Mark 8:27-10:52

03/26/2026 · Tue/Thu 12:00-1:15 PM · Brad Bannon · Boston College

📄 Synopsis

This session explores the pivotal transition in the Gospel of Mark as Jesus and his disciples begin the journey to Jerusalem, a path referred to in the original Greek context as ho'odos (the Way). The class examines the literary and theological significance of this 'hinge point,' focusing on Chapters 8, 9, and 10. Students analyze the recurring theme of the disciples' persistent misunderstanding of Jesus’s mission, contrasting their confusion with the clear faith demonstrated by 'outsiders' such as the Syrophoenician woman and the father of the child with an unclean spirit. Key episodes discussed include the two-stage healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, which serves as a metaphor for the gradual opening of the disciples' spiritual eyes, and the 'Messianic Secret' where Jesus instructs followers to remain silent about his identity. The discussion also bridges Christian and Hindu perspectives by comparing Jesus’s call for the rich man to renounce his possessions with the Bhagavad Gita's teachings on detachment from earthly desires. Finally, the class grapples with Jesus’s emotional responses to his followers' lack of faith, noting the unique portrayal of his frustration and anger in Mark's Gospel.

⚡ Key Takeaways

The phrase ho'odos (the Way) served as a code name for early Christian communities and signifies the literal and spiritual journey toward Jerusalem in Mark’s Gospel.
The two-stage healing of the blind man in Chapter 8 acts as a literary metaphor for the disciples' gradual and often incomplete process of spiritual awakening.
Jesus’s command to 'take up their cross' foreshadows his political execution by the Romans, a method typically reserved for those who threatened the status quo.
A recurring motif in Mark is the 'Messianic Secret,' where Jesus repeatedly instructs those he heals to tell no one, a command the professor notes is applied inconsistently throughout the text.
The disciples often demonstrate 'blind faith' or fear, whereas marginalized figures like the Syrophoenician woman often exhibit a more profound understanding of Jesus’s power.
Jesus’s teaching on wealth—that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God—parallels Hindu concepts of renouncing material attachment found in the Bhagavad Gita.
Unlike other Gospels, Mark portrays a Jesus who frequently expresses strong emotions, particularly frustration and anger toward the 'faithless generation.'
The class discussed the 'insider' dynamics of the disciples, noting that even the inner circle (Peter, James, and John) fails to understand Jesus's predictions of his suffering and resurrection.

🎤 Transcript Tap any timestamp to jump the audio player

Opening Meditation and Breathing Exercise

Brad

All righty, howdy. Let's, um, let's take a moment and transition, please. Just take a second to be still and present.

Student

Let's take a breath together.

1:13

Administrative Notes and Podcast Assignment Details

Brad

Go ahead and breathe in and out. Word? So no quiz today. A lot of stuff to cover in this. Ran out of time in the previous section. So let's dive in. I would like to take a few minutes. Let me give you the updated podcast assignment. For Podcast 4 before we dive in, just so we're not rushed at the end. So I want you to do Podcast 4 just a tiny bit differently. It's not significantly different, but I want you to do these 3 things. So first, every student, I want each student to demonstrate that you've understood the context of the Bhagavad Gita and do that by offering a contemporary parallel. You don't have to go into any depth. This could be very short. So, I mean, don't take a ton of time doing it. But even as I was writing the question, there's just so many examples. It's really not hard to find examples. ⚠

Brad

Like, the first one that came to mind was Senator Thom Tillis from North Carolina is going against his party and going against the president and putting himself at significant— you know, personal risk in order to protect or defend the independence of the Federal Reserve Bank. So if you're into like finance or economics or business or anything in that realm, then, you know, clear direct parallel between the context of the Gita and, you know, something that's happening literally right now with Jerome Powell's tenure term almost up. Another one I think I mentioned in class. I don't remember. I mentioned it in one of the sections. But the chief of robotics at OpenAI recently resigned in protest after OpenAI, the CEO, signed an agreement with the Department of Defense saying that it was OK to use their technology for autonomous weapons. So just another case of a person Standing up, you know, against overwhelming odds, I guess, for what they think is right. Yeah? Sure. It could literally be from anything, yeah. Just my only request is that it's something kind of contemporary, something kind of now. But absolutely, yeah. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, I also wrote down Alex Petty or something like that. So you got the idea. It's just something to show that you understand the context of the Gita. And can relate it to contemporary issues. Because I heard someone one time say that theology must speak to the present moment. So just want to make sure that we're allowing the theology to speak to the present moment. So that's one thing. Second is I'd like each person in the team to, like each one of you, to bring one verse from chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita. And do, I think, just kind of limit yourself to one verse. I know some of the verses, you know, little clusters and clumps. Try to stick with one. If it's a little cluster or clump, you know, kind of focus in on one of them, and then you can always say, "Hey, this really relates to the previous or subsequent verses." And then basically do the same thing for the Gospel of Mark. ⚠

Brad

So I'd like each person on the team to bring one verse from the Gita and each person on the team to bring one— it doesn't have to be a verse. It could be especially from Gospel of Mark, you know, it's more like short stories or vignettes. So it may be, you know, like this healing episode or the Transfiguration or something, right? So a little— that one's more likely to be more than one verse. But Good? Yeah. Do you want us to do the contemporary parallel from art to film? Nah, I mean, if you think of some, but no, that's not— yeah, not necessary. Yeah, Hannah? ⚠

Student

So is this like in addition to each of us covering a different day?

Brad

No, that is the assignment. Yeah, that is the podcast.

Student

Yeah.

