What's a Mark Sandwich?

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).

Jesus Class is Coming!

Let me give you 111 reasons I'm stoked about Jesus Class.

For starters there are exactly 100 people who attended last weekend's Case for Christmas who indicated on their follow-up card they are interested in The Jesus Class. This week we're busily making connections with them and helping them get signed up.

Second of all I'm thrilled with the fact that there are 10 Jesus Class teachers currently meeting and getting ready to teach TJC (The Jesus Class) starting Jan 10th. Each venuue, 9am at Old Mill, 10:45 at Old Mill and 10:45 at Sarpy, will have more than one teacher during the 8 week TJC experience.

Last... and most thrilling, TJC offers 1 fascinating subject: the life, teachings and actions of Jesus. See some of my previous Jesus Class posts. Here's more info on what its all about:

TJC - The Biography of Jesus According to the Gospel of Mark

An Eight-Week experience looking at the life and teachings of Jesus. Class participants will read Mark's account of Jesus in manuscript format.

Class time will be divided between small group interaction and whole group dialogue with the class teacher. There will be lots of opportunity for question and answer each week. Seekers, people new in their faith and life-long followers of Jesus will all enjoy the interaction.

Participants will receive a complete, 3-ring bound manuscript of Mark's gospel, informative handouts and a package of color pencils! Homework assignments and personal application will stimulate learning outside the classroom.

There will be a $10 fee for materials – pay when you show up at class!


Hit this link to register for TJC.

The Jesus Class - Starting This Tuesday Night!

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.

The Biography of Jesus

So if the best way for people to get introduced to Jesus is to let him speak for himself, what does that mean for people seeking spiritual truth? At a minimum it means getting Jesus himself in front of us as the subject. It means setting aside our theories about him and investigating the evidence for him. It means getting as close as we can humanly speaking to his words and actions. What did he tell people? What was their reaction? What decisions did he make about where he went, how he spent his time?

If Christians could show people THAT Jesus, we'd be so much more interesting to people curious about his life. People wouldn't hear our spin on Jesus. They'd hear Jesus himself! No hype. No exaggeration. Everything about him, not what us Christians think others would find interesting. You'd be surprised at how interesting it gets when people actually encounter the Jesus the reporters of his day wrote stories about.

That's what the power of a live story does! The biography of Jesus is nothing less than a running travelogue trying to keep up with the worlds most brilliant spiritual authority. That's what we're trying to capture with the Jesus Class that starts this week at CCC.