Looking from the scope of Mark noting that Jesus gave his disciples special instructions not available to outsiders and the struggle to comprehend Jesus’ instructions, Mark 4:41 shows the disciples lack of faith in times of adversity (in this case it was the windstorm and uncontrollable waves) but also how they strengthened their faith in Jesus’ because of his amazing ability to control the sea, which was a divine characteristic (cf. Psalm 89:25). As for Mark 6:12-13, it seems that the disciples finally understood Jesus’ message of emphasizing repentance and being born again. Jesus commands his disciples to take a staff and wear sandals.  This may imply the length of their journey. Dependence on hosts would be important in each Gospel strategy, and in the Markan missionary plan the disciples were prepared. The disciples were to continue the Jesus movement in households.  This was not unanticipated, in light of Jesus’ own successful activity in the homes surrounding Galilee. The disciples, clueless in several earlier stories, apparently understood enough to carry out this mission effectively. However, once again in Mark 6:51-52, the disciples appear to lack faith in Jesus. They did not understand how Jesus fed 5000 people with simply five loaves of bread, meaning they did not understand who Jesus was and his miracle. Jesus also gets onto a boat in verse 51 following the feeding of the 5000; the wind stops, and once again (as seen in earlier passages in Mark), the disciples are amazed, showing a lack of faith. But on top of that, the disciples hearts are hardened, which is something that is done to enemies in the Old Testament (Ex. 7:3, Deut. 2:30, Josh 11:20, 1 Sam 6:6). And Mark 7:17-18, the disciples ask Jesus because they are unable to comprehend his parable in the previous verses. Jesus explains the parable in similar terms, showing that the disciples initially did not understand Jesus’ message through the parable.

In Mark 8:14-21, the disciples worry about only having one loaf of bread, even after seeing the 5000 being fed with five loaves of bread and the 4000 with seven loaves of bread. The disciples misunderstand Jesus’ message of having divine attributes and lack faith despite being in middle of many miracles done through Jesus. Now in Mark 8:33, we see that Peter rebukes Jesus about having to be killed, and in turn Jesus rebukes Peter for his misunderstanding and not seeing God’s purpose for human beings as opposed to human beings purpose for themselves. Jesus’ message is to show that he will be a martyr-messiah and Peter fails to see this, showing no understanding of Jesus’ message. Mark 9:32 shows that the misunderstanding Peter had in 8:33, is still a misunderstanding that is present in all the disciples. Jesus teaches (once again) that the Son of Man will be killed and rise again, yet the disciples still do not understand that Jesus is the greatest man and will be a martyr-messiah. In Mark 10:35-40, James and John request privileged places of high authority in seats at Jesus’ right and left. By doing this, they have shown that they missed everything Jesus has said and done because they are conspiring to capitalize on Jesus’ royalty and glory. The disciples do not see that Jesus’ message and movement is the exact opposite of seeking out position and power. Jesus’ message and movement is about leaders taking on the role of servants in the same way that Jesus’s martyrdom will be a ransom of many. Mark 14:50 shows explicitly that the disciples had little faith in Jesus (following his arrest) in times of adversity and conflict, showing that they had no understanding of Jesus’ teachings and purpose to be a martyr-messiah. Finally, Mark 14:66-72 is probably the greatest example of Peter (representing the disciples as a whole) lacking faith and understanding about who Jesus really is. Three times, not twice, not once, but three times Peter denied knowing Jesus to the point where he cursed and swore an oath. Despite seeing Jesus perform miracles and hearing his teachings, the disciples still did not have an idea of who Jesus really was and his messages for them.

Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus), a blind man, hears that Jesus is coming by and cries out to Jesus with persistence despite many telling him to stay quiet. Jesus calls the blind man to come to him and then asks what the blind man needs. The blind responds “My teacher, let me see again” (NRSV Mark 10:51). Jesus responds to him and says that his faith has made him well, and immediately the blind man is healed and follows Jesus. This story of Bartimaeus is completely different from stories with Jesus’ disciples because Bartimaeus believes the power and authority that Jesus has, and he fully understands that Jesus is the Son of God. The disciples were side by side with Jesus, hearing all of his teachings, yet could still not understand that Jesus was the Son of God. The disciples also had seen Jesus perform many miracles, yet even after seeing the miraculous deeds they did not have faith in Jesus and did not understand his power. The blind man did not need sight to see who Jesus really. The unnamed woman in Mark 14:3-9 pours a costly ointment on Jesus’ head. Anointing Jesus’ head with oil showed that the woman not only had faith in Jesus, but that she knew he was the messiah. She also appears to be doing this (verse 8) for preparing Jesus for his burial. The woman understood that Jesus was a martyr-messiah, something not even the disciples understood. The disciples were ignorant to this fact to the point where they got angry at the woman for pouring such expensive ointment on Jesus. But even when the disciples troubled, the woman showed persistence and persevered through faith. This woman is completely different from the disciples because the disciples would lose their faith in the time of hardship and persecution.

In the parable of the sower (4:4:3-9, 13-20), Jesus creates a parable that shows the process and results of spreading the Word to the masses. Jesus says that the seed sown is the Word of God. I would put the disciples in the category of those people who land on the rocky soil. The description of those who land on rocky grounds seen in verse 16-17, says that “the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away” (NRSV Mark 4:16-17). This description is fitting for the disciples. They admire and receive Jesus’ teachings with joy and follow him but only when everything is going well and their safety is in check. But when it comes to strong faith and fighting through persecution and hardship, the disciples fall away from Jesus, like when the disciples flee at Jesus’ arrest or when Peter denies Christ three times. The disciples endure only until their faith is tested. And much different from the 12 disciples, Bartimaeus and the unnamed woman would probably be put in the category of being sown on good soil because they “hear the word and accept it and bear fruit” (Mark 4:20 NRSV). Bartimaeus and the unnamed woman both realized that Jesus is the Son of God, a martyr-messiah, and believed in his ability and power to perform miraculous deeds. And even though their faith is tested through difficulties (such as blindness) and persecution (being verbally abused by Jesus’ disciples), they stay strong with their foundation and maintain their full faith in Jesus.

Discipleship for Mark seems to entail a combination of understanding who Jesus really is, giving up their life for Jesus, seeking to hear and understand Jesus’ teachings, and living out his teachings in spite of persecution and hardship. But none of this meant that a disciple of Jesus had to copy and live out Jesus’ teachings and actions perfectly. But the disciples all lacked faith in times of persecution and conflict. To Mark, Bartimaeus and the unnamed woman seem to be great examples of what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus. They showed understanding of who Jesus was and his teachings, as well as preserving through their faith being tested. Jesus’ 12 disciples were too caught up in the traditional laws from Judaism society and the Judaic idea of what it meant to be messiah. The Judaic law and messiah was different then Jesus and his teachings because Jesus called all kinds of people to follow him, whether that was broken, sick or poor people, no restrictions. But the clear thing was that Jesus said “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34 NRSV). The NIV translation uses the word “disciple” instead of “followers.” So anyone who wanted to be a true disciple of Jesus had to rebuke themselves, turn from their selfish ways and then follow Jesus to understand more about him and learn from his teachings.