Brad

And so in order to do that, it may be slightly longer than usual, you know, maybe more in the range of like 30 minutes 20 minutes, but I don't think you have to go over that. I know y'all have already done it, so that's fine. Good? Any questions about that? All right. Let's dive in then. So we'll start with Teams and really, you know, I'd like to try and cover the entire section. Of this, of today's assignment. A couple of, I guess, a couple of things before we start. One is, I always say that so much, don't I? One is that, you know, most folks who read the texts, I mean, there's something significant literarily that's happening around this part of the text, exactly where you draw the line, the turning point. May differ from each person. But something significant happens somewhere right around here where they— where there's like a bunch of stuff that happens in the first 8 or 9 chapters of the text. And then somewhere right around here they begin the journey to Jerusalem. And so pretty much everything from here until the end of the gospel is the journey. ⚠

7:11

Introduction to the Road to Jerusalem in Mark

Brad

They're on the way to Jerusalem. And that phrase "on the way" or "on the road"— so sometimes it's translated "on the road," sometimes "on the way." "ho'odos" is the phrase in Greek. That doesn't sound like anything significant to our ears. You know, it's like "on the way," "on the road," "on the journey," "on the path." But for the original context, and not just Mark's context, but pretty much the entire Christian community or communities before Constantine. So Constantine in 300s CE made Christianity legal. Before then, it was a super secret. You know, you get in a lot of trouble depending on where you were. But most places you could get in a lot of trouble, persecution for being being Christian. So they didn't use the word Christian, didn't identify themselves as such. Well, they did identify themselves as such, but not using that. They had to use code words, right? And so the code word or the name for the Christian tradition was ho'odos or on the path, right? So are you on the path? Are you walking the path, right? So, or on the way. ⚠

Brad

So, and this way, is— so anyway, so from Mark's perspective, or from his audience's perspective, that would just sound a little bit different. And so here, beginning from here until the end, we have this path on the way. I think that's enough. So anyway, it's just part of why I divided the text up the way I did and why we're starting here. It's certainly— you definitely could see that the healing that happens at the end of the passage from— or the reading from last Tuesday. So chapter 8, verses 22 through 26, that's often seen as like the, the turning point or the hinge point in Mark's Gospel as well. But you know, where exactly you draw the line obviously can differ from differing— from different perspectives. Word. So, um, just take a at least 5 minutes or so in your teams. Try to stay on target, you know, on topic. And yeah, just talk through it. Let's try and pick a few verses. ⚠

Brad

Maybe that's one of the things that you can do as a team is say, hey, I think we need to lift up these verses or focus on these verses and have, you know, verses from chapter 8, 9, and 10.

Student

Yeah, go for it.

Student

Giving all your stuff away, physically cutting your hand off for a meal or whatever. ⚠

Student

I thought it was interesting that he just tells the guy, "Give me all your stuff." I thought that was interesting compared to the text where it says, "How more you give everything away and you sacrifice it to a god." Whereas now he's kind of sacrificing it to himself. ⚠

17:35

Discussion on Discipleship, the Cross, and Roman Crucifixion

Brad

Discussion leaders, who wants to get us started today? Yeah, Elliot.

Student

I'd like a verse that I thought was really good. I think it's 10:25. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who's rich to enter the kingdom of God, which I definitely saw a relation to Krishna telling Arjuna sort of like, just don't be controlled by earthly desires of like the sensual senses and like sensual desire and stuff like that. Yeah, like you, yeah, basically don't focus on these earthly desires. ⚠

Brad

Okay, yeah, good. I do want to go a little bit chronologically through the text, and I mean the That's great. No, that's a great— I didn't say that beforehand. But this theme does come up a few times in this text. And yeah, definitely reasonable connection to the Gita. Yeah, Angel? ⚠

Student

Yeah, we were talking about chapter 8, verse 34, where he says, if anyone wants to become my followers, let them deny themselves to the world. Their cross and follow me. For those who save— who want to save their life will lose it, and those who save— those who lose their life for my sake, for the sake of the gospel, will save it. I think it's kind of showing if you have like this, I don't know, like this faith that's like kind of superficial, you won't have your life saved. But if you, you know, live the life according to the gospel, you know, for Jesus, then you can be saved. So I think it's showing relationship you must have with Jesus and faith in order to be saved. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, good. And so following, right, that follow— we've got disciple means follower, and if anybody wants to become my followers or disciples, they have to take up their cross, right? So I mean, it's not something you get, it's something that's expected from you, right? Yeah, something that's requiring sacrifice. Yeah, Jake? ⚠

Student

Yeah, we talked about kind of like right before Before that, verse 33 was kind of talking about how Peter took him aside and was questioning him. We talked about how that was kind of the blind faith aspect of it, that what Jesus responded with, like he said, "Get behind me, Satan, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." So we kind of talked about how that was the blind faith and fear versus faith in that aspect. ⚠

Brad

Okay. It seems a little harsh, doesn't it? I mean, doesn't it seem a little harsh? "Get behind me, Satan." It seems like, I mean, what is he rebuking him for? I mean, he said, "You're the Messiah." Verse 29, this is the first time that the word Christ has come up in the text since verse 1. And so, yeah, Christ and Messiah, right? The word is Christ there. I'm not sure why it says the Messiah. But yeah. ⚠

Student

Yeah, something interesting we talked about on verse 34 is how Jesus says take up their cross. And, um, yeah, Jesus hadn't been crucified at this point, so like that's a really interesting foreshadowing of like he's not just saying that he's going to die and rise again, which is like a more general statement, but like literally that he will get crucified. Yeah, like obviously crucifixion was like popular, but it wasn't probably the only method of like execution or like killing someone. So yeah, it's just an interesting foreshadowing. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, did anybody look up that method? What is unique about that method, or what is— why is that significant? Yeah, go ahead.

Student

I'm pretty sure it like suffocates you, and you have to like— it's like really painful.

Brad

Okay, yeah, no doubt. Yeah, yeah.

Student

Just something I like remember from like learning about this before is that crucifixion was saved only for the biggest criminals, and it's the biggest form of prosecution because it's supposed to be the most embarrassing.

