An Illustrated Commentary by Phillip Medhurst on the Gospel of Mark. Section K to M

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
K. the people fed. Mark 6:30-44, 8:1-10
34 Mark’s Gospel K. the people fed image 1 of 1. Christ feeds the people.
French School
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 4218
L. the Messiah revealed. Mark 8:27-38, 9:1-8
35 Mark’s Gospel L. the messiah revealed image 1 of 4. Saint Peter given the
keys. Rubens
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 3731
36 Mark’s Gospel L. the messiah revealed image 2 of 4. Christ foretells his
death and resurrection. Passeri
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 4425
37 Mark’s Gospel L. the messiah revealed image 3 of 4. the Transfiguration.
French School
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 3738
38 Mark’s Gospel L. the Messiah revealed image 4 of 4. the Transfiguration.
De Vos
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 4396
M. question about Elijah. Mark 9:9-13
39 Mark’s Gospel M. question about Elijah image 1 of 2. John the Baptist.
Guido Reni
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 3518
40 Mark’s Gospel M. question about Elijah image 2 of 2. the death of John the
Baptist. Rembrandt
From the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England. print 3690
BOLTON, ENGLAND
2010

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in memoriam

KEVIN VICTOR FREESTONE

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K1. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 4218. CHRIST FEEDS THE PEOPLE
FRENCH SCHOOL

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K. THE PEOPLE FED. MARK 6:30-44, 8:1-10

When the rules of nature are bent in order to heal somebody, we can give our
moral support to the intervention. The problem in the feeding of the five
thousand (6:30-44) is that Mark presents us with a man who has the power of
God interfering with nature for quite trivial reasons - giving five thousand
people a snack because he feels sorry for them. Some miracles have a
primarily symbolic meaning. Jesus is echoing the major event of the Old
Testament: the liberation of His Chosen People, when they crossed the Red
Sea, and God fed them with manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16:15). It also
reminds us of Elisha feeding a hundred men with bread (2 Kings 4:42-44). It
may also be seen as a fulfillment the prophecy of the so-called "Messianic
Banquet" in Isaiah 25:6. The observation, "They were like sheep without a
shepherd" is a reference to Numbers 27:17, where Moses prays for a leader to
succeed him. The people are arranged in groups of a hundred and groups of
fifty - probably a reference to when, after leaving Egypt, the Israelites were
divided up into tribes. Twelve baskets of scraps are left over. This is
undoubtedly meant to refer to the twelve tribes of Israel. The Messiah brings
bread to feed his people.

At first the feeding of the four thousand (8:1-18) looks like just a repetition of
the previous feeding miracle. But the changes in detail are very significant.
Why the number of people fed changes from five to four thousand is not clear
(unless this represents Mark's estimate of the proportion of Jews to Non-Jews
in the Church at that time); but in the statement, "They've been with me for
three days and now have nothing to eat", there is almost certainly a reference
to the three days that Jesus was in the tomb. The idea seems to be that non-
Jews have taken the enormous step of committing themselves to the risen
Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, but now they are in a lean time because the Church
has begun to be persecuted. There are seven loaves. We know that there were
seven major Churches at that time. (They are mentioned in the opening
chapters of Revelation.) In The Acts of the Apostles (6:3) seven men were chosen
to look after Gentile interests, so this feeding may be correctly interpreted as a
"bridge" between Jew and Gentile. But however we interpret these details, this
is clearly a re-run of the Feeding of the Five Thousand for the Gentiles. In the
conversation between Jesus and the Syro-Phoenician woman Jesus's ministry
was described in terms of feeding: "Can the children have some of the crumbs
that fall from the table?" In this miracle feeding has become a kind of symbol
for the Good News of the Kingdom; there is almost certainly a reference to the
Eucharist.

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L. THE MESSIAH REVEALED. MARK 8:27-38, 9:1-8

Caesarea Philippi, some 40 kilometres north of Galilee, was named after
Caesar and Herod Philip, whose administrative capital it was. Herod Philip
was a son of Herod the Great and half-brother of Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of
Galilee. ("Tetrarch" was the title of each of the "four rulers" of Herod the
Great's empire after it was split by the Romans.) He was Tetrarch of
Trachonitis during the period of Christ's ministry in Galilee and for some five
or six years after the Crucifixion. Jesus was therefore recognised as the
"Messiah" at a major political centre.

