Final Christology Paper with 192/200 mark received on 7/9/2025

Thesis and the Prologue to the Gospel (1:1-1-13): Jesus is the Son of God Prophesied Long Prophesied by the Prophets

           The central theme of the Gospel of Mark is that Jesus Christ is the long-awaited and scripturally prophesied the Messiah, “the Son of God (1:1)”, who came in flesh to fulfill His messianic work as a suffering servant (cf. Isaiah 52:13-53:12) who gave his life as ransom for many so that whosoever believed in him will not perish but receive eternal life (cf. John 3:16) by the grace of God alone. What is striking is that right from the get-go, Mark uses the adverb “immediately”, forty-two times per some theologians’ account, to take the readers through a set of breathtaking, sweeping often jaw-dropping, eyes-rolling panoramic events of supernatural events and deeds, e.g., miraculous healings of all kinds, exorcisms of evil spirits and divinity-inspired authoritative and truthful wise teachings of the kingdom of heaven, hitherto unheard of, unseen, and never to be duplicated (cf. Mark 4:30-32; 11:23) in the history of mankind to show exactly that, which is centered around the personhood of  the Nazarene named Jesus Christ.

           John the Baptist, who was born for the sole purpose “to prepare the way for the Lord” is introduced in this introductory stage to set the tone for the main character to be unveiled later with a torrent pace in full with the Old Testament connection: “The quotation that begins the gospel draws from three Old Testament texts: (1) Exodus 23:20, which announces that God’s “messenger” will lead Israel through the wilderness to the promised land; (2) Isaiah 40:3, which proclaims a glorious new exodus that God will accomplish through Israel’s return from exile; and (3) Malachi 3:1, which tells of the messenger who will prepare God’s people for the Lord’s coming and the day of judgment.[1]

             Sometimes people don’t get what they wish for in real life; instead, they get something better sometimes—all due to God’s magnificent blessings. It becomes increasingly clear in the introductory passage alone that the messiah which Mark is about to unveil to his readership in full disclosure is not a stereotypical messiah which the long suffering, mocked, scorned and stamped down contemporary Jewish diaspora at large envisioned then--a conquering military leader over their enemies (cf. Mark 12:31; Luke 23:34). Mark, right from the beginning, effectively and diligently works to obliterate such illusion, and leaves no doubt as to who Jesus really is: He is the Savior of the humanity from their sins, not an empire builder for the Zionists for fleeting earthly political and military glories, which is like a vapor (cf. James 4:14).

            Jesus’ humble, lawful and proper yielding to a Johannic baptism, the voice of the Father heard from heaven confirming his identity and qualification being the Son of God, full empowerment of the Holy Spirit within him as he was driven into the wilderness for 40 days, reminiscent of the stiff-necked Israelites’ forty years of wandering in the Median desert, all forecast in contrast that this Messiah Jesus would prevail and complete his divinely-appointed mission as the Messiah and the Redeemer of the world where the mere mortals did fail miserably, rendering the repetitive cumbersome animal sacrifices unnecessary forever more. By now, the interested readers should wonder what comes next.

Jesus’s Public Ministry in Galilee Region as He Authoritatively Teaches and Supernaturally and Freely Heals Wielding His  Divine Power in Fully Human Form (1:14-8:21)

           In this section, the readers get to read and see Jesus’ full power and glory as the Son of God as he gets engaged in healing people from all kinds of illnesses and driving out powerful dangerous evil spirits from the tormented afflicted. At the same time,  Jesus also regularly teaches his disciples and the growing throng of people regarding the kingdom of heaven, almost exclusively relying on the usage of the parables: His healing and exorcism powers indicate His Divine Nature and his authoritative and truthful messages reveal heavenly glory and celestial inspiration—yet Mark describes Jesus being so naturally a human just like the rest of them (cf. Mark 4:38); he becomes fatigued, hungry, drowsy, etc., like any human being would and should too.

