Gospel of Mark Readthrough : 1:16 -
Jan. 15th, 2012 06:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackJesus Calls His First Disciples
16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."
I don't suppose it happened literally as its described here, but this is a lovely passage, a very moving start to the hero setting off on his adventure.
It's also worth noting (as was relevant to the Boyarin post, and as is often pointed out Christian writings) that Jesus was attracting comparatively everyday people as followers. His first disciples are fishermen; remember that if a grubby fisherman comes up to you and is the latest to claim to be the new messiah, and you didn't know who Jesus was going to be, why you might be dismissive of him when you really shouldn't be.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Although, when I said ordinary, I meant "not scholars" -- James and John were presumably not the lowest rung on the social ladder if they had hired help, even temporarily.
And in another counterpoint, think how you'd feel if your only sons went off with a grubby carpenter to preach revolution. Happy? Worried? Nowadays we know what was going to happen, but at the time, imagine people may have felt (a) rebellious, since the country was still under occupation, and sympathetic to anyone preaching any sort of insurgency, even a peaceful one and (b) scared that your sons would go off and get arrested, or that you'd not be able to handle the family without them.
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.
Skip ahead in the story a bit. I get the impression that "turning up at the weekly service and randomly preaching" isn't quite as shocking in 20AD synagogues as it is to 2000AD churches?
It still seems quite pushy, assuming Jesus was still wandering (was he?) The next verses imply Jesus was a bresh of fresh air, which normally means _some_ people were unpleased to see him.
I'm not sure how accurate this is. But I get the impression that in a church nowadays, standing up and arguing is Not Done. (Is that right?) I mean, presumably, people should listen if you seem like you have something serious to say, but it's not the expected etiquette. But in a synagogue, it's more normal -- you don't expect it all the time, but in principle, you're supposed to be having a conversation amongst equals rather than a sermon. (Is that right?) If so, someone with lots of good insights might just turn up like that, in theory, even if not everyone was happy about it.
25 "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
A standard miracle healing story. Although I can already think of two interpretations: (1) the guy was genuinely ill (whether or not it was an evil spirit) and Jesus fixed him (2) the guy disagreed with Jesus (whether or not he was a bad guy), and Jesus persuaded him, and the story got exaggerated later.
I'm curious what a standard Christian reading of this passage would be. Is it obligatory to assume that evil spirits exist as self-willed entities? Do they _still_ exist, or is that ambiguous? Or is it ok to read "evil spirit" as 20AD-speak for "illness of the body" or "illness of the mind"?
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.
Word begins to spread. People hurry and scurry about town, praying Jesus can do more healing. The rolling stone begins to gather more speed.
16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."
I don't suppose it happened literally as its described here, but this is a lovely passage, a very moving start to the hero setting off on his adventure.
It's also worth noting (as was relevant to the Boyarin post, and as is often pointed out Christian writings) that Jesus was attracting comparatively everyday people as followers. His first disciples are fishermen; remember that if a grubby fisherman comes up to you and is the latest to claim to be the new messiah, and you didn't know who Jesus was going to be, why you might be dismissive of him when you really shouldn't be.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Although, when I said ordinary, I meant "not scholars" -- James and John were presumably not the lowest rung on the social ladder if they had hired help, even temporarily.
And in another counterpoint, think how you'd feel if your only sons went off with a grubby carpenter to preach revolution. Happy? Worried? Nowadays we know what was going to happen, but at the time, imagine people may have felt (a) rebellious, since the country was still under occupation, and sympathetic to anyone preaching any sort of insurgency, even a peaceful one and (b) scared that your sons would go off and get arrested, or that you'd not be able to handle the family without them.
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.
Skip ahead in the story a bit. I get the impression that "turning up at the weekly service and randomly preaching" isn't quite as shocking in 20AD synagogues as it is to 2000AD churches?
It still seems quite pushy, assuming Jesus was still wandering (was he?) The next verses imply Jesus was a bresh of fresh air, which normally means _some_ people were unpleased to see him.
I'm not sure how accurate this is. But I get the impression that in a church nowadays, standing up and arguing is Not Done. (Is that right?) I mean, presumably, people should listen if you seem like you have something serious to say, but it's not the expected etiquette. But in a synagogue, it's more normal -- you don't expect it all the time, but in principle, you're supposed to be having a conversation amongst equals rather than a sermon. (Is that right?) If so, someone with lots of good insights might just turn up like that, in theory, even if not everyone was happy about it.
25 "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
A standard miracle healing story. Although I can already think of two interpretations: (1) the guy was genuinely ill (whether or not it was an evil spirit) and Jesus fixed him (2) the guy disagreed with Jesus (whether or not he was a bad guy), and Jesus persuaded him, and the story got exaggerated later.
I'm curious what a standard Christian reading of this passage would be. Is it obligatory to assume that evil spirits exist as self-willed entities? Do they _still_ exist, or is that ambiguous? Or is it ok to read "evil spirit" as 20AD-speak for "illness of the body" or "illness of the mind"?
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.
Word begins to spread. People hurry and scurry about town, praying Jesus can do more healing. The rolling stone begins to gather more speed.