The Gospel of Mark

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paradox3 -----your quote ----- Do you have any reaction to Mark 1? Anything in the chapter that especially appeals to you or causes you difficulty?

unsafe says ------I gave my reaction to Mark 1----Check Page 2 Post 22 -----you must of missed it -----

Mark 1 has a lot of Spiritual things to say -----and so it all appeals to me and I never find that scripture causes me difficulty ---I find it Spiritually enlightens me ----as I rely on the Holy Spirit to help me get the real spiritual meaning that the Scripture is trying to convey ---

I always wear my Spiritual Glasses when it comes to reading scripture -----:angel:---it gets me on the right path ----
 
paradox3 -----your quote ----- Do you have any reaction to Mark 1? Anything in the chapter that especially appeals to you or causes you difficulty?

unsafe says ------I gave my reaction to Mark 1----Check Page 2 Post 22 -----you must of missed it -----

Mark 1 has a lot of Spiritual things to say -----and so it all appeals to me and I never find that scripture causes me difficulty ---I find it Spiritually enlightens me ----as I rely on the Holy Spirit to help me get the real spiritual meaning that the Scripture is trying to convey ---

I always wear my Spiritual Glasses when it comes to reading scripture -----:angel:---it gets me on the right path ----
Interesting question you raised about Jesus and baptism. I apologize for missing it earlier.

Yes, we read in Matthew that He sought baptism from John to fulfill all righteousness.

But this has me thinking about His nature. If we accept that he was fully human and fully divine, could it be that his human nature stood in need of repentance? We know practically nothing about his life before his ministry began. I am not suggesting he was living a wild and crazy lifestyle or anything, but perhaps he had been resisting God's call. Or just not being his authentic self. Maybe he saw baptism as a way of starting anew as he devoted himself to his ministry.
 
It is also interesting to contemplate that it was the Holy Spirit which directed Jesus to the wilderness.
 
Summary: Mark 2:1-12

1. After some days, Jesus entered Capernaum and was in the house. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even by the door. Jesus preached to the crowd and they brought a paralytic carried by four men. They had to break through the roof to get the man inside. Jesus saw the faith of the four men and forgave the paralytic. The scribes were sitting there, and wondered, "Who can forgive sin but God alone?"

Jesus responded, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven or arise, take up your bed, and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, (He said to the paralytic) I say to you, arise, take up your bed and go your way to your own house."

And all were amazed.
 
Reflection: Mark 2:1-12

These 12 verses raise so many questions in my mind I am planning to spend more than one day on Mark 2.

Which house would this be in Capernaum?

Why did so many gather to hear Jesus preach the word? In Mark 1 people had been astonished by His teaching in the synagogues. While Jesus taught the multitudes in Matthew, they seemed to be attracted more by His healing powers.

Why does a person need to be forgiven for being paralyzed? Was Jesus under the impression that physical illness is punishment by God? Demons, which featured strongly in Mark 1, are not mentioned in this narrative.

So, which is easier, forgiving sin or telling the paralytic to rise and walk? What is Jesus saying here?

Why does Jesus think healing the paralytic will prove to the scribes He has the power to forgive sins?

Why has Jesus started to call himself the Son of Man? This title is not mentioned in Mark until 2:10. Mark 1 opened with referring to Jesus as the Son of God. Are we to understand the dual nature of Jesus by these two titles?
 
I always wear my Spiritual Glasses when it comes to reading scripture -----:angel:---it gets me on the right path ----
How do we acquire these glasses, would you say? Is it a matter of being open to the Spirit, praying for insight, or something else?
 
Thoughts on Mark 1:1-5.
..

V1

Mark loses no time in preliminary discussions and long introductions. He has a message for all of all times. And it sets the divine message's limits and boundaries for all time. The Gospel's centered in Christ, who is the Gospel. Jesus is placed before us. Only this message is the Gospel. Mark's emphasis is that all messages that don't lead to Christ, that don't come from Christ, are false.

==

V2-4

Two of the prophets of olden times had described John the Baptist, and the missionary combines their prophecies for brevity.

The first prophecy is one in which God promises to send God's messenger before Christ. And this one would prepare Christ's way. A preparation should be done by the message given to the herald.

In the second prophecy, the message's contents are given. It's a voice to awaken shameful people from their sleep. A feature: It'd be heard out in the wilderness, far from the towns. It's the heart and mind that must be prepared for the coming of Christ, who intends to establish himself in Christians.

Only penitent shameful people are let into God's Kingdom. Pride must be removed. That's the sum of John the Baptist's message. In fulfilling this prophecy, John the Baptist was out in the wilderness between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He baptized to emphasize his preaching. For his was a proclamation of the baptism of repentance for the remission of shamefulness. It wasn't a proselyte baptism, nor was it identical with that of Jesus and the NT sacrament.

Those that repented received remission, forgiveness of their shamefulness, and this remission was sealed unto them by John's baptism.

==

V.5

John attracted attention. His fame traveled, and the capital's people set out to see this man. And his preaching's effect was remarkable.

Masses of people, all ages, were baptized. It was the custom not to baptize an adult until the candidate had affirmed that they'd renounce idolatry, superstitions, and had promised allegiance to the Law. Here the confession of shameful acts preceded baptism.

John applied the prophet's words. Those that admitted their shamefulness, he cheered by the reference to God's free grace. To the proud he emphasized humility's necessity, upon the deceitfulhe urged simplicity and purity.
 
