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.

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.

Drew Williams

5/12/2016

REL 317

Throughout the gospel of Mark, the disciples are depicted time and time again not understanding Jesus’ message. The story continually relates the ignorance of his disciples about the true ideas surrounding the teachings of Jesus. In multiple parts of the Gospel, the disciples are told by Jesus that there are receiving special knowledge from Jesus about the Kingdom of Heaven. Even though they were receiving what Jesus called “secret” knowledge in the gospel, they still are depicted as not understanding. This lack of understanding seems ultimately contrary to how an author would want to portray the disciples. Compared to the other gospels, one can argue that the depiction of the disciples is significantly lower in the fact that they are shown as almost incompetent at times. The Gospel writer of Mark must have wanted to depict the disciples as unworthy in some ways of the message that Jesus was providing to them. However, another idea for this depiction of the disciples in Mark that is put forward by White on page 279 is that Mark wished to criticize the Jewish beliefs about what the messiah is. White suggests that the author of Mark uses the disciples as the embodiment of Jewish thought at the time about the Messiah to have Jesus criticize as not understanding the true nature of the messiah’s attributes. White states this when he writes, “The simple answer is that, because he believed Jesus to be the Messiah, Peter did not understand that Jesus must die.” (White 278). He states the point again when he writes, “It means that Peter, like Judas and most other characters in the story, assumes that the Messiah is a primarily Davidic royal figure who will bring about a new kingdom.” (White 278). Here White states that in Mark that the disciples are wrong for holding the mainstream Jewish belief about the Messiah and that the true nature of the Messiah is unalike what they previously thought.

The stories of Bartimaeus and the unnamed woman relate to mark’s depiction of Jesus by showing the attributes of true disciples and how the should act and believe. The Blind man Bartimaeus is used as an example of one of the attributes of a disciple because he had fervent faith in the Messiah-ship of Jesus and did not need any logical justification for his belief. He truly believed in Jesus’s identity and through this he was healed. Likewise the unnamed woman started to prepare Jesus for his burial by anointing him with oil. She was scolded by the other disciples but they were told that she has true faith because she already believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus, something the other disciples do not fully understand and accept. These two individuals can be seen as models for the attributes of true disciples. They embody the  thoughts and actions of what mark’s Jesus would refer to as true disciples. The Parable of the sower is important in understanding of where mark’s Jesus sees his disciples. After analyzing the early stories of the disciples and what mark’s Jesus sees as the attributes of true disciples, it would seem that the disciples of Jesus were analogous to the second placement of the seeds. The second placement of the seeds is on the rocky soil where the seeds are denied good soil and cannot take root and because of this grow, wither and blow away. The reason I see the disciples as analogous to these seeds is the fact that they are shown as having a shallow understanding of the messiah and do not have solid “Roots” in Jesus’ teachings. However, Bartimaeus and the unnamed woman are the seeds that fall on good soil and have strong roots in the understanding of the attributes of the Messiah and the teachings of Jesus altogether.
I would say that a true disciple to Mark is someone who like Bartimaeus and the unnamed woman have faith without need of justification or logical  reasoning. However, they have have a solid understanding  of the teachings of Jesus and the true attributes of the Messiah and his mission altogether. The twelve disciples may be analogous to the contemporary audience of Mark’s community who may have lacked faith and true understanding of Jesus’ message. They could have been still too entrenched in  the mainstream Jewish idea of the messiah and needed convincing and logical explanation of Jesus’ message and the Messiah in order to truly have faith, something Mark would seemingly condemn altogether.

[embeddoc url=”https://blogs.uoregon.edu/rel317s16drreis/files/2016/05/Post-2-29bf12x.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]

The Gospel of Mark depicts the disciples of Jesus as people who do not fully understand that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. In Mark 4:41 the disciples are in awe of what Jesus can do and say “”Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?” Jesus performed the miracle of calming the sea, which historically would be viewed as a divine act by the people of Jesus’ time because only the gods have control over nature. Yet the disciples who have been told by Jesus himself that he is the Son of God do not understand. Then in chapter 6 the disciples are told to share the gospel and do this by healing the sick, performing exorcisms and telling people to repent. Even as they continue their ministry they are still astounded by the actions of Jesus and do not understand how he does all these great things (Mark 4:51). The disciples again do not understand what Jesus is saying in regards to the cleanliness of the sprit rather than the body and the importance thereof. Jesus becomes baffled at the lack of understanding of the disciples and their desire for the physical world when they are in Jesus’ presence. The disciples seem to be overly concerned about their physical needs rather than their spiritual needs. Mark is arguing that the disciples were too focused on the physical world and not their spiritual growth and that is the key to their misunderstanding of who Jesus is and what he was doing for them.

Mark characterizes Bartimaeus as a blind man who has faith in Jesus as the Son of God and that he can do anything because he is God. When Bartimaeus asks Jesus to cure his blindness, Jesus said to him “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (Mark 10:52). The unnamed women who pours oil over Jesus head and anoints him before his burial (Mark 14:8). Both of these people in the Gospel of Mark are very different from the disciples understanding of Jesus. Both of these people realize the divineness of Jesus and that he can do great things. They see his significance had believe in him even without seeing him. The faith in Jesus is different from the disciples who still to not understand who Jesus is.

