Jesus Said...: A Discussion of the Sayings of Jesus as Recorded in the Gospel of Mark

By The Rev. Philip R. Taylor

The words that Jesus said, as recorded in Mark's Gospel, are occasionally assigned second place to what he did. The author has chosen to discuss the words rather than the actions of Jesus.

Since Mark's Gospel is so brief, Vicar Phil believes that Mark has chosen the most crucial words of Jesus for his Gospel and that they are directed squarely at each of us and the twenty-first-century church.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098082796

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Jesus Said...

A Discussion of the Sayings of Jesus as Recorded in the Gospel of Mark

The Rev. Philip R. Taylor

Copyright © 2021 by The Rev. Philip R. Taylor

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Introduction

And a voice came from the heavens. You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

—Mark 1:11 NAB

First, let me be clear: I am not a scholar. I did not graduate from any seminary. I have no graduate degree in anything. I have a BA in history from the Virginia Military Institute and completed the Education for Ministry program by extension from the University of the South, the deacon training program of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and the core curriculum program of the College of Preachers at the Washington National Cathedral.

I was incardinated into the Free Episcopal Church (FEC) as a deacon and ordained as a priest in 2004. The FEC has no church buildings or property. They also do not have any paid clergy. All clergy have volunteer ministries in jails, prisons, halfway houses, or recovery programs. Our presiding bishop is the Right Reverend Sherrie Albrecht in Wisconsin.

Regarding my own ministry, I served as the volunteer chaplain at Day By Day Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Selma, North Carolina, for over twenty years. My jail and prison ministry began in 1994 and continued to 2018. I led worship, preached, and took communion to prisoners at the Johnston County Jail in Smithfield, North Carolina. My volunteer ministry included serving at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1998 to 2018 as a volunteer. During those years, I led worship, preached, and offered communion to both general population inmates and men on death row.

Additionally, it has been my good fortune to have been invited to serve as a worship leader and guest preacher in churches of six different denominations, including Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Missionary Baptist, Disciples of Christ, Salvation Army, and Original Free Will Baptist.

I read a lot, listen to others carefully, study on my own, think, ponder, and pray. You might say that my credentials are sparse. Hopefully, that will not keep you from reading on.

A few years ago, I led a Lenten study of Mark’s Gospel in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. We called the program Jesus Said. Only a few brave souls attended. But we had fun, and I learned a few things while preparing for the sessions.

Each night, we took a chapter or two of the gospel, read the words that Mark attributed to Jesus, and talked about them. We often read from varied translations. Occasionally the discussions were lofty-sounding theological discussions. More often we spent our time trying to discern what Jesus might be saying to us, now, personally, and as a faith community.

My effort here will be similar. I will quote from various translations, taking the time to check out appropriate commentaries, looking for what Jesus might be saying to us now in the twenty-first century since his birth. I will pose questions for which I will offer my own answers, drawn from personal experience, study, and prayer. I encourage you to have your own answers partly because I do not know all the answers but more importantly because my answers may not be your answers.

Just as I do not have all the answers, I also don’t have all the questions. Ask questions yourself. Write them down. Your questions are important to you and to the God who loves you.

Permit me to say more about questions. Some say that questions reflect doubt and that doubt is sinful. Hogwash! My spiritual director and mentor, Father Bob Pierce, once told me, "Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Sin is the opposite of faith. Doubt is the place where our faith journey begins."

I believe Father Pierce was correct. His words have been especially true for me. When I have been courageous enough to admit my doubts, pray about them, read more, study, listen to others, and become humble, my faith journey has resumed and my spirit strengthened. When I have pretended to know all the answers and not humble enough to admit doubts, my faith journey has been interrupted and my spirit drained. Bernard of Clairvaux is reported to have said, Humility is the mother of salvation. It has been for me. May it also be for you.

Before we begin, let me make a few statements about Mark’s Gospel. It is not necessary that you subscribe to any of the following statements, but they represent some of my assumptions. And, as a reader, you should know what they are.

Most scholars, but not all, believe that Mark is the oldest written gospel and that Matthew and Luke had Mark available to them when they wrote their gospels. Scholars also tell us that Mark was probably written to a Gentile audience of Christians facing Roman persecution near the year AD 70.

Mark’s Gospel is short, choppy, and to the point. I have heard it described as being like an old thirty-five-millimeter slideshow. Things happen quickly, and the story really moves along, click by click. Matthew’s Gospel appears more like a home movie. There is more information than Mark, more drama, and more movement. Luke’s could be described as a major movie production with lots of characters, drama, and even music.

John’s Gospel could be described as a music video with innuendo and layers of hidden meaning. Mark has given us a gospel that is quite basic, foundational, and most likely had a major influence on the writers of Matthew and Luke.

Mark can be viewed as a passion narrative with a rather long prologue. It is helpful to view the gospel as two halves that are connected by chapter 8, verse 29. Look it up! It is important!

The messianic secret or mystery in Mark is an important concept for our understanding of the gospel and of what Jesus is saying and doing in the gospel. Mark’s Gospel allows the reader, God, and the evil spirits to know who Jesus is. The rest of the characters, however, either do not have a clue or only gradually come to an understanding of His role. I will devote some time and space to this unique aspect of Mark’s Gospel and the sayings that Mark attributes to Jesus.

Scholars tell us something else about the gospel that should not be ignored. The last twelve verses (Mark 16:9–20) do not appear in the earliest discovered manuscripts. Another author may have added this ending.

The Gospel of Mark is the only synoptic without a birth narrative. Consequently, the familiar birth stories and resurrection appearances from Matthew and Luke do not appear in what is generally believed to be the original Gospel of Mark.

Many commentators have said that Mark seems to concentrate on what Jesus does rather than what He says. Nevertheless, I will dwell almost exclusively on what He says. My own theory is that Mark was intentionally brief, to the point, and very judicious with his language. Therefore, when Mark decided to quote Jesus rather than tell us more of the action, he must have considered those words of great importance.

My decision is to deal primarily with what Jesus said. That is my plan, and I’m sticking to it.

I will not comment on every one of the statements attributed to Jesus by Mark. That does not mean that I consider them unimportant. It means that this book will not be in several volumes. Rather, I intend that it will be short enough to be read and enjoyed. When I have skipped a passage that you believe is especially important, write your own review and send it to me for our mutual learning and enjoyment.

My recommendation is that you spend some time with more than one study Bible while reading the Gospel of Mark. Study Bibles that I have found helpful are The New English Bible (Oxford Study Edition), The New Jerusalem Bible (Study Edition), and The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV). If you have time for only one commentary, make it Harper’s Bible Commentary.

Lastly, read the Gospel of Mark. Read it more than once. Read it in more than one translation, and if you can find the CD of Alex McCowen reciting Mark’s Gospel, you must watch and listen to this wonderful performance. It will help bring Jesus to