The Christology Of Mark.
Person Nature and Role of Christ in the Gospel of Mark
Christology is the branch of Christian theology relating to the person, nature, and role of Christ. The Gospel according to Mark was the first gospel written meaning it was the beginning of the good news of Jesus, the son of God. Jesus Christ is represented in many ways in Mark’s gospel it is through this that the reader is able to encounter him and learn the mystery of who he is. Within the gospel of Mark, Christ it becomes clear that Jesus is the Son of God.
This is first referenced at the beginning of the Gospel when Jesus is baptized by John, God says “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased”. Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus performed many miracles, healings, and exorcisms. “Came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up. Then the fever left her”. At the time it was feared that this kind of action which clouded followers from seeing Jesus’s teachings and suffering but rather saw him as a superman figure.
Mark portrays Jesus as a healer and Jesus’s teachings are clearly conveyed through the gospel. Mark conveys Jesus’ and death as the climax of all his work. Scholars believe that Jesus almost ‘planned’ his death, as he knew all consequences for his actions, for example, ‘The temple incident’, when Jesus stormed into the temple in Jerusalem. Mark portrays Jesus as the servant of God who is sinless, but who undergoes suffering and rejection in order to carry out God’s plan for the salvation of humanity.
The gospel of Mark conveys Jesus to be the Messiah. Scholars described this feature as the ‘messianic secret’ because Jesus in his public ministry did not claim to be the messiah or anything such. Some scholars believe Jesus did command his followers to be quiet about his messiah-ship and identity as he was afraid people might misinterpret the kind of messiah he was and would, therefore, think he was planning to lead a revolt(s) against Rome. The disciples themselves only come to a gradual realization of this truth.
Marks’ purpose is to bring out the real meaning of Jesus’ messiah-ship, which only becomes clear after his resurrection. Later in the Gospel Jesus commands secrecy of people who have been cured. How can cured people keep quiet about something extraordinary that has happened to them? And thus Mark calls his readers to look beyond the story and see the real meaning. Meant to show the power that Jesus has reinforced as a teacher and revealed the truth about the reign of God.
Not to show that Jesus is a ‘magician’ or ‘miracle worker’. Some scholars also believe that no one in Jesus’ lifetime acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. They believe this was done within the Gospel of Mark as it is trying to illustrate a lack of awareness among characters in the Gospel that Jesus was the messiah. Jesus’ whole mission was not to say something about himself, but rather to get people to focus on Reign on God. God was the center of Jesus’ teachings.