Based on the parable of the sower I would put the disciples in the category of the rocks. They get behind Jesus quickly leaving all they have behind and like the seeds spring up quickly. They do not fully understand Jesus and his role in the world so they wither away quickly because they do not have the good soil beneath them. The unnamed women and Bartimaeus are the good soil because they believe in their hearts that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah. Therefore they are able to yield their understanding and grow spiritually not just physically as the disciples in Mark’s portrayal. Jesus is trying to highlight the importance of faith and believing in him as the Son of God focusing on the heart rather than the body.

Discipleship for Mark is the spiritual following of Jesus. Bartimaeus and the unnamed women excel at this because they believe in Jesus and recognize his importance. The disciples of Jesus do not recognize this and therefore are truly the disciples of Jesus. Instead anyone who believes and shares the good news of Jesus would be considered a true disciple of Jesus.

Mark’s gospel, believed to be the earliest, can be interpreted as “rough around the edges”. In contrast to Matthew and Luke, in which the writers have sought to fill in gaps and narrativize, Mark does not gloss Jesus and his disciples. He depicts his disciples not as all-knowing and perfect followers; but rather in a tone of utter misunderstanding. Through journeying, traveling, living, and eating with Christ, they attempt to emulate his ways and pick up on his teachings, but lack the hindsight of the Markan author. Mark writes this gospel at a time right after the Jewish war in which Jewish population was devastated. They had expected an all-powerful Messiah to come and save them and deliver them from tragedy; they assumed the Jesus figure they had known previously was supposed to be the Messiah that intervened in this point and time. According to White, the “dominant view- here being parodied as a misunderstanding- assumed a connection with some form of a political eschatology” (278-279). Mark uses the disciples misunderstanding of Jesus’s character to teach and approach his audience in a way which reframed their mindset. Jesus was still a Savior who would usher in the Kingdom of God at the end of time, but his purpose was not to squash the Romans in the Jewish War. Jesus’s disciples in Mark parallel this misunderstanding; they expected Jesus to be a political power and restore the correct form of power on earth; but as Jesus tells John, the focus of humanity should be supporting one’s neighbor and preparing for the divine kingdom of heaven, not worrying about the ruling body on earth. Of all of the passages of understanding that Mark has, an important one that stands out is 8:33, where Jesus rebukes Peter because his mind is set on human things, not those of the divine. The disciples in general seek Jesus as an all-powerful savior, but often do not understand his teachings and miracles especially when it comes to specifically healing the marginalized. In all, the understanding of Christ’s divinity was to be that of personal understanding, not that of a forceful Roman emperor, hence Jesus’s telling his disciples not to tell of his miracles. This is an “out with the old, and in with the new” type of sweep that Mark tries to implement through Jesus.
The stories of Bartimaeus is that of a blind beggar who hears of Jesus, calling out his name and having faith in Jesus’s miracle powers. Jesus in turn heals Bartimaeus and does not “shush” him like many who ordered him to be quiet. Jesus here reaches out to a person on the margins of society, bringing them back into the community. Jesus has the power to heal his blindness; similar to the power Jesus has to heal the hardened hearts, or lack of faith the disciples suffer from. Mark depicts Jesus’s disciples as blind and misunderstanding at many points, and through this miracle Jesus highlights that through faith they will see the truth. Later on, an unnamed woman anoints Jesus with ointment (perfume in a sense); this has a dual meaning. Anointing is not only the sign of recognizing Jesus as the messiah and having faith, but also is a ritual as a preparation for burial. This is a sign of the woman’s faith in Jesus’s divinity. Jesus’s disciples are angry at the ‘waste’ of ointment by the woman; this is yet another misunderstanding that Jesus scolds them for. This woman has faith in Jesus, his divinity, his future; his disciples still do not understand. Despite being scolded, the woman continues to do what she is right; in the bigger picture, Mark alludes to that when Jesus’s followers are in a point of persecution, by continuing to do what is true to faith they will be able to align themselves with Christ’s teachings.
Within the parable of the sower, Jesus creates a metaphor for his spreading of the faith and the Word into the population. Some will understand, some will not. In my opinion, the twelve disciples would fall into the category of those who land on the rocky soil. At the beginning of Jesus’s ministry and for many individual teachings, the disciples rejoice and admire Jesus’s teachings (they believe and preach Christ’s message when it is easy and accessible). But when it comes to Jesus’s Passion, they fall back; Peter denies Christ, his disciples flee; Christ’s twelve disciples run away or hide when something comes to test their faith. On the other hand, marginalized believers such as the women who anoints Jesus and Bartimaeus “hear the word and accept” Jesus in full faith, despite their ailments or placement at the margins of society where they face adversity despite the presence of Jesus in their lives (Mark 4:20).
To conclude, discipleships for Mark is the act of someone seeking to understand Jesus’s teachings; it does not have to be a perfect emulation of Christ’s actions, but can be anyone who is willing to give up their life to follow Christ. This is in contrast from the original rules and regulations of Judaism, which had strict restrictions and requirements, whereas Jesus seeks to take in all aspects of society; especially those who are marginalized (physical disabled, sick, women, etc). In addition to this, Jesus’s followers must continue to have faith amongst adversity, and seek to understand Jesus’s teachings; giving up the old way and welcoming in a new understanding.