Mark 10
Encyclopedia
Mark 10 is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark
in the New Testament
of the Christian
Bible
.
begins his trip to Jerusalem
. Mark says that Jesus traveled into Judea
across the Jordan river. After condemning sin
just before in Mark 9 Jesus condemns divorce
. He is teaching a crowd and once again the Pharisees
show up and test him. They ask him if divorce is lawful. Deuteronomy 24 allows a man to divorce his wife if he finds her "indecent" with simply a written writ of divorce. This is seen as a trap where Jesus either agrees with Moses
and is seen as submitting to him or disagrees and shows himself in opposition to Moses. Also, Jesus has just moved into the region of Judea, across the Jordan. Both the Pharisees and Jesus would be aware that this was John the Baptist
's old ground, and that John had recently been imprisoned, and then put to death as a result of his pronouncements on the topic of Herod Antipas
's illegitimate marriage to his brother's wife. It is possible that the Pharisees are trying to entrap Jesus into making similar statements.
Jesus does not deal specifically with Herod's situation, but says that Moses only gave legislation concerning divorce because men's hearts were hard. Moses recognised that marital breakup was going to happen, and would rather have regulated divorce than unregulated abandonment.
Jesus answers by combining quotes from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 to show that divorce is not part of God
's plan:
Later the group is alone in a house and Jesus goes on to condemn not only divorce but remarriage. He says that remarriage is akin to adultery
. In contrast to the behaviour required of the Jews under Moses, Jesus requires his followers to keep more stringently to God's plan at creation. This is consistent with Paul's teaching about an "Israel within Israel" http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=9&verse=5&end_verse=7&version=31&context=context, in which there are those who are Israelites only outwardly, and a "true" or "spiritual" Israel within that nation, being those who truly worship God. Jesus is calling the "true" Israel to group under his leadership.
Biblical minimalists would tend to doubt the historicity of this story, and all times Jesus quotes passages from the Old Testament
, suggesting rather that Mark is answering questions posed to him about Jesus' teachings and their accordance with Mosaic Law
. It is however also found in 1 Corinthians
7:10-11, showing that Paul
believed it was Jesus' own teaching, but see also the Pauline privilege
. It was also the belief of some of the authors of the Dead Sea scrolls
(Brown 141). The prohibitions are extended to a woman divorcing her husband, which shows the Gentile
audience, as women divorcing men was very rare in the Jewish community.
Many Christians, especially in modern times
, have not obeyed this teaching, but a general prohibition of divorce is still the official position of the Roman Catholic Church
, and the Eastern Orthodox Church
except for adultery based on the similar yet slightly different passage in Matthew
5:31-32. Protestant Churches
vary on their policies regarding divorce, with most more tolerant of divorce but still holding divorce as bad and unwanted.
John
8:1-11, a passage of the book whose validity is questioned, relates the story of Jesus saving the woman caught in adultery
from stoning. He saves her but then tells her to stop sinning, equating adultery with sin.
tell them to go away. Jesus gets angry with his disciples, as he often does in Mark when the disciples misunderstand his intentions, and says "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (15) He then touches and blesses the children. Jesus is probably using the children as a metaphor for human
ities' relationship to God
, innocence and childlike dependence and acceptance of God. Other surviving works from this period in history present children as unreasonable and in need of training whereas here their nature is shown as the path to God (Brown et al. 618).
The theme of total acceptance of God is continued. Jesus continues on his journey and a rich man comes up to him and calls him a "Good teacher." (17) to which Jesus seems to disagree. "No one is good—except God alone." (18), a statement that trinitarians
and non-trinitarians
have used over the ages, as Jesus seems to say that he is different from God, see also Kenosis
. Jesus tells him that the man already knows the commandments (could be the Ten Commandments
or the Didache#The Two Ways or the 613 mitzvot
), and the man tells him that he has always kept them. Jesus then ups the stakes and tells him that he should give up everything, give it to the poor, and follow him, see also Evangelical counsels
. The man can not comply and goes away sad. Jesus tells everyone that "It is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God
." (25) This is a radical teaching, then and now, as most people naturally believe riches, especially their own, are a sign of God's favor.