           The purpose of gathering his twelve disciples is shown to be purely evangelical as Jesus tells them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Mark 1:16 English Standard Version). At such calling, they dropped what they were doing, abandoning everything they had to heed his call and follow him--remarkably offering no resistance, or no questions asked. That is simply astounding yet quite understandable.

            What Jesus does next is even more remarkable: “He forgives sins (2:5), discerns the thoughts of his opponents (2:8), claims lordship over the Sabbath (2:28), and apparently annuls Old Testament dietary laws (7:18-19)”[2]. The story involving the paralyzed person brought on a stretcher by his four friends is amazing, whose sins Jesus forgave (2:1-12);  if it is not blasphemy, who can do such things, the Jewish leaders wondered, but God alone! However, as Jesus demonstrated that he as the Son of Man had the authority to forgive sins on earth, he proves that by supernaturally healing the aforementioned paralyzed by simply commanding, “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” His word was enough. They were “all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (V. 12b).

          It is appropriate here to mention a few things regarding “the Son of Man” reference which Jesus used in referring to himself in 2:10 ESV (“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”.); this invokes an ancient passage which Daniel saw in his dreamy night visions while in exile in Babylon regarding a God-like figure which descends on clouds of heaven as he described “One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him, and to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14 New American Standard Bible). (Cf. John 18:36.) Thomas Schreiner wrote about the “Son of Man” references found in the synoptic gospels; “Jesus comes from outside the human sphere for a mission upon earth, which in turn suggests that his origin hails from outside the sphere of humanity. In each instance Jesus’ coming refers to the totality of his earthly ministry and is not confined to a single instance, as if he were merely describing a visit from Nazareth to Capernaum to accomplish a particular goal.”[3] Indeed, his origin appears to be eternal as in “I AM”, and his kingdom is of the third heaven where he rules supremely with no ending for eternity time, which also encompasses the whole physical universe under his ultimate authority.

          In Mark 3:20-30 is where Jesus is seen authoritatively casting out demons from possessed people and the hardened Pharisees accusing him being possessed by Beelzebub (“By the prince of demons he casts out the demons,”)  and using Satanic power to do so. Jesus rebukes them turning their own arguments on their head (“How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” (VV. 23b-25 ESV). And the Lord sternly rebukes the scribes of having committed an unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit (VV. 28-30).  It is also remarkable that in latter encounter with the demons, which appears in legions inside a Gentile man from Gerasene (5:1-20), the evil spirits exactly know who Jesus is as they all shout out in fears, “Son of the Most High,” (V. 7b); yes, even the devils know who Jesus is and tremble in utter fear when hearing his name mentioned. Who is this Jesus really then—readership should wonder in earnest if not found an answer already.

           Several remarkable and iconic parables of Jesus then follow in chapter 4 as in the Parable of a Lamp Under a Basket, the Parable of the Seed Growing, and the Parable of the Mustard Seed, which Jesus tells to illustrate the secrecy regarding the kingdom of God, where he is the King bar none. Jesus privately reveals to his twelve disciples including Judas Iscariot that “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.” (Mark 4:11-12 ESV.) Regarding the usage of parables in Jewish society Daniel Durken wrote, “Parables are common to the style of the Wisdom writings, so it is in keeping with Mark’s presentation of Jesus that he shows him teaching by means of them. It helps to know that in Jewish tradition a “parable” was a set form with a set purpose, not just an illustrative story. Most often it was a succinct way of suggesting what God, or God’s kingdom, is like. And very often it formed this comparison by weaving together small pieces or echoes of Scripture. The suggestive analogy that emerged was one that interpreted the Bible passages at the same time that it used them to point to God’s kingdom. The rabbis described parables as “making handles for the Torah,” meaning that parables were intended to open up the meaning of the Bible—to help people “get a handle” on it.”[4] Furthermore, according to Durkin, it was customary of the Jewish scholarship to place several of similarly themed parables together side by side, which Mark did, so that through these “pearls on string” inserted next to one another, one would try to gain understanding of the parables by reading them in sequence.

