THEO 1432: The Religious Quest
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Mark 8:27-10:52

03/26/2026 · Tue/Thu 10:30-11:45 AM · Brad Bannon · Boston College

📄 Synopsis

In this class session, Dr. Bannon and the students explored the pivotal middle section of the Gospel of Mark, specifically chapters 7 through 9. The discussion centered on the theme of 'ho-odos' (the way), framing early Christian identity as a journey of discipleship toward Jerusalem. A recurring motif was the 'Messianic Secret' and the persistent spiritual blindness of the twelve disciples, who consistently fail to grasp Jesus’s identity and his predictions of suffering despite witnessing miracles like the Transfiguration. The class analyzed specific encounters, such as the healing of the blind man and the debate with the Syrophoenician woman, to illustrate how faith—rather than mere proximity to Jesus—serves as the catalyst for healing. The lecture also addressed the 'Great Reversal,' where the first become last, and the challenges the Kingdom of God poses to conventional views on wealth. The session linked Jesus’s call to self-sacrifice with the Bhagavad-Gītā’s teachings on performing action without attachment to its fruits.

⚡ Key Takeaways

  • The Gospel of Mark reaches a significant turning point when Jesus and the Twelve begin the road to Jerusalem, shifting the narrative toward his impending suffering.
  • Early Christian practice was originally referred to as 'ho-odos,' meaning 'on the way' or 'on the road,' emphasizing that discipleship is a continuous path of following.
  • The 'Messianic Secret' is a prominent theme where Jesus sternly orders followers and those he heals not to reveal his identity as the Messiah.
  • The disciples, particularly Peter, exhibit a persistent lack of understanding regarding Jesus’s mission, often associating the Messiah with worldly power rather than sacrifice.
  • The Transfiguration serves as a 'metamorphosis' where Jesus is seen with Moses and Elijah, representing the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
  • The 'Great Reversal' teaches that in the Kingdom of God, the first shall be last and the last shall be first, challenging conventional social and material hierarchies.
  • Jesus’s encounter with the Syrophoenician woman highlights that faith can exist outside the traditional boundaries of the Israelite covenant and can even 'win' a debate with the divine.
  • The healing of the blind man functions as a metaphor for the disciples' gradual and incomplete spiritual 'sight.'
  • Entering the Kingdom of God requires radical detachment from material wealth, famously illustrated by the metaphor of a camel passing through the eye of a needle.
  • Theology is defined by Saint Anselm as 'fides quaerens intellectum' (faith seeking understanding), suggesting that faith and reason are not at odds but that understanding is a pursuit.

🎤 Transcript Tap any timestamp to jump the audio player

Opening Transition and Breath Meditation

Brad
Howdy.
Student
Ready?
Brad
Let's take a moment to transition, please. Let's take a breath together. Gonna breathe in and out. Word?
Student
Word.
1:19

Administrative Notes and Quiz Update

Brad
Right on. No quiz again. I'm not sure if we'll have more quizzes. Let's dive in here. I should have brought the tumbling tower game. That would have been a good way to start. Why don't we take a little time in teams as usual and then dive into these chapters of Mark. Yeah, so take, I don't know, take about 7 minutes. ⚠
3:32

Small Group Discussion on Sacred Texts

Student
Um, specifically like, I guess I could talk about, yeah, I guess the first arrived stuff, but I just, I had not divorced. Um, what is your one question? I can say, like I said, George, yeah, like psychology, because that's like, uh, he writes people that call and can't like No, but I know it's like opening season. I have friends who like to dance baseball. We're not. ⚠
Student
Our team is not.
9:45

