God begin to be present on earth.

Jesus makes the Kingdom of God present by the power of his teaching. Mark tells us that his teaching had such authority, such power, that it astounded people (1:22). Jesus did not teach like the scribes, the scholars who were trained in the traditional interpretations of the Law of Moses. These scribes only repeated the opinions of their teachers, but Jesus taught with the force of personal conviction, with an authority which he had from God. The teaching of Jesus was powerful not only by the force of the way he spoke, but by the fact that when he commanded evil spirits, his word cast out the spirit and healed the suffering person. Jesus taught not only by his words, but by his actions: a simple gesture could bring healing

.

_"He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up. And the fever left her and she began to wait on them."_ Mark 1:31

Reading Mark 1:21-31

The healing of Peter's mother-in-law was probably remembered simply because Peter was very important in the early Church. The incident points out that the relatives of leaders such as Peter were not to be served as though they were nobility, but were called themselves to serve: " _she served" Jesus and the disciples_ (vs 31).

The striking newness of his teaching and his great healing power drew huge crowds to Jesus. He healed as many as came in order to make clear that the healing Rule of God was breaking into history.

Reading Mark 1:32-39

His popularity in Capernaum did not lead Jesus to make the most of it. He spent the early hours of the day in prayer and decided to leave the anxious crowds in order to make a tour of other towns which had not yet felt the power of his teaching. Mark indicates a lengthy journey took place, possibly involving months (vs 39).

The last event in this short section deals with a leper. Leprosy was and remains today one of the worst of human illnesses. (For a description of leprosy and the procedures to prove a cure, see Lev 13:9-17; 14:1-32.) Lepers were obliged to live away from towns. People were not to touch them and most people simply stayed away from them altogether. The person whose case was diagnosed as leprosy was declared to be " _unclean_ ", that is, forbidden to associate with " _clean_ " people, and especially forbidden to take part in worship at the Temple. While this regulation made good sense by preventing the spread of contagious leprosy, the result was that the plight of lepers was doubly horrible: a leper was seriously sick and abandoned by family and friends. The rabbis considered the healing of a leper to be as great a miracle as raising the dead. When Jesus heals the leper, this cure causes such a stir that Jesus ends up as restricted in his movements as the leper had been (vs 45). Nevertheless, the work of Jesus continued because people came to him.

Reading Mark 1:40-45

Jesus orders the healed leper to go to the priest to have his cure verified ac-cording to the Law. This would allow the man to be reintegrated into the social and religious life of the People. In spite of Jesus' stern command to keep silent, the man broadcasts the news everywhere. Jesus was not looking for popularity: he did not work miracles in order to draw crowds. He worked miracles in order to show clearly that God is not indifferent to human suffering, and that the Rule of God brings about what is good for the human race. The future Kingdom of God was making inroads into time in the work of Jesus.

Conflict begins (2:1-3:6)

Jesus was very popular and therefore had to be taken seriously by both the religious and civic leaders. No doubt he was being closely watched. The most important and influential people in the religious life of the People of God both in Palestine and throughout the Roman Empire were the Pharisees. The Pharisees formed a kind of movement, mostly among the lay people. They promoted devotion to God and held to certain traditions which had developed over the centuries. Their centre of activity was the synagogue, a lay organization which had spread to almost every community of the People of God .

The Pharisees were completely dedicated to doing the will of God in all things. They were very religious, very devout. To them God was most important, and everything in their daily life had to be pleasing to him. They understood the will of God as being first of all what God had revealed in the Law, and then all that flowed from the Law, according to the tradition of their great teachers. They encouraged generosity in following the Law and the traditions of their great teachers (rabbis). They did not like people who did the minimum to stay within the Law; they fostered doing the maximum.

When Jesus began to preach that the Reign (Kingdom) of God was at hand, they no doubt were interested. This meant that the time when the will of God would be fully accomplished was arriving. Since they were so dedicated to the will of God, they were anxious to have Jesus on their side. It might even have seemed that Jesus was going to be on their side; after all, he did attend the synagogue on the sabbath and took part in their services.

Beginning in 2:1 Mark gives us a series of stories which illustrate the conflict which began to form in the midst of Jesus' great popularity. The religious leaders, the Pharisees and the scribes, object to things which Jesus says and does. The first conflict revolves around the forgiveness of sins. The religious leaders held that only God himself could forgive sins. This he would do on the last day, the day of judgment. God also forgave sins, according to them, through certain sacrifices and rituals in the Temple (eg. Lev 17:1ff). The claim which Jesus makes in the following incident is very shocking to them. But Jesus backs up his claim with an act of healing which all can see.

Reading Mark 2:1-12

For the first time in Mark Jesus refers to himself as " _son of man_ ". In itself this simply means a human being, one who is born, who lives and dies (see Ezek 2:1 - 3:3;). Jesus uses it to underline his humanity. He wishes to be known as one of us. After the death and resurrection of Jesus the expression "Son of man" came to have a much deeper meaning for Christians: the "Son of man" was Jesus who died, rose again and would return in glory, always retaining his humanity.

Jesus claims that as " _Son of man_ " he has authority here on earth to forgive sins. He declares the man's sins to be forgiven by a simple word. Jesus does not deny that divine power is needed to forgive sins; what he does say is that divine authority has been placed in his human hands.

The scribes (experts in the Law) who were probably Pharisees (2:16) are shocked; they accuse Jesus of blasphemy. When Matthew reports the same incident he makes it very clear that what is at issue is not only the authority of Jesus to forgive sins here on earth, but the authority given to followers of Jesus to do the same (Matt 9:8). The teaching of this passage, which expresses itself in part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, still shocks people today who want to believe that forgiveness comes directly from God without any mere human agent.

In their anxious desire to be pure, holy and undefiled before God, the Pharisees avoided all sinners as much as possible. Tax collectors were especially to be avoided, because they cooperated with the pagan, unclean Romans by collecting the hated taxes for them. Levi, in the passage you are about to read, collects the duty-tax which was imposed on goods being transported from one town to another. A sinner was one who was publicly breaking some part of the Law of Moses or some of the customs which Pharisees expected of pious people. In the next short reading, Mark goes on to narrate in the briefest possible way one of the habits of Jesus which the Pharisees found most disturbing.

Reading Mark 2:13-17

As at the moment of his baptism, so during his ministry Jesus shows no hatred of sinners, but identifies with them. Because he had such an attitude towards those whom the Pharisees considered to be the rejects of God, it is not surprising that sinners enjoyed the company of Jesus; they felt comfortable with him. The meals with tax collectors and sinners were not quick lunches, eaten in prayerful silence, full of sentiments of sorrow for sins. Mark uses a Greek word which means _"recline at table_ " (vs 15), a leisurely meal. Having a festive meal with someone was an expression of the closest kind of intimacy. To the Pharisees, having such a meal with sinners was shocking.

The Greek of vs 15 is a little difficult to translate, but it seems that the idea is that there were many tax collectors and sinners among those who followed Jesus. " _To follow Jesus_ " is to be a disciple. Mark seems to be underlining the fact that just as during the lifetime of Jesus sinners followed him, so also in the time of the Church, there will be sinners among those who follow Jesus. For those who know themselves to be sinners, the presence of Jesus at table with them causes humble, but joyful wonder, and gives strength for continued efforts at conversion. Those who consider themselves sinless think that Jesus is the one who should be grateful for their company. The virtuous cannot stand the thought that Jesus should be present in anything but a perfect community; only in that kind of community could the virtuous feel at home. It is always difficult to believe that God truly loves sinners. It is much easier to believe that God loves only good, virtuous people.

Mark now moves from the scene of Jesus dining with sinners to a discussion on fasting. There was only one obligatory day of fasting according to the Law (Lev 16), but many Pharisees fasted twice a week, a hundred times more than required by the Law. The Pharisees encouraged doing much more than the Law required; they saw this as a show of generosity. If one day of fast was pleasing to God, surely a hundred days would be a hundred times more pleasing. Jesus sees through this false reasoning. He does not promote an exaggerated practice which makes God appear to be bad news.

Reading Mark 2:18-22

Jesus came announcing Good News. Such a message cannot be delivered in mournful customs of fasting. The Good News announced, he also lived out in a way of life that was closer to a wedding feast than to anything else. Jesus does not condemn fasting altogether, but he indicates that the time of his ministry on earth is a time of rejoicing in which there is no room for sadness.

In the last verses of the passage (vss 21f) Jesus makes a very strong statement on the great differences in religious life and practices which his corning will introduce into the People of God. Jesus brings newness which affects the whole life of the People; his coming, his ministry is not a new patch on old clothing; it is not new wine in old skins. Jesus is not bringing in a new way of life which is to be fitted into the old practices of the Pharisees. A new way of life means new customs. The Pharisees would certainly not miss the message in these words: their customs, their way of life was coming to an end in the ministry of Jesus.

The sabbath day had become the subject of all kinds of rules and customs. The Pharisees wanted to do everything in their power to assure themselves that they were doing the will of God perfectly. God had ordered rest on the sabbath. The practical question, according to the Pharisees, was, "what is rest?" and "what is work?". They had developed a long list of things which were forbidden on the sabbath. One of these things was harvesting grain. But the Pharisees were not interested in a cheap, minimal observance of the will of God. If harvesting was forbidden, then so was rubbing grains of wheat in one's hand and blowing away the chaff.

Reading Mark 2:23-28

To the Pharisees God is the only centre of their lives; his will is everything to them. In fact God is so important that pleasing him comes before everything else. God had commanded rest, so rest and rest alone is important on the sabbath. Jesus also claims that the will of God (his Reign) is all important to him; but for Jesus there is absolutely no possible way in which the will of God can compete with the needs of people. Jesus reminds the Pharisees that God himself gave the People the sabbath not in order to be obeyed and revered, but for the good of human beings. The sabbath was given for man's sake; man was not created for the sake of the sabbath. For the Pharisees making God all-important meant considering people as secondary; for Jesus making God all-important meant dedication to doing good for people, because God himself is dedicated to doing good for people.

As God had given it (see Deut 5:12-15) the sabbath day was to be a day celebrating human freedom. It was intended to be a day where all — from slaves to masters — would enjoy the rest which declared that people are important in themselves and not only for the work they can do. It was clear that God who commanded the sabbath, commanded it not for his sake, but for his people's sake. Instead of being a day celebrating life and freedom, the sabbath had become at the hand of the Pharisees a day of slavery demeaning life. Saying that this type of oppressive, rule-filled day was willed by God only made matters worse, because it made of God one who was against life, against freedom, against what is good for people. In fact it made God into an unreasonable and thoroughly self-centered "god" who wants nothing but attention for himself and cares nothing about people. To the Pharisees, healing was work, therefore forbidden on the sabbath.

Reading Mark 3:1-6

Defiantly, angrily, Jesus heals the withered hand. His act proclaims the goodness of God, God's love for people, God's will to heal, to free. If such is God, how fitting that a person should be healed, freed, given " _life_ " on the sabbath, the day which was meant to reflect the will of the saving God.

At this point the Pharisees understand just how much distance there is between themselves and Jesus. They realize that there is no way in which Jesus can be won over to their side. If Jesus cannot be an ally, he should be done away with as soon as possible. Jesus was not only contradicting the teachings and customs of the Pharisees, but also by the power of his teaching and healings he was thoroughly discrediting them. He was a serious threat to the Pharisees. He also was a serious threat to the king, Herod Antipas, who ruled over Galilee. Politics and religion cannot be separated; the Pharisees seek out supporters of Herod to work together to rid themselves of Jesus.

Renewing the People of God (3:7-35)

The popularity of Jesus continues to grow. In the next short section Mark shows us enormous crowds coming from all over. There are so many people and they are so intent on coming close to Jesus that there is a danger that Jesus will be crushed. The spirits attempt to frustrate the work of Jesus by revealing the truth about him at the wrong time.

Reading Mark 3:7-12

Mark presents the unclean spirits as having a superior knowledge of the truth: Jesus is Son of God. On this occasion as on previous ones (1:24-25, 34), Jesus silences them, because it is not right that the truth about Jesus should be publicly proclaimed before he has finished the whole of his work. It is only after he has done the Father's will to his death on the cross that his divine sonship can be announced (15:39). The unclean spirits want the title " _Son of God_ " to be connected, not with the cross, but with the miracles and the great popularity of Jesus.

Jesus decides not to take advantage of his popularity to gain control of the people. He resists the temptation to become a popular revivalist, stirring up the enthusiasm of the crowds and then passing on to other crowds. Jesus accepts the much more difficult but necessary task of renewing the People of God as a people, not as a mass of individuals. There are crowds following him, and among the crowds there are some disciples. Now Jesus introduces a structure into the group of disciples, a structure which is symbolically all-important.

Reading Mark 3:13-19

If Jesus had intended simply to renew the individual members of the People of God, much as a roving preacher, or a John the Baptist, then he would not have had to pay attention to the structures of authority. Jesus, however, clearly intends to renew the People of God as a community, as a people, and so organization is essential.

The choosing of the twelve apostles is made solemn by the fact that Jesus withdrew into the mountain away from the crowds, and then called to him those destined to be the founders of the renewed Israel. the new twelve patriarchs. As God had called Moses and all Israel's tribes up to the mountain, so Jesus, the Son of God, calls the founders of the renewed People to himself on a mountain. (The Greek, often translated "hill", actually means "mountain". No particular mountain is intended. It is only significant as a symbol suggesting God's calling Israel to the mountain. See Exod 19:3.)

The most singular honour of the Twelve is that they are " _to be with him_ ", that is, they are to be specially close to him, his intimate companions. Their work is, like Jesus' work, to serve the Kingdom of God by preaching the Good News and fighting against the forces of evil, by casting out demons.

The first name on the list is Simon "to _whom he gave the name Peter_ ". To change a person's name is to have a particular authority over that person. Jesus' action underlines the special authority which Jesus will have over Peter (the Rock), the leader of the Twelve. When God changes a person's name, it is to give that person a special duty, a special role in his work. While Mark does not elaborate on the role of Peter or the meaning of his new name, it is clear that the tradition which Mark is using saw a particular significance in it. Matthew will make this tradition much clearer (Matt 16:13ff).

James and John together receive one name, " _Sons of Thunder_ ". This seems to indicate for them a special status among the Twelve along with Peter. These three witness the Transfiguration (9:2-8) and the agony in the garden (14:3242). Peter, James and John are also allowed to be present when Jesus raises the official's daughter to life (5:37).

It is most interesting to note one feature of this group of twelve men. They represent the broadest spectrum of opinion among the People of God. We have Matthew who was a tax collector, an " _unclean_ " person who cooperated with the Romans in extorting money from the people (Matt 9:9). In the same group is Simon the Zealot, representing the passionate Roman-haters of the day who believed in ousting the Romans by violence. We can presume that the other ten represented various positions in between. When we are told that the Twelve argued among themselves about who was the greatest (eg. Mark 9:33ff), we can assume that some of their arguments were fierce, and very political. Mark also points out the presence of the traitor, Judas Iscariot.

We have seen the large crowds, the disciples and the election of the Twelve. Now Mark moves to a more delicate area, the relatives of Jesus from Nazareth. Mark points out that the crowds were such, and Jesus was so busy, that he was neglecting to look after himself. Since it was the responsibility of the relatives to look after one of their own who was not providing for himself, the relatives decide to take on their duty towards Jesus.

