From a recent facebook post by Rick Capezza (reproduced with his permission):
I’m trying to figure out the structure of the miracles of the two daughters in Mark. I looked in a half dozen commentaries for structures, but found nothing. I have yet to try a hierarchical structure, but I took a quick shot at a chiasm using Eric [Pyle]’s KAYAK tool. [1]
A. T. Ross’ review of Peter Leithart’s recent book, The Four: A Survey of the Gospels. From www.goodreads.com
A wonderful follow-up book to Leithart’s A House For My Name, this one focusing on the gospels. I hope he plans to do a third to complete the set, focusing on a survey of the entire the New Testament as the completion of God’s house.
Yesterday’s post concerning Jesus’ message to John had some discussion about lepers becoming New Covenant priests. Those who were condemned to live outside were made clean and invited in. Of course, there is Jesus’ own condemnation of those who watched harlots and tax collectors enter the kingdom but defiantly stood outside themselves.
Right up until the end of the Jewish war, the Jewish leadership got their clean and unclean, their inside and outside, more and more wrong. The gospel turned their world upside down–or, in fact, rightside up.
John Barach observes how Mark applies this to Jesus’ own family using literary structure: Continue reading
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Sabbath - Jesus defiantly heals a man on the Sabbath under the accusing eyes of the Pharisees. It is a conflict between the brittle light of the law and the perfect light of lawful love.
Passover - The Pharisees “go out” and plot with the Herodians to destroy Him. But Jesus withdraws with His disciples to the sea.
Firstfruits - Jesus ascends a mountain and calls those He wants. He appoints the twelve to preach.
Pentecost - (Wilderness/Rulers) Jesus is accused of being the “Lord of the Flies.”
Trumpets - He calls them to Himself and speaks of the fall of a divided house or family, entering the strong man’s house and plundering his vessels.
Atonement - All sins will be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Whom the Pharisees had called “unclean” [1]
Tabernacles - Those who do the will of God are Jesus’ true family.
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[1] ie. they got their goats mixed up right up until AD70. For more on this see under subhead “The Word is ‘Yes’” in A White Stone - 3.
Pic: The Scapegoat by M.C. Escher.
“Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.”
The Formerly Rich Young Man
In a previous post about the story of the rich young man (Mark 10:17-21) I suggested that there’s no reason to think that the man did not indeed go away intending to do as Jesus commanded, by selling all his possessions and following him. In the comments someone suggested that there is a tradition that suggests Barnabas may be the rich young man in question here. I did some digging and couldn’t find much of anything on that point, but I did find another possibility that actually has support from the text of Mark itself.