Class Discussion: Discipleship and Blindness in Mark 8

Brad
All right, it sounds like some of the conversations have drifted. So let's hear from our group leaders. Maybe we can, I mean, shift just to see each other a little bit better. By my record, this is the second day of the semester when we have full attendance in this section. Crazy. Um, yeah. So it's— no, no, you're good. Obviously everybody who reads the text reads it differently, interprets it differently, right? It's part of what makes it Scripture. But by and large, most folks reading the text seem to put the midpoint of the text somewhere right around here, maybe, um, you know, maybe 8:57 where it ended last time, and, um, uh, or 8— sorry, 8:26. Um, and so, uh, something definitely different happens somewhere around here, maybe with the Transfiguration. That's often seen as like a significant turning point. Um, but it's, it's actually literally a turning point when somewhere around here where Jesus begins, or, you know, Jesus and the Twelve began this road, began on the road to Jerusalem. So everything, you know, you could take everything happens really before it's kind of like preparing for this road to Jerusalem. ⚠
Brad
And along that line, we generally refer to Christian tradition or Christian practice is Christianity or something like that, right? Within the early church, I mean early, early, so like the time that this was written and for the first few centuries of the Christian tradition, really up until Constantine when, you know, Christianity kind of became legal, it was almost always referred to as ho-odos, which means on the way or on the road. And a lot of that— and we see that, that phrase come up a lot in Mark's Gospel. And I draw your attention to it because it just would sound very different for his audience than it does for us. So when they say "on the road," it kind of means— it doesn't literally mean on the road. I mean, here it does, right, because he's on the road to Jerusalem. But it means like on the way, you're on the path, right? Sometimes you would say you're on the on the right path kind of thing, right? So it's a very similar kind of idea. ⚠
Brad
So ho-odos, or on the way, really means— I think, you know, we could just take it as discipleship, right? Disciple. The word disciple means one who follows. So one who follows on the way, right? So kind of in the footsteps of Christ. So anyway, let's dive in here. Yeah, let's focus first on, you know, anything from chapter 8. We'll get a little bit here. ⚠
Student
Chapter 8.
Brad
Yeah, Andrew, get us started.
Student
I mean, the first thing that jumped out to me was— I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time we hear him talk about the sacrifice and rising from the dead and all that. So starting at 8:31, I believe. So yeah, that just kind of jumped out to me as like, all right, we're starting that kind of journey now. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Good.
Student
Yeah.
Student
And I think something that is important about that kind of section is that Peter then rebukes him and says like, oh, you don't need to die. And that kind of shows that Peter and maybe some of the other disciples see the Messiah and they associate that with power or kingdom and like the requirement of like material wealth or like to be be treated as someone that's above someone else, which is quite obviously something that Jesus denies and kind of talks about for the rest of the reading that is not at all true.
Brad
Yeah, I guess so. I mean, we see earlier in the text the disciples don't understand, but now it's taken a different, a different level.
Student
They kind of start to see him as a title rather than someone who's actually meant to be a martyr or to do something significant.
Brad
Significant in the world. Yeah, it almost seems like the further— the longer the text goes on, the less they understand, right? Yeah, yeah.
Student
I also want to point out in that same passage, um, Jesus yells at Peter and calls him Satan, which is like something that Jesus hasn't even said in Mark yet. Yeah, it also becomes like— we'll get to it— but it's recurring that like Peter gets yelled at and he doesn't really have full faith in Jesus yet, because as he said, like, he sees Jesus as like a righteous Messiah, not one that suffers and doesn't really believe that he can die. Like, he's seen him do so many crazy things that he can't understand that. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, yeah, that Satan word popped out for me as well. This Donohue and Harrington, a very Jesuit commentary, it says the language is reminiscent of Matthew 4:10, but of course Mark's temptation account is considerably shorter and earlier and does not include this phrase. The Hebrew verb Satan means test or tent, which expresses well the role of the Satan figure in Job and Zechariah. In New Testament times, the figure of Satan becomes the principle of evil and the cosmic struggle that shapes human history until the Eschaton— the end, the end, whatever that means— by rejecting the plan of God that involves a suffering Messiah, Son of Man. Peter puts himself on the wrong side of this struggle. Yeah, good. Yeah. ⚠
Student
One of the things that sticks out to me on this is they say you have a Messiah, and he tells them not to tell anyone, and then he tells them about his sacrifice and death and resurrection. But I don't know if this is just my kind of way of thinking, but they never ask why. They never— like, not even like Peter rebukes him, but not even just like wondering why, not politely going about it. Because I think it feels like it's rooted in that fear still, where they're kind of just blindly following. They don't want to go against this authority figure that they see. And so they kind of just blindly go about it without really thinking. And I kind of think that's why we also see them just seem like they understand less and less, because they're probably not grasping it. Because they're not one, asking the right questions, or really probably truly knowing why they're even following him. ⚠
Brad
They don't seem to, right? They seem genuinely confused about that. And, um, they seem like low-key a little bit scared of him, right? Yeah, a little bit nervous around—
Student
yeah.
Student
Laura, I saw like a theme of blindness, like especially as it's repeated like 3 times throughout just this section, the, um, like Jesus's prediction of what's going to happen. And it's also kind of like blindness in stages, like when he healed someone previously, how like now they see that he's the Messiah, but they don't really understand what that means, right? ⚠
Brad
I mean, they really don't understand, right? And he, he kind of says— I mean, I mean, Peter said— yeah, that verse there, 29, um, Jesus asked them, but who do you say that I am? And Peter said, you are the Messiah. And then we get that, um, You know, not just don't tell anybody, but sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Yeah, thanks. Yeah, Christine. ⚠
Student
Say like, oh, so at 8:34 to 9, the idea that the cross is sort of symbolic of like this like execution method, which I thought was quite interesting. And it's like how, you know, if you follow Jesus, you're kind of risking, you know, like suffering and like death. And it shows that like, like is like For the disciples, is it meant to be uncomfortable? Are you going to get closer to what you're finding if you suffer? I guess it kind of shows as you read it how important self-sacrifice is. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, great. Caroline?
Student
In the same section when he says those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it, that's a very recurring theme throughout the entire thing I've noticed, where it's like, if, um, like, um, like, to follow Jesus requires, like, sacrifice. Like, it's not going to be, like, easy or comfortable, but like— and then, like, like, at 9 and then at 10 as well, like, the, um, where, like, you've, like, cut off your foot or that whole thing. But, like, there's a lot of Yeah, good. ⚠
Brad
Thanks, Caroline.
Student