Reading Mark 3:20-21

The self-neglect of Jesus leads people to believe that he is out of his mind. Motivated by concern for Jesus, the relatives set out to see for themselves and to take action if such is necessary. The rumors which were going around suggested that Jesus was crazy; this was only a small step away from suggesting that he was possessed by an evil spirit. A group of scholars from Jerusalem make exactly this accusation.

Reading Mark 3:22-30

The scribes try to discredit Jesus by accusing him of being possessed by a devil. It is not clear just what Beelzebul stands for, but it is clearly a prince among the devils. Jesus points out by a few short parables that it is not possible that he is devil-possessed. Only persons who are blind to all the good which Jesus has been doing, only people of not interested in the obvious truth could attribute his work to the power of the devil. The unforgiveable sin is the sin of attributing the obviously good work of Jesus to the devil. Mark, with a little irony, has already told us that even the devils know better (3:11).

Mark told us earlier that the relatives of Jesus were concerned about his health, both physical and mental. Now he shows us that they have arrived from Nazareth and are wanting to see him. The passage forcefully illustrates the suffering of the mother of Jesus.

Reading Mark 3:31-35

Note: We will comment on the " _brothers and sisters_ " of Jesus when we deal with Mark 6:1-The Gospel of Luke describes Mary as the model of faith seeking understanding (see Luke 2:33-52). The purpose of this passage in Mark, however, is not to underscore the reaction of the relatives of Jesus; this is done more clearly in Mark 6:1-6. In this passage Mark sums up what is the one necessary characteristic for belonging to the renewed People of God. The new Israel will form a family, members will be as brothers and sisters and mothers to each other; they will not be a blood family (as Israel had become), but a family formed by those who sit "in a circle around" Jesus and do the will of God. Belonging to the blood family of Jesus has no advantage; belonging to the same blood nation as Jesus gives no edge on all those who are not of his family, nor of his nation. The new People of God will become a new family made up of all — from any nation — who make Jesus the centre of their lives and who do the will of God as Jesus revealed it.

The mystery of the Kingdom (4:1.41)

In the first three chapters Mark has shown us how people reacted to the teaching of Jesus. Some, such as the first four disciples, responded generously and followed him wholeheartedly (1:16-20); others sought him out for healings. Crowds came to him in large numbers; whether the crowds came out of a desire to hear the Good News and were ready to repent and believe, or whether they came out of curiosity is not made clear. There were also groups who began to oppose Jesus, going so far as to actually consider doing away with him (3:6). In a word, there were many different responses to the work of Jesus, from very positive to very negative, and probably from every shade in between. These different responses posed a problem: if Jesus is making the Rule of God present, and God is all-powerful, why does the work of Jesus meet with some failure? Mark gives us a series of parables which consider this question.

Reading Mark 4:1-9

Note: In Palestine at the time of Jesus farmers scattered the seed on the ground first and then ploughed or rather turned the earth over the seeds.

Jesus is speaking to the crowds and his message to them is quite clear: his work is effective only to the extent that people are disposed to receive it. Jesus is not a dictator forcing his message upon the crowds; he does not brainwash his listeners. He is extremely respectful of human freedom. The work of Jesus, like the seed of the farmer, is good and it will grow and bear fruit if people are disposed to receive it. Jesus is telling the crowds that the different responses he is getting may seem to indicate that his work lacks the power of the mighty God, but in fact this is one of the aspects of the growth of the Kingdom which should be expected.

There is, however, something deeper in this parable. At the time of Jesus many people expected that the Kingdom of God would come suddenly and transform everything in a flash. This imperfect, flawed world would cease to be and a new perfect world would take its place. Jesus clearly does not go along with this idea; his realism must have been upsetting to many. For many people it was easier to open themselves up to a message which said this present world was bad and should be completely replaced by a perfect world. Such people could love the perfect world to come, but could not love this present imperfect world.

Jesus came to proclaim God's love for this world, a world in which good and evil are mixed, a world in which people respond both well and badly to Jesus, and the Rule of God he came to announce. Jesus is not discouraged by the poor response he is receiving; the generous response of some makes everything worthwhile. The Rule or Kingdom does not appear in a sudden flash totally changing everything at once; it begins to show itself in the generous response of a few people, who, like good soil, produce an abundant harvest.

The passage we have been considering (4:1-9) is a parable. A parable goes from something ordinary and well-known (a farmer sowing a field), to something that is not well-known (the mixed reaction to the Kingdom is normal). In his parables Jesus uses an everyday experience and finds in it something which suggests the Kingdom of God. To make the jump from an ordinary, well-known event to an insight into the Kingdom of God requires an open mind. An open mind, a receptive heart, makes a person ready to learn from Jesus. If a person is not ready to learn from Jesus, the parables become riddles, or just some simple story with no deeper sense. The Twelve apostles and the disciples, those who are close to Jesus, are willing to learn from him. " _Those outside_ " are the ones who are closed to learning from Jesus. To them the parables are only stupid puzzles.

Reading Mark 4:10-12

The ways of God are not little mathematical problems which can be solved in the mind; they require a willingness to be close to Jesus on his terms. A disciple is one who is ready to learn from Jesus and to live by his teaching. The " _mystery_ " of the Kingdom is given to the disciples; they will be able to probe deeper and deeper into it. " _Those outside_ " are not willing to be with Jesus and to learn from him; for these the parables remain closed because they are closed to Jesus. If they were ready to become disciples, they would be converted and the parables would be a light to their eyes. Mark expresses the words of Jesus in the most forceful way: _"to those on the outside everything comes in parables, so that they may see and see again, but not perceive_. .." Mark is underlining the truth of the parable of the sower: the work of Jesus is receiving very different responses, some accept him, some reject him. This situation is what was foreseen by God; it is what should be expected.

The disciples, in the next passage, are given a deeper insight into the parable of the sower, the kind of insight which comes from discipleship. The parable is interpreted in a new way, as an allegory. In an allegory each of the various items or actions stands for something else.

Reading Mark 4:13-20

The parable is given an allegorical interpretation which considers not so much the situation at the time of Jesus, but the situation of the disciples in the Church after the Resurrection of Jesus. The disciples are being taught that the way his teaching received a mixed response during his lifetime will be repeated again within the Church. The disciples should know that not all those who say they accept the Gospel (seed = Word) will persevere. Many will fall away, but the whole work of sowing the seed (ministry of the Word) is to be done regardless of the failures; the generous response of some will make all the work worthwhile.

The parable of the sower (4:1-9) taught that failure was to be expected along with success in the work of Jesus. The allegory on the parable (4:13-20) taught that the same would be true in the Church's work. Failure is difficult to accept when one is doing God's work. There is always a serious temptation to avoid whatever might fail. There is a serious temptation for the disciples to give the Gospel only to each other, to form a "club of the enlightened" where failure will be much less. In the next parable Jesus warns against the formation of a "secret society" of disciples. The disciples must proclaim as publicly to the crowds as Jesus did.

Reading Mark 4:21-23

If the disciples are given deeper insight, it is insight to be shared with the whole world, and not to be kept to themselves. The disciples are to be as free with the Gospel as the farmer was with the seed.

The next little parable pushes the point further. Still speaking to the Twelve and the other disciples, Jesus reminds them that sharing freely what they have received is necessary if they are to preserve it at all.

Reading Mark 4:24-25

The next two parables seem to be addressed to the crowds and the disciples together. The Kingdom of God is a mystery being revealed by Jesus. Not only is the Kingdom itself a mystery, but the way in which it grows is also a mystery.

Reading Mark 4:26-29

The disciples will be as ignorant of the mysterious ways in which the work of Jesus grows as the farmer is ignorant of the process of growth of the seed he sowed. There is a power in the work of Jesus which does not depend on the clear understanding of the disciples; it grows as much on its own as the seed which the farmer sows in the ground. When the disciples themselves begin to do the work of Jesus, they will realize that their work's progress will be as mysterious as that of Jesus. What matters is that they sow the seed and bring in the harvest when it is ready.

The next parable is meant to give the disciples confidence in the fact that while the work of Jesus, and later their own work, begins in insignificance it will end gloriously.

Reading Mark 4:30-32

The growth is assured. The disciples need not worry about growth. They are to be concerned with sowing the mustard seed.

All the parables of chapter four show us Jesus accepting the mixed reaction of the people of his day as normal. On the face of it, his teachings in this chapter seem to show weakness; his work meets with limited success. The work of the disciples in the Church will also meet with mixed responses, limited success. How the work of Jesus grows is mysterious; that it will grow is sure. If God is all-powerful and Jesus is God's Son, why does he not bring in the Reign of God instantly and completely? Can God bring in his reign so feebly, so incompletely, little by little? The thought must have occurred to people that this kind of ministry must be the work of a mere human being, not the work of divine power.

Mark has placed the next incident here to answer these unspoken questions. Jesus is presented as thoroughly human — asleep — and yet what he does cannot in any way be explained as the work of a mere man.

Reading Mark 4:35-41

The disciples speak to Jesus rudely, " _Master, don't you care?._ . ," using a title which indicates that they see him only as a human teacher. They wake him up, expecting him to do at least his part to save the boat. What happens is not the work of a mere fellow passenger, but the work of divine power.

To be able to calm a storm is an act of God (Ps 107:23-32). Jesus as Son of God is awakened much as the psalmist prays to have God " _wake up_ " in Ps 44:23f, " _Awake, 0 Lord, why do you sleep?_ ". As Son of Man Jesus sleeps the sleep of those who trust in God completely (Prov 3:23f; Ps 4:8).

This incident brings the section to a fitting close. Opposition has arisen concerning Jesus and his work; Jesus had explained in parables how this must be so. He also has taught the disciples that they will experience the same failures, the same types of opposition. When they do the work of Jesus, they will often feel that he is " _asleep_ ", but asleep or awake, his presence is sure and his presence will prevent the wreck that seems inevitable. No storm can ruin the work of Jesus.

"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."

Mark 4:37-38

Faith and the power of Jesus (5:1.6:6a)

Chapter five shows us Mark at his vivid best in describing events. The three acts of power are given with details which create a mood of excitement and awe. In his work of making the Father known, Jesus uses miracles to establish clearly that coming in contact with Jesus is not harmful to people. The power of God in Jesus brings an insane man to sanity, a sick woman to health, a child at the point of death to life. Had we been present without the faith which sees the power of God in Jesus, we would have seen what the unbelievers saw — a wild and noisy exorcism causing a herd of pigs to stampede over a cliff, a silly woman elbowing her way to touch Jesus, a useless effort to help a dead girl. The owners of the pigs, considering their economic loss, only sense fear (5:15) and want to be rid of Jesus (vs 17). The curious but unbelieving crowd at the home of the girl only laugh at Jesus (vs 40).

Reading Mark 5:1-43

The insane, possessed man is cured by the power of Jesus alone. He was not able to have any faith. The sick woman is saved by her own faith (vs 34). The girl is saved by the faith of her parents (vs 36). While Jesus can heal without the faith of the sick person, if faith is possible it becomes the normal way of receiving the healing power of Jesus.

In 6:1-6 Jesus goes to his home town. The people who have known him since childhood only see him as a man, an amazing man, but only a man. Because they can point to his mother and his close relatives, they believe they know and understand Jesus. Because they lack faith, Jesus is not able to perform many acts of power among them.

Reading Mark 6:1-6a

Jesus, like Joseph (Matt 13:55), was a carpenter. The Greek word which we translate as _"carpenter_ " means a worker skilled in making things such as yokes, plows, beds, coffins, houses. Jesus lived by this trade for many years before his public ministry.

The reference to the brothers and sisters of Jesus has posed problems for a long time. The information in the four Gospels is not completely clear. It is not possible here to go into lengthy details. The Church in which the Gospels came to be is also responsible for interpreting them. From as far back as can be traced, the Church has resolved the problem of the brothers and

"My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life." Mark 5:23

sisters of Jesus in favour of the position that Jesus was the one and only child of Mary. In Aramaic, as in Hebrew, the words " _brother_ " and " _sister_ " were regularly used to refer to cousins and close relatives. This is a well-known fact. It is this use of " _brothers_ " and " _sisters_ " which is intended by the Evangelists.

It could be added that if Jesus was brought up in the typical working-class home, he would have lived in one or two rooms along with as many relatives as could be fitted in. Members of the extended family, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, habitually shared the same rooms. Under these conditions it is even more understandable that children raised under the same roof as Jesus would be called his brothers and sisters.

We are not told of another visit to Nazareth in Mark's Gospel. It appears that his relatives did not give up on him completely, because at the foot of the cross we find a Mary the mother of James and Joset (compare 6:3) who seems to be a relative (15:40-47).

The people of Nazareth only knew Jesus as a man, one who had lived and worked among them for years. They could not see in him anything more. They lacked faith in him and Jesus could not work many miracles there. After this visit to Nazareth Mark shows us Jesus turning his attention to other towns and villages where he teaches. Then we see him sending his chosen Twelve to help him in his work of teaching. This is where the next chapter will begin.

## Chapter 3 - Servants Of The Kingdom

Introduction

In Chapter 1b we saw Jesus preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God. We heard him teach in parables about the mysterious ways of the Kingdom. We read of his many works of power and healing. We noticed how he attracted large crowds, among them the religious and political leaders who found him more and more offensive and objectionable. His association with known sinners was largely responsible for the conflict. We also noted that from the very first Jesus called people to be with him, to assist him. Among those who chose to follow him, Jesus selected twelve in particular to be his companions and to share his work. Jesus was renewing the People of God and making it clear that the People of God would no longer be a matter of blood relations within an ethnic group. The rejection by his own relatives in Nazareth made this clear. That is where we left off.

As this section (6:7 - 10:52) begins, we see Jesus instructing his chosen Twelve and sending them off to preach and heal. If anyone ever had the right to be a rugged individualist needing help from no one, it was Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus made no such claim; instead he accepted his human limitations and relied on helpers. Jesus was no perfectionist either; while he took the time to prepare his Twelve, he did not wait until they knew and understood everything before inviting them into his work. Throughout this chapter you will see the disciples, and the Twelve in particular, misunderstanding Jesus; Jesus reproaches them, but never rejects them. And they stay with him in spite of the confusion which his teaching causes in them. They are quite typical of us all.

Note: You will remember from chapter1a that there are three general stages in the development of the Gospel of Mark (Jesus, the Church, the Evangelist). In chapter2a we will be giving more attention to the work of Mark as a true author. We will be pointing out how he has arranged the materials he has inherited and the emphasis which he gives to his work. This, of course, is not the most important aspect of the chapter, but it is helpful to try to notice the artistry of Mark. It is all part of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

## Chapter 4 Eyes that do not see (Mark 6:7 - 8:26)

The central image around which Mark develops this section is " _bread_ " (6:8, 37-44, 52; 7:2, 5, 27; 8:4-6, 16-19). The Greek word artos literally means "bread", but can be translated "food". In English it is sometimes not necessary to translate it at all, for we can say "eating" without having to say "eating food". Bread was the basic food at the time of Jesus. It was easy therefore for bread to mean food in general, and even to stand for everything that is needed to sustain life.

Bread for the people (6:7.52)

When Jesus instructs the Twelve to take no bread for their missionary journey, he is telling them to have no independent source of livelihood; he is telling them to depend entirely on those who receive them in their travels. The Twelve are to depend on the people they serve, and to accept the level of life of their hosts.

