In the gospel of Mark, we see the author use a literary technique called an “inclusio” to show the reader the importance of a specific passage. This is the authors way of putting an emphasis on a certain passage that we as readers should pay attention to. Here, we are to pay special attention to chapters 8 and 10, where we see Jesus performing two miracles. In the first miracle, Mk 8:22-26, we see Jesus perform a healing miracle on a blind man. An important part of this miracle is at the end when Jesus tells the man to not return to the village, but to go home. This is an important characteristic of Mark’s Jesus because many times we see Jesus’ secrecy. The second miracle, 10:46-52, is another healing miracle where Jesus heals a blind man. In this scene, the blind man calls out to Jesus and refers to him as “Son of David.” This is important because we have learned what to consider a “divine man,” one must have a special ancestry and here the blind man is acknowledging that aspect of Jesus. Jesus is referred to by many names in this passage in Mark. We see Jesus being referred to as “Son of Man,” “Son of God,” and “Son of David.”

Between the two miracle stories we see a rather different, complex Jesus. Mark describes a Jesus that is rather difficult to understand and even we see the disciples having a hard time understanding Jesus, but maybe that was the purpose the author of Mark was trying to get across. It seems that he is portraying a man that is not meant to be fully grasped, even by his followers. In the “sandwiched” material 8:26-10:45, the author of Mark paints a complex picture of Jesus. Here we see Jesus being rather harsh to his disciples, especially Peter. In Mk 8:33, Jesus even goes as far as referring to Peter as satan. This completely surprised me that Jesus would refer to one of his most devote followers as his enemy, satan. Then again we see Jesus and his secrecy with his disciples. In Mk 9:2, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a mountain and transfigures himself before them. He appears along with Moses and Elijah. Afterwards, he tells his disciples to not tell anyone what they saw. Yet again, a complex Jesus who wants people to believe in him and follow him, but tells his disciples not to speak of his wondrous deeds.