Yeah, kind of same like section connecting the like blindness and the suffering with the cross. I feel like he mentions a lot of different times like how the first will get last and the last will get first and kind of how like people are going to be blindly following him because it is like very vague. And in 35, and it says for those who want to save their lives will lose it. And for those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it. And kind of just saying, like, if you're trying to save yourself, like, you're gonna struggle and you're gonna not reach what I want you to reach, and you should just follow me instead. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, sometimes this is referred to as the great reversal, um, because it's the first will become last and the last will become first. Um, and there's also, you know, a question about, well then, what or at least question in my mind, like what then is the motivation, right? Are you motivated to be first? Because if you are, then maybe you want to be last? Like then it becomes still the end still becomes the end, but the means are different? Or is it that you shouldn't want to be first at all, right? Yeah, good. Yeah, Logan. ⚠
Student
I think, yeah, that kind of ties directly right back into the Bhagavad Gita from the readings on Tuesday and how like you have to separate the, uh, the action from like from the fruits of the action. Yeah, just be motivated just purely for that action. Um, and kind of on a different note, zooming out a bit, throughout reading this, like prior to this chapter, Jesus was kind of more a little bit more like parable in his talking, or a little bit less, a little bit more vague in his talking. And I was kind of wondering why in this chapter he was so direct and, you know, telling them like emphasizing not to tell anybody about any of his miracles or any of this secret knowledge. ⚠
Student
I started thinking about it, and it kind of seems like that he wants to be viewed more as, uh, or not be viewed as just purely a miracle worker, um, and is emphasizing really the message of how, you know, you have to be here for other people and be, um, like working towards the common good as opposed to just being, you know, worshiping me because I cured somebody of their blindness or raised somebody from the dead or something like that. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, word, right on. Yeah, Aiden and— ⚠
Student
And I think a lot of those acts that he's performing, and like in chapter 9, verse 19, you faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you breaking to me? And that was in response to someone wanting them to heal their son. He starts to like those acts of miracles as ways to prove his legitimacy and prove that he truly is the Messiah, and that he starts to get annoyed and sees that a lot of the followers are not following him because they believe in his ideology or what he wants to achieve, but rather, oh, he can help me in this present moment. And I think he starts to recognize that more and more throughout the chapter, and he gets quite annoyed knowing about it. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, good. Thank you.
Student
Yeah, I think that kind of what you brought up there were the first couple, you know, chapters you read were all about parables, and this one's like, you know, my point. And I think a lot of that's because Jesus kind of gets to the point where he's realized that some of the disciples like still don't truly believe him, which is why he takes Peter, James, and John up to the mountain. Like, I think like we were talking about our group beliefs for Peter, it was like, all right, Peter like openly rebuked him beforehand. I think one of the reasons he brought Peter up there versus someone else was to show him, it was like, you know, like, you should believe me, like, here's, you know, kind of a sign for you. And I think that's kind of what the biggest point of this chapter was, when you talked about 3 different times about how he's gonna die and be resurrected, like, really showing to the disciples, like, alright, here's what's gonna happen. Like, if you guys— like, you guys have to truly believe me at this point and be fully committed to the faith. ⚠
Brad
And they do seem to believe him, and they seem committed, but they still don't seem to understand, right? It's like, no matter how much It seems like there's, you know, there's the crowd that doesn't understand. You know, most people don't understand. That's not surprising. But then there's the 12, and, you know, originally, like, first time when we were introduced to the parables, you know, he said, I explain it to the disciples so that they will understand, but then they still don't, right? And then there's sort of the 3 within the 12, so Peter, James, and John. That are like super close to him and they still don't get it, right? It seems like the more you know, the less you understand. Yeah, Evan. ⚠
Student
Yeah, like the same part basically where Elijah and Moses like peer out to them. And this like somewhat commentary I read said that like Moses signifies the law and Elijah signifies the prophets and that Jesus is above both of them, kind of to show to them like who he is, to like hint at that. And I also want to go back for a second to the part that says like, for those who want to save their life will lose it. And that seemed to be like the first part that they talked about the afterlife and how it said again, but like wealth and security, it's really hard to go like achieve or go to heaven, I guess, or be saved. ⚠
Student
That's what I interpret be saved as.
Student
If you have all these wealth and possessions. So I just thought that was like the first time that showed up in the text.
Brad
Yeah, well, and especially the kingdom of God. So then we got to kind of ask, what does that— what does this phrase mean? Yeah, we'll tap into that.
Student
Yeah, I know it's kind of past, but I think that lack of understanding— like, this is a really good narrative to describe that, where everything we've read, like, you talk about Hinduism and Saṃsāra, understanding Brahman, like, that's really hard for a human being to understand. And then the significance of God in this is really hard to understand. And this is a, like, great way to represent the fact that even the disciples, like, closest to Jesus, they kind of get it wrong the first time. Jesus gets mad at them, kind of rebukes them or yells at them, and then they get it wrong another time. Like, it just keeps happening. And it's a really— like, it, it's, uh, almost a story that, like, puts it in words we can understand of, like, how hard it is to to understand the significance of God or God or Brahman, like all of it all together. ⚠
Brad
Sure, yeah, but why is it so hard? And why is it that— I mean, you know, not to spoil anything, but they know they never get it. There's not like we're not going to get to the end of the gospel and then they all understand. They don't. ⚠
Student
Um, so, um, so yeah, so yeah, Ali, I feel like we see people believing in like half of the stuff and like other parts of Jesus, like they're not believing in, kind of. For example, Mark around like 24, when he's, um, being asked to cure the child, like the father says, I believe, help my unbelief. And to me that means like he believes that Jesus can help him, but he doesn't know like what else he's believing in and like why is Jesus able to do that. And for me it's just kind of like it gets me thinking on like are people believing him and seeing him only as someone who can perform these miracles, and they're not believing that he can help in any other way. And that's kind of why they're like, like throwing their kids at them and like trying to get people to touch him because they think that he can only perform like certain miracles. ⚠
Brad
Yeah. Good. Thank you. Yeah.
Student
Lauren, I feel like with like these chapters too, there was kind of a shift from like just him performing miracles to him teaching a lot and trying to each of the disciples, like what he's like, like going to do and like what they should believe. ⚠
Brad
And it was kind of for that, like stop thinking like on just your miracles, right? Yep. Anna?
Student
Um, like for someone reading this and like even the 12 disciples don't like, can't understand God, it's like if the 12 disciples that are closest to God, or even like the 3, like can't understand him, like how are we supposed to understand him? So it's like a discouraging text, like, why are we like reading this and trying to understand God if even the 12 closest people can't accomplish that? ⚠
Brad
Totally, totally for sure, right? But, um, let's recognize that Mark is talking to us, right? So it seems like Mark understands, and maybe even though the disciples don't understand, presumably Mark does, right? And then hopefully we can understand. So maybe we have a chance of understanding things that even the disciples don't. But absolutely still raises the question, like, why, why don't the— why don't they understand? ⚠