Reading Mark 6:7-13

It is sometimes difficult for us to think of Jesus as an organizer, but here he is shown giving the Twelve six different routes and sets of towns to visit. While this is not as complex as the plan needed to organize 36 different itineraries (Luke 10:1ff), it still is enough to show the practical side of Jesus, the trained woodworker. There is an urgency in what Jesus says to the Twelve; he seems very aware of all that needs to be done. He urges them to "streamline" both themselves and the style of their work: they are not to burden themselves with possessions, they are not to waste time on unreceptive people. The point is not to convert everyone, but to offer the opportunity of conversion to as many as possible. Mark points out that the Twelve anointed the sick with oil, a practice which we can presume they learned from Jesus, though we are not ever told that he used oil. The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is based on this practice (see James 5:140.

While the Twelve are away on their mission, Mark turns our attention to other matters. He tells us that even Herod, the Tetrach (prince) of Galilee had heard of Jesus. There were many opinions being expressed on the identity of Jesus, none of them accurate, all of them complimentary. Herod's guilty conscience made him believe that Jesus was John the Baptist come back to haunt him. He might not have meant this literally, but he at least meant that in Jesus he had another troublemaker like John.

Reading Mark 6:14-16

Mark then gives us the story of how Herod had John the Baptist beheaded during one of his banquets. The violent death of John the Baptist is an indication of the kind of end which Jesus can reasonably expect.

Reading Mark 6:17-29

Mark brings us back to the apostles in the next passage (6:30ff). They return to Jesus and share with him all that they had said and done. Jesus notices that they are tired and hungry and invites them to go to a quiet place to rest. The way Mark writes the words of Jesus suggests that Jesus has been resting and that " _Now it is your turn to come away by yourselves and rest awhile_ "(6:31). Rest, as much as it was needed, just was not possible.

Reading Mark 6:30-34

Seeing the crowds Jesus responds as a good shepherd. The people are hungry for his teaching and he teaches them " _at length_ ". It is noteworthy that there is no mention of miracles here, only teaching. Jesus first feeds the crowds with his word.

More tired and more hungry than ever, the disciples suggest that the crowds be dismissed to go and find something to eat for themselves, but Jesus does not agree with them. They had to share Jesus with the crowds, now Jesus asks them to share their food with them. This sharing, however, is not done simply or carelessly; it involves an almost incredible organization of five thousand people into groups of hundreds and fifties neatly sitting like flower plots on the green grass (an image implied by the Greek words).

"Then he said to them, 'You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while'; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat."

Mark 6:31

Reading Mark 6:35-46

The scene is very peaceful, disciplined but joyful. The Greek which Mark uses suggests happy groups of table-mates enjoying a good meal. Jesus begins the meal in the way typical of his culture, taking bread (and fish), saying a prayer of blessing to God, and distributing the food. Mark carefully avoids telling us how the five loaves and two fish fed this multitude; he only tells us that they were all satisfied and there were twelve baskets full of food left over. When the long process was finished, Jesus dismissed the disciples then stayed behind to dismiss the crowds himself. He is left alone to find a quiet place in the hills to pray. Usually when Mark reports a miracle he tells us of the amazement of the people who witnessed it or heard about it (eg. 5:20,42). In this case, however, he does not report any astonishment on the part of the crowds or the disciples. By this omission Mark seems to be saying that they did not see the event as especially amazing.

The next scene shows us the disciples straining at the oars against a headwind. Jesus is aware of this, but waits until early morning to go out towards them on the water. Unlike the incident of the storm (4:35ff), the lives of the disciples are not at stake; they are simply having difficulty getting to their destination.

Reading Mark 6:47-52

With the power and ease of God himself Jesus walks on the waves (Psalm 77:19; Job 9:8). The disciples are frightened; they take him to be a ghost. They were not amazed at the feeding of the five thousand, but they are beside themselves with astonishment at seeing him walk on the water. The feeding of the multitude, preceded as it was with lengthy preaching, and carried out through a complex organization, just did not strike them as amazing; they did not see it as a work of divine power. No wonder that they were startled to see him walk on the water.

Mark seems to be telling us, his readers, that the apostles and disciples who were with Jesus before his death and resurrection had no advantage on us who come after them. In fact, before the death and resurrection, the disciples were at a disadvantage. They could not understand many things that happened right before their eyes, " _their hearts were hardened_ "(6:52).

Mark and the communities which preserved the account of the feeding of the multitude could see much more in it because they knew that Jesus was truly the Son of God risen from the dead. It was easy enough for them to see in the feeding of the multitude that Jesus was the Lord, the Shepherd, who brought his flock to green pastures and fed them abundantly (Ps 23). The disciples should have recognized that, but they didn't.

The event should have reminded the disciples of Moses through whose prayers God fed his people on manna in the wilderness; they could have seen one greater than Moses here in Jesus (Exod 16). Mark and his community certainly saw this. They might also have seen in this an act which showed Jesus to be greater than the prophet Elisha who fed many on a small supply of food (2 Kings 4:42-44).

The communities which used this incident in their ministry could not help seeing in this event a preparation for the Last Supper and their weekly Eucharist. They used the same words for describing the actions of Jesus, " _he took the bread, said the blessing, broke (the bread) and gave it to them"_

(Mark 14:22). For generations of Christians bread and fish were a symbol of the Eucharist. It could even be that the way in which Mark has described this miracle, with lengthy teaching preceding the feeding, reflected the order of the Eucharist as it was celebrated in his day, the Liturgy of the Word followed by the Liturgy of the Eucharist, just as we celebrate the Eucharist today.

There was even more in this event which the disciples who were present could not possibly see, but which later Christians could. The disciples (apostles) are told, " _Give them something to eat yourselves"_ (6:37). Jesus had just engaged the apostles in sharing his ministry of teaching (6:7-13); he was now inviting them to tend to all the other needs of the people, including the material needs. This, in fact, is what the first communities did under the direction of the apostles (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35). All the trouble and organization involved in tending to all the needs of the People of God (Acts 6:1-7) made it no less a work, indeed a miracle, of the Lord. The first Christian communities did not see themselves as spiritual communities concerned only with preaching and teaching, but with all that is necessary for life as a " _people_ ", concerned for all that is symbolized by " _bread_ ".

Mark then gives us a short summary of many healings (no exorcisms) around Gennesaret on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (6:53-56). This is the last reference to many cures in Mark's Gospel. The few works of power which he will report in the rest of the Gospel all have a symbolic or teaching purpose.

Bread for all (7:1-8:10)

In many national or ethnic groups foods and customs surrounding eating are ways of maintaining a sense of who they are as distinct from other groups. A certain African tribe, for example, might identify itself as the tribe that does not eat leopard, another might identify itself as the tribe that does not eat lion. The People of God had their own list of forbidden (unclean) and permitted (clean) foods (Lev 11). During and after the Exile when it became most important for the People to develop and maintain a strong sense of who they were and of how different from other peoples they were meant to be, the rules about food became more important. These food rules made eating with Gentiles difficult, discouraging the intimate social contact which sharing a common meal makes possible.

Experience had shown, however, that the list of clean and unclean foods did not guarantee the separation between the People and the Gentiles. As long as Gentiles served the right foods, one could eat with them; and besides, the Gentiles did not have many, if any, forbidden foods, so they could always eat with the Jews. If the separation between the Jews and the Gentiles were to be made more certain, new regulations had to be developed around eating. And they were developed. Traditions evolved over the centuries about how dishes, pots and pans should be washed before food could be taken. Ceremonies of washing and sprinkling oneself and the food bought in the market also developed. These were human traditions, not found in the Law of God. These traditions made eating with Gentiles practically impossible. The Pharisees preserved and strongly urged these human traditions almost as though they were the will of God himself.

There were many Jews who did not observe these strict customs. They too would be excluded from eating with those who, like the Pharisees, scrupulously practiced them. Jesus and his disciples did not follow these customs. This made it possible for Jesus and his disciples to eat with the "lax" Jews.

In the following passage Jesus points out how hypocritical the Pharisees were; they strictly observed their human traditions, and yet turned a blind eye to the way these traditions could go directly against the Law of God.

Reading Mark 7:1-13

The Law of God clearly stated that aging parents had a right to financial support from their sons: _"Honour your father and your mother_ " (Exod 20:12). The human traditions supported by the Pharisees made it possible for a man who disliked his parents to say that his money was dedicated to God (Corban), and this meant that his parents no longer could claim any of it for their use, whereas the man himself could still use the money. Jesus uses this as one example of how human traditions can become " _idols_ " which people serve as though they were more important than the will of God. The human traditions about how to eat have the same effect.

In the next passage Jesus addresses himself to a more touchy subject, not the human traditions, but the rules in the Law of God about clean and unclean foods. He re-interprets the Law, making all foods clean.

Reading Mark 7:14-23

It is very doubtful that the disciples actually understood this message when Jesus gave it. They failed to understand many things before the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is not surprising that this question of clean and unclean foods was not settled for some time after the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 10:1 - 11:8).

Mark and the community which preserved this teaching of Jesus knew very well what Jesus meant. With divine authority Jesus declared that the rules governing clean and unclean foods which were in the Law of God (Lev 11) had come to an end. (Later, in Mark 10:1-12, Jesus would do the same with the rules in the Law concerning divorce and remarriage.) These rules were temporary, needed as long as the People needed to keep separate from the Gentiles. But now the time had come when the People of God were to be open to all the Gentiles and therefore, the time had come to put an end to these rules which maintained separation.

Mark makes this clear in the next passage. Through a witty dialogue with a Gentile woman, in Gentile territory, Jesus makes the point that food (bread) is to be shared with her. The " _food_ " in this case stands for the healing power of Jesus.

Reading Mark 7:24-30

The " _children"_ represent the Jews who, according to the rule Jesus generally followed, were to be the first to receive the benefit of his services. The " _house-dogs_ " represent the Gentiles who are to be served after the Jews. The woman's clever and humourous response leads Jesus to bend the rule; he " _feeds_ " the Gentile woman by healing her daughter.

The general rule which Jesus followed in his lifetime was not so rigid that it did not allow for exceptions. In this and the next passages Mark emphasizes the exceptions — Jesus did minister to Gentiles during his lifetime. Mark could be reminding his own communities that the pattern of bringing the Good News to the Jews first and after they have heard it, bringing it to the Gentiles, should not be followed strictly. Jesus did come for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews.

Mark begins the next episode with a complicated itinerary which has Jesus go north from Tyre to Sidon, deeper into Gentile territory, then through Galilee to the south and then east into the Decapolis region which was also largely a Gentile area. The route is meant only to emphasize Jesus' contact with Gentiles. In this region Mark places the healing of a deaf man, another Gentile.

Reading Mark 7:31-37

In spite of Jesus' efforts to keep the cure quiet, the healed man and those who heard about it spread the story everywhere among the Gentiles. According to Mark, Jesus now has two persons who were healed in the Decapolis area, the man freed of a legion of devils (5:1-20) and this man healed of deafness. The first man was sent out to preach what the Lord had done for him (5:19f); this second man spreads the news about Jesus in spite of the order to keep silent. Whether he wills it, or does not will it, Jesus is being made known among the Gentiles.

As a result of all this publicity a large crowd gathers again (8:1). To make it clear that this second feeding of a multitude occurs in the Decapolis Mark introduces it with the words _"In those days_ ", or " _At that time_ ". The wording of this second multiplication of loaves and fish is very similar to the first (6:35-44). The meaning is much the same, except that this time a Gentile crowd, or at least a crowd in a Gentile region is involved. The message is that what Jesus did for his own people, he also intends to share with the Gentiles.

Reading Mark 8:1-10

At the end of this passage Mark has Jesus travel again. No one knows just where Dalmanutha is, but it is safe to presume that it is back in Jewish territory because the very next scene presents us with the Pharisees.

Blindness (8:11.26)

The Pharisees have come in for much criticism from Jesus. In the next passage (8:11-13) they are shown as people out to take revenge. They want to show that Jesus is a fake, a charlatan with no more power and authority than any of the other exorcists and miracle workers of their day. (For a reference to Pharisees who worked wonders, see Matt 12:27.) The Pharisees presume that any person who has divine authority ought to be able to produce such marvelous spectacles of power that every witness to these wonders would be obliged to accept that these marvels come from God himself. They want a sign that requires no faith, no trust.

Reading Mark 8:11-13

Jesus refuses any such sign. He has done enough to make it reasonable to trust him; he will do no more. People cannot be forced to accept him, they must do so freely with the element of risk which is involved.

In the next passage (8:14-21) Mark underlines the general theme of this section, " _eyes that do not see_ ". The Pharisees in their proud desire to have conclusive proof are blind. Herod too is blind. And even the disciples, committed as they are to Jesus, have very poor eyesight. In a very skillful piece of writing Mark shows us Jesus thinking on one level, the disciples on another. Jesus is concerned about the real danger to the lives of the disciples; the disciples are worried about the danger of going hungry for lack of bread. Jesus comes close to total exasperation with his disciples.

Note: With one exception (Matt 13:33; Luke 13:20f) leaven is used in the New Testament as a symbol of something which progressively corrupts whatever is mixed with it.

Reading Mark 8:14-21

The Pharisees, with their desire to reduce religion to a set of rules and to reduce faith to the acceptance of the obvious, are a real threat to the disciples. Herod, with his presumption that power gives him the right to execute a true prophet, is also a genuine threat. Jesus warns against blind religious and political power. The disciples, however, think that Jesus has mentioned yeast because they are short of bread. Food is the last thing the disciples should be thinking about; but even after the multiplication of loaves and fish they cannot help worrying about what to eat (Matt 6:25ff). Their eyes saw but their minds did not perceive that in Jesus there is one greater than Moses, one who will provide for all their needs from the least (food) to the greatest (faith).

Mark placed the next episode at this point in his Gospel not simply to report another miracle but to comment on the blindness of the disciples. There is hope that bit by bit they will begin to see.

Reading Mark 8:22-26

This healing is the bridge to the next section. Mark is telling us that while the disciples are now blind, in a little while they will begin to see when Peter makes his confession of faith (8:27ff). But even Peter's act of faith is imperfect: just as the blind man first saw " _people like trees walking_ ", Peter sees who Jesus is, but not clearly. The day will come, however, when the disciples after the death and resurrection of Jesus will see clearly and distinctly, as the blind man came to see.

## Chapter 5 Ears that do not hear (8:27 10:52)

In the previous section the disciples saw Jesus do great deeds (feeding the multitudes and walking on the water); they should have understood from these acts that Jesus was working with the power of God. But they failed to understand this lesson on his divine power. In the next section (8:27 - 10:52) Mark shows us that the disciples are beginning to see — they recognize him as the Christ. Jesus takes this growth in faith (sight) as evidence that they need an even more difficult lesson — the lesson on his humanity: the Christ is the Son of Man who must suffer and die. The disciples find this even more difficult to accept than the lesson on his power.

The deafness of the disciples to this truth about Jesus is typical of Christians generally. Mark is very profoundly aware that most disciples (including ourselves) want Jesus to be a sure way to a painless, happy life on earth. In presenting us with the deafness of the disciples, Mark is showing us ourselves in our constant temptation to refuse the cross of our leader.

The Christ and his disciples (8:27.9:29)

Mark has brought together a series of incidents which bring us to the heart of the question, "Who is Jesus?". Mark already reported some of the rumours about Jesus (6:14-16). The disciples have also heard these rumours and they repeat them. Jesus, however, challenges them to speak for themselves. Peter speaks for them, and his words are true. Jesus accepts their act of faith.

