Deck 5: Jesus, the Suffering Son of God: The Gospel According to Mark

Question 1

An ancient author typically began a biography with a story that revealed the most important characteristics of his subject. How does Mark's beginning show Jesus' identity? How do some of Mark's opening themes play out in the rest of the Gospel?

Answer 1

The first verse of Mark informs the reader that Jesus is the Christ, the messiah, the one anointed or chosen by God. Throughout his Gospel, Mark shows that the messiah was not what the Jews had anticipated (i.e., a king, a cosmic or priestly figure). Jesus, the righteous sufferer, was the messiah who was sent by God to die for the sins of humanity. In this Gospel, no one recognizes Jesus' true identity because he did not come in the guise that was expected. It was not until his death that his followers understood who he was. The Gospel opens with Jesus' baptism, an event that confirms his relationship with God Because it is then that God declares that Jesus is his son. Immediately following the baptism, Jesus goes to the desert and resists temptation by Satan. When Jesus begins his public ministry, Mark underscores Jesus' authority over demons and disease. In addition, his authority is so great that men stop what they are doing to follow him. These stories illustrate Jesus' strength, authority, and his relationship to God.

Question 2

The textbook explains that Mark's Jesus is authoritative, misunderstood, and opposed. Discuss how Mark uses each of these categories. Are these three elements related? How do they further Mark's agenda?

Answer 2

Mark emphasizes Jesus' God-given authority by narrating his calling of disciples and his miracles, especially his power to exorcize demons. Because the messiah appeared as a common man, that is, not as the expected political or religious leader, the Jewish leaders opposed him. Mark uses the categories of authority, misunderstanding, and opposition to underscore Jesus' true identity and to explain that he was persecuted precisely because of his messiahship. The motifs of authority, misunderstanding, and opposition illustrate the Jews' misguided expectations of the messiah.

Question 3

Discuss ways that Jews during Jesus' time imagined the messiah. In what ways does Mark's Jesus fit these expectations? In what ways does he not?

Answer 3

Ehrman presents some of the Jewish expectations of the messiah in the box entitled "The Jewish Messiah." Some Jews expected a cosmic deliverer as described in Daniel, others thought the messiah would be a political ruler who would restore self-rule and reestablish the Davidic throne, and still others believed the messiah would be a priest who would interpret the Law. Clearly Jesus of Nazareth was none of these things. Mark must, then, explain how Jesus, the suffering son of God, was the anticipated Jewish messiah.

Question 4

What is the concept of "messianic secret" as applied to Mark? How does this theme function in Mark and why is it important?

Question 5

The author of the Gospel of Mark was probably a native _____ speaker.

A) Aramaic
B) Hebrew
C) Greek
D) Latin

Question 6

"Synoptic" means _____.

A) three
B) Gospel
C) to see together
D) canonical

Question 7

Which of the following is not a Synoptic Gospel?

A) Matthew
B) Mark
C) Luke
D) John

Question 8

What is the most popular resolution to the Synoptic Problem?

A) Markan priority
B) Q
C) the four-source hypothesis
D) the messianic secret

Question 9

Both Matthew and Luke used _____ as a literary source.

A) John
B) Peter
C) Jesus
D) Mark

Question 10

Which one of these is not one of the four sources in the four-source hypothesis?

A) M
B) L
C) Q
D) T

Question 11

The Gospel of Mark was probably written around

A) 40 CE
B) 50 CE
C) 60 CE
D) 70 CE

Question 12

Markan priority means _____.

A) Mark was the first Synoptic Gospel written
B) Mark is the first book in the New Testament
C) Mark is more historically accurate than the other Gospels
D) Mark is the best Gospel

Question 13

The Gospel of Mark begins with _____.

A) John the Baptist's birth
B) Jesus' birth
C) The angel Gabriel appearing to Mary
D) Jesus' baptism by John

Question 14

Q refers to a hypothetical source shared by which two Gospels?

A) Mark and John
B) Mark and Matthew
C) Mark and Luke
D) Matthew and Luke

Question 15

The genre of the Gospel of Mark is _____.

A) Greco-Roman novel
B) Greco-Roman history
C) Greco-Roman biography
D) Greco-Roman autobiography

Question 16

In the Greco-Roman world, the term "Christ" referred to _____.

A) the emperor
B) a person who had been anointed with oil
C) someone who was crucified
D) God

Question 17

In pre-Christian Jewish circles, the term "Christ" referred to all of the following except _____.

A) a cosmic judge
B) a warrior
C) a priest
D) a persecuted person

Question 18

Mark is a notably Jewish Gospel because _____.

A) the author says he is Jewish
B) the author is writing in Hebrew within the Jewish homeland
C) the author writes about Jewish traditions and customs
D) the author portrays Jesus as a suffering messiah

Question 19

John, the forerunner of Jesus, proclaims forgiveness of sins and performs _____.

A) circumcisions
B) baptisms
C) repentance
D) miracles

Question 20

According to Mark, Jesus is from _____.

A) Jerusalem
B) Bethlehem
C) Capernaum
D) Nazareth

Question 21

When Jesus is baptized in Mark, the spirit of God descends on him in the shape of _____.

A) a dove
B) flames
C) angels
D) a cross

Question 22

In non-Christian Jewish circles, the term "Son of God" referred to _____.

A) God
B) a person especially close to God
C) no one
D) Apollonius

Question 23

All of the following figures recognize Jesus in Mark except _____.

A) the demons
B) John the Baptist
C) the gentile soldier at the cross
D) the reader of the Gospel

Question 24

Mark suggests that the Jewish authorities opposed Jesus because_____.

A) he broke the law
B) he was not Jewish
C) he was the messiah
D) he did not worship in the Temple

Question 25

Which one of Jesus' disciples comes closest to recognizing Jesus' identity in Mark?

A) John
B) Paul
C) Peter
D) James

Question 26

What does the phrase "Jesus' passion" reference?

A) Jesus' birth
B) Jesus' violent actions in the Temple
C) Jesus' love for humanity
D) Jesus' suffering

Question 27

According to Mark, the messiah must _____.

A) suffer and die
B) preach and baptize
C) become the high priest
D) take control of Israel

Question 28

How many times does Jesus explicitly predict his death in the Gospel of Mark?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 29

In first-century apocalyptic Judaism, the term "Son of Man" referred to _____.

A) God's son
B) a cosmic figure
C) the king
D) the high priest

Question 30

At his trial in Mark, the Sanhedrin charged Jesus with _____.

A) theft
B) blasphemy
C) being empowered by Satan
D) not observing Sabbath laws

Question 31

The Roman who convicted Jesus was _____.

A) Pontius Pilate
B) Herod the Great
C) Augustus
D) Barabbas

Question 32

Jesus' last words on the cross in the Gospel of Mark are

A) "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
B) "It is finished."
C) "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."
D) "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

Question 33

In Mark, the temple curtain rips _____.

A) at Jesus' birth
B) at Jesus' trial
C) at Jesus' death
D) at Jesus' resurrection

Question 34

In Mark, when Mary, Mary, and Salome discover the empty tomb, they _____.

A) tell Peter
B) say nothing
C) praise God
D) begin Christian missions