The Gospel of Mark takes a very interesting approach to depicting Jesus to readers. The Markian Jesus is very human, which shows in many different parts of the gospel. After reading the gospel and looking at different sources the Gospel of Mark has a total of 18 different miracles performed throughout the entire gospel (The book also mentions others, but only 18 were actually done). The two miracles that stuck out to me the most were Mark 1: 21-28 and Mark 4:35-41.
Mark 1: 21-28 shows Jesus and others in a synagogue. The individuals watching Jesus “teach” seemed very different than what the scribes normally did. The people in the synagogue say Jesus teaches with authority, which is later reinforced when he rebukes an evil spirit from a man. I thought this first miracle was particularly interesting because it is the first miracle. A scholar writes, ”The intention of the Evangelist was probably to emphasize the importance of this first miracle and at the same time to give it a programmatic character for the whole story that follows.”1 The prior statement was very interesting to me because if the first miracle was made out to help develop characters, you must question whether or not the other miracles are just fragments to telling a story as well.
The miracle I found interesting was Mark 4:35-41. The story was one I heard when I was much younger. The verses tell the story of how Jesus Calmed the Storm at Sea. Upon further research the calming of the storm is the first nature miracle performed.2 The wording of the miracle particularly stuck out to me for a few a reasons. In the verses they say to Jesus, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” The people now beginning to use teacher shows how much trust he has invoked within the people. The second half of the text shows their growing reliance of Jesus. The prior mircle performed in Mark chapter 1 makes me question the miracle in Mark chapter 4. After reading it can be inferred that the two miracles are serving as metaphors. The question now is what are the two metaphors alluding too? The Markian Jesus was very kind and human which shows in the miracles.
DRAGUTINOVIĆ, P. (2010). THE FIRST MIRACLE OF THE SON OF GOD IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK (MARK 1,21-28). A CONTRIBUTION TO MARK'S CHRISTOLOGY. Sacra Scripta, 8(2), 185-201.
Brower, Kent E. "'Who Then Is This?': Christological Questions In Mark 4:35-5:43." Evangelical Quarterly 81.4 (2009): 291-305. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
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