I could never forget when we attended and became part of the San Lorenzo Bible Study Ministry. Bro Willie said a lot of things that are new to me. We tackled about the Book of Mark, which happens to be the favorite gospel writer of our speaker/teacher. He elaborated on this by citing an overview of Mark based on their Christology and source of authority. Christology means the image of Jesus as viewed by the 4 evangelists. Mark, is first of all considered as low Christology because he depicted Jesus as human as possible. He even compared Mark to a young and vibrant man who is full of life and action. He even suggested that if we are to introduce Jesus to a young person then it is advisable to use the gospel of Mark. Mark's down to earth approach of presenting Jesus is shown in his desire to write about Him in the human flesh. He lacked the sophistication, the least educated and was not as articulate in his writing compared to other gospel writers. In fact there have been some grammatical errors detected and with some inconsistencies and failed to present an accurate data in geography and history. Although these things like the geographical make up of the land and people are vital facts in the study of the gospel of Jesus, Mark emphasized or maybe couldn't care less about these things because he was primarily concerned about the theological understanding of the gospel. Here are several passages in the Book of Mark to further explain or for an in depth illustration of the Markan secret.
In Mark 8:27-29, "...Along the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said to him in reply, "You are the Messiah."
We thought it was Peter, who became the 1st Pope who of the Catholic Church who first got it right. But if we read further on in the same chapter 8 of Mark in the following verses, 30-33, "Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
What Mark was trying to say is that we got it all wrong if we thought that Peter got it right because he didn't. He missed the truth about Jesus, he can not handle the truth that the Messiah, the King will be nailed and die on the cross. Just imagine Jesus who predicted and poured out his agony over his passion and death but was disappointed by Peter's inability to really get the point. It seemed ironic that the 1st Pope just guessed it right, it was really a pagan, a centurion who first got it right because he saw the cross of Jesus as the sign of His Kingship. For it is written in Mark 15:37-39, "Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" This means that if it was the centurion pagan who first got it right and not the 1st pope then salvation is for everybody even to the pagans and the Gentiles. As in Mark 5:25 "There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured. "Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction." A woman was considered of no social standing during that time, and to be a pagan/Gentile only added to her worthlessness she was not even addressed with her own name. Mark was very much around the very people whom we usually look up to as the leaders of the community but fail to reach the mark. In Mark 9: 49-50, "Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another." During his time, salt was stored in a bag and used in the cooking the way in the same manner tea bags are used. This is to filter the impurities so after use the taste is gone and what's left is just a bag of dirt. Mark was very much around this kind of people and this is what he was trying to convey in his writings. For in Mark 10: 32-45 when Jesus predicted for the 3rd time his passion and death, "Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise." Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish (me) to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
Mark was with people with a lot of conflicts. This is shown in the following bible passages as in Acts 15: 36-41, "After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come, let us make a return visit to see how the brothers are getting on in all the cities where we proclaimed the word of the Lord." Barnabas wanted to take with them also John, who was called Mark, but Paul insisted that they should not take with them someone who had deserted them at Pamphylia and who had not continued with them in their work. So sharp was their disagreement that they separated. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed after being commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. He traveled through Syria and Cilicia bringing strength to the churches."
In this passage Paul's dislike for Mark (John) was very obvious. Also in Galatians where Paul did not hide his dislike for Peter (Kephas) 2:11,"And when Kephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong."
Although there were conflicts among the people in the Church, as it usually does, they were able to go past it and built the Church. These things can be considered as the agitation in the grain of sand in the clam which eventually turned into a priceless pearl. This anxiety among these people of God brought about the spread of the Church in various places for they were divided into 2 groups and were able to evangelize in 2 different places at one time. God saw to it that everything turned out for the good. The Markan Community emphasizes this truth that despite the brokenness of the people the Church of God, the community still survived which is evident to this very day.
Mark wants us to realize that we should not want Jesus just because of our own personal agenda. The Book of Mark is one of the synoptic gospels (Matthew and Luke among the others while John is non synoptic/Apocalyptic) meaning syn a Greek word meaning "same" and optic meaning sight/lens. The Kingdom of God must be viewed through the lens of Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King but not one seated on the throne but hanging on the cross.
Joel 1:13-15; 2: 1-2
... Alas, the day! For near is the day of the LORD,...