Brad

It's definitely a public humiliation, right? And it is unique, pretty unique to the Romans. So the Romans did this primarily to political uprisers, people who protesting or people who are rising up against the government or threatening the government or threatening the status quo from the Romans' perspective. Yeah, so definitely sort of a political aspect of it. And so, yeah, good. Mickey, you want to jump in? ⚠

Student

Yeah, still in chapter 8, but verse 38. Those who are ashamed of me and my words and disobey adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. We were like, a big thing we talked about was like that kind of like frustrated or like angry, aggressive manner Jesus kind of took up, and this kind of like just mirrored that with us. It's just like, you know, if you're not gonna worship me, like when this all is said and done, like I'm looking at you with the exact same eyesight That was a good point of him just like calling people out and being like a little sassy. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, I mean, we do see— I mean, you use the word anger. I mean, we do see him expressing emotion with some frequency in Mark's Gospel, and it usually kind of in the more of the anger realm of emotions, right?

Student

Yeah, I think that like came along with like the first verse in chapter 9. It comes back to the theme of faith and fear, and intertwined. So I definitely think your faith in Jesus, your faith in God, comes with a fear of justice. ⚠

Brad

And even, I mean, Peter's afraid there, right? Yeah, so specifically, I mean, we're told, right? Yeah, I mean, we're told he's afraid. He didn't know what he's saying because he was afraid. Yeah, go ahead, Sophia. ⚠

Student

Also, I think the most aggressive he gets is chapter 9, verse 19. He says, "You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?" Bro needs a Snickers. Yeah, right? ⚠

Student

Yeah. I don't know.

Student

He kind of seems like he's ready to leave the human world, I guess.

Brad

I mean, how much longer do I have to put up with you people? Right? And what is it that he's being asked to do? I mean, he's just asked to heal. Like, he's been healing people all the time, right? So why is it that this one suddenly sets him— triggers him that way? Yeah, Hannah?

Student

Yeah, I was gonna say, I think it's interesting, and like, this comes up a lot, how his disciples aren't like fully believing in him. Like, they partially believe and they partially understand, but there's still some misunderstanding on their end. And then like kind of the farther you go out from Jesus's circle, the more willing they are to fully believe in him. And I think that we also see that, like, when he visits his hometown, many people, like, don't believe in him. And so I think, like, in chapter 9, like, verse 28 and 29, um, when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, why could we not cast it out? He said to them, this kind can come out only through prayer. And That's kind of also exemplifying that the disciples haven't fully given in to that belief in that faith in Jesus and his teaching. ⚠

Brad

Okay, yeah, good. It could— I mean, it could be— I don't know that I see a whole lot of them not believing in him. They definitely don't understand him. ⚠

Student

It's more of a misunderstanding.

Brad

Yeah, they don't understand him. I think that they do believe in him.

Student

I like to believe what he's teaching, but it's just like they don't fully grasp.

Brad

I mean, it seems like the longer it goes on— sorry to interrupt you— seems like the longer the text goes on, the less they understand, right? So, yeah, so they do, they do have faith though. They are following him. They are sticking with him. They're not abandoning him, but they definitely don't get it. They seem to understand less and less as it goes on. We'll get Max in here and then Mickey and Angel. ⚠

Student

It's like a few times throughout the text, like Jesus, he'll make a prediction like, oh, I'm going to die, or like, I'm going to suffer. And they just misunderstand that he's not like a messiah who's going to bring power or riches. He's saving them. And they just continually misunderstand it, I think, like 3 times in the text. But yeah, I mean— sorry. I think the misunderstanding is what also drives him to sort of be angry too. He rebukes Peter after he misunderstands that. And then I think in chapter— I don't know, around line 30 in chapter 9, they're sort of trying to— I'm sorry. ⚠

Brad

I was on the wrong line. No, you're good.

Student

I guess when he's trying— someone's trying to give like little kids to him to like bless, and the disciples are sort of like being like, no, you can't do that. And Jesus, he doesn't get angry, like necessarily angry, but he's like, that's like unacceptable. Like all these kids, they can't be accepted into heaven unless it starts from when they're young. The disciples didn't understand that either. ⚠

Brad

Yeah. Okay, good. Yeah.

Student

Yeah, actually I want to talk about exactly what Max talked about. When they were talking about the younger ones and verse 42 comes up, I think that just seemed a little ridiculous to me to say, if any of you put a stumbling block before me, before one of these little ones who believe in me, it'd be better for you to hang a great millstone around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. Like for Jesus to just say, go dive, rather than like, interfere with his teachings. Seems like he was really at the peak of his frustration and being frustrated with them not understanding his message or how he wants to spread it. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, good. Can I add just a quick aside? My mom quotes that verse to me more than— yeah, with some regularity. She's super nervous that I teach theology. And yeah, when I was ordination track, she's just like, this is a dangerous profession, right? Like, you're talking about the Bible, and like, what if you cause someone to stumble? Because you, you know, then you're gonna burn in hell. Yeah, go ahead, Angel. ⚠

Student

I thought like verse 34 in chapter 9, pretty important, where like the disciples were talking about like who's the greatest, and he just showed like human ignorance. Different Jews, you know, the power and wisdom between the disciples and Jesus. And then later on, in verse 38, it says, John said to him, Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us. But then Jesus said, do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able to afterwards speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. And it's talking about the persecution that they were experiencing at the time. And he's talking about, yeah, everyone who's not against us is with us. And I think it speaks to— we were talking about the human condition as everyone is kind of flawed in their own way. And even though Jesus put on this pedestal, I think it's very purposeful that the disciples, even as closest 12 followers, they're the ones who are continually messing up and misunderstanding understanding, you know, the message of Jesus. ⚠

Student

And I think it speaks to how everyone can sort of be misunderstood, can misunderstand the message, but still can be saved as long as they have a clear devotion to Jesus.

Brad

Okay. Yeah. Okay, good.

Student

Yeah. I just have a question.