Student
Yeah, I mean, we're just kind of skipping forward a little bit, but what you brought up like a minute ago really reminded me of like the camel. It's easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than someone who's rich to enter the kingdom of God. Like, I think that was a really interesting passage showing that even though like you can give up anything else, like you still have to give up all your material wealth. And, and, uh, one of the people asks Jesus like, oh, who can be saved? And he says, for mortals it's impossible, but not for God. For God all things are possible. I think that was really interesting. Like, I kind of couldn't tell, I was like, if he means like just like all people can't be saved unless you like you fully devote yourself to God. But it's like, it just seemed very interesting, that part where he kind of blatantly says like you need to be— like he finally puts it towards like you need to fully devote yourself to God, basically. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, good. And before we jump quite that far ahead, let's roll back to, um, it's connected at this point though, um, so Mark 8 Verse 34. By the way, this word "oklos," which is the crowd, yeah, I read a few commentators that point out that the crowd is like an important character. The crowd almost seems to have— almost seems to be a character unto itself. So Jesus called to the crowd with his disciples and said to them, If anyone wants to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. So this is kind of the first— this is the first time that we've heard the word cross, I think. I'm not 100% sure about that, but yeah, I don't know. Anybody have any thoughts on that? It's OK if not. Yeah, Kellen? ⚠
Student
I mean, just reading the footnotes, it seems like this would have been a lot more meaningful when it was written, where cross is actually very brutal and getting crucified is very brutal. So he's basically telling everyone, this is not going to be easy. If you want to follow me, get ready for a very hard journey and very difficult. So I just thought it probably loses a bit of meaning now without the full context, but probably back in the day that was probably very powerful. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, well, and on Christine's point, like this, I mean, it's not just— he's not just dying. It's an execution, right? A government execution.
Student
Yeah, I think that just really emphasized that Jesus is starting to see the disciples as someone who is following them because they feel like they should rather than the full understanding of his ultimate goal.
Brad
Which then raises the question, why? I agree, but then why should they? What is it that they— so they said, you know, they feel like they should follow him, but what is the, what is the goal that they're trying to get? I'm not expecting anybody to have an answer to that. Yeah, Logan? ⚠
Student
Um, I think that both those, these points that we brought up all relate back to separating the action from the, uh, the fruits of the action and how he's saying you have to take up your cross Man saying like, you have to go through the suffering not knowing the end goal, in a sense. And like, part of the reason why he rebukes his disciples in this is that they're asking him like, how do we reach eternal life? Or can we like be seated with you? Yeah, with the Father. And it is also kind of like social commentary at the time because like during the time, and even up until relatively recent times in the church or many like religious institutions, institutions, those who were rich and like donated, like you could buy a seat and have it essentially in some parts of the church. And there's things similar to that effect, um, at that time too. ⚠
Student
Um, and he's kind of saying that like no matter what you do, like it doesn't matter what your material things are, it matters what like where your heart is within those actions and what you're doing with those actions rather than just purely trying to attain eternal life for yourself.
Brad
Okay, yeah, sure.
Student
Yeah, I also think like just the lack of understanding is kind of where faith steps in and where it's kind of really different from what we've been reading, obviously with, you know, Bhagavad Gita and everything, where like the kind of end goal is understanding. Like for this, I don't think Jesus— like obviously he wants them to get it, but it's not like— like that's kind of his role was to replace the understanding. So like if you understand everything completely, there's really no need to have faith in anything. So I feel like that lack of understanding kind of presents the opportunity to worship Jesus, and I feel like that's kind of the point. ⚠
Brad
Okay, yeah, good. Is that— that, um, that comment reminds me of, uh, Saint Anselm's definition of theology, right, from chapter 1. It's, um, theology is fides quaerens intellectum, faith-seeking understanding, never finding it, never having it, right? If you've understood, then what you've understood is not God. That's Another quote from Augustine. But so faith and reason, they're not at odds, but then in fact they kind of— one begins where the other ends, right? So if it's rational and logical, believe it because it's rational and logical. Don't have faith in it, right? Yeah, good. ⚠
Student
Peter doesn't want to listen to the prediction because he doesn't want to follow that path of like a horrible death. The crucifixion is such like a brutal way to die. ⚠
Brad
No doubt. Yeah, sure. But does he even understand? I mean, even Jesus keeps saying like, I'm gonna be crucified and die, but he still doesn't seem to like believe it or something, right? But yeah, I mean, no doubt he doesn't want to do that.
Student
Yeah.
Student
Going back to that faith seeking understanding point, Does that in turn invalidate Jesus' anger at the disciples for, for example, trying to become the left and right man, or for the crowd trying to just use him for the miracles? Does that invalidate his idea that these people should not be using me, or is that simply— do you understand what I'm saying? ⚠
Brad
I think so, maybe. I think I hear three different issues there. Let's see if I can remember all three. One was the right and left hand. I want to come back to that. The other one is— no, I forgot the other two.
Student
Like, what I'm saying is, so I mentioned that Jesus has like moments of anger throughout.
Brad
Anger, that was the other one. Yeah.
Student
And if we're saying that like faith seeking understanding is the ultimate goal and that like that means maybe you don't fully ever understand, does that invalidate Jesus's anger? Like, should he then not be annoyed at his disciples or the crowd because they're just trying to understand, which is kind of what he wants, right?
Brad
Yeah. Yeah, good. I mean, good questions. I think one possible way— and this, I'm, you know, I think maybe I'm maybe importing the theology of John's Gospel more than Mark's Gospel, but But in— maybe in both, faith and kind of like on Andrew's point, like faith and logic are not at odds exactly, but they're definitely not the same, right? And so it could be that those that are there, those that see, those that are physically there, don't have the possibility of faith because they're there, right? So there's almost like a— In John's Gospel in particular, it's like you have a benefit of not having been there. So, those that were there, they saw and they either believed or they didn't. But it's like, you see what I'm saying? So, there's a dichotomy there. The anger thing is definitely something I want to double tap on, double click on, to use a millennial phrase. If we roll back to— so, I mean, is it fair to say? ⚠
Brad
I don't know if anybody can disagree or have different perspective, but I feel like Jesus gets angry a few times in Mark's Gospel, and I feel like he doesn't really in the other Gospels. I feel like this is pretty unique to this Gospel. What I'm looking for is the Syrophoenician woman. I definitely have it marked somewhere. Um, okay, uh, Mark 7, uh, verse 20. Actually, let's just read— let's read a little bit more of the text. Um, so I think maybe juxtaposing these two passages, um, might be worthwhile. Um, uh, I don't know, Andrew, do you mind, uh, just starting from verse 24, and we'll just go verse by verse. Yeah. From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. ⚠
37:00

