son of god in mark's gospel

In my commentary on St. Matthew’s gospel, I emphasize Mathew’s central theme of establishing, point by point, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah expected by the Jewish nation. Art by Laura Kranz. Hence, the testimony of God is the high point.In 3:11 and 5:7 we come across a complex situation.

Although the book is anonymous, apart from the ancient heading “According to Mark” in manuscripts, it has traditionally been assigned to John Mark, in whose mother’s house (at Jerusalem) Christians assembled ( Acts 12:12 ). Hence, the centurion as a character in this gospel is capable of making such a great pronouncement about Jesus.The author of Mark does not present both the centurion’s and Peter’s statements about Jesus as revelations from God. This question is strategically kept here to guide readers to focus on the profound theological statement which the author both made earlier and equally wishes for a conclusion of the earthly mission of Jesus.For the first time, in 15:39, we come across a human testimony about Jesus being son of God. The topic “Son of God in the Gospel of Mark” is carefully chosen to arm my readers with a significant skill for reading the gospel. Consider the extraordinary information in the following verses of Mark’s very first chapter:In comparison, at the end of the first chapter in Matthew, we have just reached Christ’s birth, and are still awaiting the Magi.

Once, in 1:1, the author expressed by himself the view that Jesus is son of God without the aid of a character.2-3. Christ as Son of God in Mark’s Gospel. This is the position taken by the New Testament scholar Michael Pakaluk, for example, who has recently done a new translation of Mark’s gospel. A. Y. Collins, “Mark and His Readers: The Son of God among Jews,” HTR 92/4 (1999), 399-400.Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Both evangelists state that Our Lord will be ashamed before His Father of all those who are ashamed of Him, but it is Mark who adds “when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (8:39). From Man, God & spirit. However, the importance of Mark 15:39 for the understanding of Mark’s theological perspective about Jesus cannot be overemphasized. These reasons are the author’s strategy to communicate two crucial points.

In a very minor shift in emphasis, when the High Priest asks Jesus if he is the Christ, “the Son of the Blessed”, Matthew records the answer in the idiomatic “You have said so” while Mark records this more directly as “I am”.Mark’s account is by far the shortest of the gospels, and significantly shorter than Matthew’s. One of the demons, Ornias by name, described the special knowledge unclean spirits possess thus: “We demons go up to the firmament of heaven, fly around among the stars, and hear the decisions that issue from God concerning the lives of men.” (cf. Like the case of unclean spirits above the question here is what the author intends to achieve with the statement of the high priest. A voice from heaven and a voice from the cloud presuppose the voice of God himself. Moreover, Mark records a stern aspect of Christ’s commissioning of the disciples to preach the gospel to the whole creation: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” Mark quotes Jesus as saying, “but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:15-16).Finally, and true to form, Mark concludes his narrative by proclaiming that “the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and All comments are moderated.

Matt 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10; Acts 10:1-48; etc. Twice, in 3:11 and 5:7, the author presents unclean spirits as characters who either testify that Jesus is son of God or who try to gain power over (manipulate) Jesus by naming him.6. They do not desire them so much to be men who will initiate attacks and open the battle, but men who will hold their ground when worsted and hard-pressed and be ready to die at their posts (p. 323).The testimony of Polybius is positive.

Abrupt and temporary because the proclaimer quickly relapses into uncertainty. In between we find unclean spirits that want to manipulate Jesus as well as the high priest who questions the identity of Jesus. We have earlier heard these words from God himself, and from unclean spirits (though not as testimony). Moreover, what we might call Mark’s drumbeat of Divinity continues apace. But it is intriguing that they have knowledge of the future which humans do not have up to this point. The testimony of God is reliable. The unclean spirits although they have their own agenda indirectly speak of the truth about Jesus’ identity. By the end of Matthew’s third chapter, Christ has only just been baptized.It is perhaps also noteworthy that where Matthew refers to the “kingdom of heaven”, Mark refers to the “kingdom of God”. Which is a complete confirmation that Jesus is the son of God.Thank you for this wonderful insight into the gospel according to Mark.Thanks for the feedback and request for clarification.