Some argue that this does not mean that no rich person can enter heaven, but that the rich must humble themselves in order to achieve salvation. There is, however, debate about this among Christians.
The disciples (students) then wonder aloud if any person can fully keep Jesus' commandments. "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (27) Peter
says that they have given up everything to follow Jesus. Jesus says they will be rewarded with "...a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecution
s) and in the age to come
, eternal life
." (30) and then repeats that the first will be last and the last first. See also the Beatitudes
and Discourse on ostentation#Materialism.
The reference to persecution has been interpreted by some scholars as Mark trying to bolster the faith of his audience, perhaps victims of a persecution themselves. Persecution of Christians
was rare during the probable writing of the gospel however, except perhaps Nero
's in Rome
(64-68).
They continue on to Jerusalem and Jesus makes the third prediction of the Passion
:
This prediction contains all the elements of the Passion except for the means, crucifixion
.
James
and John
ask Jesus to grant them a favor and he asks what it is and they ask to be his left and right hand men. Jesus says they can't handle the cup he has to drink from and the baptism he has to undergo. They reply that they can and Jesus says that to sit by Jesus in his glory has already been reserved for someone else. The apostles seem to think that great earthly glory awaits them but Jesus foreshadows his crucifixion and the two criminals that will be on each side of him. He says in verse 40 that such things, sitting at his side for instance, is not for him to grant, a verse the Arians
used in their debates on the nature of Jesus (Brown et al. 618). He tells them that their goal is not power but service:
Service to others is far more important than using power for yourself. Mark uses the Greek word lytron for ransom, a word implying buying the freedom of a criminal or slave (Brown et al. 619), with "many" being freed by Jesus' payment, his death.
They then travel to Jericho
. Mark relates nothing of what went on there and they leave. This section, verse 46, is where Morton Smith
claimed a copy of a letter from Clement of Alexandria
, found at the Mar Saba
monastery
, showed a secret extension of the book called the Secret Gospel of Mark
, as well as between verses 34-35. Smith said he took a photograph of the letter, but on returning to the monastery was not able to produce the actual letter, which has never been found.
As they leave the city they come upon Bartimaeus, whose name Mark then says means the son of Timaeus, translating from the Aramaic
. Timaeus is the Ancient Greek
of the Hebrew
name Timai (Kilgallen 200). Bartimeaus is a blind beggar and calls Jesus the Son of David, recognizing him as the Messiah
, the first non-possessed
person besides Peter to proclaim this. In the New American Standard Bible
translation he calls Jesus "the Nazarene
" . In verse 51 he calls Jesus Rabboni, Aramaic for Rabbi
, see also Strong's G4462. Jesus heals him and for the first time in Mark someone who Jesus has healed is allowed to follow him. This entire passage could be seen as a metaphor for Mark trying to convince his Hellenistic
audience, about the nature of Christianity
. They have seen the disciples, perhaps mirror's of the reader, think Jesus' kingdom will be earthly riches and power, but Mark has shown Jesus predict his death three times and shown that to follow him will entail hardship and full devotion to God. Bartimaeus regaining his sight and following Jesus is also meant to be the situation of the audience. This healing of a blind man rounds off the sequence that started in Mark
8, with a similar healing of another blind man, which contained Jesus' hardest teachings before he reaches Jerusalem in Mark 11.
Matthew
has all this in 19-20 including a caveat on fornication and a praise of voluntary celibacy
. He adds the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
, James and John's mother asks Jesus to favor them, not the brothers themselves, and Jesus heals two unnamed blind men in Jericho.
Luke
18 has the story about the children, the story of the rich man, Jesus' Passion prediction and healing of the blind man, again unnamed, at Jericho. Luke has a small passage in Luke 16:18 with Jesus' prohibition of remarriage.
