Thursday in Advent 1: Mark's careful connections

Opening Sentence

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isaiah 40:5

The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns



Commemoration: Nicholas Ferrar

Lord God, make us so reflect your perfect love; that, with your deacon Nicholas Ferrar and his household, we may rule ourselves according to your Word, and serve you with our whole heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Texts: Psalm 1-5 (M); Psalm 6-8 (E); Isaiah 10:24-34, Mark 2:23-3:12 (M); Isaiah 13:1-14:2, Revelation 9 (E)

The Gospel writers intentionally structured their accounts to parallel many events in the Old Testament. As Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah from the line of David, much of his life paralleled that of David. When the Pharisees rebuked his disciples for plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath, Jesus invoked the memory of David eating the Bread of the Presence in the house of Abiathar the priest. A few verses beyond today's reading, we see a clear parallel between David and Jesus. David's family came for him after he had feigned insanity in front of the Philistines. Jesus's family came for him after he had begun attracting huge crowds, believing him to be "out of his mind."

Without a familiarity with the whole biblical story, it would be difficult to see the similarities in these two accounts. Mark, like all the Gospel writers, presented Jesus in such a way that his original readers would understand him to be the fulfillment of Israel's Messianic expectations. Although he did not stick around for the duration of Paul and Barnabas's first missionary journey, he no doubt was with them on occasions similar to the one in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia. There, Paul and Barnabas proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah by recounting the history of Israel and proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the long-awaited King from the line of David.

Unfortunately, Mark would be at the center of one of the first major disagreements in the church. Paul and Barnabas would eventually separate over a dispute concerning Mark's fitness to rejoin them on their missionary journeys. His failure to persevere during their first journey did not sit well with Paul. There would, however, be an eventual reconciliation and Mark would go on to write his account of Jesus's life and ministry, taking great care to demonstrate the vital connection between Jesus and his great ancestor David, proving him to be the Messiah, just as his mentors in the faith had done.

(JAG)

Comfort, Comfort,O My People