Reading Mark 8:27-30

Mark notes that Jesus did not want this truth to be spread about (vs 30). It is not proper that people should hold that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, before Jesus has suffered, died and risen. To call Jesus the Christ was to see in him the one whom God had promised through the prophets of old; the one whom the People hoped God would send to free them from all their troubles, the great successor to David who had freed the People from all their enemies (2 Sam 7:1-17; Isa 9:5f; 11:1-9; Pss 2; 72; 110). In the minds of many of the People this Christ of God (Anointed One of God) would usher in the final and complete Kingdom of God: the end of pain and suffering.

Jesus immediately begins to build on their act of faith; he begins to teach them that in God's plan the Messiah, the Son of Man, must suffer, die and rise again. They are shocked to hear this.

Reading Mark 8:31-33

Peter rebukes Jesus for speaking of such terrible things. When Jesus is said to look round at his disciples (vs 33) and then rebuke Peter, it is clear that Peter is speaking for all the disciples and that in rebuking Peter, Jesus is rebuking the disciples. Jesus uses the harshest words possible, " _Get behind me, Satan_ ". Peter and the disciples in their refusal to accept that the Christ must suffer and die are thinking in the common way of humans — terrified of pain, wanting to avoid it at all cost, as though suffering and death were always evil and could never be willed by God. Jesus has said that the Son of Man " _must suffer_ " (vs 31) which means that it is inevitable, unavoidable that he must suffer if he is to accomplish what God wants of him. The ways of God are not the ways of man (Isa 55:8f).

In rejecting the suffering of the Messiah, however, there is another refusal, a more personal one: if the Messiah must suffer, then it would appear that his followers might also have to suffer. This unspoken objection is revealed and spoken to in the following section. Notice that Mark has these words addressed to " _the people and the disciples_ ", that is, to all and any who want to remain disciples.

Reading Mark 8:34 - 9:1

_"If anyone wants to follow me_ ": in these words Jesus underlines the freedom with which a person chooses to be a disciple. Three conditions for discipleship are listed by Jesus: 1) " _let him deny himself_ " refers to renouncing one's own self as the centre of one's life. The expression could suggest, "Let him lose sight of himself". 2) " _take up his cross_ " clearly suggests the cross of Jesus to all Christian readers. Crucifixion, however, was a well-known Roman form of execution. These words are saying that the disciple must be willing to go the whole way with Jesus even if the final cost is death, death even as a condemned criminal at the hands of the Romans. 3) The third condition, " _follow me_ ", speaks of a relationship to Jesus himself. The disciple is one who learns from Jesus, as a student follows his master, listening, questioning, learning, obeying.

" _Whoever wants to save his life_." " _To save_ " means to preserve from harm, to rescue from danger, pain, suffering. The word life literally refers to the soul, but has the sense of "self", or even "person". The meaning of the phrase is that anyone whose goal in life is to keep himself from pain, out of danger, safe from harm, such a person will in fact lose his life.

" _Will lose it_." The person who sets himself at the centre of his life, seeking security, pleasure and a pain-free life, will destroy his life. In the eyes of Jesus human life is precious, made to endure into eternity, there to be glorified. A truly human life on earth is one of selflessness, but selflessness for a cause worthy of the dignity of human life.

" _Anyone who loses his life for my sake and the sake of the good news, will preserve his life._ " Selflessness can be misdirected to causes which are not worthy of human dignity. The only cause worthy of human dignity is the cause which is in keeping with Jesus and the Gospel. The whole world in all its greatness, all its beauty, is not a sufficient price for a human person. Only the Kingdom of God itself is a worthy goal, a satisfactory price for a person.

The true goal of human life is to be taken into the glory of the Father when the Son returns at the end of time (vs 38). All who had the Gospel announced to them, who understood it rightly, but were ashamed of the lowly life of carrying the cross, will not be accepted when the end comes.

The last verse in this group of sayings (9:1) may have been understood at one time to mean that the Kingdom of God would come in the lifetime of the first disciples. There were Christians who held firmly that the end of the world would come very soon, or had already come (see 2 Thess 2:1ff). It would be very possible to understand 9:1 in this sense. Mark, however, has placed this verse just before the Transfiguration of Jesus, and we believe that in doing so he is suggesting that the three disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration were witnesses to the final triumph of Jesus, his coming in glory.

While Mark's account of the Transfiguration does point to the future glory of Jesus, it also links Jesus to the past and then brings us to the present.

Reading Mark 9:2-8

The dazzling brightness of Jesus transfigured suggests the glory of the resurrection and of the final return of Jesus in the future. After hearing of the terrible death which Jesus told them he would undergo, the favoured three apostles are given a vision of the end that lies beyond the suffering. While this is an experience of the future, the Transfiguration also links Jesus with the past through the presence of Moses and Elijah.

Moses, who once had met the Lord God on Mount Sinai (eg. Exod 24:15ff), and who had so longed to see the Lord's glory (Exod 33:18ff), now sees the glory of the Lord in Jesus, the Son of God. Elijah who had also met the Lord on the mountain (1 Kgs 19:11ff), but had only sensed his presence in a mysterious gentle breeze, now talks openly with Jesus, the Son of God. Moses represents the Law and Elijah, the prophets; they stand for the whole Old Testament and witness to its fulfilment in Jesus.

"When they rejoined the disciples they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes arguing with them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him." Mark 9:14-15

Mark then brings us into the present with Peter's remark (vs 5), the cloud and the voice of the Father. Peter wants this great vision to be made permanent; typical of disciples he wants the glory of the end without the suffering that comes before. The cloud, symbol of God's presence (Exod 19:9), shrouds the scene in mystery and also hides the brightness of Jesus. Covered in shadow, unable to see anything, the three disciples hear the clear declaration of the Father: " _This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him_."The disciples are told that even now, in the veiled present, Jesus is God's Son. They are commanded to obey him: " _Listen to him_ ". These words require a further comment.

Moses is usually linked to the Law, but it should be remembered that he was also considered the greatest of the prophets (Num 12:6-8). There was a hope that one day God would raise up another prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15-19). When God does raise up this great prophet, the People are commanded to " _Listen to him_ " (Deut 18:18f). Jesus is this great prophet who speaks the very words of God and is to be obeyed. The history of prophets, however, is a history of suffering and persecution at the hands of their own people. The presence of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration suggests the suffering which was in store for Jesus as the prophet of God.

On their way down the mountain they are told not to share this vision until Jesus is raised from the dead. The disciples are puzzled about resurrection from the dead. Jesus does not explain " _resurrection_ "; he underlines the suffering and death it presumes.

Reading Mark 9:9-13

Jesus refers to the general pattern of persecution of prophets in the Old Testament. John the Baptist, who is " _Elijah_ " returned, suffered death as expected. The implication for Jesus, the prophet, is clear.

When Jesus and the three disciples reach the bottom of the mountain they are confronted with earthy reality. The other disciples have failed to cast out an unclean spirit from a boy who is also deaf and mute. Mark treats this event in the same symbolic, or teaching way in which he handled the healing of the blind man in two stages (8:22-26). Deafness and blindness are not usually considered to be caused by unclean spirits, but here Mark underlines the connection between the deaf-muteness and an evil spirit. The boy's condition becomes symbolic of the deafness of the disciples.

Reading Mark 9:14-29

When Jesus first taught his disciples about his suffering and death, they refused to " _hear_ " it, and Jesus said that this refusal to "hear" about his suffering and death was the work of Satan (8:33). Just as the disciples themselves are not able to cast out the evil spirit of deafness from the boy, they are incapable of purging themselves of their own Satanic refusal to hear of the suffering and death of Jesus. But Jesus is capable of casting out the unclean spirit of deafness from the boy, and he is also able to cast out the evil-spirited deafness of the disciples. The day will come when the disciples will both accept and openly proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus. Much prayer will have to take place before this happens (9:29).

The Christ and the renewed People (9:30 - 10:31)

Mark has gathered here several incidents which describe various aspects of the life of the renewed People of God: the community of disciples, the role of leaders, the attitude of the community to good people outside of it, the great importance of every disciple, even the least significant, the status of marriage, children and the rich. The section concludes with a beautiful description of the People as a large family. Mark, sticking to his overall theme, begins this section with another teaching on the passion and death of Jesus. Once again, the disciples do not understand; in the very next verse they are arguing among themselves about which of them is the most important. They are still a long way from renouncing themselves, let alone taking up their cross (8:34).

Reading Mark 9:30-37

In each of the three main passages where Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection, Mark gives us a little introduction which makes it very clear that these were not simple statements, or blunt declarations by Jesus. In each in-stance (8:31; 9:30-31; 10:32) Mark tells us that Jesus gave instructions to his disciples on the subject. He spoke at some length and very clearly about the suffering that was coming. In spite of all his teaching, the disciples do not understand and are afraid to probe the matter further (9:32). They are more concerned about their personal ambitions, " _who is the greatest?"._ Mark gives no details about the arguments, but we can well imagine that the Zealot revolutionary (3:18), full of nationalistic zeal against the Romans, would be on the opposite side from Levi (2:13) the collaborator with the Roman tax system. The arguments would be fierce.

Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them about leadership within the renewed People of God. The People had gone through many different types of leadership and organization over the centuries: the patriarchal system of ex-tended families under Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the association of tribes under Moses and later Joshua and Samuel; the monarchy, starting with David and ending with the Exile; the liturgical organization after the Exile under the leadership of priests and scholars (scribes) without their own prince or king. And now, in the time of Jesus, the effective leadership was in the hands of the Pharisees and their scholars, the scribes who were experts in the Law and in the traditions which extended the Law to every aspect of life.

Through all these changes, few leaders could be held up as ideal. Some had been great, most had been fair to very bad. Of all the leaders Moses had been their greatest — his finest quality, humility: " _Moses was the most humble of men, the humblest man on earth_ " (Num 12:3). If the People of God are to be renewed its leadership must recapture and build on this model. Too often had the People been badgered, beaten, oppressed by proud, ambitious, selfish little men pretending to be great. " _If anyone would be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all"_ (9:35). These words Jesus explicitly addresses to the Twelve, the new leaders for the People. Their leadership is lowly service.

The child whom Jesus sets in front of them is very young, under seven years old, according to the Greek word used. Children were considered a blessing in families, but they were the least in the community because they were completely dependent on others, could not look after themselves; the most they could do was run little errands when they approached six or seven years old. The Twelve are to set their eyes on little children as the model of the attitude of leaders. Jesus presses the point further by saying that in the renewed People of God he will identify himself with the least little baby, the least important (9:37). Leaders would love to think that whoever welcomes them, the great, important Twelve, welcomes Jesus who sent them; but Jesus brings them down to ground level, " _Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me and. .. the one who sent me"(_ vs 37).

Mark now turns our attention to another community problem — the problem of exclusiveness. The Pharisees were obsessed with making sure it was clear who belonged and who did not belong to God's People. The Christian community too could develop the same attitude. It is easy to treat Jesus as private property and to consider all those " _outside"_ the community as having no right to use his teaching or do any of his works. Jesus teaches his Twelve that they are not to act as though they had an exclusive franchise, a copyright on him.

Reading Mark 9:38-40

The Twelve are not to look at those outside the community as enemies or as competitors. Jesus encourages the broadest possible attitude, " _Anyone who is not against us is for us"._

This might lead one to think that it is not very important whether one belongs to the community of disciples or not. If such a positive attitude is to be encouraged towards good people outside the company of Jesus, then it would seem that being a disciple is not all that significant. Mark places the next saying here to make clear that " _belonging to Christ_ " in the renewed People of God is of the greatest importance.

Reading Mark 9:41

Even the least good deed in favour of a disciple done by anyone, member or non-member of the community of Jesus, will be amply rewarded. Belonging to Jesus is of supreme importance.

Pushing the matter still further, Mark adds the next section where in words that are powerfully severe and full of intensity Jesus warns against treating the least members of the community as though they were unimportant (9:42¬50). The People of God renewed by Jesus is not to be a neat club of strong, intelligent, well-instructed disciples — a society of the " _perfect_ ". The People under the leadership of Jesus is to have room for the "little ones who have faith". The expression " _little ones_ " is not defined, but it can be safely assumed that it refers not only to children but to adults who are weak in any way. There is to be room for the intellectually weak, the mentally handicapped, the emotionally fragile, the unproductive, the casualties of society, the poor. Because of their disadvantages these " _little ones_ " very easily look up to the strong, the well-informed, the " _great_ " ones, their leaders. It is even easier for the " _great ones_ " to take these little ones lightly, or to ignore them completely. Jesus is well aware of just how easily these little ones can be led astray, or by simply feeling ignored, can drift away from the community. Any leader who by bad example or neglect causes one of the weak members of the community to sin or leave the community is fit only for the fires of hell.

Reading Mark 9:42-50

So Jesus has a vision of the People which is not a tidy community of the best of men, but a rather raggedy group bound by faith in him. The member with little faith and understanding will stand alongside the one of strong, well-informed faith, and the more important of the two is the little one. (For a concrete example of how the strong are to give way to the weak, see 1 Cor 8:1-13.)

The generous and loving attitude towards sinners, towards the weak, could lead people to think that everything within the People of God will now be easier, more liberal, less demanding. After all, didn't he get rid of the difficult and demanding rules about eating and foods (Mark 7:1-23)? Didn't he show himself lax in observing the sabbath rest (eg. 2:23ff)? It would seem logical that Jesus would loosen everything else. But no.

Reading Mark 10:1-12

Jesus interprets the law on divorce (Deut 24:1) as having been given only for a time because the People were not ready for anything more perfect. He says that God's intention from the beginning was that marriage should create a permanent bond. Strictly speaking Jesus does not forbid separation of husband and wife, but he clearly rules out remarriage after divorce, calling it adultery. The ideal of marriage is not simple co-existence for life, but a becoming one, united in every way.

From marriage Mark moves logically to the place of children within the People. The behaviour of the disciples makes Jesus angry, indignant, and he declares that little children are in fact more fit for the Kingdom than adults.

Reading Mark 10:13-16

Here the little children in their helplessness, in their dependence on their parents, in their lack of " _greatness_ ", are models for adults. Without these qualities adults cannot enter the Kingdom. The children simply allow Jesus to embrace them, satisfied to touch and be touched by him. They are not competing for the top position in the Kingdom (see 9:34; 10:35ff). Mark underlines how much and how humanly Jesus loved little children by twice noting that " _he put his arms round them_ "(9:36; 10:16). In addition he points out that Jesus laid his hands on them and blessed them, gestures of total acceptance. This incident, placed here in the context of statements on the People of God renewed by Jesus, indicates that babies and little children rightfully belong as full members of the People. It clearly supports the practice of infant baptism.

In this section describing characteristics of the People of God, Mark has presented the problem of " _who is greatest_?" (9:34ff) and has given us the words of Jesus about the first making themselves last. Now Mark gives us another aspect of this problem of " _who is the greatest_?", the rich or the poor. Mark's account of the next episode is strikingly simple and yet subtly rich. Mark does not prejudice us against the man; quite the opposite, he shows him to be a fine man, one whom Jesus loved. Note that the man does not brag about his obedience to the commandments; he is aware that something is still missing in his life and it is this which he seeks from Jesus.