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
Divorce
JesusJesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
begins his trip to Jerusalem
Jerusalem in Christianity
For Christians, Jerusalem's place in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Age gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.-Jerusalem in the New Testament and early Christianity:...
. Mark says that Jesus traveled into Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
across the Jordan river. After condemning sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
just before in Mark 9 Jesus condemns divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. He is teaching a crowd and once again the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
show up and test him. They ask him if divorce is lawful. Deuteronomy 24 allows a man to divorce his wife if he finds her "indecent" with simply a written writ of divorce. This is seen as a trap where Jesus either agrees with Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and is seen as submitting to him or disagrees and shows himself in opposition to Moses. Also, Jesus has just moved into the region of Judea, across the Jordan. Both the Pharisees and Jesus would be aware that this was John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
's old ground, and that John had recently been imprisoned, and then put to death as a result of his pronouncements on the topic of Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas
Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
's illegitimate marriage to his brother's wife. It is possible that the Pharisees are trying to entrap Jesus into making similar statements.
Jesus does not deal specifically with Herod's situation, but says that Moses only gave legislation concerning divorce because men's hearts were hard. Moses recognised that marital breakup was going to happen, and would rather have regulated divorce than unregulated abandonment.
Jesus answers by combining quotes from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 to show that divorce is not part of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
's plan:
- But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate. (6-9)
Later the group is alone in a house and Jesus goes on to condemn not only divorce but remarriage. He says that remarriage is akin to adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. In contrast to the behaviour required of the Jews under Moses, Jesus requires his followers to keep more stringently to God's plan at creation. This is consistent with Paul's teaching about an "Israel within Israel" http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=9&verse=5&end_verse=7&version=31&context=context, in which there are those who are Israelites only outwardly, and a "true" or "spiritual" Israel within that nation, being those who truly worship God. Jesus is calling the "true" Israel to group under his leadership.
Biblical minimalists would tend to doubt the historicity of this story, and all times Jesus quotes passages from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, suggesting rather that Mark is answering questions posed to him about Jesus' teachings and their accordance with Mosaic Law
613 mitzvot
The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
. It is however also found in 1 Corinthians
First Epistle to the Corinthians
The first epistle of Paul the apostle to the Corinthians, often referred to as First Corinthians , is the seventh book of the New Testament of the Bible...
7:10-11, showing that Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
believed it was Jesus' own teaching, but see also the Pauline privilege
Pauline privilege
The Pauline Privilege is a Christian concept drawn from the apostle Paul's instructions in theFirst Epistle to the Corinthians.-Origin:In Paul's epistle it states:...
. It was also the belief of some of the authors of the Dead Sea scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
(Brown 141). The prohibitions are extended to a woman divorcing her husband, which shows the Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
audience, as women divorcing men was very rare in the Jewish community.
Many Christians, especially in modern times
Modern Age
Modern Age is an American conservative academic quarterly journal, founded in 1957 by Russell Kirk in close collaboration with Henry Regnery...
, have not obeyed this teaching, but a general prohibition of divorce is still the official position of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
except for adultery based on the similar yet slightly different passage in Matthew
Matthew 5
Matthew 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It contains the first portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which will also take up the next chapter and a half. Portions are similar to the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6, but much is found only in Matthew...
5:31-32. Protestant Churches
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
vary on their policies regarding divorce, with most more tolerant of divorce but still holding divorce as bad and unwanted.
John
John 8
John 8 is the eighth chapter in the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It continues the account of Jesus' debate with the Pharisees at the Feast of Tabernacles, which began in the previous chapter....
8:1-11, a passage of the book whose validity is questioned, relates the story of Jesus saving the woman caught in adultery
Pericope Adulteræ
The Pericope Adulterae or Pericope de Adultera is a traditional name for a famous passage about Jesus and the woman taken in adultery from verses of the Gospel of John. The passage describes a confrontation between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees over whether a woman, caught in an act of...
from stoning. He saves her but then tells her to stop sinning, equating adultery with sin.