Theological Analysis: The Syrophoenician Woman and Faith

Student
He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, yet he could not escape notice.
Brad
Yes, Scott.
Student
But a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.
Brad
Now the woman was a Gentile, a Gentile of Syrophoenician origin. ⚠
Student
She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs. But she answered him, saying, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.
Brad
29.
Student
Then he said to her, for saying that, you may go. The demon has left your daughter. So she went home, found the child laying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Brad
Okay, so let's stop there. So I don't know, what do you think? Anybody, whether you've had any experience with the Gospels, or if this is your first time reading any of it, what's— yeah, I don't know, what do you think of this encounter? What do you think of it? Yeah, Allie? ⚠
Student
I feel like it's a little odd because he kind of just dismisses the mom and is like, you don't believe me, go away, but then he heals the daughter anyway. And so I just don't really know what to make of that because he knows the person doesn't believe in him, but he still chooses to like help.
Brad
Well, I don't know about doesn't believe in him. Maybe she seems to believe in him a lot, right? Why do you say—
Student
yeah, I feel like because she kind of dismisses like what he asks her to do.
Brad
Yeah, he says go away and she's like, she won't. Yeah, okay, okay, gotcha. Yep. Yeah, Logan? ⚠
Student
In the footnotes, it's talking about how this is like a parable and how the food is like an analogy for the kingdom and that the children is referring directly to the Israelites. I guess emphasizing the exclusivity of this or how it's supposed to be just for Israelites. This is the filling of the covenant just for Israelites. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, yeah. And just to clarify, Gentile just means non-Jewish, right? So or non-Israelite in that language. Yeah, go ahead, Kath. ⚠
Student
I read a commentary about this because I was kind of confused when I read it the first time. And in the commentary I read, it was saying that this debate— I know it says in the notes at the bottom too that she wins the debate. But in the debate, Jesus was trying to provoke the woman to a greater faith and for her to realize kind of on her own and to reveal God's plan to be salvation for all, not just for Israelites and Jews, but for everyone that believes. And I think that kind of goes along with a theme throughout the rest of this section where faith heals, not just Jesus. So having that faith is salvation for all rather than just the Jews. ⚠
Brad
For sure, it's definitely a continuation of that faith heals, and her faith is strong, right? Her faith is stronger certainly than he expects. But then back to the original. What do we think of this rebuke? Why? I mean, let the children be fed first. It's not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs. Is she— is he like calling her a dog? Yeah. Lily? ⚠
Student
I feel like a lot of the times Jesus in the Gospels tends to not favor children, but like it's always a little bit kinder towards them because they don't understand. Can't be faithful or faithless. They're too innocent. And I think this is kind of an example of that. He's saying your daughter— or yes, her daughter should be first for her. I feel like she's almost— he's telling her to put her daughter more importantly in her life. Put her first. ⚠
Brad
OK. All right.
Student
Others?
Brad
Okay, so that's good. We can go back to chapter 9. So that passage with the epileptic, verse 19. He answered them. I mean, what are they asking, right? So there's this epileptic guy who's having epileptic episodes. And they're like, can you fix him? And he answered, you faithless generation, how much longer must I be with among you? How much longer must I put up with you? But then he heals him. So I don't know, what do we— does that response— I mean, don't give to children what's thrown to the dogs. Don't give the dogs. You got it. ⚠
Student
Yeah, this kind of goes back to, um, I can't exactly remember what chapter it was, but it was a couple chapters ago when he was like back in his like hometown and he didn't have any power there, right? It's like the people didn't have faith in him. And I feel like it's a similar situation happening here. Like, he, like, he needs the faith of the people. And I think like it said, like, the disciples couldn't heal the child. And I feel like that might come from, like, the lack of understanding. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, and he doesn't get upset with them for not being able to heal them. He's like, this one was extra hard, right? Yeah. Um, but like, uh, I mean, I almost feel like it's, um, reversed. Like, they— in both of these cases, the faith of the Syrophoenician woman and the faith of these folks is so strong that even he seems like he doesn't want to heal them but they just— their faith is so strong that it just almost happens, right? I don't know, what do you think?
Student
Yeah, I think it kind of reveals the good nature of God that the Catholic tradition really emphasizes, where you have like— he's frustrated with these people not having full faith and full understanding, but still he heals this person anyway because one, it might help them understand more, but also it's just like It's kind of like, if you can help, how do you just turn a blind eye, like for anyone, where if you have the ability, like a doctor sees someone suffering, like they probably struggle to just turn around and walk the other way. ⚠
Brad
Okay. Yeah. Good. Yeah. Christine?
Student
I was going to say, it's like you can see the contrast between spiritual blindness and there's like true insight, for example, just because they see clearly or just because you see the truth doesn't mean Yeah, good. ⚠
44:00

