Expository Reflections on the Gospels, Volume 3 (eBook)

Mark

Douglas Sean O'Donnell (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
584 Seiten
Crossway (Verlag)
978-1-4335-9065-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Deep Exegesis, Engaging Illustrations, and Relevant Applications of the Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark recounts pivotal moments in Jesus's ministry, including his baptism, miracles, parables, transfiguration, passion, crucifixion, and resurrection. To help people grasp these important events, pastors must understand the biblical text and then deliver sermons that are deep, engaging, and transformative. This accessible homiletical commentary will help! Drawing from years of pastoral experience, pastor-theologian Douglas O'Donnell offers exegetical insights on the Gospel of Mark with both wisdom and wit. With the latest scholarship and contemporary illustrations, he walks passage by passage through the text, connecting the life of Jesus both to Old Testament Scripture and our lives today. This is part of the Expository Reflections on the Four Gospels series, which equips pastors to faithfully teach the Gospels. - Part of the Expository Reflections on the Four Gospels Series: Designed to help pastors better understand, explain, illustrate and apply the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus - Accessible: O'Donnell's writing style is clear, concise, and easy to understand - Theologically Rich: This book draws both from the wisdom of past theologians and the best of contemporary scholarship - Written by Douglas O'Donnell: Coauthor of The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition and an editor of the Knowing the Bible series - A Great Resource for Pastors, Seminary Students, and Lay People

Douglas Sean O'Donnell (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is the senior vice president of Bible editorial at Crossway. Over the past twenty-five years he has helped train people around the world to read and teach the Bible clearly. He has pastored several churches, served as a professor, and authored or edited over twenty books, including commentaries, Bible studies, children's books, and a children's curriculum. He also wrote The Pastor's Book with R. Kent Hughes and The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition with Leland Ryken.

Textauszug

Arise and Follow the Son

Mark 1:1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Mark 1:1

While attending a Christian college I began an outreach ministry at the local community college. Once a week a group of Christian students would scatter around campus and ask people whether they were interested in taking a religious survey. I do not remember all the questions we asked, but I do remember one question and the most popular answer to it. To the question “Who is Jesus?” the usual reply was “the Son of God.” When we followed up that answer with more probing questions, we discovered that Jesus as “the Son of God” can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

The Gospel of Mark was written to give God’s inspired answer to the question, Who is Jesus? Put differently, it was penned to answer, explain, and illustrate the identity of the real Jesus. So, we might say, this Gospel was written to answer the question, Who is Jesus the Son of God? It was written also to answer the questions, Why should we follow him? and, if we are compelled to follow him, How should we follow him?

Our text for this introductory chapter is quite simple: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). But our task is more complex. Here we set out to discover—or rediscover—Jesus. Who is he? What is the good news about him? And, if drawn to him, how should we respond?

Who Is Jesus?

First, who is Jesus? In Mark 1:1 the Evangelist introduces us to the man Jesus. The name Jesus, which means “Yahweh saves,” was one of the most common names in Israel at that time. A number of recent studies indicate that the most popular male names among Palestinian Jews living between 330 BC and AD 200 were (1) Simon, (2) Joseph, (3) Lazarus, (4) Judas, (5) John, and (6) Jesus.1 So the Jesus of the Gospels was not the only Jesus in Galilee. He was not even the only Jesus of Nazareth. If someone yelled “Jesus” in Jerusalem, like Mary and Joseph must have done when looking for their son (see Luke 2:41–52), more than a few heads would have turned. It would be like yelling “Patrick” in an Irish bar in Boston or “Tony” at a bocce ball tournament at Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.

So the once trendy Jewish name “Jesus” does not define, or set apart, the Jesus we know and love. But the two titles that follow do so: “Christ” and “the Son of God.” The term “Christ” is not a last name but a designation. It means “anointed one,” or “Messiah.” It speaks of Jesus’ being the promised King from the line of David (2 Sam. 7:11–16; Isa. 9:1–7; 11:1–16). Mark uses this title eight times. Besides in this verse (Mark 1:1), which serves not only as the start of his Gospel but also as its summary sentence, the name is used regularly in other important moments as well. For example, at the structural center (see table 1.1) and theological hinge of the Gospel (Mark 8:27–29) Peter answers Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” with “You are the Christ” (8:29). At Jesus’ trial the high priest asks Jesus, “Are you the Christ?” (14:61), to which Jesus replies, “I am” (egō eimi, 14:62). The final time that this word is used is in 15:32, where Jesus is reviled on the cross, “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” His mockers understand correctly that the Christ is the “King of Israel,” but they fail to understand that the mission of the promised King is crucifixion. (More on that in a moment.)