Little children blessed
Immediately after discussing marriage Jesus praises children. People bring their children for Jesus to touch and bless but the disciplesDisciple (Christianity)
In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
tell them to go away. Jesus gets angry with his disciples, as he often does in Mark when the disciples misunderstand his intentions, and says "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (15) He then touches and blesses the children. Jesus is probably using the children as a metaphor for human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
ities' relationship to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, innocence and childlike dependence and acceptance of God. Other surviving works from this period in history present children as unreasonable and in need of training whereas here their nature is shown as the path to God (Brown et al. 618).
The rich man and the eye of the needle
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
and non-trinitarians
Nontrinitarianism
Nontrinitarianism includes all Christian belief systems that disagree with the doctrine of the Trinity, namely, the teaching that God is three distinct hypostases and yet co-eternal, co-equal, and indivisibly united in one essence or ousia...
have used over the ages, as Jesus seems to say that he is different from God, see also Kenosis
Kenosis
In Christian theology, Kenosis In Christian theology, Kenosis In Christian theology, Kenosis (from the Greek word for emptiness (kénōsis) is the 'self-emptying' of one's own will and becoming entirely receptive to God's divine will....
. Jesus tells him that the man already knows the commandments (could be the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
or the Didache#The Two Ways or the 613 mitzvot
613 mitzvot
The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
), and the man tells him that he has always kept them. Jesus then ups the stakes and tells him that he should give up everything, give it to the poor, and follow him, see also Evangelical counsels
Evangelical counsels
The three evangelical counsels or counsels of perfection in Christianity are chastity, poverty , and obedience . As Jesus of Nazareth stated in the Canonical gospels , they are counsels for those who desire to become "perfect"...
. The man can not comply and goes away sad. Jesus tells everyone that "It is easier for a camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
to go through the eye of a needle
Eye of a needle
The eye of a needle is the section of a sewing needle formed into a loop for pulling thread, located at the end opposite the point. These loops are often shaped like an oval or an "eye", hence the metaphor.-Judaism:...
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
." (25) This is a radical teaching, then and now, as most people naturally believe riches, especially their own, are a sign of God's favor.
Some argue that this does not mean that no rich person can enter heaven, but that the rich must humble themselves in order to achieve salvation. There is, however, debate about this among Christians.
The disciples (students) then wonder aloud if any person can fully keep Jesus' commandments. "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (27) Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
says that they have given up everything to follow Jesus. Jesus says they will be rewarded with "...a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
s) and in the age to come
World to Come
The World to Come is an eschatological phrase reflecting the belief that the "current world" is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world or a paradise. The concept is similar to the concepts of Heaven and the afterlife, but Heaven is another place generally seen as...
, eternal life
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
." (30) and then repeats that the first will be last and the last first. See also the Beatitudes
Beatitudes
In Christianity, the Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful....
and Discourse on ostentation#Materialism.
The reference to persecution has been interpreted by some scholars as Mark trying to bolster the faith of his audience, perhaps victims of a persecution themselves. Persecution of Christians
Persecution of Christians
Persecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith can be traced both historically and in the current era. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith, at the hands of both Jews from whose religion Christianity arose, and the Roman Empire which controlled much of the land...
was rare during the probable writing of the gospel however, except perhaps Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
's in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
(64-68).
Journey to Jerusalem
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
:
- Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of manSon of manThe phrase son of man is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self. The phrase is also used in Judaism and Christianity. The phrase used in the Greek, translated as Son of man is ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου...
shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the GentileGentileThe term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
s: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again. (33-34 KJV)
This prediction contains all the elements of the Passion except for the means, crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
.
