Jaron's Journal
| February 10, 2010, 9:55 PM Weekly blog #3: A Layman's Guide through the Bible #1 -- Mark 1 |
| Wow, this hasn't been as weekly as I would've liked; but all will change! This Wednesday, I would like to announce an idea.
As a Christian, making a journey through the Bible is always fascinating. And as a man growing and always changing in his understanding of both where the Bible came from and what the Bible is trying to say, I am going to attempt to challenge myself with two (or perhaps more) phases of Bible study, in which I will attempt to use a different methods in each phase. The first phase will include me looking at the text (the NIV to be specific) all by itself, and trying to interpret what I think it means. I'm aware that I will bring all of my cultural biases with me (though I will try not to bring the ones I KNOW exist), but there may be things learned from a simple look at the text, without being tainted by what other theologians/scholars have to say about it. I'm going to try to give my best answer as to what the passage is saying, how it is meant to be taken, and how it can be applied. I will also note things that bother me, and will struggle through them. This phase will be called "A Layman's Guide through the Bible." The second phase will entail a more scholarly and informed approach, where I will attempt to study each passage read. I'm not sure what I'm going to call this yet, as I'm sure the first phase will keep me busy for months to come. Alright, here we go. Because I believe in Markan priority (or at least I think I do at this point), I'm going to start with the first Chapter of Mark. Right off the bat, we see John the baptist preaching a message of repentance, preparing people's hearts for the coming of Jesus. It looks like he knows that Jesus is coming. Jesus gets baptized, and then gets tempted by Satan in the desert (in an unspecified way). Jesus then starts his ministry by taking up a message of repentance and of the approach of the kingdom of God (what is meant by the latter, I'm not sure at this point). He preaches with authority, in stark contrast to the leaders of his day, and then begins casting out demons and healing the sick. Throughout this I notice too things: he doesn't want the demons/people to tell anyone who he is or what he's done, and he seems to try to get away from the crowds to be by himself for prayer or reflection. This seems to be a result of his sudden increase in popularity. Why is this exactly, is this Jesus humanity coming out in that he has a difficult time dealing with so many people at once? This passage, I'm rather certain, was meant to be taken literally. It is the beginning of Jesus ministry, and sets up the fact that he is a teacher, a healer, and is gaining popularity; much to his chagrin. Any thoughts? |
Comment by Elly on April 5, 2024, 9:08 AM Great topic Thank you for this. it was highly interesting and goes well with Christian art. |