Metaphorical Sight: The Two-Stage Healing of the Blind Man

Brad
So another, um, as I started this whole thing by saying, you know, we're kind of like at the turning point or the midpoint of the text, and a lot of folks would actually say that the, the real turning point is the episode that we read at last Thursday, which is about, um, so chapter 8, verses 22 through 26. Let's read that passage. I don't know where we ended off. Manuel? Yeah. So, chapter 8, verse 22. ⚠
Student
Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.
Student
He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. And when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, can you see anything? And the man looked up and said, I can see people, but they look like trees walking.
Student
Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. He looked intently on him, and his sight was restored.
Student
And he saw everything Then he sent them away to his home, saying, "Do you not even go into the village?" Good.
Brad
Okay, so what's going on here? What do you notice here? Does anything surprise you here? What's unusual? Is there anything in Mark's Gospel so far, like, especially for folks that have been raised in the church or anything like that, anything surprise you? Does this episode surprise you at all? Yeah, Fear? ⚠
Student
I was gonna say it's interesting that it takes like 2 tries for Jesus to heal him versus like most times like Jesus touches them or like they touch Jesus, they're healed. This time it's like first he heals them like slightly, they look like trees, and then again he heals them again. So it might just be like maybe this guy's belief, like he didn't fully believe at first and when he had like some sort of help, he's like, okay, then now he like fully believes. ⚠
Brad
I mean, in some cases he seems to be able to heal like remotely, right? Like through Wi-Fi or something. Like he's, I mean, like the, like the, the, I mean, the passage that we just read, right, with the Syrophoenician woman, the daughter isn't even there, right? And he heals the daughter, or the daughter is healed, um, even though, I mean, definitely no touching and definitely no like try one and try two and no saliva either, right? So I mean, yeah, what do you make of the fact that it takes two tries and that it's, you know, Physically laying hands on and the saliva and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. Yeah, Kellen. ⚠
Student
Maybe it just represents that Jesus will keep trying with the disciples and keep trying to get them to understand and kind of remove that blindness. Yeah, I don't know. He's a miracle worker, but he's—
Brad
Yeah, go ahead. And on Christine's point, like the blindness here is not— it's metaphorical, right? I mean, it might also be literal. But there's definitely something symbolic going on with who can see and who can't see. And the disciples, even though they seem like they're always there and always seeing, they never see, right? Yeah.
Student
Maybe this contrasts to the one about the girl who wasn't even there. It's like the mom came seeking Jesus, so she believed in him to begin with, whereas Jesus came to the people. So Jesus went to them, and then they're all kind of surrounding him, looking to be healed, whereas the— what? The Syrophoenician woman sought out Jesus. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, um, good, good. So again, indicative of, I mean, the strength of her faith, maybe. Yeah, um, good. Let's, uh, um, definitely got to give plenty of attention to chapter 9, uh, and the Transfiguration. Um, we've actually kind of talked around it, but, um, not much, not so much about it. Um, This Metamorphosis. Let's read a little bit of this. Where did we end off? Somewhere over there. So yeah, actually, I got to tell you where to start. So start with verse 1 in chapter 9. I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God has come with power. So then this might raise the question, I think, that was raised earlier, you know, what does, what does Mark mean by the kingdom of God? Is it something— it seems, I don't know, I mean, they won't taste death, so maybe it's not an afterlife, right? Because, uh, afterlife kind of means after death, right? Um, so they aren't going to taste death before they see the kingdom of God has come with power. I don't know, what do we What might that mean? Yeah. ⚠
Student
I feel like he's— first read, I feel like he's presenting the kingdom of God as a continuation of life. Maybe not physical life, but spiritual life. ⚠
Brad
OK. So a spiritual life that may have nothing to do at all with physical birth and death. Yeah. OK. Others? Yeah, Ellen. ⚠
Student
To me, I feel like it means that— they won't taste death. Like, the kingdom of God coming with power is like until after Jesus is killed and then resurrects, like that showing like the ultimate power of the kingdom of God. And then after that, like, there can be an afterlife and they will taste death. ⚠
Brad
Okay, this is a verse that has caused a lot of, you know, angst for a lot of folks because, you know, like, if we interpret the kingdom of God coming with power, a lot of times, sometimes this is taken as meaning, like, almost in a very literal sense, right? Like, God is going to come and establish a new kingdom on earth or something like that, right? Sort of heaven on earth. But all of the people that were there have tasted death, right? So it didn't happen, or— yeah, so then what do we make of it? ⚠
Student
Yeah, um, I think maybe what my interpretation is kind of leaning to is saying that like the people won't realize what like angst and the kind of trouble they've been living in until they feel like the goodness of the kingdom of God, or like everything that Jesus has been I'm saying basically up to this point is emphasizing actions right here, right now, and making it better around you. And I guess that what I'm kind of interpreting is that it's saying that if you make the world a better place around you, you kind of allow the kingdom of God to fulfill and happen. That not only until then, you won't realize how bad it was prior to that, I guess, maybe. ⚠
Brad
OK. Yep, Castilian?
Student
Is it just simply that he's saying that the people will not die, they'll still be alive by the time that this event, this kingdom of God coming to earth will take place, and that they'll eventually have realized once this happens that all along Jesus had been the Messiah and doing the work of God, but they just didn't realize, they didn't have that deep understanding yet. They'll come to see that. It's kind of like a, not a warning, But just saying, well, this is going to happen, so they'll see eventually kind of thing. I don't know if it's that straightforward. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, I mean, yeah. Lauren?
Student
I took it a similar way, like people won't be willing to suffer for it unless they can see the results first. ⚠
Brad
OK. Yeah. All right, well, let's pick up. Caroline, first two. ⚠
52:36

