Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

So, this is my 60th “study” on Mark. I think that’s pretty cool. I’ve enjoyed writing on Mark’s Gospel so far and hopefully there will be many, many more posts on it. In this post, I want us to think about a phrase that occurs twice in Mark’s Gospel: “The Son of Man must suffer…” (8.31; 9.12). Typically, this phrase is read through the lens of divine determinism: “God the Father made evil things happen so that Jesus would undergo suffering and redeem humanity.” However, there is another way to think through such passages. For instance, if we read the Gospel narratives closely, we see that at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus is aware that the religious and political leaders are plotting to take His life (see: Mk. 3.6 and especially, its parallel Mt. 12.14-5). In both Mk. and Mt., Jesus knows that His neck is on the line. Even so, He continues on in His ministry (e.g. teaching, healing, miracles/wonders, etc.). Thus, we might read the passages that say “The Son of Man must suffer” no...

The story of Jesus rebuking Peter has always been one of the most attention getting narratives of the Synoptics. Among commentators, one or two things are usually emphasized: 1) Peter rebukes Jesus’ “failure” mentality (that is, Peter believes that Jesus’ vision is too shortsighted), or 2) Jesus rebukes Peter for being possessed by or in-league with the devil, that is, satan. While other views exist (usually just a nuanced view of these two points), these are certainly the ones that dominate literature on Mark. It is my contention, though, that there is a better way to read and understand this story. A few posts ago, I argued that in chapter 8 of Mark’s work, Jesus is essentially taking stock of His ministry. He asks many question to gauge precisely where His disciples are and what they think about Him. He also wants to know what others think about Him. One of the questions Jesus asks is, “Who do people…and who do you, say that I am?” Peter replies, “You are the Messiah.” Certainly, Pe...

Jesus, according to my count, asks 66 questions in Mark’s Gospel. I’ve categorized the questions, broadly, into three groups (realizing that sometimes a question may overlap between categories). Here are my findings and categorizations: +Interrogative - (2.8, 5.9, 7.18a, 8.12, 8.17a, 8.18a, 8.27, 8.29, 9.12, 9.23, 10.8, 11.30, 12.11, 12.15, 14.6) +Rhetorical – [when a specific answer is expected or given afterwards, sometimes even in the form of another question] - (2.9, 3.4, 3.23, 3.33, 4.13a, 4.21a, 4.21b, 5.39, 8.17b, 8.17c, 8.36, 8.37, 9.19a, 9.19b, 9.50, 10.3, 10.38, 11.17, 12.9, 12.16a, 12.16b, 12.24, 12.26, 12.36, 12.37, 13.2, 14.37a, 14.41a, 14.48) +Genuine – (2.25, 4.13b, 5.30, 6.38, 7.18b, 8.5, 8.18b, 8.19, 8.20, 8.21, 8.23, 9.16, 9.21, 9.33, 10.36, 10.51, 14.37b, 15.34) For my purposes here, I want to reflect on category number three. In fact, I would suggest that this category is, in some ways, the hardest for many Christians to deal with—it is probably safe to say that ...

When approaching the subject of miracles, there is the potential for many questions to arise: 1. What is the definition of a miracle? 2. Did they really happen? 3. Can we use science to understand miracles? 4. Why did the Jesus do miracles? 5. Why did the Bible writers include miracle accounts in their writings? Etc. All of those questions are legitimate but not all of them are as helpful for formulating a Scriptural theology of miracles. In my opinion, and since we are focusing on Mark, the most helpful question to center on is: Why did Mark include miracle stories in his writings? The reason I believe this is the most helpful question to pursue is because all of the others do not get to the heart of the discussion. Even if one presupposes that miracles really did happen and that Jesus really did do them (as I believe), one is still left with the question: What was/is meant by them? But even that question does not get to the heart of the matter. It does not get to the heart of the mat...

In back-to-back stories in Mark’s Gospel, it is recorded that Jesus “sighs deeply” (from στεναζω). Mark 7.34 reads: “…and Jesus looked up to heaven, sighed deeply and said…” Mark 8.11-12 says: “And the Pharisees came forth and began to question Him, seeking a sign from heaven from Him, trying Him and He sighed deeply in His spirit and said…” When studying these two passages, I could not help but notice the similarities between them. Both are prefaced with a remark about heaven, both include Jesus sighing deeply and both have Jesus saying something immediately after the deep sigh. For my part, I do not think this is mere coincidence, not least because these two stories are side-by-side. So, what is the point? Actually, I think that in locating these stories in such close proximity and by telling them in such similar ways, Mark was trying to be humorous. I’m not sure that many people would agree with this and it may seem rather simplistic but it does make sense. Besides, can’t the Gospel...