Journey with Jesus - Nuggets from the Gospel of Mark

written by Rev. Lisa Morrison

SURPRISES

Do you like surprises? Do you like it when someone throws you a surprise birthday party? My favorite surprise party story is one that happened to my friend. He came home from work on his birthday and no one was home, or so he thought. He took off his work clothes, and when he went downstairs in his underwear, he quickly realized a lot of ‘somebodies’ were home! He wasn’t sure who was more surprised: him or his birthday guests.

In the Gospel of Mark, we find Jesus constantly surprising the religious leaders of the day – the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees. They all have expectations of what the promised Messiah will do when He appears. The issue is that Jesus doesn’t adhere to their expectations. Instead, He surprises them with His actions raising more questions about who He is and what He is doing than answering the question they expect Him to answer. Is He their promised Messiah?

In Mark’s narrative, the story of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, begins with the main character being where he ought not to be – among sinners being baptized by John. If He is the One who is to come, He ought to be elsewhere – in Jerusalem, the center of their Judaic religion. That He initiates His ministry outside the sacred precincts, among the unwashed, characterizes what follows in Mark’s Gospel.

We surprisingly find that Jesus is never with the “right” people – something for which He will be constantly criticized. We find Jesus among the unclean lepers who are the marginalized of society. We find Jesus among the tax collectors who are traitors to their own Jewish people. We find Jesus among the unclean tombs with a demon-possessed man. We find Jesus among the hated Gentiles. According to the religious leaders, Jesus never seems to be among the “right” people - (the holy people).

At the heart of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus surprises us. The one who is to come appears, but in a way no one expects. In the tension between what is expected and what occurs is a central feature of the story that we are told is “good news”. Mark’s Gospel argues a case. The story is told from the perspective of one who is persuaded that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God; and it is filled with wonderful surprises for all those who are open to the Messiah’s touch, love, healing and salvific presence. Jesus may have surprised the religious leaders because He was not where they expected Him to be, but He is always exactly where He is supposed to be – among sinners, the unclean, the demon-possessed, the hated, you and me. He is the good news we all need to hear, and He lives among us so we can experience His presence for ourselves.

Contact Lisa at eaglesnsight@gmail.com.

11