An Illustrated Commentary by Phillip Medhurst on the Gospel of Mark. Section I to J

A COMMENTARY ON THE
GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

BY

PHILLIP MEDHURST
formerly Head of Religious Studies
at Earl Shilton Community College

ILLUSTRATED WITH PRINTS FROM
THE BOWYER BIBLE

WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY
HARRY KOSSUTH

SELECTED, ARRANGED
AND EDITED BY
PHILLIP VERE


I. Jesus commands the waves. Mark 4:35-41, 6:45-52
28 Mark’s Gospel I. Jesus commands the waves image 1 of 4. Christ stills the
storm. Parros
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 4355
29 Mark’s Gospel I. Jesus commands the waves image 2 of 4. walking on the
sea. Schellenberg
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 3714
30 Mark’s Gospel I. Jesus commands the waves image 3 of 4. Christ stills the
storm. Loutherbourg
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 3601
31 Mark’s Gospel I. Jesus commands the waves image 4 of 4. walking on the
sea. Loutherbourg
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 3710
J. jairus' daughter . Mark 5:22-24, 35-43
32 Mark’s Gospel J. Jairus' daughter image 1 of 2. Christ raises Jairus’
daughter. Kappner
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 4365
33 Mark’s Gospel J. Jairus' daughter image 2 of 2. Christ raises Jairus’
daughter. after Rembrandt
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 4363



BOLTON, ENGLAND
2010

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in memoriam

KEVIN VICTOR FREESTONE

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I. JESUS COMMANDS THE WAVES. MARK 4:35-41, 6:45-52

This story would bring comfort to a persecuted Church. The disciples' lives
are at risk and they are in an impossibly dangerous situation. Yet Jesus shows
that you can turn events around quite dramatically, completely "out of the
blue". Only God could control the elements: "You rule over the powerful sea;
you calm its angry waves." (Psalm 89:8) Jesus has the power of God in its
fulness.

Why has Mark put this miracle next to parables? Sometimes there is a thin
dividing line between the two. It could be argued that Jesus's stilling of the
storm is a kind of action parable – in other words, an action which has a
deliberate and conscious meaning. There is something that Jesus does later on
in the Gospel - the cursing of a fig-tree - which is definitely an action-parable.
The feeding of five thousand people is also probably an action-parable. So the
distinction between "saying" – telling a story – and "doing" - performing an
action - can become blurred.







I1. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 4355. CHRIST STILLS THE STORM. PARROS

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To calm the terror of the disciples when they saw him walking on the water
Jesus came near and spoke words of reassurance. Their significance is to be
explained from the Old Testament, and particular Isaiah 43. "Courage! . . .
Don't be afraid" is God's word to his people in their distress: "Israel, the Lord
who created you says, 'Do not be afraid – I will save you. I have called you by
name - you are mine. When you pass through the deep waters, I will be
with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you.'" (Isaiah 43:1) "It is I", literally
"I am", may simply be self-identification, but there may just possibly an echo
of the Old Testament form of God's self-revelation (as at the Burning Bush), "I
am (He)". Mastery of the sea is a divine attribute, and this incident ranks with
the stilling of the storm in showing that the power of God
is revealed in Jesus: "Long ago the Lord made a road through the sea, a path
through the swirling waters." (Isaiah 43:16)

What makes these stories rather strange, however, is that mingled in with the
symbolism are details which have the flavour of an eye-witness account - like,
for example, "They sat down on the green grass". When Jesus walks on the
water it is between three and six o'clock in the morning. The best time for
fishing is at dawn.





I2. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 3714. WALKING ON THE SEA
SCHELLENBERG

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I3. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 3601
CHRIST STILLS THE STORM
LOUTHERBOURG

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I4. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 3710
WALKING ON THE SEA
LOUTHERBOURG

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J1. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 4365
CHRIST RAISES JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER
KAPPNER

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J. JAIRUS' DAUGHTER. MARK 5:22-24, 35-43

Mark has dovetail the two stories of Jairus daughter and the woman with the
haemorrhage to show there is a gap between Jairus coming to him and him
actually arriving and finding that the girl had died. No-one would have asked
even the greatest of miracle-workers to attend a corpse.

There are lots of interesting details in this story which might have only come
from an eye-witness: the name of the girl's father; Jesus's actual words in the
Aramaic; the girl's age; Jesus' instruction after the healing. In particular, we
are told that Jesus took Peter, James and John with him into the room.
(Everybody would have normally avoided the room where the deceased
person was laid as an "unclean" zone.) So we can speculate that Mark's Gospel
may have been based on an eye-witness report of Peter. Those who favour
"natural" explanations of the miracles would find inspiration in the fact that in
an eastern climate the whole business of burying the dead was accomplished
with the utmost speed (see Acts 5:5-10). Perhaps the mourners were mistaken
in their hasty belief that the girl had died!





J2. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 4363
CHRIST RAISES JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER
AFTER REMBRANDT

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