What Role Do The Miracles Play In Mark Notes

What role do the miracles play in Mark’s gospel?

Collins, A. The Beginning of the Gospel, pg. 39 – 72. Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, 1992.

The omnipotence of God is affirmed by Mark’s gospel, Jesus in Gethsemane declaring ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you’ (Mark 14:36)

• The miracle stories suggest that Jesus shares in this omnipotence

• Conveyed in the response of disciples to Jesus’s calming of the storm (4:41)

  • ‘who then is this, that both the wind and sea obey him’

• Paradox- God gives Jesus power to perform miracles, yet has him suffer/die

Enlightenment critique of miracles, Hume ‘a wise man… proportions his belief to the evidence’

• As violations of nature’s laws, Hume maintains we can have no proof of miracles

• Accounts of miracles are always received opinions, in his view

• Pg. 42 ‘the first histories of nations are full of miracles and prodigies, whereas later histories explain things by natural causes’

Rationalist approach; accepts what is reported to have happened, rejecting reports on how it is meant to have happened.

• Mark 6- they do not believe that five thousand men were fed with 5 loaves and 2 fish, instead Jesus’s teaching inspired everyone to share the food they had

• Pg. 42 ‘the miracle was not that the laws of nature were broken, but that human beings were taught to love and share’

John Hull looked at the similarities to be seen between the Synoptic tradition and Hellenistic magic.

• While he did not think Jesus saw himself as a magician ‘he found evidence that Jesus ‘entered without reserve into the central conflict of the magician’s art, the struggle with evil powers directly confronted in the persons of the possessed’ and that Jesus was remembered as using folk remedies’

• Hull came to the conclusion that in Mark’s gospel could be seen great influences of magical beliefs, stemming from the author’s desire to meet needs and expectations of his audience

Morton Smith- looked at the link between Greco-Roman magic and the synoptic gospels, comparing historical Jesus to certain kinds of ancient magicians (e.g. ranging from deceiver to theios aner)

Exorcism/healing in antiquity

Almost all health problems were seen as stemming from demons, this medicine became exorcism.

Evil spirits; external (‘obsessing’) or internal (‘possessing’)

Miracles and the historical Jesus

David Strauss argued that the healing stories of Jesus were created after his death by his followers.

• Bultmann pointed out that the stories, as they appear in canonical Gospels, seem shaped by post-Resurrection views of Jesus

• Given the strength of the miracle tradition it seems unlikely the miracle stories are completely fictitious

Pg. 53 ‘given the overall picture of Jesus as a charismatic leader from a village in Galilee who apparently identified with the non-elite, it seems likely that he did extraordinary deeds involving healing and exorcism that gave rise to the miracle tradition’

Of what importance was Jesus’s healing?

• Some see it as authorizing Jesus as a divine man or a Hellenistic hero

• Or as the eschatological agent of God

In Mark’s gospel it seems that Jesus’s miracles confirm his role as an agent of God, and moreover convey the struggle between Satan and God.

However, despite these healings symbolizing the triumph of divine over evil, Collins argues they are still important at a level of personal benefit

• Thus the welfare and health of the individuals were also important

• Pg. 58 ‘if the historical Jesus linked his healing activity to the rule of God, then this activity expresses an aspect of what the rule of God is about.’

• ‘it includes compassion for those suffering physical, emotional, mental and spiritual distress’

In the first 8 chapters of Mark, over half the narrative material is on miracles.

John Hull argues that we must view Mark’s miracle stories in light of the worldview of ancient magic and folk medicine.

Collins suggests that the context we ought to look at Mark through is the Jewish and early Christian apolcalyticism context.

In Mark’s gospel, the miracles are not activities of Jesus but also activities which his followers can engage in.

• The disciples are sent out to exorcise (as well as preach) and Mark suggests that through prayer the faithful may exorcise (9:23, 29)

Mark 8:11-13, the Pharisees try to test Jesus by asking for a sign from heaven

• Jesus’s healings and exorcism have prompted people to see him as a prophet (6:15, 8:18)

View presented by Mark’s gospel- due to malevolent spirits which have rebelled against divine power there is evil in the world.

Pg. 72 ‘human disobedience is related to the rebellion of the spirits. But in the fullness of time, God has acted through Jesus to redeem humanity and all of creation from these forces of evil.’

Through witnessing, Jesus’s followers participate in this redemption.

God wills evil to accomplish the redemption of creation.

Twelftree, G. Jesus, The Miracle Worker, pg. 57 -102. InterVarsity Press, Madison, 1999.

In Mark’s gospel there are 20 miracle stories and summaries of healings, taking up almost a third of the gospel; more so than any other gospel.

Mark’s purpose centres on Jesus’s identity and mission.

Wrede- the messianic secret, Jesus as banning the healed to proclaim it.

Johannes Schreiber- the miracles in Mark’s gospel represent a theios aner Christology which Mark was ‘in competition with the self-emptying gnostic saviour that Mark wished to promote’ pg. 58

Many have seen the evangelist’s purpose with the miracle stories in the picture they paint of Jesus as Messiah, thus being written for those not in the Christian community as an evangelistic document.

However, much material in the gospel does not seem to have been written for such an audience (e.g. the question of fasting) i.e. those outside the church

Much of Mark’s teaching seems directed towards Christians

Therefore it is unlikely that Mark’s main motive in including these miracle stories is to teach outsiders of Jesus’s identity and message.

Pg. 58 ‘...

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