Author Archives: tthornt4@uoregon.edu

Group 6 Question 2

Posted on by under thomas

The Gospel of Thomas is probably the most read and followed non-canonical book ever written. Even though it is not a canonical gospel, people still listen to and follow the teachings that this gospel has to offer. This gospel really defines Jesus in a spiritual way compared to the human form in other gospels. This Gospel of Thomas contains mostly sayings that come from Q that involve Jesus and his disciples. These saying help to elevate the divinity of Jesus to higher levels than the canonical gospels. You can see this mostly in the first book of the gospel when Jesus says, “Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.” This quote helps to leave no question in the reader about the nature of Jesus like there may be in the readers of the canonical gospels (especially Mark). This passage also helps to confirm the destiny of all the readers that come across this gospel.

 

The things that Jesus say in this gospel are also very important because with this elevated power the things that Jesus say have great authority. The words of Jesus hold the key to gain eternal life. Since this gospel starts with the proclamation of those that understand will never taste death it gives every action Jesus takes much more authority. In 80 and 87 Jesus speaks to his disciples and tells them that once they understand the words then they will not be miserable. Jesus speaks about people who understand the word and will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He says that these insiders have become “intoxicated by the bubbling spring that I have tended.” Jesus also says that if you are an insider then you will become one with Jesus.

 

I think that the people that would have been attracted to this form of Christianity would have been people struggling with their faith after the death of Jesus. Also people who were generally unhappy with their situations in this world would have been attracted to this Christianity. This gospel stresses that if you remain faithful the Kingdom of Heaven will be yours and you will be one with Jesus.

Team 6 Question 2

Posted on by under mark

Throughout the entire Gospel of Mark, the disciples are shown not understanding the messages that Jesus tells them. In Mark 4:41 the disciples are very shaky with their faith during the storm until Jesus strengthens it to the point of them saying, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” In Mark 6:12-13 it seems that Jesus feels the disciples understand his teachings enough to send them out on a mission to spread the word. This is a big step for the disciples in their journey because in earlier stories they cannot understand the message of Jesus. The disciples take a step back in Mark 6:51-52 when on a boat they think they see a ghost walking on water. The end of verse 52 says that the disciples did not understand the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. In Mark 7:17-18 the disciples are still confused by a parable Jesus told and ask him to explain it once again. This shows that the disciples still cannot completely understand Jesus as this point. All of these stories show that the disciples are making progress in their faith, but they still have to learn a great deal. Jesus understands this and realizes he has to continue to teach them before he leaves them.

The story of the blind man Bartimaeus is very different than all of the other healing stories in the gospel. When Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is coming he cries out with all his might to see him despite protests from other people around him. When Jesus gets over to him, Jesus tells him that his faith has healed him. This is different than the other healings of Jesus because he never stared intently or touched Bartimaeus in any way. The disciples would have been watching this even though they probably would not have understood. The unnamed woman in Mark 14:3-9 pours very expensive ointment over the head of Jesus. Witnesses of this event take protest saying that she should have sold the ointment and given the money to the poor. Jesus says that the poor will always be around but he will not be, and that she was preparing his body for burial. It seems that the woman understands the path that Jesus has to take going forward better than the disciples did, as she was helping to prepare his martyrdom.

The parable of the sower is a parable that explains how different people receive the word of Jesus. I would put the disciples in the category of the ones sown on good soil. Verse 20 says, “And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” I would put them in this category because Jesus planted their faith in him. Even though the disciples struggled to understand the message at first, Jesus was able to give them a good foundation to go spread the word. And after the death of Jesus the disciples spread out to preach to different communities and started the religion. I would also put Bartimaeus and the unnamed woman in this category because they seem to have a fundamental understanding of what Jesus was preaching.

In Mark discipleship seems to mean following and listening to increase your understanding of the teachings. Even though the disciples of Jesus are witnessing him every day, it still took them a long time to fully understand the message. Jesus hand picked these twelve disciples because he knew they would eventually understand the message and go on to spread the good news to all corners of the Earth.

Team 6 Question 3

Posted on by under narrative expansion

A. In the ending of the book of Mark the women go to the tomb to see Jesus and find that the stone in front of the tomb had already been moved. Once they go inside the tomb they see what is identified as a “young man dressed in a white robe” who tells them not to be afraid. Then the women run off and are afraid and the book ends. The short ending in Mark confused people since it did not discuss Jesus after he was resurrected. In Matthew and Luke however there are more fulfilling endings for believers to hold onto. For example in Matthew the women have an encounter with Jesus after they flee the tomb in fear. Also in Luke there are passages with Jesus addressing his disciples after he is resurrected. One explanation of the changes in these books is that Matthew and Luke developed Mark’s story for the audience at the time.

B. I believe that scholars would take the same ideas about the differences between the books. That being that Matthew and Luke would have taken the book of Mark and developed the ideas. Mark also uses the first person when Jesus speaks to people.

C. After examining this story in the different books I believe that Matthew and Luke were writing to a different, more confused, audience than Mark was. Since the audience was vastly different the book had to develop and change the ending in order to clear up the confusion. Another possible explanation however is that the developed version of the tomb story came from source Q.

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