This coming Sunday is the 22nd Sunday. In this week’s posts we returned to our consideration of the Gospel of Mark. Before we continue, it is perhaps good to consider a “bigger picture” and gather our thoughts. As Van Linden points out, Mark’s gospel had presented a series of six miracles and then suddenly we are in the midst of a controversy that at first seems like “making a mountain out of a molehill.” Why break up the flow? The miracles demonstrate the power of God and for the attentive, the in-breaking of the kingdom of God, but is there more that Mark is attempting to present? With that I will leave you with some final thoughts.

“Why Mark presents this heavy conflict passage here is just as important as the message it contains. This conflict section interrupts a chain of six miracle stories (it comes after the feeding of the multitude, the walk on the water, and the healing of the crowds; it is followed by the healing of the Canaanite child, the cure of the deaf-mute, and the second feeding of the multitude). Mark seems to have at least two reasons for doing this. First, this heightens the tension of his drama, suggesting that anyone who chooses to follow Jesus as healer will be involved in many conflicts for the sake of the gospel, perhaps even with religious leaders and structures. Secondly, the conflict passage builds on his theme of the slow-witted disciples, because they need special tutoring again (here in v. 17), as they did earlier (in 4:10, 34). Thus Mark challenges Christian leaders within his audience to reevaluate the way they understand and pass on the Christian tradition entrusted to them.” [Van Linden, 918]

Two key concerns emerge from this text. The first has to do with Jesus’ definition of spirituality in terms of heart actions, thought, and interaction with others. This is an extension of Jesus’ emphasis on the law of loving God and loving one’s neighbor, where the focus is on the right relationship. The second is the implication that Jesus’ remarks had for his own authority. Who had the right to make pronouncements about issues tied to Jewish tradition and to the law? Jesus’ apparent comfort in speaking on matters pertaining to the law and with making judgments about them suggests a self-understanding that he could speak for God in his divine role and call. [Turner and Bock, 461]

Image credit: The Pharisees Question Jesus | James Tissot | Brooklyn Museum | PD-US