The Transfiguration and the Role of Elijah

Student
6 days later Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, is it good for us to be here? Let us make 3 dwellings, one for you two, one for Moses and one for Elijah. He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice: This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him. Suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ⚠
Student
So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.
Student
Then they asked him, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
Student
He said to them, Elijah is indeed coming to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him. Okay, so yeah, thank you.
Brad
We'll stop there. Oh, some curious things in here, some things worth attention. Yeah. ⚠
Student
They refer to Jesus as rabbi. Yeah, I think that's interesting. It's kind of emphasizing now that there is like that more concrete connection between him and God. ⚠
Student
And I think that's an important turning point for the disciples because they've kind of lacked that concrete connection, but now they've had it.
Brad
Okay. Yep, Callum?
Student
It was interesting. It seems like Peter's trying hard to understand and say the right things.
Brad
Yeah.
Student
But he just keeps messing up because he doesn't know what to say. And then it kind of gets to a point where I presume God is bellowing down, like basically telling him, like, this is my son. Like, listen to him, basically. ⚠
Brad
Which is not something we've seen before, right? So I mean, we've seen We got from the very first verse of the Gospel, the reader is told, right? The very first, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Right? So we're told right off the bat this identity. No one else has heard it, right? We've heard demons and unclean spirits, they've uttered it. But presumably people didn't hear it. It's not really clear if anyone other than Jesus heard it. But here, there's no doubt, right? I mean, it's booming from the clouds. So, you know, it's— I mean, it's not a huge crowd, but it's Peter, James, and John, right? So it's not just a voice in his head. It's not just a voice of a demon, but it's a voice from the cloud, right? From the cloud there came a voice. Pretty clear. Yeah, what do I make of that? ⚠
Student
Yeah, I was gonna mention something else.
Brad
That's fine.
Student
Yeah, I was— there's a question. I don't— I was so confused when Peter wants to make three dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Like, I don't know what that meant.
Brad
I mean, he doesn't even seem to know what he's trying to say, right? Yeah, I mean, he's like— I mean, he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. So this three dwellings, I don't know, did anybody look that up in a commentary? One, yeah, one, it could mean a number of different things. In terms of the persons though, I think, you know, we already said that Elijah kind of represents the prophets and Moses represents the law. And the three dwellings could be like, there's a ritual porum, which is you build a tabernacle, a temporary dwelling as a house of God. So it could be, you know, making a— anyway, it could be a lot of things, honestly. What do we make about— so verse 12, He said to them, Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all that. That seems future, right? So I mean, on the one hand, we've got Elijah's there, right there, right? It's like present tense, he's there. And then verse 12, he is coming, so that's like future, right? ⚠
Brad
But then literally the next verse, but I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it was written about him. So It seems like he's already come and gone. So on one hand, you've got him there, right? He's there right now. On the other hand, he is coming in the future, but also he has come and gone in the past. So are we talking about a person? Are we talking about an idea? What is— what do we make with all of these past tense, future tense, present tense? Yeah, Brent?
Student
I didn't really understand it, to be honest, who Elijah was and all that, but The footnote says, like, he's talking about all this, and he kind of asserts that Elijah came and John— and then obviously John the Baptist was killed by blanking on the name— ⚠
Brad
Herod.
Student
Killed by Herod in kind of like unceremonious way, like no one really heard about it. He was just kind of a prisoner, and then they cut his head off. So I think that's where they did to him whatever they pleased came from. I still don't fully understand, like, the tenses, who Elijah is, what his whole purpose was. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, and we didn't read that. I gave you passages from Isaiah, but we didn't read the— we didn't, we didn't read anything from Elijah in the first half of the semester, which would have been great, but we're cramped, you know. But Elijah, one of the things about Elijah, he's the only person in the Bible the Bible that never dies. So he didn't die. He's sent straight to heaven on a chariot, actually. So, but here, as you're pointing out, as Brent's pointing out, seems to be— I mean, most folks, most commentate— well, the commentators that I've read often associate Elijah with John the Baptist. Seems to be seems to be what's, you know, how that's usually interpreted, that Elijah has come and they did to him, meaning John the Baptist, which is then curious, right? Because then Elijah was the— is the only character in the Bible that doesn't die, and yet he's directly connected with John the Baptist, who was beheaded earlier in the text, so definitely did die. No? Other thoughts about the Transfiguration? We can move on, but I want to just draw attention to one thing in verse 9. ⚠
Brad
So, "As they were coming down the mountain, He ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen." We've seen that so many times before, right? But then the new part is, "Until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." So it seems like You can tell, right? It's okay to share the gospel, but not yet. So there's something— yeah, this doesn't exactly explain why, but at least there's something a little bit different there. Good. Should we move forward? Something— we've got verse 23. Jesus said to him, if you are able, all things can be done. For one who believes. So again, this belief seems to be what heals. Verse 29, this kind can come only through prayer. So I think this is the second time that prayer has been mentioned in the text. I should say only the second time. I think, as I mentioned before, in Luke's Gospel, Jesus is praying like right, left, and center. He's always praying. But, um, yeah, here not so much, right? ⚠
Brad
Um, so I don't know, I guess so one question might open up the theological question more than a textual question, but what is the relationship between Jesus and God from Mark's perspective? Um, so I mean, we're told he's the Son of God, which is not at all a unique title within the within the Hebrew Scriptures. David, who sees— David is referred to as the Son of God. Solomon's referred to as Son of God. Many others, not many others, but 6 others, I believe. So then what is the role of prayer here? I don't know, just kind of throwing that out there. I don't want to linger too much on that because it's not that important, but a couple of other things. One is verse 33 and 34. We see that phrase "on the way" again. That's the "ho odos," that "on the way." It would stand out to the readers or the hearers. Yeah. Do we want to shift to chapter 10? Yeah, Andrew. ⚠
Student
Actually, first I kind of want to talk about—
Brad
Sure.
Student
Like the whole like 9:42 moving on through. Like, again, you know, if your eye causes you to tear it out, it's better to get into heaven and all that kind of stuff. And again, it's kind of similar to what we were talking about, like with the turtle, like retracting senses. Obviously it's more direct and more drastic here than it was in the Bhagavad Gita, but again, just not placing your emphasis on worldly senses and experiences in that way. ⚠
Brad
Okay. Yeah, good. Yeah, Lauren.
Student
Another connection that we saw to just like Hindus in general is the salt example and how like this talks about everyone being salted with fire, and it's similar to like the salt in the water showing that like the atman is in everyone, which is that kind of similar. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, that popped into my head when I was reading it too. It's one of the benefits of comparative theology, right? So we're not trying to force comparisons, but sometimes it's like, okay, well, this card, yeah, it reminds me of it, right? But what the— those verses, I just put a big question mark there, right? For everyone will be salted with fire. Already question mark. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. I just, I have no idea what those two sentences mean. Does anybody have any interpretation? ⚠
Student
Yeah.
Brad
Oh yeah, Castilleja, please.
Student
Maybe it's kind of like some type of suffering or some type of hardship that you endure, and then like it's saying like that suffering is good. Like if you're no longer— like if you get so overwhelmed by that hardship, or you just don't care anymore to like struggle through it, then like how are you going to be able to like advance in your life? And like you have to be like— you have to like take that hardship and and just like be at peace with it and understand that everyone's also experiencing that hardship and be at peace with one another in that kinship. ⚠
Brad
That makes sense. I mean, salted with fire, that sounds like some hardship for sure. Yeah, Lily?
Student
I think it's also important to know that the Holy Spirit comes in like a firing blaze later in the—
Student
I don't know if it's about later.
Student
And like, for everyone, we'll be salted with fire. Everyone that believes will be like, down by the Holy Spirit. ⚠
Brad
Okay. Yeah. Good. Yeah. Yep. Colin?
Student
You can kind of like read it. I feel like 50 onwards, you can like read salt as like faith. So it's like faith is good, but if faith is lost, it's like faithfulness. How can you season it? Which is like, how can you build it up? How can you build your faith in God if you like no longer actually like, I guess, are faithful. I guess it's kind of a hard topic because faith's kind of reiterated something. It's like hard to understand, and even like physical things, and even seeing stuff, the disciples failed to understand and have that faith. ⚠
Brad
Yeah, word. Yeah, Logan? ⚠
Student
Um, during that time too, like, salt was worth its weight in gold, which is why I love the word salary, and you know, it's not worth its salt or something like that. ⚠
Brad
Okay.
Student
So like saying that soul is good, but there's loss of soul in this, just saying like too much of anything, like too much emphasis on faith or too much emphasis on anything would like make it lose its value. So it's saying like you have to be balanced and have moderation, and then you have to, you know, you have to have faith and belief in yourself and then just, you know, be at peace with one another. ⚠
Brad
Cool, I'll buy that. Still perplexing couple verses, though, isn't it? Yeah, good. All right, so let's shift to chapter 10 in the few minutes we got left. Or we could— yeah, yeah, go ahead, Colin. ⚠
Student
I was gonna say, I found like the whole like divorce conversation a little interesting. It seems like almost like it's pushing an agenda. Of what kind of the church wants, but they were very like strong in what Jesus was saying, how like divorce goes against God's original design and emphasizing the permanence of marriage. So I don't know if that was something that, you know, Mark was trying to push some, some more of like the church's kind of feelings towards divorce, or it was some kind of deeper meaning. ⚠
Brad
But it stands out a little bit, right? There's not— we don't have these kinds of like prohibitions elsewhere in the gospel that we've come across, right? There's a lot about believing and seeing and faith and healing and a lot of that. But this is the first time we hear something about, you know, sort of like the everyday sort of like, you know, life, like marriage and divorce. And whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. It's also really clear and straightforward and unambiguous, right? No sort of like Oh, well, maybe he means something different than exactly what he says, right? We've got those salt— I feel like those two salt sentences are super confusing, and then that is not at all confusing, right? Yeah. Well, which could be like— I mean, maybe what you're suggesting is, if I— I don't want to put words in your mouth, but maybe Mark is kind of like— yeah, maybe we're hearing Mark's voice here saying this is what the gospel says. ⚠
Student
This is like having like— yeah, pushing kind of God's faith than his covenant, I guess, is pushing also that idea.
Brad
Yeah, that could be. All right, since we are running out of time, a couple of things. So I mean, I think chapter 10 does stand out, not just for that— a few of the things in chapter 10 seem like a bit different than the rest of the text, right? The thing about adultery, we have, right, sell what you own and give the money to the poor. Oh yeah, this curious verse from verse 18, Jesus said, why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. So again, seems like another pretty clear delineation between Jesus and God. More about wealth, verse 25, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who's rich to enter the kingdom of God. So again, what do we mean by kingdom of God? Yeah, so many other things, but I think more for your podcast and other things. I think you may recall earlier in the semester that when one of the earlier chapters I quoted this verse 10:45 and said that 10:45 was actually justification for everything I put in that chapter. ⚠
1:09:55