Student

I don't know if you'll be able to answer this, but like, I went to like a school that like taught like the Bible like pretty like heavily. And I was just wondering, like, we learned that like Jesus was like never upset, never angry, and like could do no fault because like he is an extension of God. And so I was wondering, like, kind of reading this and then talking about it, like, he does seem like to have this sort of anger. So is that like my school teaching it wrong, or is that like a belief that some, like, a lot of people hold? ⚠

Brad

I mean, I'm definitely not going to comment on your school's teaching practices. But I mean, you're reading the text yourself, right? As you're seeing, I mean, I think if we were reading John's Gospel, John's Jesus is very emotionless. He doesn't seem to have many emotions in any direction. But definitely has emotions in Mark's Gospel, right? And it is frequently very strong. Emotions, right? Yeah, we could look at that passage. I also want to roll back because I don't want to skip over— there's so many things. But let's roll back actually to last Tuesday's reading. So chapter 7. I don't believe we got to talk about this in class, but it's very much on this point. Another kind of theme. I think Jesus's anger is kind of like a— it's not a major theme, but it's a little bit of a theme running through. And again, only in Mark's Gospel. I don't think we really see this in the other ones. Let's just read, if we don't mind. Brian, would you just read from verse 24? And we'll just go like one verse, one verse per person. ⚠

31:13

Analysis of Healing Miracles: The Syrophoenician Woman and the Blind Man

Student

From there, he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, yet he could not escape notice.

Student

But a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.

Student

Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

Student

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.

Student

But she answered him, sir, even the dogs under the table miss children's crumbs.

Student

Then he said to her, for saying that, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.

Brad

So she went home from the child Okay, so a couple of things to point out here. You know, I don't know if you see this as an example of anger or not. Different ways— I mean, he doesn't say anger, but it seems like a harsh response to her, doesn't it? I mean, she just wants what everybody else wants. It was like, hey, my kid is sick, right? Can you heal my daughter? And his response is, let the children be fed first. I mean, but she is a child. So why is she not a— I mean, she's a child, right? So let the children be first. It's not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs, which kind of seems like he's calling her a dog, right? For being a Gentile. Gentile just means non-Jewish person. Non— yeah, not Jewish person. And Syrophoenician. So she's from, you know, a different— she's not from around here, right? She's not our clan. She's not our family. She's not— it's a different clan. Right? But I mean, a few things to know there. Right? ⚠

Brad

I mean, we've got a, I think, fair to say, a pretty strong woman here. Right? A woman that's kind of being called a dog, but stands up and says, "Even the dogs eat the children's crumbs." So her faith is strong. She seems to understand things that other folks don't. Another thing to point out is that he heals, I don't know, I guess through like Wi-Fi, right? I mean, he's not even there. She's not even there, right? She doesn't bring the daughter, but he can heal. Maybe it's because her, the mom's faith is so strong that this, you know, is it he's healing or she has been healed. But the point is that it's a sort of a remote control healing, right? We're at the end of the passage from last Tuesday. So chapter 8, verse 22. So right before the passage from today. Let's read this passage too. I think Ben? Yeah? ⚠

Student

He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village.

Student

And when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, can you see anything? The man looked up and said, I can see people, but they look like trees walking.

Student

Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. And he looked intently, and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ⚠

Student

Then he sent him away to his home, saying, do not even go into the village.

Brad

So we've got a continuation of the theme, like, don't tell anybody, right? That's not new. But there's a couple other things here that are new, right? So what— how does this— can you contrast this to the story that we just read? Yeah, Doryna? ⚠

Student

The first thing that speaks to me is comparing the stories. He actually physically doing the healing right in front of him, but also like it seems almost like it takes two attempts.

Brad

Yeah, that's weird, isn't it?

Student

It's alive on his eyes, he sees like trees. I mean, I'm just assuming like his vision's still blurry and he does it again and it works. So maybe like he just didn't have faith until the second time. ⚠

Brad

So yeah, yeah, it's weird. That definitely is, right? It's definitely weird.

Student

Yeah, yeah.

Student

That also kind of reminds me of another passage in our reading for today with, um, the child who had like these demons in him and how like the, um, the disciples couldn't heal him.

Brad

Yep.

Student

And then that guy came to himself and Jesus and was like, I don't— like, like, they're trying but it's not working. Like, and Jesus is like, you need to have faith. And he's like, I think he says something like, rid me of my disbelief. And then again, it takes like a few tries, but then he does eventually. ⚠

Brad

It's a difficult one. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we could, we could. I mean, that is actually a super long passage. Tempted to read it, but it goes, it starts with chapter 9, verse 14, and then goes all the way to 29. So a little bit unusual in how long and detailed that one is, right? And a couple of things. One is, I mean, I think we're right to draw these connections between these. So this kind, as Devin is pointing out, right, verse 29 of chapter 9, he said to them, this kind can only come out through prayer. So only the second time that prayer has been mentioned in the gospel. And here, so which raises theological questions about the relationship between God and Jesus or the Son of God, right? So what is going on with the prayer aspect? Another thing is the boy was like a corpse so that most of them said he is dead, but he's not actually dead. So he's not really cured of death, but he was like he was dead. Do you remember seeing that earlier in the text also? There was a girl, a child again, right? ⚠

Brad

The centurion, or the— it was a Roman soldier, a Roman governor. It was an important person, right? And his daughter or kid was they thought that she was dead but wasn't, right? And you've got that talitha cum. It's in there somewhere, promise. So, like dead but not dead, right? Another theme. But yeah, back to Eduardo's point. I mean, so what do we make of the fact that it took Jesus twice to heal? And also, there's very hands-on, right? I mean, so it's not Wi-Fi healing. It's like hands-on with saliva, right? I mean, it's very tangible, very hands-on. Yeah? I took it as a way of representing the difficult learning process almost, especially regarding the disciples. ⚠

Student

It's clear throughout that they're not always totally blind, but they're definitely not understanding Jesus clearly.

