Discipleship According to Mark
Discipleship and the Gospel of Mark
1. What does the Markan Jesus believe his mission is? Why does Jesus need followers?
The gospel of Mark, the first and shortest gospel, written for Mark’s gentile community around 70 CE, was such an important piece of writing in presenting the life Jesus led. Mark’s gospel was the most vivid in the portrayal and characterization of the reign of God. It was written in Rome at a time when Mark’s people were under the threat of persecution. Through his writing, Mark’s aim was to inspire his community, to show them how being a disciple was at times a difficult struggle, to persevere through challenges and to face them head on just like his Jesus. Mark wrote about how Jesus challenged mainline Judaism, the temple ideal and the high priests.
Mark believed that Jesus’ mission was to teach and attract followers and for them to develop the courage and vision to take risks for others.
Mark presents Jesus and the disciples as a peasant movement bringing the rule of God into this realm of time and space where death and evil reign.
Mark’s Jesus put the call out to people to begin something new, to find a new life in the family of God through obeying his leadership and the will of the Father. Jesus needed followers to support him and to be together with him, not necessarily as learners to eventually become teachers, but purely as committed servers to him along his journey. Mark makes the point that the “Human One must suffer” (Mk 8:31) as inevitably Jesus does, for to take on the temple and take on a barrier you are open to the consequences of its collapse. Mark believed Jesus’ major mission was to tackle the injustices of the Temple by helping all people believe they are worthy and that they all belong in God’s kingdom. Jesus’ followers were integral as loyal servants heeding his messages and teachings and acting forthwith.
2. How does Jesus find disciples? When in the gospel does he call them? Who are they? Why are
1. What does the Markan Jesus believe his mission is? Why does Jesus need followers?
The gospel of Mark, the first and shortest gospel, written for Mark’s gentile community around 70 CE, was such an important piece of writing in presenting the life Jesus led. Mark’s gospel was the most vivid in the portrayal and characterization of the reign of God. It was written in Rome at a time when Mark’s people were under the threat of persecution. Through his writing, Mark’s aim was to inspire his community, to show them how being a disciple was at times a difficult struggle, to persevere through challenges and to face them head on just like his Jesus. Mark wrote about how Jesus challenged mainline Judaism, the temple ideal and the high priests.
Mark believed that Jesus’ mission was to teach and attract followers and for them to develop the courage and vision to take risks for others.
Mark presents Jesus and the disciples as a peasant movement bringing the rule of God into this realm of time and space where death and evil reign.
Mark’s Jesus put the call out to people to begin something new, to find a new life in the family of God through obeying his leadership and the will of the Father. Jesus needed followers to support him and to be together with him, not necessarily as learners to eventually become teachers, but purely as committed servers to him along his journey. Mark makes the point that the “Human One must suffer” (Mk 8:31) as inevitably Jesus does, for to take on the temple and take on a barrier you are open to the consequences of its collapse. Mark believed Jesus’ major mission was to tackle the injustices of the Temple by helping all people believe they are worthy and that they all belong in God’s kingdom. Jesus’ followers were integral as loyal servants heeding his messages and teachings and acting forthwith.
2. How does Jesus find disciples? When in the gospel does he call them? Who are they? Why are
Bibliography: Dizdar, Drasko. “The Beginning of Wisdom: Mark’s Drama of Jesus.” Reading the Bible: an Introduction for Students. Ed. by Maurice Ryan. Victoria: Social Science Press, 2003, 141-158. Erhmann, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. 2nd Edition. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000. Hurtado, Larry W. “Following Jesus in the Gospel of Mark – and Beyond.” Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament. Ed. by Richard N. Longnecker. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996, 9-29. Myers, Ched et al. (eds). “Say to This Mountain.” Mark’s Story of Discipleship. Ed. by Karen Lattea. New York: Orbis Books, 1996, 99-107. Rhoads, David. “Reading Mark: Engaging the Gospel.” Losing Life for Others in the Face of Death: Mark’s Standards of Judgment. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004, 44-62. Rhoads, David. “The Story of Mark.” TBT 34 (July 1996) 209-214. Stead, Barbara. “Not to Be Served But to Serve.” Private Communication. Sweetland, Dennis M. “Mark’s Portrait of Jesus and the Disciples.” TBT 34 (July 1996), 228-235. Sweetland, Dennis M. “The Structure and Main Themes of Mark’s Gospel.” TBT 44 (2006), 5-11. Wilkins, M.J. “Disciples.” The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Ed. by Joel B Green, et al. Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1992, 176-189.