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Mark’s Gospel Posts

  • December 12, 2011 by Matthew Mason

    New Creation in Mark 7

    Isaiah 28-35 is the primary OT passage underlying Mark 7, but Genesis 1-3 is there in the mix. (Note: although I won’t draw on the Isaiah background in this post, this section of Isaiah also contains new creation imagery.)

    The controversy in 7:1-23 originates in a food test of sorts. But the Pharisees fail the test because, like Eve, they fence God’s command concerning prohibited foods with extra, human words (compare Gen 3:3 also with Col 2:21 – do not handle, taste, touch). Jesus condemns them for having rejected God’s commandment, just as Adam and Eve did. They thus reveal their defiled hearts which lead to a multitude of vices (7:14-23; compare Romans 1:18ff which in a similar way speaks of hardened hearts leading to all kinds of sins, against the narrative backdrop of creation and fall).

    Nevertheless, in Mark 7, there is still the possibility of new creation. At the end of the chapter, the crowds say that Jesus has done ‘all things well’, an echo of Genesis 1:31: ‘God saw all he had made and it was very good’ (as noted by Edwards and Marcus in their commentaries). Jesus also echoes Gen 1 when he declares all foods clean and so gives them to us to eat (7:18f; cf. Gen 1:29; 9:3f; cf. Marcus).

    Following this, a gentile woman passes a food test (7:24-30), in contrast to Eve’s failure of a food test. Then, Jesus restores a deaf mute. This happens in the region of the Decapolis where in a passage with strong adamic and creation/fall overtones Jesus has already delivered the Gerasene demoniac and restored him to true humanity (5:1-20). This time Jesus restores the man’s ears so he can once more hear God’s word. As he does so he looks up to heaven, whence the Spirit came in Jesus’ baptism (Mk. 1:10 – n.b. that Jesus’ baptism marks him as the Last Adam), and then sighs deeply, a probable echo of God breathing his breath of life into Adam (Gen. 2:7).

    Here is new creation, with a new humanity comprised of a gentile Adam and a gentile Eve; the clean/unclean boundaries are removed, so it will be a family that includes Jews and gentiles, a family demarcated not by Pharisaic traditions of clean and unclean, but by faith in Christ (cf. 7:28f, 32).

    Categories: Biblical Theology | General | Mark's Gospel | Matthew Mason

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  • November 8, 2011 by Matthew Mason

    In League with the Serpent?

    In Mark, Jesus comes as King, announcing, enacting, and inaugurating God’s kingdom. But his kingship is not uncontested. As he has since Genesis 3, satan wants humanity’s throne. So, in Mark 1, we see Jesus repeatedly in a battle against satan and his hordes.

    In 2:1-3:6, the conflict continues, but this time the contest is between Jesus and the scribes and pharisees. They begin by grumbling, but by the end of the unit, they’re conspiring with the Herodians to destroy him.

    In juxtaposing these conflicts like this, what is Mark saying about the Pharisees? He’s telling us that they are satanic. The Israel of Jesus’ day is demon possessed. Their opposition to the kingdom, their horror at sinners sharing table fellowship with the king, their inability to see Jesus’ true identity and their antagonism towards him demonstrates they are the seed of the serpent. Their conspiracy with the Herodians is satan’s bid to strike the seed of the woman.

    But they want it to be a covert operation. They conspire in secret and, strikingly, as soon as their demonic identity is exposed, they seek to conceal it, instead accusing Jesus of being in league with the Prince of demons (3:22).

    But their plot to destroy him (apollumi, 3:6) does not take Jesus by surprise. In fact, he’s the one who initiates the conflict (3:1-6). He is the aggressor, come to win back humanity’s throne. He picks a fight, because he’s come on a mission to destroy (apollumi) the old satanic order (2:22).

    The plotline of Mark is the plotline of Genesis 3:15. Satan will strike. But in his Son, the Messiah, God’s promise will prevail. The question for disciples is which kingdom will they support, in which army will they enlist. Will they avoid the yeast of the Pharisees and Herodians (8:11), take up their crosses and follow the rightful king, or will they take the serpent’s side and face the king’s rebuke, “Get behind me satan” (8:33).

