Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 1 Study # 1
August 21, 2018
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Mark's presentation of Jesus is a presentation of God's revelation of "total servant dedication" as the resolution of man's bondage to Satan's commitment to self-exaltation.
Introduction: As we begin our studies of Mark's record of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have a significant need to know where his Spirit-inspired words are supposed to take us in our understanding of God's Love, Truth, and Life. In harmony with the old "trees vs. forest" (we can't see the forest for the trees) idiom, we have two simultaneous tasks before us: we must pay careful attention to the details at the jot and tittle level (we must "see" the trees in as much of their details as we are given);
and we must be continuously seeking to grasp the larger picture as it is gradually revealed to us (we must "see" the forest that our vision of the trees reveals). These are daunting tasks.
We have three main this-world "helpers" in this undertaking: the governing principles of language as effective tools of real communication; the tactics of authors in their use of literary structures; and the impact of overall general biblical theology (as the outcome of "progressive revelation"). And we have a primary other-world "Helper" as the "Guide ... into all truth" (John 16:13): God's own Spirit.
There is this however that must be kept in mind: none of these "helpers" can move us from the limitations of our finitude into the infinity of knowledge -- omniscient certitude. This means that there will be certain points of both blindness and ignorance that will make our understanding incomplete. We will be able to come to the level of functional certainty as the Spirit uses the "tools" and supplies His illumination to them (we can live by faith), but we will not be able to come to final certitude at any point. This means that we must do two things at once: we must "hear His voice and not harden our hearts" (Hebrews 3:7-8; 3:15; and 4:7: be willing to "believe" what appears to carry the stamp of divine illumination); and we must "be careful to not think that we stand so that we do not fall into the pride of the devil" (1 Corinthians 10:12 and 1 Timothy 3:6).
Therefore, with these issues in mind, let us consider some of the more important facts concerning Mark's record of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
- I. The Historical and Theological Setting of the Events of Jesus' Gospel.
- A. The Sixty-ninth Week of Daniel.
- 1. This historical reality makes Mark's record heavily "Jewish" so that we cannot just assume that what Mark wrote "applies across the board" as time marches on.
- 2. There is no doubt that Jesus lived all but the last few of His days on the earth in the "made under the Law" concept of Galatians 4:4.
- 3. Nor can there be any doubt that there was a massive alteration of the plans of God after the conclusion of the sixty-ninth week of Daniel's prophecy when considered through the eyes of first century Judaism and its massive superiority complex.
- B. The unpopularity of John's "Yahweh is Gracious" thesis.
- 1. This unpopularity was specifically generated by the Jewish superiority complex and the thesis of God's "grace" in that it offended the Jews and left them without any significant "control" over "life" [it is no accident that predestination and grace are inextricably linked in Ephesians 1].
- 2. There can be no question that John's, Jesus', and Paul's "troubles" with persecution arose specifically out of the fixation upon God's "grace".
- II. The Markan Historical and Textual Setting.
- A. Mark is notable for three main facts.
- 1. He bailed out on Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary effort.
- 2. He became closely associated with Peter according to traditional information.
- 3. He became "useful" to Paul in the work of ministry.
- B. The significance of these "facts".
- 1. Both Mark and Peter show the same glaring weakness.
- 2. Mark's usefulness argues he found the solution to his weakness.
- 3. Mark's presentation of Jesus is specifically designed to reveal Him as the solution to Mark's weakness.
- C. Mark's textual setting comes to a climax in the condition of the biblical text in Mark 16.
- III. The Place of Mark's Record in Comparison With the Records of the Other Three Gospel Writers.