Spiritual glasses are like obsidian ... so you can see out and yet reflect within!

Hommo Deus as an enigma ... that hang-up between what;s innate and explicate! Those fully centered find they don't see the metaphorical narcist! Get out of here all you haunts ... let me think ... thus self-resolution ... sometimes one has to go to an arid place to rid one self of the drippy experts ... considering what is mortally known about infinite things ... this creates a great mental gape-heh!

Really? It is quite a jump from absolute to abstract ... both are unseen though as ... well a mysterious hue! Imagine a cleaned up pagan that the powers have confined to one room shacks ... this type of house is good enough for a humble story to erupt ...
 
Which house would this be in Capernaum?

The NRSV translates it as, "When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home."

So apparently it was wherever he was living at the time. Wonder how the neighbors felt?:rolleyes: Where there NIMBYs in 1st century Judaea?

Interesting that he ties healing to forgiveness in the story of the man suffering from paralysis. Perhaps the paralysis was psychosomatic and being relieved of some burden of guilt cured the psychological element? Certainly, feeling better psychologically can help overcome physical challenges.
 
Paradox3 ------you obtain the Spiritual glasses when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour ------until then you are reading with worldly glasses and cannot grasp the Spiritual meaning of the Logos -----you get the Rhema only after you have the Holy Spirit indwelling in you -----

unsafe says ----Jesus was sinless and was holy He never had to be Baptised by water ----He did this to show the way that was to come -----the Baptism of the Holy Spirit -----and the scripture tells you that ----- verse 8 from Mark 1 ----- 8 As for me, I baptized you [who came to me] with water [only]; but He will baptize you [who truly repent with the Holy Spirit.”

 
In vv. 1-12, there is also a hint of a picture of resurrection-- a man is lowered through a hole, like a corpse; yet the same person emerges from the doorway with a new life. Is this a sort of prologue to the rest of the gospel?
 
Now I am wondering if I might have participated in a RL bible study discussion based on Mark 2:1-12. This would explain why so many questions sprang to mind so quickly. It is even possible I facilitated such a session.

I am recalling a conversation about "Arise, pick up your bed and walk."

We may have more abilities than we realize and it can be very Christ-like to see the potential in others.
 
In vv. 1-12, there is also a hint of a picture of resurrection-- a man is lowered through a hole, like a corpse; yet the same person emerges from the doorway with a new life. Is this a sort of prologue to the rest of the gospel?

Foreshadowing, in literary terms.:nerd:

Going beyond 1-12 for a moment, Mark 2 in general is quite episodic, a string of little stories linked by Jesus meeting people and having teachable moments with them. Kind of what we on my writing site call "micro-fiction" (stories under 1000 words, often under 500) but perhaps not fiction. Parables would be another possible term, given that each has a message to it.
 
There was a great deal of foreshadowing in Matthew's gospel.

Lots to keep an eye out for in Mark. . . foreshadowing, fulfillment of prophecy, Torah observance . . .
 
There was a great deal of foreshadowing in Matthew's gospel.

Lots to keep an eye out for in Mark. . . foreshadowing, fulfillment of prophecy, Torah observance . . .

There are people that deny Shadow for fear of the conscience slipping into the entanglement ...

Is illustrated well in Kubler-Ross Principle ... that Pi-EU ... to those residing in denial of future & consequences as these proceed ...

But, in actuality ... common folk are told they shouldn't know thus the biblical fall of that peculiar tree of fuzzy nature ,,, dreamt back up in a seizure by Seuss ... Zeus?

Thus forgetting and denial were constructed ... in the abstract ... you have to go there to draw it back out ... be cautious as ANis ... you could get sucked in tuit ... that Event Horizon of Doctrine Hawkings ... when you pass thro' it warps ... the stoned break at this point ... nothing left but liberal grits ... Anne Coulter say they are demonic haunters of the progressive institutes ... stuff lost with ease ... like pre Monique (moni shuns)? Lack drives the brute hunger ...

Can one fall over the foundation of how little we know ... "In the beginning a great formless void ..." is there a place for prevailing worries ? T Bone Pickings ... he raved about CEO's that experienced mistakes ...

I encrypt these learnings as a humble reject of the entitled powers ... noname mentioning as critical thought is rejected ...

Scripts are commonly darker ...
 
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Thinking more about the story of man with paralysis, could it be a myth about redemption? Think about it:
  • Man is paralyzed = burdened by sin
  • Jesus forgives his sin and heals him = redemption
  • Man walks away = resurrection
So the man could be a mythological figure, a stand-in for humanity or anyone, making it a myth about how Jesus' forgiveness redeems us, allowing us to resurrect into a new life unburdened by sin (paralysis).

Or maybe I'm just overthinking it.:rolleyes:
 
Thinking more about the story of man with paralysis, could it be a myth about redemption? Think about it:
  • Man is paralyzed = burdened by sin
  • Jesus forgives his sin and heals him = redemption
  • Man walks away = resurrection
So the man could be a mythological figure, a stand-in for humanity or anyone, making it a myth about how Jesus' forgiveness redeems us, allowing us to resurrect into a new life unburdened by sin (paralysis).

Or maybe I'm just overthinking it.:rolleyes:

Like great hubris ... overthunk will passover too ... where do those wee chitz of ours go when lost over the horizon of cognate ...
 
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