James
Saint James the Great
James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle...
and John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
ask Jesus to grant them a favor and he asks what it is and they ask to be his left and right hand men. Jesus says they can't handle the cup he has to drink from and the baptism he has to undergo. They reply that they can and Jesus says that to sit by Jesus in his glory has already been reserved for someone else. The apostles seem to think that great earthly glory awaits them but Jesus foreshadows his crucifixion and the two criminals that will be on each side of him. He says in verse 40 that such things, sitting at his side for instance, is not for him to grant, a verse the Arians
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
used in their debates on the nature of Jesus (Brown et al. 618). He tells them that their goal is not power but service:
- You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (42-45)
Service to others is far more important than using power for yourself. Mark uses the Greek word lytron for ransom, a word implying buying the freedom of a criminal or slave (Brown et al. 619), with "many" being freed by Jesus' payment, his death.
They then travel to Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
. Mark relates nothing of what went on there and they leave. This section, verse 46, is where Morton Smith
Morton Smith
Morton Smith was an American professor of ancient history at Columbia University. He is best known for his controversial discovery of the Mar Saba letter, a letter attributed to Clement of Alexandria containing excerpts from a Secret Gospel of Mark, during a visit to the monastery at Mar Saba in...
claimed a copy of a letter from Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
, found at the Mar Saba
Mar Saba
The Great Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified, known in Arabic as Mar Saba , is a Greek Orthodox monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley in the West Bank east of Bethlehem. The traditional date for the founding of the monastery by Saint Sabas of Cappadocia is the year 483 and today houses around 20...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, showed a secret extension of the book called the Secret Gospel of Mark
Secret Gospel of Mark
The Secret Gospel of Mark is a putative non-canonical Christian gospel known exclusively from the Mar Saba letter, which describes Secret Mark as an expanded version of the canonical Gospel of Mark with some episodes elucidated, written for an initiated elite.In 1973 Morton Smith , professor of...
, as well as between verses 34-35. Smith said he took a photograph of the letter, but on returning to the monastery was not able to produce the actual letter, which has never been found.
As they leave the city they come upon Bartimaeus, whose name Mark then says means the son of Timaeus, translating from the Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
. Timaeus is the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
of the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
name Timai (Kilgallen 200). Bartimeaus is a blind beggar and calls Jesus the Son of David, recognizing him as the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
, the first non-possessed
Spiritual possession
Spirit possession is a paranormal or supernatural event in which it is said that spirits, gods, demons, animas, extraterrestrials, or other disincarnate or extraterrestrial entities take control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in health and behaviour...
person besides Peter to proclaim this. In the New American Standard Bible
New American Standard Bible
The New American Standard Bible , also informally called New American Standard Version , is an English translation of the Bible....
translation he calls Jesus "the Nazarene
Nazarene (title)
Nazarene is a title applied to Jesus , who grew up in Nazareth, a town in Galilee, now in northern Israel. The word is used to translate two related words that appear in the Greek New Testament: the adjective Nazarēnos and the Nazōraios...
" . In verse 51 he calls Jesus Rabboni, Aramaic for Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, see also Strong's G4462. Jesus heals him and for the first time in Mark someone who Jesus has healed is allowed to follow him. This entire passage could be seen as a metaphor for Mark trying to convince his Hellenistic
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
audience, about the nature of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. They have seen the disciples, perhaps mirror's of the reader, think Jesus' kingdom will be earthly riches and power, but Mark has shown Jesus predict his death three times and shown that to follow him will entail hardship and full devotion to God. Bartimaeus regaining his sight and following Jesus is also meant to be the situation of the audience. This healing of a blind man rounds off the sequence that started in Mark
Mark 8
Mark 8 is the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains two miracles of Jesus, Peter's confession that he believes Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus' first prediction of his own death and resurrection...
8, with a similar healing of another blind man, which contained Jesus' hardest teachings before he reaches Jerusalem in Mark 11.
Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
has all this in 19-20 including a caveat on fornication and a praise of voluntary celibacy
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
. He adds the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is a parable of Jesus which appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament....
, James and John's mother asks Jesus to favor them, not the brothers themselves, and Jesus heals two unnamed blind men in Jericho.
Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
18 has the story about the children, the story of the rich man, Jesus' Passion prediction and healing of the blind man, again unnamed, at Jericho. Luke has a small passage in Luke 16:18 with Jesus' prohibition of remarriage.