Reading Mark 10:17-22

Mark writes in such a way as to suppress the disdain of the rich which is all too common among those who fail to amass a fortune of their own. When we read the last line (vs 22) we cannot despise this man, we feel his sadness instead. We sense that something tragic has happened, a good man has let greatness slip by. He was searching for eternal life, but could not reach for the gift when he found it, because his hands were handcuffed to the goods of this life.

He might have been freed had he recognized the Son of God in Jesus. This man who obeyed the commandments because they were from God, did not realize that the words of Jesus, " _Go, sell everything._ . ." had equal weight. He saw Jesus as an exceptional man (" _Good master_ "), but still only a man. Rabbis and teachers at the time of Jesus would not have accepted to be called " _good_ " in the absolute sense. Jesus, very much aware of his human limitations, and aware that the man sees him only as a man, refuses to be called " _good_ ".

The eternal life for which this man was seeking could have been found by becoming a disciple, becoming a member of the renewed People. Jesus had already said that anyone who wants to follow him must renounce himself, lose his life, take up his cross (8:34-38). Those whose hearts are set on securing this earthly life for themselves, will lose eternal life. The beautiful and terrible truth involved is that people are precious to the point that only an eternity of full life with God can be exchanged for them; all the treasures in this world are too cheap a price for even one person (8:36). But the rich man could not untie himself from the goods of this world in order to have treasures in heaven. Sadly, but clearly, this life was more important to him than eternal life.

We might think that this was a peculiar case, that for this individual selling all he owned was necessary, but for many, perhaps most rich people wealth is not a serious barrier to following Jesus. The words of Jesus in the next passage speak to these thoughts. Jesus speaks clearly, but gently, out of a kind of pained amazement.

Reading Mark 10:23-27

The rich man who refused the invitation of Jesus, we are told, is by no means a unique case. In fact, as a general rule those who have many possessions cannot rise above the things of this life. It is about as possible for the rich to really follow Jesus (enter the Kingdom) as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Only a miracle of God's power can bring the rich to follow Jesus; when it happens it proves that God is omnipotent.

The disciples are taken aback by these words. They believe what most people believe: the rich have every advantage to attain eternal life, they have the leisure to study the Law and all the scriptures, they can afford to offer sacrifices, take part in all the pilgrim festivals in Jerusalem. They can afford to give alms and take time out to pray several times a day, and at length if they wish. The poor are at a disadvantage in all these things. They either cannot read to study the Law, or have no energy to do it; they find themselves in situations which cause them to ignore the holy traditions and often find themselves sinning against the Law of God. It was also commonly held that wealth was a blessing from God, a sign of God's favour; poverty, if it was a sign of anything, was God's disfavour. According to these thought patterns, if there is no hope for the rich, there is even less for the poor. The logical question therefore is, " _Who can be saved?"_ (vs 26).

Jesus does not hate the good things of the earth. He does not see them as evil. He realizes that people need food, shelter, clothing. He knows too that a truly human life requires more than that — it requires a purpose worthy of the dignity of human life, and it requires human relationships in a community. Jesus, as God made man, and the Good News he proclaims is that worthy purpose, and the People of God is that community of family relationships which is needed. The things of this world which all people need are also to be provided within this renewed People of God. The relationship to Jesus, to one another and to the goods of this earth are interconnected.

To recreate the People of God, a true self-gift to Jesus is needed and this re-quires that his followers loosen their hold on everything else in this life, including their very selves. If necessary it demands letting go of human relationships whenever they compete against following Jesus. It also is necessary to relax the tight grip of greed so that sharing of the good things of earth can take place.

If Jesus asks the rich to sell all, give to the poor and follow him, it is no more than what he asks of anyone else. The purpose of selling all is not simply to create one more poor person to join the group of poor disciples. The purpose of leaving all behind is the creation of the renewed People of God dedicated to the Lord, loving one another and sharing all so that poverty is eliminated among them.

Reading Mark 10:28-30

Jesus has every confidence that when people give themselves to him and to the Gospel, when they accept to form the renewed People of God, relating to each other as mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, they will find a hundred times more in this life and will also inherit eternal life. When his disciples sell their private holdings and begin to care for the earthly needs of all members, they will discover that they will have the goods of this earth in abundance. It is a real people, on this very real earth, with very visible human goodness, that Jesus wants created; not a spiritual, intellectual club of idealists selfishly clinging to all their private goods, goods which separate them from one another, and do away with the need to depend on Jesus and on other members of the community.

This kind of thoroughly human, thoroughly earthy People, meeting human needs on this earth, is the kind which will inherit eternal life as well. The effect of following Jesus in the community of disciples is a People visibly better than what could be achieved outside. The renewed People of God are promised a life which displays the Good News. And that is why the disciples who have left everything and followed Jesus can fully expect to be persecuted. No one would feel threatened by a miserable community in which human relationships were stunted, in which greed and poverty lived side by side, where the gentle forgiveness and concern for the little ones was suppressed and pompous leaders strutted about. But a community of Good News, humanly enriching, enjoying the goods of this earth, that kind of community will inevitably unleash the cruelty of envy.

This section closes with a little phrase which sums up a main theme, " _Many who are first will be last, and the last first"_ (10:31). The way of the Gospel upsets many of the values of this world: the first, the leaders, should make themselves last and servants of all (9:35); the least important in the community should be prized as most important (9:42ff); childhood is a better model of discipleship than adulthood (10:13ff); those who give up all they have are greater than those who are wealthy (10:21, 28).

The Christ and the Twelve (10:32-52)

Mark has shown us that Jesus has been travelling (9:30; 10:17); now he makes it clear for the first time that this journey is taking him to Jerusalem. Mark notes that the Twelve and the disciples are following in amazed fear. The disciples seem to have understood that terrible things might happen in Jerusalem. Jesus confirms their worst fears: he takes the Twelve aside and once again he teaches them about what is to take place in Jerusalem.

Reading Mark 10:32-34

The Twelve hear and understand the words, but they do not grasp the reality of what Jesus has taught them. The first time that Jesus taught them about his passion, death and resurrection, Peter, in the name of the others protested (8:32); the second time Jesus taught them about his suffering, they did not understand and were afraid to find out more (9:32). Mark showed us how little they understood by pointing out that they started to argue about who was greatest among them right after this second teaching on the death and resurrection (9:33ff). Now after the third teaching on his suffering, they

" _Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him. . .and put him to death; and after three days he will rise again."_

Mark 10:33-34

understand what he said, but the truth seems to have washed over their minds, or, what is more likely, they try to change the subject to something more attractive.

James and John, two of the favoured trio (5:37; 9:2; 14:33), seem to ask for a position of honour higher than that of Peter, the third member of their little group.

Reading Mark 10:35-40

James and John profess the same faith as Peter (8:30). They understand that Jesus is the Christ, the one who fulfills the promises made to David (2 Sam 7), the Messiah who will usher in the final and complete Rule of God. Their faith, however, is not perfect at all; they still imagine that this glorious Kingdom will be like an earthly kingdom in which the top positions can be bargained for ahead of time. As he did when Peter made his act of faith (8:31ff), Jesus once again turns their attention from glory to the reality of suffering and death. The " _cup_ " is an image of the suffering and death of Jesus (14:23; 14:36). The word " _baptism_ " literally means immersion; it can also mean drowning or going under in water. Jesus uses these expressions of the ordeal he is to undergo in Jerusalem, an ordeal in which James and John are called to share, along with the rest of the Twelve, in their own time. The only greatness, the only position of high honour which James and John can expect is a share in the passion of Jesus. They claim they are willing to drink this cup, just as Peter does at the Last Supper (14:30f); but even their sharing in his death does not give them a claim to the positions of highest honour (10:40).

Mark then tells us that this request by James and John gave rise to more wrangling among the Twelve — the new leaders of the People of God (10:41). Jesus sees that these men have the very weaknesses which can make them as tyrannical, as oppressive and high-handed in their leadership as the pagan Romans are in theirs. In strong, clear terms Jesus teaches that the People of God are not to be ruled by puffed-up, power-drunk people who like to throw their weight around.

Reading Mark 10:41-45

Jesus presents himself as the model of leadership; he is the only valid example for the Twelve to follow. His service is lowly, the service of a slave (vs 44). Jesus came to serve by giving up his life in order to give birth to a free people, not an oppressed people. " _To ransom_ " means to set free, to liberate from oppression. One form of oppression from which Jesus wishes to liberate people is the tyrannical rule of despotic leaders. If the leaders of the renewed People of God remain bloated with self-importance and rule as the pagan Romans, they will undo the very thing which Jesus came to do. Jesus did not lay down his life in order to create another oppressed people, but a ransomed people, a free people. This will only happen when leaders serve and do not seek to be served (vs 45).

The Twelve " _see_ " well enough to say that Jesus is the Christ, even though they find it difficult to accept the teaching on the cross. In a very short while they will be confronted with the brutal reality of the capture, the trial, and death of Jesus. At that moment what little faith they had will give way to blindness; even Peter will deny him, and the others will all run away. Mark concludes this section with another miracle which he uses as a kind of prophecy on the behaviour of the Twelve in the next few days. Mark places here the account of a man who once saw, but who has lost his sight and begs to have it back.

Reading Mark 10:46-52

Once healed the man sees clearly and becomes a true disciple, following Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and the passion. This miracle is a poetic kind of prophecy of the future of the Twelve in particular. They did have enough " _sight_ " to profess faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of David, but they were blind to the fact that he must suffer and die. At the hour of his capture, his passion and death, total blindness will come over them and they will be left like this blind beggar, praying out of imperfect faith for true sight. This miracle is assurance that they will regain their sight by the power of the risen Lord, and when they do they will follow him " _to Jerusalem_ ", they will drink the cup and undergo the baptism by which Jesus himself was baptized.

Conclusion

The section we have just finished (6:7 - 10:52) was woven around many themes. We have chosen to emphasize only a few of them. The uniting theme has been the blindness and deafness of the disciples. There is no doubt that there is genuine history in this. We should, however, keep in mind that events were not preserved in the tradition of the Church and the work of the Evangelists simply because they happened. Events were preserved mainly because they were significant in the life of the Church. In the experience of the Church " _blindness and deafness_ " to the real meaning of Jesus, the Christ, was and continues to be a problem, both for leaders and for disciples generally. Christians generally want a pain-free, cross-free way of discipleship, but this only means that we are much like the first group who were with Jesus.

Mark has underlined that there is hope for the blind and the deaf disciples by weaving four healings in this section: a deaf man hears (7:31ff), a blind man sees (8:22ff), a deaf and dumb spirit is cast out (9:14ff), a blind man regains the sight he had lost (10:46ff). There is hope. Jesus never gave up on them. He practices what he preached — loving care for the little ones. There is hope for any and all of us with poor sight and hearing.

This last scene (10:46ff) has brought us to Jericho, some twenty miles from Jerusalem. Chapter 3 will begin with the next scene set in the outskirts of Jerusalem. The last days are about to begin.

## Chapter 6 Jesus Is King

**Introduction**

A king normally had two functions, to assure the safety of his country and to oversee justice. This meant that kings were in charge of the military and of the courts of justice. Of all the kings which the People of God had had the most admired was David. He fought to overcome all their enemies and he administered justice properly (2 Sam 5-8;). At the time of Jesus many of the People hoped for another " _David_ " who would overthrow the oppressive Roman rule and establish peace with justice in the land. These were to be sadly disappointed if they hoped that Jesus would be this kind of kingly saviour.

Jesus accepted to be called " _son of David_ " (Mark 10:46ff), even though this was an imperfect act of faith in him. He also accepted to be called " _king_ " (Mark 15:2), even though this, like " _son of David_ ", could easily be misunderstood. Jesus was much more than " _son of David_ ", and he was by no means the usual kind of king. He waged no wars, had no army, fomented no violent revolution. A king who serves and lays down his life for his people is not an ordinary kind of king.

Jesus, however, is truly king: he embodies the absolute kingship of God, able to command total obedience and loyalty from those who follow him. He also embodies the justice and judgment of God the King (see Pss 93, 96, 97, 98).

## Chapter 7 Judgment on the People (Mark 11:1.12:44)

In the last chapter we had followed Jesus to Jericho where he had been greeted as " _son of David_ " (Mark 10:46ff). As this chapter begins Jesus and his disciples are approaching Jerusalem. Jesus clearly intends his entry into Jerusalem to be a special event; and so it is. One claiming to be an ordinary king would at least have planned to ride a decent mule (eg. 1 Kings 1:38); one claiming to be a political liberator of his nation would have been ac-companied by a serious band of armed followers. Instead we have a joyful happy mob singing and cheering a man riding a colt.

Reading Mark 11:1-11

The prophet Zechariah had once written of just such an event:

"Rejoice mightily, 0 daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, 0 daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king comes to you;

triumphant and victorious is he,

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zech 9:9).

Jesus accepts this strange "royal reception"; he allows the people to express their hope that he represents " _the coming of the kingdom of our father David_ " (vs 10). His entry into Jerusalem is in fact a claim on the title and the hope expressed in the promises made to David (2 Sam 7). Unlike what many people expected, however, Jesus does not enter with the formal pomp and ceremony of official welcomes. He enters humbly, on a lowly animal, as one who is very close to the common people. And the common people welcome him in their own way, whole-heartedly, with a spontaneous display of fervent disorganization (see 2 Kings 9:12f). Jesus seems to like this; he does not reject it.

" _And he entered Jerusalem and the Temple and he looked all around_ " (vs 11). This is not the act of a casual tourist, nor a simple inspection of the Temple. When Jesus " _looks_ " at his followers (3:16), or at the rich man (10:21), or here when he _"looks_ " at the Temple, he is claiming what he sees as his own.

The Temple was the most sacred of places for the People. It was the place of meeting with God, in community worship and private prayer. It was also the most important economic centre for the nation; it functioned very much as a bank where deposits of money or precious goods were given security (see 2 Macc 3:1-23). Loans and transfers of funds could also be arranged through the Temple authorities. Politically the Temple was strategic because it was the symbol of national identity; whoever controlled the Temple controlled the nation.

The Temple was largely made up of open courtyards around the central building which housed the Holy of Holies.

The Court of the Gentiles allowed for the presence of the Gentiles in the Temple area, but it also made it clear that they could not really participate in the worship: signs were hung telling Gentiles that they would incur the death penalty if they crossed over into the inner courts. The presence of Gentiles was tolerated at best. The area set aside for them was, in the time of Jesus, "desecrated" by the presence of a market for the sale of animals for the liturgy of the Temple. It seems that a high priest had opened this market to compete with the four approved markets for sacrificial offerings on the Mount of Olives.

All adult males were required to pay a yearly Temple tax; but this tax could not be paid in Greek or Roman coins, because they were Gentile coins. Only old Palestinian coins, or coins from Tyre which closely resembled the Palestinian coins, could be used to pay the tax. Since most people used Greek or Roman coins in daily trade, they had to get these coins exchanged for the approved coins in order to pay the Temple tax. There was, of course, at least a small charge for this service. These money changers had their tables set up in the Court of the Gentiles as well. This practice, along with the market in the Court of the Gentiles, clearly expressed a very negative attitude towards the Gentiles.

Mark intends us to understand the scene of Jesus in the Temple in the light of the incident of the fig tree which he has used as an introduction and conclusion to the occupation and cleansing of the Temple. This should be kept in mind as you read the next passage.