Brad

So I thought this was a way to kind of symbolize that. Yeah. So I think maybe Mark is trying to use blindness and seeing and not seeing as more than just physical, right? But something more metaphorical. So they— Jesus is healing actual physical blindness and the disciples aren't blind and yet they kind of are, right? They kind of don't see what's right in front of them. Not because there's anything wrong with their eyes, but yeah, you got it. Yeah, Jake? ⚠

Student

Kind of adding on to that, maybe like it's symbolizing like their journey of their faith too. Like it's not just like gonna happen in the snap of a finger, like it takes multiple like attempts at it. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, okay, yeah, so sometimes it doesn't click the first time, right? But if you are faithful and you kind of keep at it and it's more of a process. For some people it's like a light switch, and for some people it's more gradual. Yeah, good. ⚠

Student

I thought at least with some of the other examples, when people come to Jesus, all he had to do was touch them or just, you know, Bluetooth healing. Yeah, but here the man was brought to them by other people. It wasn't like he was seeking out Jesus, not for his own faith, but because of other people's. And then even before touching him on the eyes, he touched his hand, and that still didn't heal. Him because there's like a higher threshold to it because he didn't believe in him. ⚠

Brad

So he believed— he has enough faith that it kind of works, but not a super strong faith, because there was the woman with the bleed that we saw last week, right? And she just touched the fringes of it. You know, he didn't— he wasn't even paying attention to her. She was like behind him, and he just felt his power going out. So, so yeah, good. I think Faith is definitely playing a role here. Yeah, Lucas? ⚠

Student

Like going back to the one in chapter 9 where he heals that epileptic kid.

Brad

Yeah.

Student

It's interesting because before, when the woman touched the hem of his shirt, she was healed instantly. He said it was because of her own belief. But then here, he tells the dad, if you are able, all things can be done for the one who believes. And then the dad says, I believe, help my unbelief. I feel like he believes, but he doesn't believe all the way. But then he asks Jesus to help him with the rest and help him see and open his eyes, I guess. ⚠

Brad

Yeah. Yeah, good. So again, I mean, even upping the— accentuating that faith and healing. Faith and healing go together, right? And fear doesn't. And yeah, Hannah? ⚠

Student

After almost all these miracles, he says to tell no one, but then like we read like in last Thursday's or Sunday's scriptures, like in, I don't know what chapter this is, chapter 5, I think verse 19, he says don't go and choose one and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you. So I think I'm just confused, like, why in some— like, why does sometimes he tell people to like spread the news and other times he's like, tell no one, let's keep this to yourself? ⚠

Brad

I mean, you're not alone in wondering that. Um, and, uh, yeah, one thing on that, um, So in that particular case, the demon is saying, "My name is Legion," and we talked about the swine and all that kind of stuff. It could be that this person is a Jew. I mean, it definitely could be, but the fact that he doesn't— he's not from there, right? He's from around and he's like, "Go home." So seems like he's not from this region. And so maybe he's also a Gentile, right? So here, then again, that's another contrast, right? Because you've got this Gentile who seems to have faith versus— I mean, the Gentiles do have faith, right? So the Gentiles that appear in the text generally do have faith. Good, good connections. Let's do look at— because on that point, We need to pay good attention to the Transfiguration. So plenty of folks would say this is the turning point, whatever. It's in this region, right? Let's pick up where we left off over there and let's read the Transfiguration. So beginning with chapter 9, verse 1. Bless you. ⚠

43:42

The Kingdom of God, Transfiguration, and the Return of Elijah

Student

And he said to them, truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste this until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.

Brad

Okay, actually, let's pause here for a second and then we'll pick up. Let's linger on this verse because this is a verse that has, you know, caused a lot of people consternation, right? There are some standing here, seems to be right now, right? Some standing here right now who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God has come with power. So we could take the kingdom of God has come with power as being like the, right, God coming and to transform the earth, create a new heaven, a new earth, right? That sort of thing. But if that's the case, then it doesn't seem like that's happened yet, right? And I'm pretty sure that the people that were standing there are dead now, right? So that could be a problem. Or are there other ways of reading kingdom of God or other ways of interpreting that? Have you read any commentaries on that or anything? ⚠

Student

Yeah, folks, um, I think maybe when he says death, he means more like the Christian concept of death, like not physically like when you die, but more so like sin, basically, like falling into a life of sin or like not following or believing, um, and that like they won't taste it, they won't realize that they have it until it's basically like too late, until, until they physically like are revealed truly that like the kingdom of God is like real and that it's there and that like they had this opportunity to follow and be faithful, but now it's too late. And like he's telling them like some of you here like are sinful and aren't following me and like you're not going to realize that you messed up until it's too late, until you actually taste it. ⚠

Brad

Okay. Any others? Yeah, Forrest?

Student

I'm just kind of like, damnation, right?

Student

If you need to see power to believe that you're a god, at that point you're kind of dead. ⚠

Student

Because if you believe beforehand, if your physical body dies, your spirit or whatever will transcend into heaven.

Student

Okay.

Brad

I mean, I don't know. Yeah. One of the commentaries I read looked at this. The next episode is the transfiguration. Is actually the literal fulfillment of that. But definitely a different way of understanding kingdom of God than maybe a lot of folks would typically understand. Angel, would you pick up there, verse 2? ⚠

Student

6 days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up the high mountain apart by themselves.

Student

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 of Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three dwellings, one for you, 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. ⚠

Brad

As they were coming down the mountain, he warned them to tell no one about what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So just quickly here, right? So this is something— the first half of that verse we've seen plenty of times before, right? Don't tell anybody. Don't tell anybody. Tell no one about what they had seen. But then the second part of the verse is new, right? Until— after the Son of Man has risen from the dead. So it seems like, okay, so don't tell anybody, but that's just for now, right? Eventually it's gonna be okay to tell. Yeah, where do we end up? ⚠

Student

So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.

Student

Then they asked him, what do the scribes say, that Elijah must come first? He said to them, Elijah is indeed coming first 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?

Student

Did I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as is written about him?

