Book of Mark...2 questions

[osddso]

hey now.

i just finished reading the book of Mark. i’ve read it before, but never in a “this is how i want to live my life” kind of way.

im not gonna post questions because many of you have given such great links that i was able to find answers to most of them from previous posts.

i jumped into Mark right after Matthew. when i say right after, i mean the next day. i feel like that kind of hindered my experience of the book because i basically read a summary of what i just read in Matthew. i shouldnt say “summary” because it actually painted a different picture of Jesus with the disciples.

when i was younger, and my dad would explain things to me, if i didnt get it he’d say “come here stupid” and give me a little biff on the back of the head. thats kind of how i felt Jesus was feeling sometimes towards his followers. i get the idea that in this book, his followers were very reluctant to believe in him. i can just imagine Peter saying “but teacher, how is it that…” and Jesus standing there with a look on his face like “are you kidding me.”

To me Matthew showed Jesus more of the healer that he was, while Mark showed evidence of his strong commanding my way or the highway riding a chariot out of the sky to handle satan and his demons when judgement day comes.

It was hard to get into Mark, because having just read Matthew i felt like i was re-reading. but when i read again i found that certain spots of Mark actually explained questions i had in Matthew, while many questions i had with Mark were easily answered by going back to Matthew.

the only real question i have is why did Jesus not want people to acknowledge him?

also in MK 9:29: He said to them “This kind can only come out through prayer” (referring to driving out the unclean spirit of the boy)

 

[NotWorthy]

hey now.

i just finished reading the book of Mark. i’ve read it before, but never in a “this is how i want to live my life” kind of way.

im not gonna post questions because many of you have given such great links that i was able to find answers to most of them from previous posts.

i jumped into Mark right after Matthew. when i say right after, i mean the next day. i feel like that kind of hindered my experience of the book because i basically read a summary of what i just read in Matthew. i shouldnt say “summary” because it actually painted a different picture of Jesus with the disciples.

when i was younger, and my dad would explain things to me, if i didnt get it he’d say “come here stupid” and give me a little biff on the back of the head. thats kind of how i felt Jesus was feeling sometimes towards his followers. i get the idea that in this book, his followers were very reluctant to believe in him. i can just imagine Peter saying “but teacher, how is it that…” and Jesus standing there with a look on his face like “are you kidding me.”

To me Matthew showed Jesus more of the healer that he was, while Mark showed evidence of his strong commanding my way or the highway riding a chariot out of the sky to handle satan and his demons when judgement day comes.

It was hard to get into Mark, because having just read Matthew i felt like i was re-reading. but when i read again i found that certain spots of Mark actually explained questions i had in Matthew, while many questions i had with Mark were easily answered by going back to Matthew.

the only real question i have is why did Jesus not want people to acknowledge him?

also in MK 9:29: He said to them “This kind can only come out through prayer” (referring to driving out the unclean spirit of the boy)

Regarding why did Jesus not want people to acknowledge Him… What happened to Jesus when He finally let people acknowledge Him? He was dead within the week.

So, to answer your question, Jesus didn’t want people to acknowledge Him because it wasn’t His time to die yet.

I’ll look into Mark 9:29 later on, if someone hasn’t already answered it. I remember reading on it in Mary Healy’s Gospel of Mark, but I don’t recall the answer.

 

[NotWorthy]

Also, regarding the Gospel of Mark. notice how there is very little dialog going on. It’s all action. And when Jesus performs a great miracle, the response is always, “Who is this that can do these things”. Mark’s Gospel is meant primarily (in my opinion) to teach the Roman Christians that this Jesus, the One they are suffering for, is God. Remember, the Roman Christians were being persecuted at the time of Mark’s Gospel.

 

[osddso]

thanks

 

[prodigalson12]

Another reason he was attempting to keep things more low key, he was already swamped with crowds, this was quite a struggle to have to face that volume of people all at once, even to the point where we find him having to set out on a boat, off shore, just so they could hear and see him.

 

[Elder]

V. 28. And when He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we cast him out? V. 29. And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. The failure of the disciples to effect a cure in this case, when there had been instances of success, chapter 6, 13, perplexed them very much. They had also been deeply humiliated before the people by the sneering remarks of the scribes. When Jesus therefore came into the house where He, and probably His disciples with Him, was staying, they took the opportunity to speak to Him all alone in regard to their failure to expel the devil. Christ’s answer was of a nature to cause deep humility in their hearts and to encourage them to strive for a firmer trust in Him. The question of the disciples implied: We surely had faith; we had the definite expectation to effect this cure, but we were sadly disappointed. The answer of Jesus gave them the hint which they needed: This form can be expelled in no way but by prayer and fasting. By serious, believing prayer the devil can always be routed. But prayer implies full reliance upon God and His help. There is where the mistake lay. The disciples, who formerly had driven out devils in the name and in the power of the Lord, here had attempted a cure in their own might. It was presumption, trust in their own ability, that had caused them to stumble and fall. The devil can be conquered only by a prayer rooted in faith and receiving its power from God alone, Matt. 17 , 20. 21 (Kretzmann…www.kretzmannproject.org)

 

[patrick457]

the only real question i have is why did Jesus not want people to acknowledge him?