Reading Mark 11:12-25

Jesus is indignant at what he sees as a rejection of the Gentiles — the market and the money changers. He disrupts their activity and occupies the Temple area (most probably the Court of the Gentiles) and does not allow it to be used as a short cut through Jerusalem (vss 15-16).

Having taken possession of the Temple, Jesus begins to teach and the first point of his teaching is that the house of God was meant to be the instrument through which all people (Gentiles) would come to know God and would learn to pray to him (vs 17). He quotes Isaiah 56:7, a passage which saw the purpose of the People of God to be the eventual inclusion of all nations in the worship of the true God. This purpose of the Temple was being prevented by those in charge of the Temple in Jesus' day, the chief priest, the scribes and elders.

The second point in the teaching of Jesus on the Temple is the same as that of the prophets Micah and Jeremiah before him: " _You have turned (my house) into a hideout for thieves_ " (see Micah 3:9-12; Jer 7:1ff; 26:1ff). Jesus criticizes the way in which people who lived unjustly used the Temple for worship as though worship could exempt them from the judgment of God. Since the Temple functioned as the national treasury, people who made themselves rich justly or unjustly could place their money in the Temple for safekeeping. The Temple was used in the way thieves use their hideout as a place of security both for themselves and their stolen goods.

The fig tree incident which frames the scene in the Temple is used as a symbolic act, a kind of action-parable such as prophets performed (eg. Isa 20:1-6; Jer 13:1-11). Jesus uses the fig tree to demonstrate the judgment of God on the Temple and on the leaders of his People. The Temple was as flourishing as the leafy fig tree; it had never been more beautiful, never more used than at the time of Jesus. God, in the person of his Son, was now seeking the fruit of the Temple. (The fig tree was used as a symbol for Israel, see eg. Jer 8:13; Hos 9:10). From a human point of view any moment God chooses to pass judgment seems as untimely as seeking figs out of season, but it is God's right to set the time, not ours. After the occupation of the Temple the fig tree is found to be dried up to its roots. This expresses the severe judgment of God on the Temple and on the leaders who were preventing the Temple from reaching its purpose.

There follow a few short but powerful remarks on faith and prayer (vss 20-25). While Mark does not make it completely clear, the fact that he placed these statements here after the dried-up fig tree parable would seem to suggest that the new worship of the People of God in the future would not be based on a building and on the sacrifice of animals, but on faith and prayer. It is especially significant that Mark has placed a strong word of Jesus on forgiveness as a condition for effective prayer at this point in his account. The judgment of Jesus is not motivated by revenge. His attitude towards the People is one of forgiveness; but forgiveness does not mean the acceptance of what is wrong.

In the next scene, the leaders protest to Jesus, questioning his authority for doing what he did in the Temple. The common people are clearly on the side of Jesus (11:18; 12:12; 37; 14:2) and against the leaders (11:32). The chief priests, the elders and scribes fear the crowds. Jesus knows this full well and takes advantage of the fact that the leaders do not have popular support.

Reading Mark 11:27-33

To make the judgment perfectly clear Jesus teaches the leaders with a very strong parable which tells them that their leadership is about to come to an end. The parable is one in which Jesus is presented as coming in the long line of prophets, and like the prophets before him, he will be rejected and killed. Jesus, however, is more than another prophet, he is the Son of the " _master_ " of the vineyard (vine = Israel, see Isa 5:1ff). The tenants of the vineyard are the leaders of God's People.

Reading Mark 12:1-12

You will notice that the vineyard (that is, the People of God) will not be destroyed, but the leadership (tenants) will be done away with and their role given to others. (We have seen that the new leadership has already been established in the Twelve.) The People of God as renewed by Jesus will be established on the very one, Jesus, whom the old leaders will reject and have crucified (12:12; Ps 118:22f).

The chief priests and other leaders send the Pharisees and Herodians to put a hypocritical question to Jesus (12:13). While the Pharisees and Herodians were very important in Galilee (3:6; 8:15), they have little influence in Jerusalem; here they take orders from the official leaders. The question is hypocritical because to maintain their position of power the leaders had to and did in fact cooperate with the Romans. They are hoping that Jesus will make a blunder and place himself in the position of the Zealots, the anti-Roman revolutionary group; then they could have the Romans do away with him.

Reading Mark 12:13-17

Jesus sees through their plot and turns the argument around. What he says, " _Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God_ ", is not an answer to their question. It is a statement which makes it clear that the relationship to the public authority (Caesar) covers only a part of life, but the relationship to God governs the whole of life. What belongs to God is the whole person (12:30ff). If the public authority does not interfere with one's total dedication to God's will, there is no reason to refuse what it can legitimately claim (eg. taxes); but if the public authority interferes with one's total dedication to God's will, then the public authority is not to be obeyed. Jesus states the problem and the principles by which it is to be resolved, but he does not say that one must always give what civic authority demands, nor does he say that one must never give what public authority asks. With this scene the Pharisees fall out of the picture; they are not referred to again.

A new group comes on the scene, the Sadducees. These were people who held that all revelation from God had stopped with Moses. They looked down on the Pharisees who believed in the divine inspiration of many books besides the five books of Moses.

Reading Mark 12:18-27

He defends faith in the resurrection by underlining that God is the God of the living (vs 27); as such he is dedicated to giving life even to those who are dead. He also teaches that the resurrection is not a return to ordinary human life as we know it. Resurrection is an entry into a kind of " _angel's_ " state, a state of life in which there is no more being born or dying and therefore no more marriage as we know it on earth. In passing judgment on the People Jesus does not condemn everything outright; we see him here accepting and refining the position of the Pharisees against that of the Sadducees. In the next incident we see him making a very favourable remark about a scribe.

Reading Mark 12:28-34

The scribe asks a serious and sincere question, to which Jesus gives a direct answer. When the scribe agrees with the answer, Jesus tells him that he is not far from being a disciple of his, " _not far from the kingdom of God_ " (vs 34). In the dialogue between them two points are made — there is but one God, and, to love him and one's neighbour is the supreme commandment. The scribe adds a further point, saying that these truths are more important than all the sacrifices offered at the Temple (see Hos 6:6; 1 Sam 15:22; Ps 40:6ff). The disciples of Jesus, who will make up the renewed People of God, will retain basic truths already held by the best in the People of God for centuries.

Mark now presents two short incidents in which Jesus criticizes the teaching of the scribes on the Messiah and the conduct of many scribes.

Reading Mark 12:35-40

The Messiah (Christ) is much more than " _son of David_ "; he is worthy of being called " _Lord_ ". The conduct of the scribes, who are among the leaders of the People, is exactly the opposite of what Jesus wants the new leaders to be (Mark 10:41-45). Jesus is condemning the behaviour of .those scribes whose conduct was anything but humble, as was Moses their master (Num 12:3), and who also were known to defraud widows, a sin especially condemned by the Law (eg. Exod 22:22). The judgment on these scribes will be very severe (Exod 22:23f).

One of the functions which was carried out through the Temple was the distribution of money to help the poor. Some of the rich made contributions out of the funds they did not need, then a widow made a very small one.

Reading Mark 12:41-44

The widow is like a true disciple of Jesus who has given all she had (10:28¬30). Jesus gives her his whole-hearted approval. She represents the " _poor_ " and the height of charity which was reached by many among the People of God.

In these two chapters (11-12) Mark has shown us Jesus passing judgment on the People of God. The misuse of the Temple is condemned, the leaders are judged as unworthy and to be rejected. But the judgment is not all negative: Jesus accepts the support of the common people, he sides with the Pharisees on the question of resurrection, he speaks approvingly of ascribe, and praises a poor widow's generosity. If he judges as a king, he judges justly and is not blind to the goodness and to the great truths which were believed and lived in the People of God in his day.

## Chapter 8  Endings (Mark 13)

Whether Mark arranged this chapter or whether he inherited it as it stands from the tradition of the Church, we do not know. What we do know is that this chapter is not like any other in Mark. It has many of the characteristics of apocalyptic literature. Anyone trying to find a clear and precise meaning for every line of Chapter 13 is bound to be frustrated. It is better to accept the obscurity of certain verses and to focus on what is clear.

The obscurity of the chapter comes from the overlapping of three images: the destruction of the Temple, the end of Jerusalem, the end of the world. Chapter 13 is something like a film which superimposes these three images. The effect can be confusing, but with some concentration we can see clearly enough now the end of the Temple, now the end of Jerusalem, now the end of the world. The three images, however, are usually more or less clearly there at the same time.

What is clear in the chapter is that for Jesus and for Mark the end of the Temple, of Jerusalem and of the world would certainly take place. For Jesus and his disciples, and very probably for Mark, the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem were still in the future. For us, however, these two " _endings_ " are in the past; the Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

What still remains in the future for us is the end of the world and we are certain that it will take place sooner or later. The world as it is will not last forever. Just as the day and the hour for the end of the Temple and Jerusalem were not known by Jesus and his early disciples, so the timing of the end of the world is not certain for us. Only the fact that it will end is certain. Any attempt to date the end of the world is stupid in the extreme. What matters very much is the attitude of disciples towards these " _endings_ ", especially towards the final coming of the Lord.

The Temple was a magnificent building at the time of Jesus. Jesus knew that it would be destroyed completely. When he said this, his disciples immediately wanted to know when this would happen, but Jesus does not satisfy their curiosity.

Reading Mark 13:1-8

While the wars, earthquakes and famines will mark the beginnings of the endings — the destruction of the Temple, of Jerusalem and the end of the world (vss 7-8) — the end is not yet. What is much more important than the timing is the temptation to which the disciples will be subjected: the false messiah's claiming " _I am he_ ". Disciples are to believe no person who claims to be bringing in the end of the world.

The timing of the endings may not be certain, but what is certain is that the disciples will be severely persecuted before the endings come about.

Reading Mark 13:9-13

The disciples should be alert, on their guard. Persecution is certain, but will not prevent the proclamation of the Gospel to all the peoples of the world. This proclamation must come before the end. Two more attitudes should mark the disciples, especially in times of persecution, trust in the Holy Spirit and perseverance (vss 12f).

In the next section Mark warns us, his readers, not to be fooled by what he writes, " _let the reader understand"_. What he is warning us about is the fact that he is writing in apocalyptic style This type of writing uses images and symbols to express itself. The " _abomination of desolation_ " or " _desolating sacrilege_ " of verse 14 refers backward to the setting up of an idol in the Temple at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) around the year 167 BC, and it also refers forward to the desecration of the Temple and Jerusalem which actually took place under the Romans in 70 AD. The attack on Jerusalem and Judea is foreseen as a most horrible time for everyone, especially for the disciples. They are urged to flee from the city at the first sign that this war is about to take place.

Reading Mark 13:14-23

Once again Jesus warns of the possibility of deception by great wonder-workers who will try to make people believe that they are the real Messiah. Jesus recommends extreme scepticism: " _do not believe it. . . be on your guard_ "

Using images popular in apocalyptic literature, the end of the world is described and the coming of the Son of Man, which will mark the end of history. (It might be useful for you to read Daniel 7:13ff where sovereignty, glory and kingship are conferred by God on the Son of Man.)

Reading Mark 13:24-32

This is the event which will make sense out of all human history, the event in which the justice and love of God will be made clear and those who have done the will of God will be taken up into the Kingdom forever. It is the event for which all disciples long and, knowingly or unknowingly, all of the human race. The timing of that event is not known to anyone but God himself and he has not made it known to anyone, not even to Jesus of Nazareth, his Son. This refers, of course, to the limited human knowledge of Jesus.

The chapter ends with another warning to be on the watch.

Reading Mark 13:33-37

The response to these words about the end is not to try to figure out when it will take place; the only true response is to live as people who know that this world and all it offers is not going to last forever, and that disciples must be on their guard against anything which will deceive them into acting as though a day of reckoning will never take place.

## Chapter 9 Jesus is judged (Mark 14:1 - 15:15)

With the first verses of chapter 14 Mark brings us to the last days of Jesus. He begins this section by reminding us that the Passover feast was about to be celebrated. (For notes on the Passover. Mark also makes it clear that while the leaders of the People wanted to put Jesus to death, they were not able to do so without someone to help them. This " _helper_ ", of course, is Judas. In these same first verses, Mark reminds us that the common people were on the side of Jesus.

Reading Mark 14:1-11

No motive is given in Mark's account for the betrayal of Judas. It is pointless to guess. The most that can be said is that he did not really know who Jesus was. The unnamed woman who poured very expensive ointment on his head seemed to know that Jesus was very special and deserved her extravagant sign of appreciation. Some of the guests at table with Jesus did not see anything extraordinary in Jesus either; they would have preferred to give the value of the ointment to the poor.

Anointing the head suggests a royal anointing (see 2 Kings 9:3). It is very likely that Mark intends us to recognize in this whole passage that Jesus is the Messiah-King who will die and be buried, but whose " _gospel_ " will spread to the ends of the earth.

Mark does not lose an opportunity to remind us that the death of Jesus was made possible by the treachery of " _one of the Twelve_ "; not simply one of the disciples, but one of the chosen new leaders of the People of God (14:10, 20, 43). So it was not only the old leaders, the chief priests, elders and scribes, it was not only the Roman leader, Pilate, but also a Christian leader who was responsible for the death of Jesus. Through these leaders the whole of humanity is involved in bringing Jesus to his death.

With the festival approaching Jesus asks that the meal be prepared. During the meal, the last supper and the last Passover Meal, Jesus makes known that he is aware of being betrayed by one of his trusted Twelve.

Reading Mark 14:12-21

What Jesus says recalls Ps 41:9, " _Even my closest, most trusted friend, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me."_ this pattern of betrayal _by_ those closest to them is one which the Scriptures record in the life of the prophets and other just men (eg. Jer 11:18-23; 12:6; Ps 69:7-9). Betrayal was predictable, but Judas remains free and responsible for his actions. Jesus does not single him out in the conversation as recorded by Mark.

In the course of this meal Jesus gives his disciples a way of remembering him. That he would choose to be remembered by a meal is consistent with his life: he used festive meals with sinners as a way of teaching the love of God for all, he fed the five and the four thousand as signs of the Kingdom among all people (2:15ff; 6:30ff; 8:1ff). Jesus did not want only to be remembered; he wanted to be present to his disciples when they gathered to remember him, and present in the most intimate and personal way.

Reading Mark 14:22-25

" _As they were eating_ ": Mark wants us to understand the Last Supper in the light of the Passover Meal. (The actual date of the Last Supper poses some problems historically, but these need not concern us here.) The Passover was a gathering of family and friends at a joyful meal in commemoration of the liberation from Egypt. It was not seen as a simple memorial as we might think; rather it was a celebration in which the past event of the Exodus was made present to the participants: " _The Lord did this for me when I came out of Egypt_ " (Exod 13:8; Deut 6:20-25). When we look at the Last Supper as the renewal of the Passover in the light of Jesus, we can understand that it is not simply a remembrance, but a making present of the saving act of Jesus, in much the same way that the Passover was a making present of the saving act of God at the Exodus.

" _He took bread, and when he had said the blessing._ . .": Jesus said a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God, holding the bread in his hands. This gesture and prayer was common at meals and was part of the Passover ritual as well.

" _he broke it and gave it to them_. . .": The breaking and distribution of the bread was also a common gesture, but here it begins to take on a deeper meaning. It is not bread that is whole, but bread that is broken which is then given to those present. In the light of the words which follow, we can see in this gesture a sign of the self-giving death of Jesus.