    Categories: Mark's Gospel | Matthew Mason

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  • November 4, 2011 by Matthew Mason

    New Creation in Mark’s Prologue

    Mark 1:1-15 is a heptamerous chiasm:

    A beginning of the gospel about King Jesus(v1)

    B Isaiah prophesies a messenger in the wilderness preparing the Lord’s way (2-3)

    C John baptizes in the Jordan,in the wilderness (4-5)

    D John prophesies that a mightier one will baptize with the Holy Spirit (6-8)

    C’ Jesus baptized by John in the Jordan (9-11)

    B’ The Lord in the wilderness 40 days being prepared for his ministry (12-13)

    A’ Jesus proclaims the gospel (x2) of the kingdom (14-15)

    With heptamerous chiasms, it’s always worth seeing if they match with the days of the creation in Genesis 1. This one does. It’s also often profitable to compare them with the seven festivals of Israel in Leviticus 23. Again, the match is striking.

    Mark 1:1-15 Gen 1 Lev 23
    A: beginning (arche) of the gospel In the beginning (arche)… Day 1:  let there be light Sabbath
    B: in the wilderness Day 2 — firmament, Passover
    C: John baptizing Day 3—waters separated to form dry land Firstfruits
    D: The mighty one who baptizes with the Spirit Day 4—lights to rule Weeks (Pentecost)
    C’: Jesus baptized, Spirit as dove, Father’s proclamation Day 5—creation of fish in sea, and birds in heavens Trumpets
    B’: in the wilderness, tempted by satan, wild animals Day 6—creation of animals, and of Adam Day of Atonement
    A’: Jesus proclaims the kingdom Day 7—God rests Booths

    A few comments on the different sections of the chiasm and their parallels:

    A/D The A and D sections indicate that, like John, Mark is presenting Jesus as the Light of the world (cf. Mk 4:21). God created the sun and moon as rulers, and in Scripture sun moon and stars often symbolize rule. Here, Jesus the Light is Jesus the Messiah, the mighty one who receives the Spirit in his baptism, will baptize the nations with the Spirit, the same Spirit who entered into the darkness of the void, hovering over the waters, bringing light on the first day of creation.

    B On day two, God created the firmament to separate heaven from earth; it was a boundary. Similarly, the wilderness in B is a liminal location; a boundary between the slavery of Egypt and the blessings of the Promised Land. The link of wilderness and Passover is obvious.

    C Just as God separated the waters to form the earth, so John brings people through water into a new creation; the crowds who come for baptism are presented as the firstfruits of the kingdom.

    C’ The creation of fish in the waters and birds in the heavens matches with the waters of Jesus’ baptism and the Spirit descending in the form of a dove. The trumpets were used for proclamation, matching the Father’s proclamation of Jesus’ beloved sonship.

    B’ Jesus with the animals recalls day 6 of Gen 1; it also recalls the presentation of the animals to Adam for naming in Gen 2. The temptation recalls Gen 3. However, whilst Adam was tempted in a garden with subdued animals, Jesus is in the wilderness with wild animals. His being driven into the wilderness recalls the scapegoat (Lev 16:10). Having identified with sinners in his water baptism, Jesus will fully identify with them in his bloody baptism (10:38). He will take our uncleanness (state of death) upon himself and so cleanse the temple and the people by his death. However, in Mark, cleansing also involves driving out unclean spirits (cf. 1:21-28). His death for sin will be his conquest over satan. The seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head.

    A’ Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom is the proclamation of the eschatological Sabbath rest. After he has conquered his enemies, like David he will enter his rest (2 Sam 7:1), and call us to join him in that rest. Booths was a festival of feasting before the Lord (cf. also Deut 16). The kingdom Jesus comes proclaiming is enacted time and again by feasting. Just as Adam and Eve were created by God for a feast (Gen 1:29), so too Jesus. As Second Adam and Messiah, he is the bridegroom come to feast with his Eve, his bride. But as he feasts, Jesus is opposed, surrounded by his enemies (2:13-28). As the Good Shepherd, Jesus sets a table for us even in the midst of our foes. Even before the consummation, Jesus’ reigns over a eucharistic kingdom.

    In all this, Mark is subtly presenting Jesus as the New Adam, and proclaiming that the good news of the Messiah and his kingdom is good news of a new creation. The gospel, as Mark presents it, focuses on Jesus the crucified and risen Messiah, but his gospel is cosmic in scope, involving the renewal and consummation of all God’s original purposes in creation.

    Categories: Biblical Theology | General | Mark's Gospel | Matthew Mason

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