Gospel of Mark: Chapter 1 Notes

 The Gospel begins by telling the reader exactly who Jesus is and what this is going to be about: Jesus is the Son of God and this is a story about Good News!

 Mark’s Gospel is one of movement, action, Jesus always seems to out in front of us, beaconing us to follow. Mark uses lots and lots of action verbs in his writing about Jesus.

 The prologue of Mark (the first half of chapter 1 before Jesus begins his public ministry) is very brief. There is no birth narrative, no genealogies connecting Jesus to important historical Jews. No mention of Joseph, Mary, angels, and barely any mention of John the Baptist.

 Very little detail is given about Jesus’ baptism, his temptations in the wilderness or his calling of the first disciples. This is because these stories are not what is important to Mark.

 What is important: Mark 1:15 – “Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Good News of God and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.”

 “Near”ness has to do with proximity, time, and in turning the world upside down from the way things are expected to be. This is a charge for all of creation, not just humanity. The Kingdom of God is near as long as Christ is with us. Everybody and Everything should recognize this!

 A very important theme that runs throughout the gospel is Mark’s Messianic Secret. Jesus is very hush hush about his miracles, healing, and exorcisms. In some cases, he explicitly tells people, demons, recipients of healing not to say anything about what he has done. Why? This is a question that we’ll revisit many times this Fall.

 Interesting note – Mark 1: 30 is evidence that the disciples were married. Or at least Simon Peter was.

 Sometimes illness is coupled with possession and other times they are separate from each other.