_"and said, 'Take (it), this is my body_ ": Jesus asks his table companions to take and eat the bread that he has broken and given to them. The word for " _body_ " (soma) refers to the whole man, the whole person. The sense is: " _This (bread) is me_ ", not " _me_ " in general, but " _me_ " under the sign of bread that is broken and given, that is under the sign of death.

" _And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and they all drank of it."_ One cup was shared by all, even though they probably all had their own. A prayer of thanksgiving also accompanied the cup of wine. Wine was a common drink, but it was not used by the common people except at festive meals. It was not originally part of the Passover, but had been used for many years before the time of Jesus.

_"And he said to them, 'This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many'_ :" Blood stands for the life of a living thing (see Gen 9:4). " _Blood. . .poured out_ " refers to a violent taking away of life. The words of Jesus over the cup mean that the wine is the life of Jesus given up on the Cross. " _For many_ " means not just for a few; in most modern languages we would say " _all_ ".

But Mark wants us to see something further. " _This is my blood of the covenant_ ". God had called Moses to seal the covenant with a ritual of blood (Exod 24:1-11;). By this ritual a bond of union was expressed and made between God and his People, a living, vital bond which was then celebrated by a holy meal in the presence of God himself (Exod 24:11). The Last Supper (the Eucharist) is the covenant between God and his renewed People made in and through the death of Jesus, his Son, and celebrated by a holy meal in his presence, and through the presence of his Son.

Note:. While Mark suggests that the Eucharist is sacrifice by the expression " _blood. . .poured out for many_ ", this is clearer in Matt 26:28. Mark also suggests the new covenant, but this is made explicit in Luke 22:20 (see Jer 31:31ff), and in Paul, 1 Cor 11:23-32. To enrich your appreciation of the Last Supper you might also read Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 on the Suffering Servant who lays down his life for the sins of others.

" _Amen, I say to you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God._ " Jesus knows that he is about to die and that this is his last supper with his close friends; but what he says is not simply a sad statement about leaving them, it is a strong act of confidence in the certainty of the coming Kingdom of God. The perfect state of peace with God, the time when his will would be completely fulfilled, was often described in terms of a great banquet (eg. Isa 25:6; Zeph 1:7). Jesus looks forward to the great celebration of the Kingdom in the future. For Mark and for us, his readers, this makes of the Last Supper a celebration not only of the death of Jesus, but of his resurrection and of the final coming of the Kingdom which he proclaimed and for which he laid down his life (see 1 Cor 11:25f), a celebration of hope.

In Mark's account, when the singing of psalms at the Passover is finished (probably Pss 113-118), Jesus and his friends leave. On the way the conversation makes it clear that Jesus knows he will be abandoned by them. He knows that, according to the Scriptures (Zech 13:7), he must die alone; but he also knows that after his resurrection he will gather them together again in Galilee where his work began. He shows no resentment, not even to Peter, whose denial he foresees. Jesus knows that it is not the time for the disciples to share in the _"cup_ " he is about to drink (10:38f).

Reading Mark 14:26-31

Peter, the leader of the leaders (3:16), protests with all the bravery and courage of one who does not feel the horror of what is to come. The others are the same.

Jesus, as the next passage shows, is alone in feeling the full reality of what is about to happen. While he is with the favoured three, he is seized through and through with horror, shock, agony. Mark uses very strong Greek words, difficult to translate; they convey a very conscious state of extreme anxiety and great sadness (14:33-34).

Reading Mark 14:32-42

The " _hour_ " is the time of his betrayal, his trial, suffering and death. Jesus does not long to die, the way Jonah the prophet did (Jonah 4:8); he clearly wants to live. In his abjection Jesus prays in the words of a child to his father, " _Abba_ ", a word used by little children just learning to talk. Affection, intimacy, trust are expressed by this word in a way that is difficult to translate in other languages. The first Christians simply kept it in Aramaic in order to preserve it as a special address to the Father which Jesus had used (see Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). It is probable that Jesus used " _Abba"_ in his prayers at other times and taught his disciples to use it in the Lord's Prayer.

In the moment of agony Jesus knows that God, his Father, is all-powerful, and so he pleads for a way to do his will without having to drink the " _cup_ " of suffering and death. If such a way were possible, Jesus would choose it. From the beginning, however, all that really mattered in his life was the Father's will, and now at the end of his life also it is the Father's will that is foremost in his mind. Once it became clear that they way of the cross was indeed the will of his Father, then Jesus received the strength to accept it. And he accepted it, not as the will of a remote, unfeeling divinity manipulating events, but as the will of " _Abba_ ". When the agony is over Jesus is ready for what is to come (14:42).

The arrest follows immediately. Judas knew where to find Jesus and knew also that he could be taken there with little difficulty and no publicity. The treachery of Judas is expressed in the kiss, and the feeble bravery of the others is expressed in the pitiful display of aggression which results in a cut ear.

Reading Mark 14:43-52

Jesus protests the way he is being arrested. He never acted as a revolutionary depending on violence, nor did he ever act in secret as a thief. He relied on the power of his teaching, and he taught openly. He makes no resistance. (The young man who runs away naked is a mystery to everyone.)

The chief priests, scribes and elders stand for the highest authority; they had Jesus arrested and they are now about to judge him. Mark makes it clear that the verdict had been decided upon before the trial took place. This trial and the one under Pilate are a mockery of the kind of justice which both the People of God and the Romans were usually capable of administering.

Reading Mark 14:53-65

On being questioned by the high priest, Jesus openly says that he is indeed the Son of God (vs 61), and adds that he is the Son of Man who will come in triumph as judge at the right hand of God. (" _Blessed One_ " and " _The Power_ " are both substitutes for " _God_ ".) The cruel treatment described in verse 65 is completely out of order according to the normal process of justice practiced by the chief priests and elders.

Against the background of the judgment on Jesus and the torture to which he submitted, we are shown Peter warming himself. Peter did have the courage to follow Jesus this far, even if at a safe distance, but he did not have enough conviction to make himself known as a disciple even to lowly servant-girls.

Reading Mark 14:66-72

"Even while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came up with a number of men armed with swords and clubs..."Mark 14:43

The next morning the scene shifts to the trial under Pilate, the Roman governor. Now that the religious trial has taken place and Jesus has been accused of blasphemy (14:64) and condemned to death, the chief priests, elders and scribes seek out the Roman governor so that he can carry out their death sentence on Jesus. In the appearance before Pilate the accusations which are made are not religious but political. Jesus is brought to Pilate bound as a dangerous rebel would be bound. Jesus is presented as a revolutionary bent on making himself the earthly king of the nation, a threat to the Roman occupation.

Reading Mark 15:1-15

The crowd arrives on the scene intent on getting a prisoner,. any prisoner, released according to custom. When it arrives the crowd is not out to have Jesus condemned. Only after they are swayed by the chief priests do they begin to insist that a genuine rebel and murderer, Barabbas, be released and Jesus crucified. The sinless is exchanged for the sinner. The guilt of Pilate is made clear by Mark's observation that he knew the real motives behind the actions of the chief priests, and yet he distorted justice, ordering the real criminal to be released and the guiltless to be scourged and crucified.

The scourge was a whip made of leather thongs loaded with metal or bone chips; it could also be a chain. Scourging was normally administered before crucifixion in order to weaken the condemned man by sapping his strength and intensifying his pain.

## Chapter 10 End and beginning (Mark 15:16 - 16:8)

Note: In order to keep our commentary short we will not expand on the many references and allusions to the Old Testament in the following sections of Mark. Your meditation on the Passion, however, would be enriched by reading:

Psalm 22 — the prayer of a just man, suffering and abandoned.

Psalm 69:19-21 — a description of the suffering of a just man.

Book of Wisdom 2:10-20 — the arrogant words of faithless people out to kill the man of faith.

These and similar passages were used by Mark and the tradition he received to help understand the mystery of the Cross.

Crucifixion was a form of execution commonly practiced by the Romans and other nations in ancient times. After being scourged a man was forced to carry the cross beam to which he was going to be nailed or tied (or both). This beam was then raised and fastened on a pole which was already firmly in place in the ground. Death was often very slow and always very painful. Often crucified men were not given burial; their corpses were allowed to hang there, prey to insects and animals.

Crucifixion was not only a way of executing criminals, it was also a way of frightening people into obeying the laws of the rulers. The criminals would be crucified in public places, on hills visible from a distance, at entrances to the city or town or even in amphitheatres. The crime for which they were accused was posted above their heads, a stern warning to all who might contemplate similar crimes.

The Romans used crucifixion as a way of keeping their subject nations under control. They would crucify any one who showed signs of being a rebel against their rule. Rebels normally came from among the poor; the rich were rich usually because they cooperated with the Romans. Generally then, the Romans crucified the unruly poor, rebellious slaves and men found guilty of serious crimes such as murder. It was a particularly horrible death, but ordinary in those days.

Once a man was condemned to death, the soldiers in charge could do with him as they would, so long as the proper sentence was carried out. The scene of mockery which Mark presents shows the bored soldiers distracting themselves by making a cruel joke out of Jesus.

Reading Mark 15:16-20

The soldiers ridicule the very idea that such a helpless and pitiful man could possibly pretend to be the king of the Jews, a threat to the mighty Roman army. Their joke, however, acts out a very profound truth: Jesus is king, and not only king of his own nation but of the entire human race. He is the one who will come in glory at the end of time as judge and saviour of all.

The next passage gives us insight into the community for which Mark wrote, and it also offers a little relief. It would seem that Mark's community knew Alexander and Rufus, the sons of Simon, who was enlisted to carry the cross of Jesus.

Reading Mark 15:21-22

The action of Simon is the dramatic expression of discipleship, carrying the cross (8:34).

The Roman soldiers offer Jesus wine spiced with myrrh (made from the resin of a tree) in order to drug him a little before the crucifixion. Jesus refuses to be anything but fully conscious. Mark records the fact of the crucifixion in the simplest possible terms.

Reading Mark 15:23-27

The soldiers, as was their right by Roman law, shared out the clothing of the man they executed. Mark notes this not simply because it happened, but because it indicates the fulfilment of Ps 22:18. Men were crucified naked by Roman custom, but Jewish custom insisted on a loin cloth. Whether this Jewish custom was observed is not known for certain, but we may presume that it was. Jesus was nailed to the cross, first his hands (forearm) on the cross beam, then, after being raised on the cross beam which was then fastened to the upright post, his feet were nailed together, his body being partly supported by a kind of saddle block on the upright post.

The charge against Jesus, as written by the Romans, was that he claimed to be the king of one of their conquered nations, and therefore was a rebel against their rule. The word Mark uses for the two " _robbers_ " crucified with Jesus could mean that they too were executed as rebels, not simply as thieves. In any case Jesus is counted among criminals (see Isa 53:12).

Jesus was crucified outside the walls of the city, probably near one of the main entrances, where passers-by could see him. Some of these mock Jesus, but Mark calls their insults " _blasphemy_ ", for the one on the cross is the Son of God. Their insults and those of the chief priests and scribes focus on two things — the prophecy of Jesus on the end of the Temple and the miracles of Jesus. The two groups jeeringly ask for a show of power, a dramatic sign such as the sign which the Pharisees had once requested (8:11ff). It is inconceivable to them that God could in any way be revealing himself in the weakness, the powerlessness of Jesus crucified.

Reading Mark 15:29-32

The words defiantly hurled at Jesus are insults, but they still express pro-found truth for the one who has faith in Jesus: the Temple will indeed come to an end, and, more importantly, the new " _Temple_ " for the People of God will be Jesus himself raised from the dead on the third day (vs 29); they mockingly call him " _the Christ_ " and " _the king of Israel_ ", but that is in fact the truth about Jesus.

From the beginning Jesus united himself with sinful people (1:9ff; 2:15ff), and in his dying he accepts all that makes humanity believe itself to be worthless — pain, rejection, shame, guilt and death. He takes upon himself all of humanity's distance from God.

Reading Mark 15:33-39

The cry of Jesus from the cross (vs 34; see Ps 22:1) is the prayer of one whose emptiness, helplessness and pain can only be expressed as abandonment by God. But even a cry to God who is absent remains a prayer to God.

Some bystanders mistake the words of Jesus, " _Eloi, Eloi_ " as a prayer to Elijah. It seems that in popular piety people prayed to Elijah to rescue them in times of trouble; the bystanders think this is what Jesus is doing. Having accepted the cross as the Father's will (14:32ff), Jesus does not ask to be taken down from it. The offer of " _vinegar_ ", a sour wine commonly used by workers to quench thirst, is not an unfriendly gesture, but an attempt to delay the dying of Jesus to see if Elijah might come to save him.

" _And Jesus gave out a great cry and died_ ". Crucified men often died a slow death in a state of unconsciousness. Mark records the death of Jesus as a violent and sudden death in full consciousness.

Mark introduces and concludes the passage on the death of Jesus with signs which give us an insight into the meaning and significance of this event. The first sign is the " _darkness over the whole land_ " (vs 33) from noon until Jesus died around three in the afternoon. This darkness cannot be explained in any natural way as an eclipse or a sand storm; it is a "supernatural" darkness. This is the darkness of the Day of the Lord, the darkness of God's coming in judgment, such as described in Amos:

" _That day. . .1 will make the sun set at noon,_

and darken the earth in broad daylight...

I will make it a day of mourning as for an

only son" (Amos 8:9f).

The death of Jesus is God's judgment on " _the whole land_ ", that is on all of mankind, but it is a judgment which God has willed to lay upon his own Son, and which the Son accepted so as to make of his life and death " _a ransom_ " for all (10:45), freeing all from having to bear the punishment that is due to all. The darkness also tells us that the death of Jesus has meaning not only for the earth but for the whole universe and for all of history to the end of time. When the Son will finally come at the end of time, the end of the universe as we know it, the sun will be darkened just as at the crucifixion (13:24-27). The judgment that will come then will be a judgment in mercy because of the cross of Jesus. The death of Jesus is the central event within the history of mankind and of the universe.

The second sign which Mark records is that " _the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom"_ (vs 38). This is not to be reduced to a mere tearing of cloth, because it is a symbol of the greatest importance, revealing more of the significance of the death of Jesus. There were two veils in the Temple, one at the entrance to the Sanctuary, the other at the entrance to the Holy of Holies. We take Mark to mean the inner veil at the entrance to the Holy of Holies, which signified the presence of God, though it is possible that the outer veil before the Sanctuary was meant. In either case the meaning is roughly the same, though the sign is more clear if the veil of the Holy of Holies is torn in two.

The tearing of the veil from top to bottom is a destruction and refers to the end of worship as conducted in the Temple. The kind of worship which only allowed the high priest to enter into the presence of God, and only once a year, has come to an end (Lev 16:1ff).

The tearing of the veil is also symbolic of an "opening", a revealing of what was hidden. The "hidden" was the presence of God in the darkness and cloud of the Temple's inner room (Lev 16:1-2). In the life of Jesus, in his teaching, his works of mercy and most especially in his death on the cross, a death which authenticated all that he had ever done and said, God is being revealed. The One who hangs on the cross is the Son, revealer of the Father.