As NotWorthy mentioned, it was pretty much suicide to publicly claim oneself as the messiah. Officials were dealing with hundreds and hundreds of messianic claimants running around who attempt to rally the people to wage war against Rome. They would have pretty much cracked down on anyone that claims the title, as they usually do, whether he wields a sword or not - it was so drenched with political overtones.
Thus the reason why Jesus often used ‘son of man’ instead of directly saying ‘messiah’ during the early days of the ministry - it wasn’t the time yet.

 

[NotWorthy]

Another reason he was attempting to keep things more low key, he was already swamped with crowds, this was quite a struggle to have to face that volume of people all at once, even to the point where we find him having to set out on a boat, off shore, just so they could hear and see him.

Very good point!

Take the scene where Jesus heals the leper. Before the healing, Jesus can travel from town to town, while the leper has to hang out (for lack of a better term) in the wilderness.

After the healing, the leper travels around the towns speaking of his miraculous healing and it is Jesus who has to sneak away and avoid the crowded places.

Of course, there’s the spiritual imagery layered on top of this, in which Jesus takes on our sins, thus He took on the sins of the leper having to spend time in the wilderness like the leper did prior to his healing.

On the surface, Mark is a quick, brisk read… sort of like a “Reader’s Digest” version of the Gospel of Jesus. But actually, Mark is like ogres (… or onions for those unfamiliar with Shrek), it’s got layers.

 

[patrick457]

Very good point!

Take the scene where Jesus heals the leper. Before the healing, Jesus can travel from town to town, while the leper has to hang out (for lack of a better term) in the wilderness.

After the healing, the leper travels around the towns speaking of his miraculous healing and it is Jesus who has to sneak away and avoid the crowded places.

Of course, there’s the spiritual imagery layered on top of this, in which Jesus takes on our sins, thus He took on the sins of the leper having to spend time in the wilderness like the leper did prior to his healing.

On the surface, Mark is a quick, brisk read… sort of like a “Reader’s Digest” version of the Gospel of Jesus. But actually, Mark is like ogres (… or onions for those unfamiliar with Shrek), it’s got layers.

Wow! I never knew about that. Good catch!

 

[prodigalson12]

On the surface, Mark is a quick, brisk read… sort of like a “Reader’s Digest” version of the Gospel of Jesus. But actually, Mark is like ogres (… or onions for those unfamiliar with Shrek), it’s got layers.

NotWorthy, I have an exercise for you to try out, talk about onion layers, you are going to be floored. It works best in the NT.

Pick a random spot, small paragraph is fine, as long you know the preceding dialog that has transpired so are reading it in proper context. It’s best if you have a friend to try this out with.

Take 20-30 minutes on the passage, look it over, read it, analyze it, medidate upon it, and don’t let your mind wander from it. Being in a place without distraction of any kind is best. Now, write down everything you can think of in regards to it. Explain what it means to you. Meditate upon it more, and you’ll find you will extrapolate even more from it. This is why you spend 20-30 minutes on it, for you’ll find that initial look produced only the surface of the skin, what you come up with are more of the layers.

Share what you find with your friend, and discuss these at length, you will then be peeling back even more skins.

Good point made on the leper as well.

 

[NotWorthy]

NotWorthy, I have an exercise for you to try out, talk about onion layers, you are going to be floored. It works best in the NT.

Pick a random spot, small paragraph is fine, as long you know the preceding dialog that has transpired so are reading it in proper context. It’s best if you have a friend to try this out with.

Take 20-30 minutes on the passage, look it over, read it, analyze it, medidate upon it, and don’t let your mind wander from it. Being in a place without distraction of any kind is best. Now, write down everything you can think of in regards to it. Explain what it means to you. Meditate upon it more, and you’ll find you will extrapolate even more from it. This is why you spend 20-30 minutes on it, for you’ll find that initial look produced only the surface of the skin, what you come up with are more of the layers.

Share what you find with your friend, and discuss these at length, you will then be peeling back even more skins.

Good point made on the leper as well.

Do you realize you are asking this of a person who has the attention span of a tree frog (I think I offended a few tree frogs with that statement)?

