The Year of Mark, #2 Galilean Ministry in Mark: Who is Jesus?
16th December 2011 - by Fr Tom O’Reilly
The first part of Mark’s story (1:1-8:30) moves rapidly and has Jesus on mission in and around Galilee. Peter’s confession of Jesus as the expected Messiah (8:27-30) comes near the end of this Galilean ministry and is the turning point for a new direction in the story, when the focus shifts to Jesus’ suffering and death in Jerusalem. The two basic questions to keep in mind in reading the first part of the story are: Who is Jesus and what is he about? How are people responding to him? In this instalment we focus on the Markan Jesus’ identity and mission, as seen in the Galilean ministry, and leave the matter of various responses to him till the next instalment.
In the prologue to his story (1:1-13), Mark gives the reader some information about the identity of Jesus. He is the Messiah and Son of God (v 1; v 11), the one anointed by the Spirit (v 10) to usher in the end-time salvation promised by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist (vv 2-8), and the one who will confront the powers of evil (vv 12-14). As we read the story from the perspective of this privileged information, we keep in mind that the characters in the story are not given these insights at the beginning.
At the heart of Jesus’ mission is his proclamation of the Kingdom of God (1:14-15). The Kingdom is the liberating and transforming power of God at work in our world, realizing God’s dream, overcoming evil, and enabling people to live in right relationships with God and others. Jesus’ proclamation in deed and word is marked with great authority (1:27). His miracles show the power of the Kingdom at work in healing sickness (e.g., 5:25-34), raising the dead (5:35-43), casting out demons (e.g., 5:1-20), controlling the destructive forces of nature (e.g., 4:35-41), and forgiving sins (e.g., 2:1-12). His teaching challenges people to engage the Kingdom in its many aspects (cf. e.g., the parables of the Kingdom in 4:1-34). He calls disciples to be with him and to share his mission of proclaiming the Kingdom (3:13-19), and actually sends them out two by two on mission (6:6b-13). He travels back and forth between the Jewish and Gentile sides of the Sea of Galilee to show that the good news of the Kingdom is for all. For instance, he provides a miraculous meal, symbolizing God’s abundant blessings, both in Jewish territory (6:31-44) and in Gentile territory (8:1-10). What Jesus is saying and doing is posing the question of his identity and mission (e.g., 1:27; 4:41).
A surprising feature of Mark’s story at this stage is the fact that Jesus often commands people not to spread news about him and his mission (e.g., 1:43-44; 3:12; 5:43; 8:30). The atmosphere of secrecy, which is particularly Markan, is reinforced by Jesus’ practice of instructing his disciples in private (e.g., 4:10, 34). It seems he is worried about misunderstandings and false expectations of him and his mission.
As the Galilean ministry draws to a close, Jesus himself poses the question of his identity within the group of his close disciples (8:27-29). Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah, but as the story unfolds we will see that Peter had his own views on how the Messiah should act. One of Jesus’ main concerns in the second part of the story will be to teach the disciples about the true nature of his messianic identity.
Mark wants us to keep the main character of his story in focus and constantly ask ‘Who is Jesus and what is he about?’ The answer we give greatly influences how we understand and live our mission as followers of Jesus. What does it mean for us to share Jesus’ Kingdom-centred mission today?
Read the next article: #3 the Galilean ministry in Mark, How are people responding to Jesus