Closing: Chapter 10 Discussion and Assignment Review

Brad
So that chapter was on the Passover, right? We had 3 passages. One was the Passover from Exodus, one was the Abraham and Isaac sacrifice, and then the third was the suffering servant from Deutero-Isaiah, from the end of Isaiah. And then, yeah, so I think it was in that section 8 point— yeah, it was chapter 8, I think, 8.4. I was talking about, like, upasamhara and some Samanvaya, we need to hear these passages in harmony. And maybe along those lines, we also have followed him on the way there again. Okay, so we're out of time. In the 3 minutes that we got left, I just want to say a couple of things about podcast 4. So podcast 4, a little bit different instructions this time than we've had previously. Not significantly different, but a little bit different. So podcast 4, I'd like— so all of these instructions apply to everybody in the team. So I'd like each student to demonstrate that they understand the context of the Gita by offering a contemporary parallel. It could be super short. I thought of a few just as I was writing the prompt. ⚠
Brad
One might be like, Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina standing up, you know, against his party and against the president, against a lot of things, right, in defense of the independence of the Federal Reserve. So if you're into finance or econ or something like that, then pretty direct, clear contemporary parallel between, you know, Arjuna being told to stand up against the injustice and oppression and those kind of things. Tom Tillis kind of doing that against his own self-interest. So significant risk and sacrifice. Or the, I think I mentioned it here, the OpenAI, like robotics, chief of robotics research at OpenAI resigned recently over the decision by the CEO to agree to allow the US government to use their technology to create autonomous, you know, weapons. Or Alex Petty, also I put in there. I think there's tons of examples, right? So any example will do. You don't have to go into great detail. I just want to make sure that everybody understands the context of the Gita and also, you know, can see some contemporary parallel. Because theology, I think I heard somewhere before, is always, always must speak to the present moment. ⚠
Brad
So it has to have something to do with with right now. Then the two other parts, so that one you could just take a few minutes, you don't have to take a lot of time on that. And then the second, I would like each person on the team to bring one verse from the Gita, from chapter 2 of the Gita, right? And just do a deep dive in it. You don't have to understand it or whatever, but just read that. Let's begin by reading the verse. Any of the translations are fine, or multiple translations is also fine. But read the verse and then, you know, try to give— yeah, just talk about it. Just have a good discussion about it. And then basically do the same thing with the Gospel of Mark. So instead of selecting a verse, because I don't think— sometimes selecting a verse will be fine in the Gospel of Mark. Other times it might be just like a paragraph or a section, right? So like the healing episode or whatever. So one verse or short passage from the Gospel of Mark. ⚠
Brad
But for the Gita, I think really try to limit yourself just to one verse. If you want to do a clump of verses, then focus on one, and then you can bring in other verses to kind of like, oh, this relates to the previous or subsequent verse, that kind of thing. Cool? All right. And in order to cover all of that, it may be a little bit longer than your other podcasts. That's okay. It's all good. Wert? Peace. See you on Tuesday. ⚠

THEO 1432: The Religious Quest · Brad Bannon · Boston College

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