This is a great turning-point of the Gospel. Up to this point, Jesus had only
been recognised as a very important person by spirits with supernatural
knowledge. No human being had actually said to Jesus, "I know who you are:
you're the Messiah." "Messiah" and "Christ" mean the same thing: "the
Anointed One". Thereby lies the problem. "Anointed One" is a political title. It
is almost as if Peter is saying, "I know who you are: you're the King!" When
he responds to Peter notice that Jesus does not himself use the title Messiah;
he prefers the title "Son of Man", because it is not political. Indeed, on a
similar occasion - when Jesus is put on trial and the Chief Priest says to him,
"Are you Messiah?" - Jesus says, "Yes, and you will see the Son of Man . . . " He
will accept the title, but he does not like using it. In Greek the phrase "The Son
of Man" translates very literally the Aramaic "bar nasha", which means simply
"man". Jesus frequently applies it to himself in the Gospels. The phrase has a
rich and complex history in Jewish literature. In chapter 7 of Daniel, four
phases of human history are symbolised by four beasts rising from the sea.
These are followed by "one like a son of man" (verse 13; "what looked a
human being" in the GNB version). The change from bestial to human implies
a clear difference in the quality of the successive order of things. The beasts
probably represent earthly empires, and the human being the Kingdom of
God. It is easy to see how in developments of the imagery of Daniel "the son of
man" came to be treated as an individual. Thus in 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra (outside
the accepted books of the Old Testament) the figure appears as a heavenly
being who will come to judge the world at the end of time. But the phrase
undoubtedly has a completely different aspect as a symbol of humiliation and
suffering. It is in evidence in Daniel: the beast with great iron teeth eats,
crushes and tramples underfoot what remains after its predecessors. Suffering
was plainly in evidence when the book was composed. The Son of Man is
waiting to be glorified. In Mark Jesus uses the title "Son of Man" of himself
fourteen times. Of these the first two are claims to authority: "the Son of Man
is Lord even of the Sabbath" (2:28) and "the Son of Man has authority on earth
to forgive sins" (2:10). The remainder are prophetic, used in predictions of his
imminent sufferings, and of his future coming in glory. The last use, before
the Sanhedrin (14:62), is a clear echo of Daniel.

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L1. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 3731. SAINT PETER GIVEN THE KEYS
RUBENS

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Jesus is evidently thinking that they are going to get the wrong idea and that
he had better try and explain to them very quickly that it's part of God's plan
that the Messiah should suffer and die. But Peter can not see that: it does not
fit in with his notion of the Messiah's role at all. Jesus has to get quite
aggressive with him and call him "Satan". Already Jesus has got a problem
with his "image", and explains that, against their expectations, the Son of Man,
far from being a triumphant emperor or king, in fact must suffer if God's plan
of salvation is to be fulfilled. The conventional Jewish idea of a Messiah,
shared by Peter, was based on Old Testament passages like those in Isaiah 9
and 11. He was to set up a kingdom on earth, defeat his enemies and bring in
a time of peace. Jesus's idea of a Messiah was very different. It was based on
the idea of the "The Suffering Servant" in Isaiah (50:4 ff.; 52:13-53:12) and the
Psalms (22; 69; 118. See also Zechariah 13:7). Mark takes the opportunity of the
first prophecy of death to introduce some teaching about the meaning of
suffering: the more you try to protect your own interests the more likely you
are to waste our lives; the more sacrifice we make, the more we get close to
what life is all about. This is a very hard teaching, and makes Christian
discipleship very difficult to accept by anyone not brought up to it - a rather
frightening way of life if you take it literally.




L2. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 4425. CHRIST FORETELLS HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION.
PASSERI

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L3. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 3738
THE TRANSFIGURATION
FRENCH SCHOOL

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It is a sign of the authenticity of the sayings in this gospel when they are
recorded even when problematical. Clearly, by the time he wrote his gospel
the kingdom had not yet come in power, despite Jesus’s promise that it would
do so while his original witnesses were still alive. Mark therefore places the
saying next to the one clear and unequivocal manifestation of Jesus’s power
and authority before his death.

Peter has recognised Jesus as the Messiah. Now Jesus demonstrates in no
uncertain terms who he really is to the three disciples who made up the "inner
circle". Peter, James and John are in evidence on two other occasions - at the
raising of Jairus's daughter and just before Jesus is arrested in the Garden
of Gethsemane. They are a privileged little group who are allowed to see
Jesus in his true glory.

The Transfiguration is a very peculiar "event", because here we have all the
symbolic trappings normally associated with God Himself given to Jesus. The
cloud was the symbol for the presence of God (Exodus 40:34; see also 24:16). In
the Old Testament account of Moses's ascent of Mount Sinai to obtain the
Law, God is represented as emitting a blinding light which is so bright it has
to be covered by a cloud, otherwise it would strike the observer dead. Some of
that symbolism is here attached to Jesus: he radiates light. As at the Baptism,
we witness a voice coming from heaven testifying to God's special favour.

How did the disciples know that the two men that Jesus was talking to on the
mountain were Moses and Elijah? Did they have labels round their necks with
their names on? Both by this time had already been dead for over a thousand
years . . . . It could have happened literally, but it has to be treated
symbolically too, otherwise it becomes somewhat nonsensical. Moses was the
great lawgiver; and Elijah was the greatest of the prophets. The fact is that
Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets. Here we see Jesus
chatting with these two great figures, the greatest heroes of the Jewish people,
almost as though they are asking him for a few hints on the meaning of life
and the will of God. The whole scene is designed to demonstrate that Jesus is
an extremely important figure in God's Plan.

Peter is so overawed that he offers to make three shelters. He seems to thinks
that such important people should have booths or tabernacles to sit in - rather
like one would place a holy image in its own little shrine. Peter shows a
natural human desire to "capture the moment". Mark has himself painted a
word-picture which is an icon of Jesus the Messiah, inviting use as a focus
for worship and devotional meditation.

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L4. BOWYER BIBLE PRINT 4396
THE TRANSFIGURATION
DE VOS

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