Brad

Okay, so we can stop there. Um, so yeah, I don't know what, uh, Anything to say about this passage or questions or commentaries or anything? Yeah, Angel? ⚠

Student

Like when they say, like, don't tell anyone, it kind of reminds me of that blind obedience, but also that, like, if you want to have faith, you kind of can't know everything. It's like a leap of faith. ⚠

Brad

You just kind of have to trust. So maybe it's good that they don't understand, right? So, I mean, they are faithful. They are following. But they just don't get it, right? And yeah. Okay. Others? Yeah. Mickey. ⚠

Student

I mean, I think that he just kind of like pushes them to be like a little more confused with this question. Like, why do you describe it to Elijah must come first? So I think he's kind of like leaning into their misunderstanding as like a tool to build the blind faith in the people who are following him. ⚠

Brad

Okay, good.

Student

Others?

Brad

Yeah, Jake.

Student

One thing that we talked about in our group was kind of maybe like the mountains being symbolic in a way to an example that you brought up earlier this semester, like going up the mountain and then at the top of it and then you're coming down and on the way down you're kind of like serving it and living it out as you go. So I think for them it's kind of like trying to come down and follow that as best they Yeah, and there's, there's mountains frequently throughout the Hebrew Scriptures as well, right? ⚠

Brad

One of the most notable ones is with Moses, right? Moses going up Mount Sinai in order to have this direct encounter with God. And so here he's going up a mountain and meeting Moses, right? So On the one hand, Moses, I think, represents the law, the Torah, right? The Hebrew scripture, the Hebrew law. And Elijah more representing the prophets, right? Elijah, anything— anybody know anything interesting about Elijah? Yeah. ⚠

Student

I think that some people, like, consider, like, John the Baptist kind of be like Elijah, like Yeah, so, so that's verse 13 there. ⚠

Brad

But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as is written about him. This is often interpreted as being a reference to John the Baptist, that John the Baptist was maybe an incarnation or reincarnation or Elijah in the flesh. Yeah, Nicholas. Yeah, that's pretty important, right? Yeah, so he's the only character in the Bible that didn't die, right? And so not, not died and raised from the dead, but just didn't die, right? Just ascended to heaven on a chariot, chariot of fire, I believe, right? Yeah. And so, so interesting then, though, right? If he is the only character in the Bible that's that doesn't die, and yet here being compared to John the Baptist who has just died, then— but also he's here, right? Also, we've got this just verbally, just in terms of tenses, right? So Elijah is there in the presence, in the present. Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. I mean, it's just now here, right? But then verse 12, Elijah is indeed coming. So that's future, right? ⚠

Brad

So is here now and is coming in the future, but then also in verse 13 has come, right? It has already died. So yeah, what does any of that mean? Anybody have any guess? I mean, me neither. But yeah, we do have these sort of insiders, right? Jesus, Peter, James, and John. So on the one hand, we've got like the crowd, the ochlos. Did I say that already, that the crowd is kind of like a character in the text? So there's the crowd, just everybody, right? And then you've got the 12 who are like, have privileged information, right? Jesus earlier said I teach to the crowd in parables so that they won't understand, but I explain the parables to you, the 12, so that you will, although they never do understand, right? And then there's the insiders of the insiders, right? The 3 within the 12, so Peter, James, and John. And then they get this super inside experience. I just— they just don't understand any more than anybody else, right? So then Yeah, I don't know. But worth pointing out, we understand, right? I mean, we, the hearer, we, the reader, right? ⚠

Brad

We as Mark's audience, we're not Mark's intended audience, but we're definitely still Mark's audience, right? So Mark's audience understands, may write from the first verse of the text, right? Here's the beginning. Interesting word. But here's the beginning of the good news of Jesus the Christ, right? The Son of God. So right in the first verse, we're given— he's given both of these titles. He's the Christ, or the Messiah, and he's the— Christ, Messiah just mean the same thing— and the Son of God. Yeah, good questions, thoughts? Should we push forward? Let's keep going. I've got that "on the way," they were discussing on the way, all these things are happening. Now I think going forward from here to the end, you know, you may even underline that phrase "on the way," you you know, on the path. It comes up quite frequently. They're on the way to Jerusalem. Chapter 10? Yeah, or the last 2 verses of chapter 9 also. But yeah, go ahead, Sophia. ⚠

55:03

The Rich Man, Material Attachment, and Salted with Fire

Student

Maybe jumping ahead, but chapter 10, verse 23, it says, then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, how hard it is those who have walked into the kingdom of God. I think we already mentioned that one a little bit, but like, that just reminded me how last class I think we were talking about like what was the Gospel of Mark like, who was the intended audience. I think that really made me think it is like written for the oppressed and the poor. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, yeah, good. I like it.

Student

Yeah, like further on the sort of like topic of the oppression of the poor. I noticed around like verse 19 of chapter 10. Oh wait, 21. Yeah, maybe 21. Looking at him, loved him and said, you lack one thing. Go sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. I guess I related that to one of the text you read, the Hindu text you read, where the father wasn't performing the sacrifice correctly. ⚠

Brad

Yeah.

Student

And I thought it might be significant here that Jesus is telling this guy to sell everything he owns and give to the poor, as opposed to like giving to a deity or something like that. So maybe here it's saying like the poor is like God represents himself in the poor. Or something like that. Yeah, for sure. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, and then so the question is, is he telling him to give up everything that he owns, sacrifice everything he owns? I mean, I think the connection to Uddalaka, that's in the Katha Upanishad, right? And so Naciketas is like, hey dad, you're not giving— you know, like, the stuff you're giving up, it's not worth anything, right? It's not a sacrifice. If you're giving up something that's worthless. You have to give up something valuable. So in that case, it's about you have to sacrifice something that's meaningful, or it's not a sacrifice, right? Um, here it could be that. It could very much be that, right? Like, you have to sacrifice what you have, or it could be about the poor, right? So it's not so much about the sacrifice, but it's actually about the fact that there are poor people there that need stuff, right? And like, you're keeping it all for yourself, right? And so the kingdom of heaven needs to— it's not just about being wealthy or being not wealthy or sacrificing or not sacrificing. It is actually about equality and egalitarianism, right? And helping the poor. Could be. ⚠

Brad

I mean, I'm just saying that's one interpretation. Yeah, Angel?

