Day 130: The Euangelion: Everything is About to Change

Today we read Mark 1-4, Psalms 11, and 20. We take another Messianic checkpoint as Fr. Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins call it in the Gospel according to Mark. Many biblical scholars view this story as a collection of Peter’s stories because Mark and Peter were friends, Peter went to Rome to tell the Romans about Jesus, and Mark in this book is talking to the Romans in a Hellenistic culture which valued education, healthcare, entertainment, and sports. This Western culture was different from the ancient near Eastern culture we have been reading from in the Old Testament. Here, humanism, the idea that mankind is the highest entity has largely replaced the thinking of the ancient near Eastern world where God, or the gods, are the highest entity. We see Mark start with a bold statement to the Romans who had many gods by proclaiming one God and then telling fast-paced stories which have sharp transitions about Jesus being a teacher, healer, amazing, and winning - these correlate with the four pillars of Hellenistic culture. In the Gospel according to Mark, we will learn more about who Jesus is, how Jesus will be the Messiah, and how Jesus becomes King.

Resources:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings (2018) Mark - Roman Gospel https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/85 

Tim Mackie. Mark Overview. Bible Project. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/mark/ 

Matt Whitman. Mark. The Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6gduuctrOLCxt09yu4bEm4?si=96fb2829c0d64f98 

Credits:

Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.