But seriously, I try to do something like this at Morning Vespers (Monday and Friday are the only days I can attend) where we have a 25 minute meditation after a reading from Scripture. But sadly, as hard as I try, I often find myself drifting off to sleep (I refer you back to my tree frog comment). It’s something I really wish to improve on in my prayer life.

 

[prodigalson12]

Do you realize you are asking this of a person who has the attention span of a tree frog (I think I offended a few tree frogs with that statement)?

But seriously, I try to do something like this at Morning Vespers (Monday and Friday are the only days I can attend) where we have a 25 minute meditation after a reading from Scripture. But sadly, as hard as I try, I often find myself drifting off to sleep (I refer you back to my tree frog comment). It’s something I really wish to improve on in my prayer life.

ooohhhkkk then. We’ll do attention span of a tree frog style of meditation, lol.

Take only line, meditate upon it for 4-5 minutes. See if you can do that, if it’s too much, you’ll have to break it down to two -3 words, shorter time frame increments.

I’m sure you’ll find, even tree frogs can be taught.

 

[NotWorthy]

ooohhhkkk then. We’ll do attention span of a tree frog style of meditation, lol.

Take only line, meditate upon it for 4-5 minutes. See if you can do that, if it’s too much, you’ll have to break it down to two -3 words, shorter time frame increments.

I’m sure you’ll find, even tree frogs can be taught.

Great! Uh, what was the question?

I gotta tell you a quick story, however. Every Monday morning, I have a meeting with 2 other salesmen in our office. Just to give you a little hint about how our meeting go, I’m the one that is most able to focus! It gets to where I feel like saying, “I call this ADHD meeting back to order!”

But I will continue to try to focus on these verses. Thanks for the continued advice!

To be honest with you though, I like to read the Bible and sort of store the information away for later processing. Over the next few days, those verses will pop back into my mind, usually accompanied with one or two “Aha!” thoughts. It’s funny, I could read something and get absolutely nothing out of it. But by the end of the week, I’ll have pulled 4 or 5 gold or silver coins out of it.

 

[prodigalson12]

Great! Uh, what was the question?

I gotta tell you a quick story, however. Every Monday morning, I have a meeting with 2 other salesmen in our office. Just to give you a little hint about how our meeting go, I’m the one that is most able to focus! It gets to where I feel like saying, “I call this ADHD meeting back to order!”

But I will continue to try to focus on these verses. Thanks for the continued advice!

To be honest with you though, I like to read the Bible and sort of store the information away for later processing. Over the next few days, those verses will pop back into my mind, usually accompanied with one or two “Aha!” thoughts. It’s funny, I could read something and get absolutely nothing out of it. But by the end of the week, I’ll have pulled 4 or 5 gold or silver coins out of it.

Those of us that are true, thinkers, do the same thing often, it gets crazy when you have several of those going on at once.

I have this file cabinet memory, where stuff I learned before, shows up in full after having forgotten about it for many years. It’s amazing how different our minds can work, yet in some cool circumstances, how when utilized properly, you can draw upon much more then what you, yourself think capable of.

 

[juliamajor]

Mark is short and to the point.He is sort of like Joe Friday -he just wants to give you the facts.Saying that there is much to Mark if you read it individually and with a commentary. The subtlies are in the Greek langauge and in Marks positioning of his stories.Blindness of a man compared to the blindness of the apostles.
The Messianic secret and immediacy are both big themes in Mark…
The Messianic Secret-the keeping of Jesus’ destiny as messiah secret ,Was Jesus playing it close to the vest for a reason?and Why?What kind of Messiah were the Jews expecting?Was Jesus just another wonder worker like the prophet Elijah? Or did he want the people to understand that He was MORE then they thought,more then they expected, or wanted or desired?Did He want the people to comprehend His “fullness” His “wholeness”.Did He want them to realize that he was more then a man? By holding back was Jesus trying to make them think outside the box? By not giving or letting others give Him the title Messiah was He not emulating His Father at the Burning Bush.“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” I am Who am. Or “you shall know who I am by my actions”.?
I think Jesus may be saying “Who I Am is shown through my actions- not by a mere title.”

Immediacy is the second theme. after baptism jesus “immediately " went into the wilderness. Mk1:12.Or “immediately"the disciples left their nets and followed Jesus;Mk1:18… Mark uses the term “immediately” or” Then” about 43 times ! Why the immediacy.?
The christians of the earliest time believed Jesus’ return was imminent. Therefore the immediacy might be that Mark wanted to show the urgency of getting the Gospel out for the salvation of all those who would hear it-so that when Jesus came back more then a few could be saved.

 

[osddso]

this is not the only time i will ever read the Book of Mark. I just read it out of the NAB. Im reading and paying attention to what i read, so that way, i have some foundation when i get my RSV-CE study bible thats coming out. and eventually the Navarre Study Bibles.