Mark, Luke and Matthew are considered Petrine gospels because they originated from their association with Peter while the authority of John is coming from his direct relationship with Jesus being always in close contact with Him and fondly called as the one whom Jesus loved. Matthew is more of the strict and rigid type, which adheres to the laws. Luke depicts more of the healing power of Jesus. John is considered as high Christology is apocalyptic in nature since he is the one who died last among all the apostles he witnessed more and was able to write a lot of revelations about Jesus. In studying the bible we have to use the holistic approach and study all 4 gospels for a broader understanding of who Jesus is. If we continue to hold on to God and seek Him at all times in all things then we will never be disappointed. We will surely find Him and not be led astray for everything is under God’s control and power. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Psalm 9:2-3. 6 and 16. 8-9
R: The Lord will judge the world with justice.
1 [2] I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous deeds. 2 [3] I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, Most High... ...Because my enemies are turned back, overthrown and destroyed before you. 5 [6] You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; their name you blotted out forever and ever. (R) 15 [16] The nations are sunk in the pit they have made; in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
There is no neutral or middle thing for the Lord. It is either we are with Him all the way without any exceptions or we are against Him. We could not choose to divide our loyalty because it will only destroy us in the process. It's like we are in a battle and our full strength and cooperation is needed to keep our defenses up or we end up losing it and captured by the enemy. We've got to make a clear stand by now in all areas and aspects of our life whether big or small and from the least to the most important or significant. We have to be aware of the fact that what we are dealing with here is a "no fuss and beat around the bush thing". We have to know on which side we are in and really go for it. Exorcism of demons is part of Jesus’ ministry. In today's gospel people were amazed at how Jesus was able to cast out evil spirits. These various evil gods and demons are a real presence at the time of Jesus and appear to rule even in the ancient world. The crowd is looking for a sign and they have seen enough to bring them to amazement but with it go together, the blindness and the hardness of the heart. This is a perennial problem when people see what God is trying to do but because of the hardness of heart it just won’t sink in. We have to examine our conscience and should ask ourselves what are the signs of the presence of God in our life. How are we paying attention or listening to the signs that God gives us. This is the call of today’s readings. Christ answered His critics in the gospel that every kingdom divided against itself will be laid to waste. Is satan divided against itself? Do we think that satan will tolerate a civil disobedience in his kingdom? The answer of course is that satan is not divided against itself, he won’t tolerate that. He will terrorize and make people absolutely frightened to make them follow his bidding. This is satan's way. As God works in His mercy, satan operates through terror. Who are we imitating? There is no doubt that God can defeat Satan and has already shown this since time immemorial to all generations. Jesus' ability to cast out demons is similar to God casting out the power of Egypt. Christ is using the power of God to liberate his people. He is the new Moses. He is doing a great liberation from delivering us from satan and sin. Like the multiplication of the loaves and the manna from heaven. Christ is leading and invading the power of evil and bringing the kingdom of God into the presence of this darkness, to Israel and the whole world to gain freedom of the demonic. In His short parable in the gospel he likened a strong man and his army to satan and his devils. He controlled people’s lives and continue to debilitate and deform human nature. We are made in the image and likeness of God but he distorts this image because that’s his goal. There are other ways he does this, through violence and any of the capital sins. He uses the lust industry and distorts human love. This demonic distortion is what Christ wants to conquer. The violence, oppression, anger, lust and the capital sins are all part of the distortion but Jesus has overcome and the forces of evil are defeated. He can take souls away from the clutches of evil but He sets a challenge for us. He said that whoever is not with me is against me. We see so many forces of the anti Christ in the world today through violence, avarice and sex which are very rampant. They are the demonic devices and ways which the evil one works. We should make a decision to always be for Christ and not compromise with the enemy. Satan is considered as one of the major obstacles of the Kingdom but we need to know that not everything is due to Satan's evil schemes. We are reminded that there is also the human intervention like personal ambition, attitude, ignorance and arrogance of people who are supposed to be models of faith but turned out to be the obstacles themselves. Testing the spirit if it is of God’s or not is very important. We should always remember the WWJD (What would Jesus do?)principle. We are God's temple and we have to make sure that we are well protected or else someone is going to take over us. We take note in 1 Peter 5:8 it is written, Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour. If we are not careful with the way we live our life before we know it we have already been conquered and defeated. We have a very cunning and deceitful adversary who is always on the lookout for an opportunity to attack us in the most discreet and unsuspecting way. If our enemy is this determined then we too have to get our acts together. We must not lose heart for we have a company of angels and saints that are surrounding us. We should remain confident that no other battalion or army can defeat the entire legion of angels and saints of God in heaven. They are on our side to guard and defend us. We should feel great knowing that we have a Great and Loving God who would move heaven and earth for our sake. We just got to be very clear on which side we are. Are we for or against God, there is no in between. Our action will speak for itself. Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 11:15-26
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”…
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