             Yet another remarkable scene of Jesus performing an additional supernatural deed is written in chapter 4 right after the “string of pearls” parables stop as the ordinary humanity wonders in unison,  “What manner of man is this?” or “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” as Jesus awakening from a slumber induced by physical fatigue calms the raging storm, wind and the sea, and makes them all still (VV. 35-41.) This is reminiscent of YHWH God of the Old Testament who alone can calm the sea as described in Psalm 107:23-30. Verily verily.

            Even more astounding demonstration of supernatural power than raising the daughter of Jairus (5:40-42) follows: this miracle is yet another Yahweh-invoking act of Supreme Power, Glory and Authority, which is recorded in chapter 6--quite possibly the single most remarkable thing  he did outside his resurrection from the dead on the third day--which was his feeding of the five thousand men (6:35-44) from a paltry supply of five loaves of bread and two fish in the Judean wilderness. Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God was one thing, however, to demonstrate what he meant was another. Moreso, to claim one’s identity so supreme so unique is still another thing, however, to prove that claim beyond any shadow of doubt takes yet another level of power altogether—once again. In the case of the Feeding of the Five Thousand Men Jesus did just that. His kingdom was so vast, so precious, valuable, eternal and priceless therefore so that his burden of proof also hinged upon something gigantic: The Divinity itself bar none. And He did it yet again,  arising to the occasion, once again invoking the Almighty God, who fed manna, flock of quails and the fresh living water to the wandering Israelites in the wilderness post-exodus.  He amply demonstrated His Divinity in the manner of what YHWH would have actually have done if he were in human form—thanking the Father and simply blessing the meager food supply, which kept multiplying so that an estimated 20,000 people ate belly full with twelve baskets of leftover collected afterwards, seemingly for the twelve disciples, possibly symbolizing the twelve tribes of the children of Jacob. Hallelujah.

          What moved Jesus to do the feeding was his deep compassion for the people: “But looking at the crowd, there was only one emotion in his heart, compassion. That was the effect a crowd always had on Jesus (see Matt. 9:36). He saw a crowd, not through the eyes of one who counted life dear to himself, concerned for his own comfort and plans, but through the eyes of one who came to seek and to save those who were lost, who came that men might have abundant life.”[5] The theme of Jesus showing compassion as to the point of weeping over at times is constant throughout the Gospels as he is indeed the good shepherd for the lost sheep. And he is indeed the Love of God personified in flesh form. Yet, the sheep wandered away after their belly got full after being fed (cf. John 6:26).

          Then in 6:45-52, Jesus walks on the sea, reminiscent from a passage from Job 9:8 NASB, “God alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea,” Schwiezer noted that the fact that “For he would have passed by them,” (v. 48 KJV) as an indication that Jesus’s desire to test the disciples’ faith. Jesus had remained behind alone to pray on the mountain, like a perfect Son of God should have done, and he had sent the disciples away. Much has been made of Jesus’ “waling on the sea. It may not be mere coincidence that both Moses and Elijah, who experienced an epiphany of God “passing by,” also miraculously crossed a water barrier. Each, however, did so by parting the waters (Exod 14:21-22; 2 Kgs 2:8) and crossing on dry land.[6] In verse 50, it is shown that the disciples were terrified when seeing an apparition-looking person approaching them. Immediately, Jesus consoles them by saying, “Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.” Juke like a deliverer would Jesus came to rescue his disciples, who were toiling all night long against whimsical unpredictable waves of sea, when they absolutely needed him the most. And by walking on the sea, he yet again demonstrated his divine power which no one can possess or do except for YHWH God alone. Furthermore, the two Old Testament figures which prominently figures into Jesus’ life as they define his identity and mission on earth appear yet again at the Mount of Transfiguration later in the form of Moses (“Law”) and Elijah (“Prophets”)  (9:2-13).

