The
complicated way we approach the life and ministry of Jesus is a hybrid perspective based on variations within the four gospels. It is reminiscent of the
scene in the movie Talladega Nights, The
Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The characters Cal and Ricky become engrossed in
their own preferred depictions of Jesus after Ricky Bobby’s prayer. During the
prayer Ricky refers to Jesus as the baby Jesus, and he is scolded by a member of
his family for not referring to Jesus as an adult. “Look, I like that baby
version the best, and I’m sayin’ the prayer here!” To which Cal replies, “I like
to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt because it says, like I wanna be formal
but I like to party, too, cause I like to party.”
This seems to be a frequent
approach to Jesus when we read our gospels. Hopefully we refrain from putting
Jesus in tuxedo t-shirts, but we still have a tendency to combine multiple
images of Jesus. During Lent we combine multiple discourses on the cross that
are found separately through our synoptic gospels, and we refer to it as Jesus’
seven last words. Now, this isn’t an effort to discount the synoptic study of
the gospels. This is an effort, however, to take an opportunity and take a step
back from the text. It’s an opportunity to read the text as its own story.
After all these are our stories, they are our good news. If we are to begin a
journey into the gospels as a story, then Mark is a wonderful place to begin.
Of all the gospels, Mark is one of the most mysterious. Mark is most frequently credited
as the earliest of the gospels. In fact, Mark is accepted by many scholars as
one of the main sources for our other gospels. Questions of when, where, and who wrote
Mark’s gospel is still hotly contested among scholars, but it is widely agreed that Mark’s gospel is the closest to an original witness to Jesus’
ministry. Our early Christian church was characteristically an orally grounded
tradition, and it is not until much later that our stories begin to be preserved
in writing.
The
uniqueness of Mark is apparent from the very beginning. Mark’s gospel opens
abruptly with a very brief introduction to John the Baptist, and then we are
“immersed” right into the baptism of Jesus. Within Luke and Matthew there is a
detailed account of the birth of Jesus, and within John there is a detailed
introduction that prepares the reader for the Messiah with a bold preface
verifying the divinity of Jesus. Mark, however, begins with a short prologue
(1:1-13) that introduces Jesus as the Son of God at his baptism. Jesus is
tested briefly (1:12-13), so briefly in fact that Mark’s description of Jesus’
testing isn’t even a quarter the length of Matthew or Luke’s depiction of
Jesus’ testing in the wilderness. For the most part we are only informed that it
did indeed happen. This is a common feature of Mark’s gospel. Mark seems to
state things simply, using not only Greek but pieces of Aramaic throughout,
which was the common tongue in Jesus’ day. This coupled with Jesus’ unique
depiction as a tangible human character, brings Jesus closer to us as a member
of humanity. Jesus becomes a character less beyond our reach, instead
sharing in our human circumstance.
Mark’s
gospel is of great value in the ongoing conversation about the theology of the cross. In Mark’s gospel, we find a
Jesus who suffers not only on the cross but also at the hands of humanity
through varying forms of rejection. What is particularly unique about this is
that Mark explores not only Jesus’ suffering but Jesus’ compassion. Mark allows
the reader to explore Jesus’ emotions (10:21) and love for all of humanity.
This complicates our discernment of the intended audience in Mark’s gospel. Jesus does not “play favorites” so to speak in Mark but
devotes his compassion to all of humanity.
Jesus also
takes particular care within Mark’s gospel to not reveal himself, demanding
those who are healed to refrain from revealing his responsibility for their healing
(eg.7:36). Jesus demands that his disciples refrain from revealing his divine
nature (eg. 9:9-10). The hidden identity of Jesus as the Son of God becomes one
of the most consistent themes within Mark’s narrative. It is apparent in Mark’s gospel that the reign of God revealed through Jesus
Christ is not to be spoon fed to the masses. Jesus is not advocating a mega
church within Mark’s gospel, Jesus is drawing the true believers to revelation
of God’s reign in the world.
The hidden message
of God’s reign on earth through the death and resurrection of Jesus is alluded
to throughout the text. Jesus foretells of his death (9:30-32, 10:32-34, etc) throughout the text. These consistent foretellings go mostly
misunderstood and unrecognized by his followers in Mark’s gospel. The most
ironic aspect of Mark’s gospel is that throughout the text Jesus warns of his
crucifixion. What we find in Mark's portrayal of the passion of Christ is an abrupt conclusion. The
conclusion is so abrupt that additions have been made. Many scholars disagree
as to whether the story has lost its ending or if this was intentional on the
part of the author.
I would
argue that this abrupt ending concludes the narrative in the same mysterious and sudden fashion we find throughout Mark. Jesus is not revealed in a glorious fashion but through his humanity. The atoning death of Jesus is not revealed to us in a grand
fashion, just as Jesus’ mission is not revealed in a particularly grand fashion.
We don’t find Jesus standing before us in a tuxedo t-shirt as we want. We find
Jesus standing before us as he is; the Son of God in flesh and blood. This is
not the beautiful vision we crave on Christmas or Easter morning. It is a
dissatisfying and unsettling vision.
Even as we find this vision to be dissatisfying, it is important to remember that
this is the vision of our atoning Savior that gives hope to a
suffering world. A child suffering in poverty, the prisoner who is told that
he/she is the worst of society, the cancer patient who rejects the sight of a
mirror, these are the followers Jesus is calling to in Mark’s gospel. Mark’s gospel is a simple narrative in comparison to Matthew, Luke, and John, but it
reveals Christ in his humanity, clothed in not only flesh but also our
suffering. Mark’s gospel reveals, discreetly, a true theology of the cross.
Mark doesn’t reveal an end to the mission but a call to discipleship. What is
unique about the open ended ending of Mark’s gospel is that it gives the reader
the opportunity to be part of that discipleship. It doesn’t scream for us to
follow, it whispers to those in the dark to follow the light and to seek out
our risen Savior in the suffering of this world.
Sources:
Joel B. Green (ed.),
Hearing the New Testament: Strategies for Interpretation, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010)
David Rhoads, Joanna Dewey, and Donald Michie, Mark as Story: An Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel, 3rd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012).
Marcus Borg and N. T. Wright, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1999)
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