Student

I thought about like the pronunciation stage too. And then I think Cooper and I talked about like, if you have all this wealth, you're kind of like self-sufficient and you don't need faith in order to like, I don't know, live a good life. ⚠

Brad

If you got a good life, you got a good life, right? Yeah, sure.

Student

Yeah, I think it kind of relates to how they said people talking about how like food today is, and in order to be a greatest, he says that you must serve all others before yourself, and then you become greatest. ⚠

Brad

Okay.

Student

Yeah. Good.

Brad

Yep. Olivia.

Student

I think the quote that really exemplifies the oppressed being like the context in which like the people this is written for is that many who are first will be last and the last will be first. Because I feel like that would be like consoling to hear that even though like I'm going through through like an oppressive stage in this life, like in the next, or like when I reach like heaven, like I'm the one who it's made for. And I also think that the idea of like the rich and the wealthy ties back to the, um, I'm gonna say it wrong, sannyasa, like the renouncing stage where like you give everything up. ⚠

Brad

Yeah.

Student

And I think like he talked about the guy who like walked away from him after he asked how to get heaven, and Jesus was like, oh, you need to give up your belongings to the poor. He walks away sad because he doesn't want to do that. I think that demonstrates the line between people who will follow Jesus and then achieve that end, and then the people who don't. I could kind of relate that to the Hindu. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, I mean, similar impulses there, right? That to become a truly spiritually enlightened person, You can't be attached to material wealth, right? So you have to relinquish those attachments to material wealth as a stage on the process. Yeah, Wilkes?

Student

Yeah, I wanted to talk about the end of Chapter 9, I guess like 48 through 50. ⚠

Brad

Yeah.

Student

The salt and fire.

Student

Yeah.

Student

I didn't really get this one at first, so I kind of thought about it. And I think the fire is like a trial, like trial through fire. Suffering, you know. And then salt, like, salt obviously preserves something. So I think he's saying that through, like, hardship, you create perseverance and you create character. And, um, he says, have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. And on the page before, the disciples were arguing about, um, who was better, or like, who was like the— who was the greatest. ⚠

Brad

Yeah.

Student

And he's basically saying, like, through humiliation, or yeah, if you humble yourself and you have, like, hardships and you create, like, this Christian character of, like, saltiness, which is, like, your perseverance, like, you'll be at peace. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, these salt passages, I mean, let's read them. Yeah, so 49 and 50: For everyone will be salted with fire. Okay, salt is good. But if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? And have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. I mean, I just feel like that's totally clear, right? Makes sense. What's going on there? Any— yeah, Cooper. ⚠

Student

I just took it as like having like integrity almost.

Student

I don't really—

Student

I don't have much past that. Just the fact that I feel like salt might be representing inner ethics or morals, I guess. ⚠

Brad

I mean, we could definitely relate to the disciples. It's like, I don't know what the bro's saying either. Yeah.

Student

I also don't have too much of a clue, but I took it as being kind of half-baked. Like, if you're a wealthy person, you say you believe in God and you're praying and all this, but then you're not willing to give up all your wealth, so you're not fully like devoting yourself and you're losing some of that salt. ⚠

Student

Could be.

Student

Yeah, I have another thing to add. Um, I was looking at like salt back then and apparently like it wasn't— it like wouldn't keep, like it would get like bad and then you'd have to throw it out because like it wasn't pure. It's like it would lose its saltiness, like the moisture and like the air would like ruin it.

Brad

Okay.

Student

Um, and I think that's what he's saying by If salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? So you can't just follow God once and then, OK, now you're salted. Now you're persevered. And now you're all good. You've got to keep at it. You have to keep your salt from getting moist. You know what I'm saying? ⚠

Brad

Yeah. Which then, I mean, it's hard not to think of the passage from the upanishads, right? Dissolving salt in water. But then you can taste its saltiness. Yeah, a couple things to point out. One is, as I mentioned when I was first introducing Mark's Gospel, most scholars agree that Mark's Gospel was earlier than Luke and Matthew, and that both Luke and Matthew are copying, you know, huge sections of Mark's Gospel, often word for word, sometimes slightly improving the Greek. Sometimes rearranging things, but for the most part copying him. They're, yeah, most part copying him. Both, if that's true, then both Matthew and Luke didn't know what to do with this passage because they both omit it. They're like, we don't know what's going on. Yeah, so they seem to— they also omit the Syrophoenician woman passage that we read a few minutes ago. So, that's also— there's not much that's omitted, but those things are omitted. A couple of commentaries that I read, because I was super interested in these. I don't know, they're just, like, super perplexing. So, one, this is from Marianne Bevis. ⚠

Brad

Sorry, I can't say Bevis without saying To a child of the '80s. Last 3 sayings in this chapter are linked by the catchwords fire and salt, but seem otherwise to bear little relationship to the material that precedes or follows them. For all will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt has become unsalty, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. Their meaning was probably already opaque to both Matthew and Luke, who omitted them from their versions of the discourse. Many interpreters see a connection with Leviticus 2, verse 13, which specifies that grain offerings should be seasoned with the salt of the covenant. So here, a direct connection to sacrifice, right? As Eliud's— we weren't talking about this passage, but it connects with what you were talking about. ⚠

Brad

Uh, which specifies that grain option— yeah, uh, the geologist Eugene Dietrich makes the interesting observation that in antiquity the value of salt as both fertilizer and an herbicide was well known, concluding that Jesus alluded to the growth stimulation effect of salt since he was interested not merely in the preservation of his way of life but Yeah, I don't know about that one. This other one: commentators regularly point out that while technically salt does not lose its taste completely, it can become contaminated or diluted so that its taste is hard to recognize. The second salt saying— so this commentator takes them as three separate, three separate sayings that just happen to be back to back. The second salt saying, however, is not about chemistry. It builds on the uses of salt as a seasoning and a preservative. There must be a reference here to the role of Jesus' disciples as the salt of the earth and agents of spiritual wisdom. And the third salt saying alludes to the use of salt in making covenants and offering sacrifices. So again, sacrifices. You shall not omit from your grain offerings the salt of the covenant. ⚠

