Some thoughts:
- I thought the introduction to this section was driven by tradition rather than induction. The comment to the reader of Mark in Mark 13:14 possibly suggests that Mark was written no earlier than the early stages of the Jewish War, which started around AD66.
- Mark hits the ground running with the baptism of John the Baptist.
- 1:14-15 gives us Jesus primary message while he ministered on earth: the kingdom of God is coming. Repent and believe in this good news.
- Mark doesn't seem to put most of the events in order. But he gives us a good sampling of the kinds of things that Jesus did in his proclamation of the good news that the kingdom of God was arriving.
- Jesus healed people.
- Jesus cast out demons.
- He showed power over nature.
- Jesus called and trained followers.
- Jesus tried to redeem the lost.
- He got into conflict with religious leaders.
- He taught in parables.
- The turning point of Mark is when Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ.
- Mark 7 has been fairly significant for my theology for some time now. Evil is a matter of the heart. It is something on the inside that comes out. It is not, technically, a matter of the things we do on the outside. Our actions embody our intentions.
- I might also add that 7:3 (and 7:19) indicate that the audience of Mark was Gentile.
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