Last week in Jesus Class we were served yet another Mark Sandwich... Yum! (see the Jan 28th blog-post on Sandwiches) In chapter 6, Jesus is first rejected at Nazareth. He then sends out the 12 Disciples on a mission. Mark next inserts the flashback of John the Baptist being executed for confronting Herod's illicit marriage to his brother's wife. Finally, Mark records the return of the 12 after their mission. Message? The mission of the kingdom is costly - it might bring even painful rejection!

It's a riveting chapter, but how do you apply its message to your own life? What difference would it make to the church today if we lived in fearless abandon to the mission of Jesus? What do things like "Shake off the dust" mean in a world where we have a hard time just being heard in the first place?

Here's what the class came up with for personal application points. Actually this is only a fraction of what people submitted. Usually the class teacher is the one putting the bold personal application questions up on the board, but this week we flipped the script and had the students brainstorm.

Here are the best out of a list of over 40 reflection questions. I think they did pretty good!


#28) Who in my life do I need to hold accountable for their actions? Am I willing to take the risks that confronting them might involve? Why not?

#38) Jesus couldn't perform the miracles he really wanted to in Nazareth because people lacked faith. How is your level of faith affecting Jesus’ ability to work in your life?

#33) Has the fear of acceptance ever held you back? How do you overcome it?

#45) Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs. How can I bring others into my ministry so I'm not alone in my efforts? What are the advantages of always having someone else in partnership with me?

#14) What would you do if you had the power Herod did? a) Use it for selfish gain, caving-in to evil influences? b) Stand up for what is right even if you had to retract something you previously said? c) Avoid the situation and just let things play out? Why?

#12) Is there a Herodias in my life? How can I be prepared to stand up to someone of such power and negative influence?

#11) What would I do if Jesus asked me to go out in mission like the 12 - with little resources or specific directions? Would I obey? What would I stand to learn through such an experience?

#9) What capabilities of mine are actually hindered by lack of faith in those around me? How can I handle myself in a situation where the people surrounding me don't operate from a base of trust?


Sometime this week, grab your bible, give Mark 6 a look and let the Jesus Class point you toward some penetrating reflection questions as you study.

Way to go Jesus Class!

Labels: inductive method, Jesus class, Mark 6, Mark's Gospel, Rejection

We've been having a blast studying Mark's biography of Jesus each week in Jesus Class. Last week we encountered the first of several examples of the Mark Sandwich. Mark tends to take a piece of one story and weave it into another in order to create a more interesting story line. Much the same thing happens all the time when you watch a movie that skillfully cuts one scene to another then flashes back to the first.

Here are a few helpful comments from gospels scholar R.T. France on the Sandwich:

"Mark's gospel was designed for oral transmission – and for transmission as a continuous whole rather than for private study or silent reading. Various features of Mark's style seem to reflect such a purpose notably his more expansive story telling manner… Such features make for a more memorable text, and make it easier for the listener, who does not have the option of stopping and turning back to refresh his or her memory, to keep the flow of the narrative in mind. The 'sandwich' technique is a well-tried device of the popular raconteur in order to hold the audience’s attention."

"Mark is a master at the narrative art of sandwiching one story or scene within another (also called interpolation, intercalation, dovetailing, framing, etc). Most of Mark's sandwiches are created by the interweaving of contemporary events in such a way that one helps to interpret the other. Notable examples are the enclosure of the scribal accusation that Jesus is in league with the devil within the story of his own family's attempt to restrain him because they thought he was mad (Mk 3:21-35), the more complex interweaving of the destruction of the fig tree with the demonstration against the 'fruitless temple' (Mk 11:11-27), and the parallel scenes of the trial of Jesus and the 'trial' of Peter which are interwoven (Mk 14:53-15:1)."

"Not only does he enclose one story within another, but he likes to set up parallel scenes and move the spotlight successively between them. This is a proven narrative and dramatic technique, to maintain interest and to allow the reader/hearer to gain a wider perspective on the constituent elements of the story, placing one alongside another so that they become mutually illuminating."

The Gospel of Mark (NIGTC) – by R. T. France (pp 9-10, 18-19).

Labels: biography of Jesus, Jesus class, mark sandwich

A great note here from one of the participants in the Jesus Class. Keep the comments coming, class! Last week we launched with a total of 121 participants!


Hi Tim,

I have to say I have been enjoying this so much. I sit down and start getting involved and the time flies by and I am just absorbed with the material. Your suggestions and helpful hints with the study guide have been very helpful for me. I am truly enjoying the dissecting and what is being spoken to me. I am learning a whole new way of how to read scripture and it is exciting since it has been difficult to understand for me as I am fairly new reading and studying the bible so this great for me and I know I have a lot to learn but I also know that the Holy Spirit will guide me and show me what it is that I am to hear :o)

Thank you and see you Sunday.

Kathy

Labels: inductive method, Jesus class, manuscript study

In last night's Jesus Class, more than one participant remarked at the way Jesus is introduced by John the Baptist. In the fist place John the Baptist is not marketed well for a successful ministry. He's not in the temple being video cast to multi-sites all over Palestine. Let's just say... he's not in Jerusalem (the center of Jewish spiritual life) he's not in the temple (the center of the center). He's in the wilderness.

He's preaching repentance! Not grace! And people are coming to him from everywhere. It would be like Mark Ashton deciding he'd like to go to a corn field outside Wahoo and deliver his Sunday messages... and people would actually flock to be there! And in response to such a message, people would actually be cut to the heart, repent and be living in expectation of Jesus' arrival.

Could it be we actually need to clean up our life BEFORE meeting Jesus makes any sense? John can't be telling us that we have to get rid of all our sins before we encounter Jesus! Got any thoughts?

Labels: Jesus class, John the Baptist, repentance, Sin, spiritual questions

This week we launch The Jesus Class here at the Old Mill Campus in FLC 154. For eight weeks, participants will gather and meet around tables to peer into the life of the world's greatest spiritual leader. Our text will not be a study guide, or a book about Jesus, or even a video series by a famous scholar or mega-church pastor. The text we're following is Mark's gospel in an unusual format.

You won't need your bibles. Hope that's OK. What you will get is a thing called a manuscript. The pic above gives you some idea of how we'll do this. Everyone attending will receive a complete text manuscript of Mark's gospel biography of Jesus. Each week, we'll dive straight into the world, words and actions of Jesus himself. We'll learn the story line of the Jesus scene by scene. Each week we'll read several pages, have lots of room for questions and first-hand observations. Jesus will come alive, jumping off the page saying and doing the most surprising things.

People who know Jesus well and people who are dying to meet him for real for the first time, will find the Jesus Class an equally rewarding experience. If you want to check it out for a week and see if it fits your interests, you're welcome to try it. If you have a seeking friend and would like to invite them along, you can have them join you at your table. If you've got questions just shoot me a comment and I'll contact you.

Labels: biography of Jesus, Jesus class, manuscript study