|
|
 The Hinge - This section (8:22-10:52) is the
centerpiece of Mark’s gospel; some refer to this section as "the hinge"
because here Jesus predicts his own fate three times, which changes everything-even the
message he preaches.
On the Way - A common observation is the writer’s use of ? ?d??,
"the way" or its equivalents-on his way, on the road, etc. (8:27; 9:33, 34,
10:17, 52). The phrase becomes a metaphor for Jesus’ teachings, primarily about his
own suffering, but also about the need for his followers to give themselves fully away.
[1]
The Right/Wrong Answer - The correctness of Peter’s so-called
confession can only be maintained if one stops reading at this point . . . Whatever
Peter’ s concept of Christ, it is in conflict with Jesus’ concept of Christ . .
. Mark sets it up in such a way that the reader almost instinctively identifies with Peter
and his Christ confession. He teases the reader into accepting Peter’s confession at
face value. But then Mark unfolds the drama by emphasizing increasingly the negative
aspects of Peter until in the end he shatters the veracity of Peter’s confession and
wrecks the reader’s identification with Peter. The scene culminates in the highly
dramatic confrontation between Peter and Jesus, each rebuking the other and Peter in the
end being exposed as Satan. In the Gospel Peter is the only human being who is identified
by Jesus, as a satanic person. It is overwhelmingly clear:
Peter’s confession has not been the correct confession. [2]
 If
your closest friends were asked what one word best describes you, what might they say?
Why is the question, "Who do you say I am?" (v. 29) so important for each
generation to ask?
You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can
fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing
nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.
 Please
check the DPS archives for the homily, "On the Way," previously posted. --click here
______________________________________
[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible XII (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), page
206-207.
[2] John Chrysostom 4th century, cited in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture XI
(InterVarsity, 2000), p. 36.
|
|