Brad

So again, first Leviticus 2:13. And I think also there was Something about it in this commentary, wasn't there? Anyway, these things capture my attention, not everyone else's. Anything else on this? We don't have to talk about salt anymore. What about this whole— so we've said that Jesus is sometimes a little bit confusing. Right? Like the passage that we just discussed. But what about when he's talking about divorce? Seems pretty clear there. Yeah? I mean, then in that chapter 10, verse 10, then in the house of the disciples, then in the house, the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. I mean, done, right? There's nothing— it's pretty— it's not— there's no salt, there's no confusion or anything. Yeah, what do you think? ⚠

1:07:14

Theological Debate on Marriage, Divorce, and Adultery

Student

Yeah, I was gonna say that part was kind of like odd to me, not because of what he's— well, because like a lot of the other stories with Jesus and like the law, like he breaks the law and everyone's like, why are you breaking the law. And he's like, well, no, it's okay because I'm doing it for the greater good. But then this part, he's kind of just saying, like, he's saying, like, he's giving a strict rule. Usually he doesn't, like, give strict rules. ⚠

Brad

I know, very, very astute, I think. Yeah. And I like the earlier— one of the first times that he, you know, performed a miracle, he got in trouble for healing on the Sabbath. And he's like, man is made for the Sabbath, not the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath, right? And so yeah, he's a little bit of a rule breaker, but here he's just like— also, it just seems like a different character of teaching here. Yeah, Eduardo? ⚠

Student

Yeah, I feel like this passage serves as more of a clarification on the commandment against adultery, because I feel like most people just think adultery is while you're in a relationship relationship with the person, and he expands it to like, well, under the eyes of God, you became one. So even if relationship-wise you're not together, you're still together in that sense. So to do something outside of that, uh, bond— ⚠

Brad

yep, breaks the bond. Yeah, okay, yeah, good. Others? Yeah, Talena. ⚠

Student

I think I was just kind of confused with Jesus' interpretation because the footnote says like it does allow for the separation of man and woman, but I still think like within the scripture, like Jesus is saying like, when you separate, like because you're one flesh, that's still like against what Jesus is thinking. But the fact that he's like so adamant that it's like the marriage part is wrong. ⚠

Student

So I'm confused, like, why is the separation not as derogatory, I guess?

Brad

Okay, interesting. So the separation— okay, yeah, so the separation, because they've been joined, then the separation is already breaking that. So whatever happens after that is sort of separate to the separation itself. Yeah, that's a good point.

Student

Yeah, one thing that I thought was interesting interesting in the footnotes is that like Jesus is kind of making like both parties in the marriage equal because he said like it can be adultery against a woman and it can also be adultery against like the man, which I thought was interesting because he like in this time it was like the man who was like dominating the relationship, but Jesus kind of brings up the point that like both are individual players. Like the woman was created like out of like rib of Adam, and I thought that like him talking about that was speaking maybe more to like human beings in a broader sense than maybe just applied to marriage. ⚠

Brad

Yeah, and, um, good point. And, um, uh, connected with that, um, so we could, um, we could look through the whole gospel through the lens of, um, women, just, just focusing on What are the status of women? What's the role of women? How do women play a role in the text? And on that, if we were to do that, this is one of the few, maybe only, places in the Bible where adultery seems to be something that men can do, too. Everywhere else, it seems to be adultery is something that a woman does. Right, so a woman is married, and if a woman has sex with another man, then that's adultery. But men can— I mean, men can multiple— can marry multiple wives. So it's not, um, it's not clear elsewhere in the text that adultery is even possible for men, but here it's pretty clear, right? I mean, I mean, he said to them, whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. Right, so clearly, um, saying adultery is something, and then does the same thing with, you know, one with reversing the gender roles. ⚠

Brad

So seems pretty clear from that verse that adultery is something that can both men and women can do, not just women, which may not be something that stands out to you, you know, without that context.

Student

Yeah, kind of like what Delaney was saying with verse 9, which is therefore that what God has joined together, let no go and separate seems kind of contradictory to what Jesus is saying because they are separating. But even if they're not going and marrying other people, they're still separating. But at the same time, couldn't that separation simultaneously be an act of God? Like, maybe whatever it was that brought them together can now bring them apart and allow them to— whether, you know, it's help God's will or just do good because they're no longer together. ⚠

Brad

So if God can join them, then why can't God separate them? Yeah.

Student

Good.

Brad

Yeah, Dorian.

Student

I just have a question. Were annulments like a thing back then? Because I know there's like a big distinction under the church between an annulment and a divorce.

Brad

Well, it is a big distinction for the church, and part of it is because of this verse, actually, right? So you can't undo a marriage. And the— I'm not— this is not my field, right? But the way I understand that canon law on that topic is that because of this passage, because what God has united no one can divide, then annulment is just saying the marriage never happened, right? So because you can't undo it, But you can undo it. ⚠

Student

I know since it's a sacrament, marriage is a sacrament, there are certain criteria that need to be fulfilled, actions. ⚠

Brad

So I think it refers to one of those was missing or invalid. I think that's it. I think if we were to dig deep into the philosophy of annulment, it's that you have to give a reason why the marriage didn't actually take place, right? So it's not that the marriage took place and then you changed your mind. It's that you thought the marriage took place, but then when you look back, there was something that didn't happen, right? So the marriage actually never took effect, which is why the marriage failed, because— does that make sense? Yeah, so, yeah. Word. Good. Have a good weekend. If you don't mind helping me shift the tables back if you have a moment. And I have office hours right now. ⚠