           Then next, Jesus does unconventional and unthinkable thing again, (for a 1^st century Jew)  which was to include the gentiles among the people of God’s beloved and the chosen just like the Jewish nation, the physical descendants of Abraham who first received God’s covenant of salvation upon. It was unthinkable for the 1^st century Jews to come to terms with that albeit even according to the Mosaic law, the foreigners should have been welcome among the nation of Israelites at least as honor of guest in the least if not a permanent equal rights owning household member. The Syrophoenician woman upon whom Jesus felt compassion and her little evil-spirit possessed daughter whom Jesus healed demonstrated just that in 7:24-30.  This Canaanite woman living in the gentile world had to go to her only hope, which was Jesus, and He embraced her albeit He referred to her using a gentler form of “dog”, a pet dog Vs. a term for a wild dog which an average Jew used in contempt for the goyim. And then He encountered the deaf man in the region of Decapolis, another region mostly occupied by the gentiles, and He took a pity upon him and healed him by saying “Ephphatha!” Indeed, Jesus was for the gentiles as well, for the whole world in fact.

            In Chapter 8:1-10, still staying in Decapolis, another huge miracle is described; whereas the feeding of five thousand men by five loaves of bread and 2 fish were done for the crowds who were mostly Jews in nationality, this similar miracle of the feeding of 4 thousand men was for the gentiles predominantly—the kingdom of God was inclusive of all tribes, nations, tongues and peoples.

Jesus’s Pilgrim Journey Towards up to Jerusalem (8:22-10:52)

            In 8:22-26, Jesus encounters a blind man in Bethsaida, who asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus takes a pity on him and heals him but not immediately; puzzlingly, Jesus heals the blind man in two-step processes, gradually that is. At first healing, the blind man can make out some forms in fuzzy details. On the final and second healing, he is healed completely. Jesus demonstrated deference for the traditional healing methods too by using his own spittle as William Barclay wrote, “Again we see the unique considerateness of Jesus…so that he would have been completely bewildered. Jesus knew it would be far better if he could be taken to a place where the thrill of seeing would break less suddenly upon him…(2) Jesus used methods that the man could understand. The ancient world believed in the healing power of spittle. The belief is not so strange when we remember that it is a fist instinct to put a cut or burned finger into our mouth to ease the pain.”[7]

            Peter’s confession happens as described in 8:27-30 (“You are the Christ, the Son of Living God”); Jesus’s transfiguration follows in 9:2-13 where Jesus’ transforms into brightly shining glorious form with radiant face in dazzling white clothing displaying his divine glory and power.

             As the book now approaches the midpoint, the shift of narratives changes somewhat; Jesus is still engaged in miraculous healing, teaching, but now He consciously takes time out to privately prepare his disciples for what is finally to come, which is His passion and the suffering at the cross in Jerusalem. And the glorious human-logic defying resurrection on the third day.  

           As Jesus begins to tell His disciples about His suffering and passion coming for the third time in chapter 10, two disciples (rather mom of these two disciples, a wife of Zebedee is the one who actually makes a request per other gospel source) wants to sit on either side of his throne when his kingdom is actualized; yet the rest of disciples argue with them and get mad as each thinks that he is the greatest among them in heaven. Jesus reminds them that the Son of Man came to minister not to be ministered unto and give His life as ransom for many so that they’d be given eternal life. In 10:32-45, Jesus demonstrated his Suffering Servant role by telling his disciples that “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him and he will rise after three days.” (vv. 32-34 Christian Standard Bible).

The Final Week: The Passion of the Lamb of God & the Completion of the Messianic Work  (11:1-16:8)

            Ultimately, Jesus knew that his last days and hours would have to be spent in or at near Jerusalem according to the scriptures. Leading up to His ascent to the capital city, Jesus while on the mount Olives lamented about the destruction of temple in Jerusalem and the city itself as He prophesied  the wept about the Destruction of Jerusalem to come in 70 AD (13:2).   

