The Gospel of

MarkBart D. Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical

Introduction to the Early Christian Writings (New

York: Oxford UP, 1997)

Who was Jesus, according to this text?

What did he do?

How is Mark’s message about Jesus conveyed through the shape of the narrative?

Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God

1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

1:11 And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.’

What does it mean to call Jesus the messiah?

What does Mark mean by beginning his account with God himself declaring that Jesus is his son?

Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God who Fulfills Scripture

1:2-3 Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you.

A voice of one that cries in the desert:

Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.(Quotations from Malachi and Isiah)

Jesus the Authoritative Son of God

1:22 And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.

Can you find other examples of Jesus speaking or acting authoritatively?

Jesus the Opposed Son of God

2:16 When the scribes and the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’

Why do the leaders of Israel oppose Jesus? Do they not understand who he is? Why are they offended by what he says and does?

Jesus the Misunderstood Son of God

2:7 Now some scribes were sitting there, and they thought to themselves, ‘How can this man talk like that? He is being blasphemous. Who but God can forgive sins?’

Who in this text knows that Jesus is the son of God?

God, Jesus, demons (1:24, 3:11), Mark, the reader, the Roman centurion

Do Jesus’ disciples understand him?

Jesus the Acknowledged Son of God

8:29 ‘But you,’ he asked them, ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’

15:39 The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, ‘In truth this man was the Son of God.’

Jesus the Suffering Son of God

8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of man was destined to suffer grievously and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly.

How many times does Jesus predict his death?

Why does Jesus refuse to answer his accusers? (15:2-5)

Jesus’ Death as the Son of God

15:33 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’

Does anyone in this gospel understand the significance of Jesus’ death?

Are Jesus’ own doubts genuine?

Jesus’ Death as the Son of God

15:38-39 But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the veil of the Sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.

Jesus the Vindicated Son of God

16:6 But he said to them, ‘There is no need to be so amazed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. See here is the place where they laid him.’