The tearing of the veil of the Temple is also an opening which gives access to the presence of God. The Temple signified the presence of God, but only those who belonged to the People of God had access to the presence. But the Temple was built in such a way that it forbade the Gentiles to come close, it kept the women further away than the men, it kept the men further away than the priests and kept the priests further away than the high priest. With the death of Jesus all of this comes to an end. The death of Jesus is an opening to God for all. The " _new temple_ " not built by human hands (14:58; 15:29) is Jesus crucified who will rise on the third day, and whose body will become the Temple of God for all. True worship will be in union with him through sharing in his body and blood (14:22-25).

The third sign follows upon the second: the Gentile centurion makes an act of faith in Jesus as the Son of God; he represents all the Gentiles who, through Jesus crucified and risen, will gain access to God. (The Greek Mark uses could be translated as: " _in truth this man was a son of God_ ", which would mean that he was impressed by the godly way in which Jesus died. This translation would bring his words closer to what is written in Luke 23:47. But it does not seem possible that Mark, who has placed such emphasis on Jesus as the Son of God, would intend anything but the full meaning here: " _In truth this man was the Son of God_ ". Compare 1:1,11; 3:11; 9:8; 14:61f.)

The signs accompanying the death of Jesus teach us that his death has significance for all of mankind and the whole universe (darkness over the whole land), that his death marks the end of the Temple and the beginning of the new and universal access to God through Jesus (veil of Temple torn in two), and that Gentiles will become part of the People of God by their faith in the divine sonship of Jesus (the centurion's act of faith).

Some distance away from the place of crucifixion, away from the mockers, there were some women who had been disciples from the beginning of the public work of Jesus in Galilee. These faithful followers had looked after him (see Luke 8:1-3). They had not gone into hiding like the men who followed Jesus.

Reading Mark 15:40-41

According to the Law a man who had been executed and hung on a tree (or post) as a warning to others was considered cursed by God (Deut 21:220. The Law ordered that such a corpse was not to be left hanging overnight and that it must be buried on the day of death. The women looked on the body of Jesus on the cross, helpless either to claim the body or to bury it.

An influential man, in fact a man who was a member of the supreme council, the Sanhedrin which had condemned Jesus and brought him to Pilate (14:53ff; 15:1), was one who had been impressed by the teaching of Jesus and shared the hope for the Kingdom of God. He took action to see to it that Jesus received burial on the day of his death, according to the Law.

Reading Mark 15:42-47

The sepulchre was made secure with a large rounded slab of stone rolled across its entrance. The women had followed the burial and knew where and how the body of Jesus had been buried.

The women had noted that the body of Jesus had not been properly prepared for burial according to the customs of the day, unaware that symbolically at least another woman had anointed him for burial before the Passion began (14:3-9). The women have accepted the death of Jesus as final and do not expect to find anything but his body when they go to the tomb on the morning of the third day after his crucifixion.

Reading Mark 16:1-8

They are greeted by a " _young man in a white robe_ ", a messenger from God. The death of Jesus was visible to human sight; no special help from God was needed to prove that it had happened, because it was an event within human history. The resurrection of Jesus, however, could not be seen as an earthly event which human eyes could see take place. Nor could one conclude that the resurrection had taken place simply from seeing the empty tomb, because the empty tomb could mean that the body had been stolen or moved. The resurrection of Jesus could only be known by a revelation from God and accepted by an act of faith. The role of the young man in white is to give the women this revelation from God: " _he is risen_ ". His rising from the dead is not a coming back to normal human life like the daughter of Jairus (5:39-43). The rising of Jesus from the dead is entry into the fullness of life, entry into the Kingdom of God, there never to die again.

" _You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him_ ". The empty tomb is important because it teaches that the one who has been raised from the dead is the same Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, died and was buried. The empty tomb indicates that resurrection is not a totally new creation with no connection with the past. The risen Jesus is the one and same Jesus who lived, taught and died, not another, newly created replacement. It is also important to note the empty tomb because it tells us that the risen Lord remains united to our humanity through his body. He is the first of us to have entered fully into the life he promised to all who would, like him, carry the cross (8:34-38).

_"But go, tell his disciples and Peter. He goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him as he told you_." In spite of the desertion of the disciples, in spite of the denials of Peter, the Lord Jesus remains faithful to his own. The words of the angel express not only forgiveness, but the continuity of the plan which Jesus had made from the beginning when he chose Peter and the others to be the leaders of the renewed People of God. Galilee was the place where Jesus had made himself known to them as the mortal Son of Man; now they are to meet him again as the Son of Man raised from the dead according to his promise (8:31; 9:31; 10:34; 14:28). Galilee was the place where Jesus began his ministry, his way to the cross; now the disciples and Peter with the presence of the risen Lord will begin in Galilee their ministry and their way of the cross.

Verse 8 is the last in Mark's Gospel to have been written by the evangelist; verses 9 to 20 are from the hand of another writer. It is extraordinary that Mark should end on the note of fear and amazement which filled the women. But fear and amazement on the part of those who witnessed something more than merely human in Jesus have been part of Mark's Gospel throughout (eg. 4:41; 5:15, 33, 36; 6:50; 9:6, 32). Amazement and fear is the normal reaction to what is very striking and not understood. These are reactions to something divine beyond ordinary human experience and understanding. The resurrection of Jesus is the great act of God, most astounding, most amazing and beyond human experience and understanding. In this way the reaction of the women makes us see that the resurrection is the extraordinary thing that it really is. While fear and amazement are not the best of human responses to the actions of God, they are not disbelief. On the contrary, they are, or should be, normal responses which lead to calm, assured faith in the reality of Jesus who is the Lord risen from the dead, present for all time and coming in glory at the end of time to gather to himself all who have not been ashamed of his cross (8:34ff).

Mark ends his Gospel abruptly. He adds no resurrection appearances, probably because these are all well-known to his readers (1 Cor 15). The ending is triumphant; the fear and silence of the women only brings out more clearly that both the resurrection and the continued work of Jesus through his disciples are the work of God, and not the result of human imagination springing from loyalty to Jesus or the bravery and courage of his followers.

Against the background of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, the People of God are also dying and rising with their true king. In many ways the People of God as they had existed died — their Temple had come to an end, their official leadership was changing hands, their great scholars were proven to be in error, their membership would cease to be tied to one nation. This dying, however, was in order to be born into a new life. They would be opened to new members from all over the world; they would be led away from a leadership modelled on triumphant earthly kings, to a leadership modelled on the king who hung on the cross. In Galilee, far from the Temple, far from Jerusalem their old home, they would rise to new life through the disciples led by Peter, who would encounter their risen Lord and King and begin again in their own lives to live what Jesus lived when he began his work in Galilee.

Note: The abrupt ending in verse 8 seems to have upset many people in the early years of the Church. Several different endings were composed and have been preserved. The longer ending which is printed in most Bibles (16:9-20) has been known from very early times and has been accepted as part of the inspired word of God by the Church. The vocabulary, style and theology of this ending is clearly not Mark's; it is largely made up of parts of other New Testament writings (eg. Matt 28; Luke 24; John 20; Acts 28).

## About The Author

Archbishop Gervais was born in Elie Manitoba on September 21 1931. He is the ninth of fourteen children. His family came from Manitoba to the Sparta area near St. Thomas Ontario when he was just a teenager. He went to Sparta Continuation School and took his final year at Saint Joseph`s High School in St. Thomas. After high school he went to study for the priesthood at St. Peter's Seminary in London , Ontario. He was ordained in 1958.

He was sent to study in Rome. This was followed by studies at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem. He returned to London to teach scripture to the seminarians at St. Peter's Seminary.

In 1974 he was asked by Bishop Emmett Carter to take over as director of the Divine Word International Centre of Religious Education. This Centre had been founded by Bishop Carter to provide a resource for adult education in the spirit of Vatican II.

This Centre involved sessions of one or two weeks with many of the best scholars of the time. Students came not only from Canada and the United States but from all over the globe, Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe.

By the time Father Gervais became the director Divine Word Centre was already a course dominated by the study of scripture to which he added social justice. This aspect of the course of studies was presented by people from every part of the "third world"; among which were Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez and Cardinal Dery of Ghana.

In 1976 the Conference of Ontario Bishops along with the Canadian conference of Religious Women approached Father Gervais to provide a written course of studies in Sacred Scripture for the Church at large, but especially for priests and religious women. This is when Fr. Gervais began to write Journey, a set of forty lessons on the Bible. He was armed with a treasure of information from all the teachers and witnesses to the faith that had lectured at Devine Word.

He was assisted by a large number of enthusiastic collaborators: all the people who had made presentations at Divine Word and provided materials and a team of great assistants, also at Divine Word Centre.

The work was finished just as Father Gervais was ordained an auxiliary bishop of London (1980). He subsequently was made Bishop of Sault Saint Marie Diocese, and after four years, Archbishop of Ottawa (1989).

He retired in 2007, and at the time of this writing, he is enjoying retirement.

The Staff of "Guided Study Programs ln The Catholic Faith" who assisted Bishop Gervais on the development of the Journey Program:

Fr. Richard Charrette

Mr. Joe Barth

Miss Joyce Kilpalrick

Mr.Guy Lajoie

Mr. Martin Meulemeesters

Mrs.Shirley Mitchell

Mr. Ron Pickersgill

Mr. Jerry O'Connor

Mrs. Arlene Stinchcombe

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Sr. M. Augustine, C.S.J.

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

-Fr. Don Neumann

-Mr. Keith Philander

-Fr. Martin Vallely

ARTWORK

Drawings-Mr. Peter Gaspari

# Bibliography

### One Volume Commentaries

Brown, R. et al., ed. _Jerome Biblical Commentary_. Toronto, Prentice-Hall, 1968

Buttrick, G.A. ed. _The Interpreter's Bible_. New York, Abingdon, 1952-57

Fuller, R. ed. _A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture_. London, Nelson & Sons, 1969

Laymon, C.M. ed _. Interpreter's One Volume Commentary on the Bible_ .New York, Abingdon, 1971

### Dictionaries

Buttrick, G.A. ed 4 vols, New York, Abington, 1962

Crim K. et al ed. _The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, an Illustrated Version,_ (Supplementary Volume), Nashville Abington, 1976

Hartman, L.F. ed _Encyclopedie Dictionary of the Bible_. Toronto, McGraw-Hill, 1963

McKenzie, John L. _A Dictionary of the Bible_ .Milwaukee, Bruce, 1965

### New Testament: Introductory

Bornkamm, G. _The New Testament: A Guide to its Writings,_ Philadelphia, Fortress1969

George A et Pierre Grelot _Introduction à la Bible_. Paris Desclée1976

Kürnme1 W. ed _.Introduction to the New Testament_.17th rev. ed Abingdon, New York 1975

Rode, J . _Rediscovering the Teaching of the Evangelists_. Philadelphia, Westminster, 1968

### New Testament History

Reicke, B. _The New Testament Era_. Philadelphia,Westminster, 1968

Sandmel, S Judaism and Christian Beginnings, New York, Oxford University Press, 1978

### Bible Atlases

Aharoni, Y. and Avi-Yonah, M. The Macmillan Bible Atlas, rev. ed., New York, Macmillan Publishing; London, Collier Macmillan, 1968, 1977

Grollenberg, L.H. et al _. Atlas of the Bible_. Camden, Thomas Nelson & Sons,1956

### Culture of New Testament times

Jeremias J _Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus_. London, SCM Press, 1969

### New Testament Theology

Bonsirven J., _Theology of the New Testament_ , Westminster, Newman Press, 1963

Conzelmann, H. An Outline of the Theology of the New Testament. London, SCM Press, 1969

Jeremias J. _New Testament Theology,_ Part l, New York, Scribner, 1971

Kümmel, W.G. _The Theology of the New Testament according to its major witnesses_ : _Jesus, Paul, John, ._ Nashville, Abingdon, 1973

Schnackenburg R _New Testament Theology Today_ Montreal, McGraw1970

### New Testament (General)

Audet L et al _Resurrection_. Desclée Paris 1971

Brown, R.E. _The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus_ New York, Paulist Press1973

__________ _The Birth of the Messiah; a commentary on the infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke_. Garden City, Doubleday, 1977

Cullmann, O. _Peter, Disciple' Apostle, Martyr_. London, SCM Press, 1962

De Surgy, P. et al. _La Resurrection du Christ et l'Exégèse Moderne_. Paris, Les Editions du Cerf, 1969

Dupont, J. _Les Beatitudes_. Bruges, Louvain, 1973

Flood, E _. The Resurection_. New York, Paulist Press, 1973

Fuller, R.H _.Interpreting the Miracles_. London, SCM Press, 1963

Hendrickx, H. _The Bible on Justice_ , Quezon City, J M.C. Press, 1978

Hunter, A.M. _The Work and Words of Jesus_ rev. ed. London, SCl1 Press,1973

Keller, E. and H.L. _Miracles in Dispute: A Continuing Debate_. Philadelphia, Fortress, 1969

Mateos, J. _The New Testament and the Message of Jesus_. Tr. Sister Kathleen England, taken from Nueva Biblia Espanol, Madrid, Ediciones Cristiandad, 1975

Houle, C.F.D. ed. _Miracles_.London, A.R. Howbray, 1965

Richardson, A. _The Miracle Stories of the Gospels_. London, SCH Press, 1941

Richards H _The First Christians_.London, Fontana, 1973

Schlier, H. _La Resurrection de Jesus-Christ_. Paris Salvator, 1969

Schweizer E _Jesus_. Tr. D, Green, Richmond John Knox Press,1971

Trilling W. _L'Annonce du Christ dans les Evangiles Synoptiques_. Paris, Les Editions du Cerf, 1971

Van der Loos, H. _The Miracles of Jesus_. Leiden, E.JBrill, 1968

### Mark

Achtemeir, P J _Mark_ , Philadelphia, Fortress1975

Hooker, M.D.The Son of Man in Mark, Montreal, McGill University Press, 1967

Kazmerski C.R. _Jesus the Son of God: A Study of the Markan Tradition and its Redaction by the Evangelist,_ Wierzburg Echterverlag, 1979

Lagrange, M.J.. _Evangile Selon Saint Marc_ , .Paris, J. Gabalda (1929), 1966

Lane, W.L. _The Gospel According to St. Mark_ , Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1974

Lightfoot, R.H. _The Gospel Message of St. Mark._ London, Cambridge University Press, 1950

Houle, C.F.D. _The Gospel According to St. Mark_ , New York, Cambridge University, Press, 1965

Nineham, D.E. _St. Mark_ , .Baltimore, Penguin Books, 1963

Schnackenburg, R. _The Gospel According to St. Mark_ , 2 vols, New Testament for Spiritual Reading. ed. John L McKenzie, New York, Herder & Herder, 1966

Schweizer, E. _The Good News According to Mark_ ,. Tr. D.H. Madvig, Richmond, John Knox Press, 1970

Taylor, V. _The Gospel According to St. Mark_ .London, Macmillan, 1959

Trocmé, E. _The Formation of the Gospel According to Mark_ .Tr. P. Gaughon, London, SPCK, (1963), 1975

"~~~~~~"

" to see other works by Marcel Gervais

go to "www.journeywithbible.com

**"Pocket Journey (1)"** is first in this series of Pocket Journey books.

**"Pocket Journey (2)"** is the second in the series of Pocket Journey books.

**JOURNEY** a series of 40 lessons on both the Old and New Testament

**"The Word Made Flesh** "- A commentary on the Gospel of John

**"News of Great Joy"** A commentary on the Gospel of Luke.

**"The Teaching of the Church on the Bible** "- a commentary on the document "Dei Verbum"

"~~~~~~~~~~"