           This section is the crowing jewel of the Markan gospel or of any other gospel books for that matter: Jesus’ passion is in full swing as He is betrayed,  arrested, and turned over to the high priests and scribes to be mocked, beat up, spit upon. Later he gets sent over to the gentiles, the Romans, to be ultimately sentenced to death,  crucified. Yet as prophesied in the Bible, he gloriously rises from the dead on the third day as many people witnessed, met and interacted with the Lord over a span of 40 days until he ascends to heaven to be on the right hand of God in presence of  500 eyewitnesses (Acts 1:9-12). This was all according to Scripture which foretold all these events would take place! Verily verily every single events were fulfilled without an exception per the writer of the gospel of Mark. If anything, the steadfast unyielding unrelenting faith unto willing martyrdom by many of these early Christians should be telling.

Unfinished Epilogue: Jesus’s Post-Resurrection Appearances (16:9-20)

           Although these last verses of chapter 16 appear to have been added later per scholars, it has been a consensus of the academic community over venerable centuries that these verses are orthodox, and are well within the legitimacy of the rest of the Markan narrative and other synoptic narratives since when compared to the other synoptic gospels, and Acts, vv. 9-20 present cohesiveness and no veering or discernable differentiating theological abnormal which could be problematic.

          The Christians have something to look forward to as they have been for some time: Jesus’ second coming as the reigning King of kings and the Lord of lords in glory and power as He will come to judge the quick and the dead whoever lived. He promised. And it will happen based on ample trustworthy data and evidence collected over long long time by now.

         Without such faith in His Return or in eternal life, what good really is present for the Christian faith in someone called Jesus whose historical existence is being widely put to doubt by the leading academicians and such these days? And the followers pray earnestly and unceasingly as they patiently wait for his return in full of thankfulness as he prescribed them to as in the Parable of the Wise Brides.

Conclusion

            It seems quite plausible and beyond any reasonable doubt that the author of Markan Gospel, presumably one named Mark succeeded in portraying as he set out to do based on his writing and description of events and personhood surrounding Jesus Christ from Nazareth; 1) Jesus was indeed the Son of God prophesied by the prophets from the Old Testament; 2) Jesus Christ was the Suffering Servant who ministered unto his people giving his life as ransom for many so that whosever believed in him would not perish but receive eternal life through his shed blood on the cross at Calvary; 3) Jesus Christ lived a sinless blameless perfect life while on earth clearly demonstrating His worthiness being the Lamb of God long prophesied; 4) In essence, Jesus lived a clocklike life in a manner exactly foretold and prophesied in the scriptures including his supernatural virgin birth, perfect sinless life, a life filled with supernatural healing works, exorcisms and authoritative and wise teaching befitting only the Divine Person, and the death on the cross, the resurrection from the dead on the third day, the ascension into heaven; and He is to come again in glory and power accompanied by the hosts of heavenly army of angels to judge the quick and the dead. On that day every tongue will bow down and acknowledge Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords because His Name is above all names.

Bibliography

Barclay, William. The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark. Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, KY. 2017.

Durken, Daniel. New Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament. Liturgical Press: Collegeville, MN, 2008.

Elwell, A. Walter, Yarbrough and Yarbrough, W. Robert, Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey. Baker Academic: Grand Radis, MI, 2022.

The Interpreter’s Bible: Volume VII: The Gospel According to St. Mark. Abingdon Press: Nashville and New York, 1951.

Guelich, Robert A. and  Evans, Craig A. World Biblical Commentary 34A & 34B: Mark1-16:20. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 1989.

Schreiner, Thomas R. New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ. Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, MI, 2008.

Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. Zondervan Academic: Grand Rapids, MI, 2020.

[1] Mark L. Strauss, Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels (Zondervan Academic: Grand Rapids, MI, 2020), 221.

[2] Mark L. Strauss, 221.

[3] Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, MI, 2008), 195.

[4] Daniel Durkin, New Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament (Liturgical Press: Collegeville, MN, 2008), 119-120. 

[5] The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII: The Gospel According to St. Mark (Abingdon Press: Nashville and New York, 1951), 739-740.  

[6] Robert A. Guelich, p. 350-351

[7] William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, KY,  2017), 219-220.