Analysis Of Mark's Crucifixion And Resurrection Of Jesus

While arguably the most important scene in Mark’s gospel is Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus’ healing of a leper in Mark 1 is equally theologically rich. First of all, this story elucidates upon Jesus’ humanity. For instance, in the cleansing of the leper scene we observe Jesus showing his humanity. After the leper pleads for Jesus to heal him, Jesus is “moved with pity” (Mk 1:41). The fact that Jesus is moved by a human emotion suggests that he is able to feel empathy for humans and experience human emotions. Yet, this scene is not the only place that we find Jesus’ humanness. Mark portrays Jesus’ humanity when he receives John’s baptism in full faith (Mk 1:9), is severely tested in the wilderness for forty days (Mk 1:12), is moved

Mark writes the gospel from the perspective of Easter and believes in the resurrected Jesus, which invariably influences the way he portrays Jesus. At the same time, he is recalling things that Jesus did during his ministry such as his sayings, parables, deeds, and other occurrences in his life. As a result, at times we see details that underscore Jesus’ humanity as well as other scenes where Jesus is cast in a supernatural light as doing what God does. While some approach this by saying that Jesus is both divine and human, this leaves the reader with a view of a schizophrenic Jesus who takes on two different personalities at different points of his life. However, I think that these inherent differences are due to the two aforementioned currents that run through the gospel. The pre-Paschal current is a historical recollection of Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet that died at one with his people. The other Paschal current is associated with the resurrected Jesus who continues to accompany his followers today. If we do not consider this difference, then it is impossible to reconcile the inconsistencies present in the gospel. For instance, how can Jesus heal a leper (Mk 1:42), read hearts (Mk 2:8), walk on water (Mk 6:48), and calm the waves (Mk 4:39), but at the same time does not know who touched him (MK 5:30-32) and is unable to perform any “mighty work” in

It was therefore not the correct time for people to learn about the meaning of divinity and being the Son of God. Although Mark labels Jesus as the “Son of God” in the first verse of his Gospel, it seems that this title does not define Jesus. Instead, Jesus defines what being the Son of God entails. It is fairly easy to erroneously understand divinity in terms of power when considering scenes such as when Jesus heals a leper (Mk 1:42), walks on water (Mk 6:48), calms the waves (Mk 4:39), and multiplies the loaves and fishes (Mk 6:30-44). This association of divinity with power makes it impossible to understand how Jesus does not know who touched him (MK 5:30-32) and why the disciples have such a difficult time to understand his teachings. The answer to this dilemma seems to come when the Roman centurion proclaims, “truly this man was the Son of God” (Mk 15:39). It is not an accident that the only time that a human voice correctly identifies Jesus as the Son of God is when Jesus is at his lowest point. For Mark, this is the point of the gospel where the real meaning of divinity and being the Son of God become clear. At the moment of his death, Jesus is powerless, alone, penniless, and dishonored. Thus, he is most divine where is at one with the less fortunate and most disesteemed and marginalized of God’s children.