Table 1.1: Outline of the Gospel of Mark

1:1–15

Introduction to the Gospel: John the Baptist and Jesus

1:16–3:6

Jesus in Galilee: Ministry and Controversy

3:7–6:6

Jesus in Galilee: Jesus Teaches and Shows His Power

6:7–8:26

Jesus in Galilee: Jesus’ Acts Yield a Confession

8:27–10:52

After a Key Confession, Jesus Heads to Jerusalem and Prepares His Disciples for the Suffering That Is to Come

11:1–16:8

In Jerusalem Jesus Meets Controversy and Rejection, Leading to His Death and Resurrection, as He Also Teaches of Suffering, Judgment, and Vindication23

Jesus is the “Christ.” He is also “the Son of God.” This designation does not mean that God the Father, sometime two thousand years ago, birthed a son who did not previously exist. It does not mean Jesus is a son of God in the same way every member of God’s covenant community is a child of God. And it is not merely a synonym for Christ. Rather, in Mark 1:1, and also when the Father at Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration says, “This is my beloved Son” (9:7; cf. 1:11),2 the title “Son of God” means that “Jesus is eternally Son of the Father, sharing his divine nature.”3

This is obviously an important title, and, like the good silverware and china, Mark brings it out only for special occasions. He uses it three times, and every usage is significant. First, it is employed in Mark’s introductory but also summary sentence (1:1). Second, it is found in two key confessions by two unexpected characters. At 3:11 we read, “Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’” The demons recognized Jesus’ identity before the disciples did! Then at 15:39 the historical record states, “When the centurion, who stood facing him [Jesus on the cross], saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” This scene and confession is dripping with irony. The Gentile solider responsible for carrying out the orders to crucify Jesus is the first person in history to look to the crucified Christ and confess him as “the Son of God.”

So, Jesus is the “Christ” and “the Son of God.” You may notice, however, that I have subtitled this commentary Arise and Follow the Son. I use the word Son because Jesus as the Son of God is an important identity marker. But I subtitle the commentary Arise and Follow the Son and not Arise and Follow the Son of God because Mark uses two other Son titles that help us better identify this Jesus we seek to discover: Son of David and Son of Man.

More will be said about those titles when we come to them in the various narratives. For now, I will simply say that Son of David is closely connected to Christ (12:35), and Son of Man to Son of God. Jesus is the Christ (the anointed King) from the lineage of David. He fulfills the Davidic covenant. Moreover, Jesus is the Son of Man.4 He is the Son of Man in his humble human state (Matt. 8:20) and in his humiliation—his rejection and sufferings (Mark 8:31; 10:45; 14:21, 36). But also, alluding to the Son of Man in Daniel 7:13–14, Jesus is the exalted figure who is worshiped alongside the Ancient of Days. In Mark, Jesus as the Son of Man acts like God: he forgives sins (Mark 2:10), rules over the Sabbath (2:28), and will judge the world (8:38; 13:26). The Christ is the Son of David; the Son of God is the Son of Man. Jesus Christ is the Son of David, the Son of God, and the Son of Man.

Three times in Mark questions are raised about Jesus’ identity. After hearing his wise words and witnessing his mighty works, Jesus’ hometown asks, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?” (6:3). Then, after the calming of the storm the disciples ask, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (4:41). Finally, Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” (8:27). If we survey the whole of the Gospel, what...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 4.3.2024
• Reihe/Serie: Expository Reflections on the Gospels
• Verlagsort: Wheaton
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Religion / Theologie ► Christentum ► Bibelausgaben / Bibelkommentare
• Schlagworte: 52 weeks • Beginner • Bible study • Christian Books • Commentary • Discipleship • doug odonnell • gods word • Gospel • Jesus • Mark • new believer • recap • Scripture • She Reads Truth • Small group books • Systematic Theology
• ISBN-10: 1-4335-9065-4 / 1433590654
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4335-9065-8 / 9781433590658