Mark refers to Jesus by different titles. Explain the meaning and significance of these titles forJesus first followers and his followers 2 day.
) Mark refers to Jesus by different titles. Explain the meaning and significance of these titles for
Jesus first followers and his followers 2 day.
In this question we are looking at the titles
Son of God, Son of Man, Jesus as Messiah
Dealing with each of these in turn (and some biblical references for you to look up and study).
Son of God
The term son of God is mentioned in different ways. The Messianic Son of God in Judaism. This goes
back to God's promise to David in the Old Testament. God promised David that his descendants would
follow him onto the throne of Israel and that one of them would be the Son of God. (2 Samuel 7:14,
Psalm 89 and Psalm 2:7) In Mark's Gospel (Mark 1:1) Mark refers to Jesus as the Son of God, and the
spirits recognised him as such (Mark 3:11, 5:7) (also see Matthew 16:16). Jesus never used the term 'Son
of God' to refer to himself but does use the term 'the Son'.
References in Mark to the Son of God.
Mark
1:1
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God.
Mark
3:11
Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell
down before him and shouted, "You are the Son
of God!"
Mark
5:7
and he shouted at the top of his voice, "What have
you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High
God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me."
The term Son of God could mean 4 different things:
(i)
"We are all sons (or daughters) of God as God made
us."
(ii)
"A person can be the son of God because they call
God their heavenly Father."
(iii)
"The title 'Son of God' was given to the kings of Israel
who thought of themselves as special representatives
of God."
(iv)
"The term 'Son of God' is synonymous (the same as)
being God "
Son of Man
(i)
The term Son of Man is used in Ezekiel to mean a
human being
(ii)
Look in Psalm 8 - which refers to the nation of Israel
(iii)
Look in Daniel ch.7 where the term son of man is used
to symbolise that God is to give his people power and
greatness (v13 and 22)
What does Jesus mean ?
(i)
That he identifies with ordinary people ? (esp the weak and
humble)
(ii)
That he has a special role from God - who has given him
special powers ?
(iii)
Is Jesus using the term as another way of saying me or I ?
References in Marks's Gospel to the Son of Man
Mark 2:10
"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
greatness (v13 and 22)
What does Jesus mean ?
(i)
That he identifies with ordinary people ? (esp the weak and
humble)
(ii)
That he has a special role from God - who has given him
special powers ?
(iii)
Is Jesus using the term as another way of saying me or I ?
References in Marks's Gospel to the Son of Man
Mark 2:10
"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sins" - he said to the
paralytic
Mark 2:28
"so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
Mark 8:31
"Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man
must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the
elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be
killed, and after three days rise again."
Mark 8:38
"Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the
Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in
the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
Mark 9:9
"As they were coming down the mountain, he
ordered them to tell no one about what they had
seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the
dead."
Mark 9:12
"He said to them, "Elijah is indeed coming first to
restore all things. How then is it written about the
Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings
and be treated with contempt?"
Mark 9:31
"for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them,
"The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human
hands, and they will kill him, and three days after
being killed, he will rise again."
Mark 10:33
"saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the
Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death;
then they will hand him over to the Gentiles;"
Mark
10:45
"For the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Mark 13:26
"Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in
clouds' with great power and glory."
Jesus as Messiah and Lord
The word 'Messiah' means the anointed one, the one chosen by God for a special task. The work is
Hebrew and mean the same as the Greek word 'Christ'. In the Old Test the term is used to talk about the
kings of Israel. Jesus Christ is not Jesus' full name it is a title. In the New Test writers thought that Jesus
was
(i)
The one anointed by God
(ii)
The royal king who had been promised
(iii)
The one who would bring peace to the world
(iv)
The one who would restore Israel to its former glory
Jesus did not claim these titles for himself and at times resisted them (Luke 9:21 and Matt 9:30)
References in Marks's Gospel to the Messiah
Mark 1:3
"the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight,"
Mark 2:28
"so the Son of Man is lord even of the
Sabbath."
Mark 5:19
"But Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go
home to your friends, and tell them how
much the Lord has done for you, and what
mercy he has shown you."
Mark 8:29
"He asked them, "But who do you say that I
am?" Peter answered him, "You are the
Messiah."
Mark 10:42
"So Jesus called them and said to them, "You
know that among the Gentiles those whom
they recognise as their rulers lord it over
them, and their great ones are tyrants over
them."
Mark 11:3
"If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing
this?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it and will
send it back here immediately.'"
Mark 11:9
"Then those who went ahead and those who
followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is
the one who comes in the name of the Lord!"
Mark 12:29
"Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel:
the Lord our God, the Lord is one;"
Mark 12:30
"you shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind, and with all your strength.'
Mark
12:35-37
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he
said, "How can the scribes say that the
Messiah is the son of David? 36 David
himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The
Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet."' 37
David himself calls him Lord; so how can he
be his son?" And the large crowd was
listening to him with delight.
Mark
13:20-21
20 And if the Lord had not cut short those
days, no one would be saved; but for the sake
of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short
those days. 21 And if anyone says to you at
that time, 'Look! Here is the Messiah!' or
'Look! There he is!' - do not believe it.
Mark 14:61
But he was silent and did not answer. Again
the high priest asked him, "Are you the
Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?"
Mark 15:32
Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come
down from the cross now, so that we may see
and believe." Those who were crucified with
him also taunted him.
Mark
16:19-20
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had
spoken to them, was taken up into heaven
and sat down at the right hand of God. 20
And they went out and proclaimed the good
news everywhere, while the Lord worked
with them and confirmed the message by the
signs that accompanied it.]
The Greek word for Lord is kyrious which can mean 'sir', can be a term of respect and can be used to
translate the Jewish name of God Jehovah or Yahweh.
References to Lord in Mark
Mark 1:3
"'the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight,'"
Mark 2:28
"so the Son of Man is lord even of the
Sabbath."
Mark 5:19
"But Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go
home to your friends, and tell them how much
the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he
has shown you."
Mark 10:42
So Jesus called them and said to them, "You
know that among the Gentiles those whom
they recognise as their rulers lord it over them,
and their great ones are tyrants over them.
Mark 11:3
If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing
this?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it and will
send it back here immediately.'"
Mark 11:9
Then those who went ahead and those who
followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is
the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Mark 12:29
Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel:
the Lord our God, the Lord is one;
Mark 12:30
you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind, and with all your strength.'
Mark 12:36
David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right
hand, until I put your enemies under your
feet."'
Mark 12:37
David himself calls him Lord; so how can he
be his son?" And the large crowd was listening
to him with delight.
Mark 13:20
And if the Lord had not cut short those days,
no one would be saved; but for the sake of the
elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those
days.
Mark 16:19
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to
them, was taken up into heaven and sat down
at the right hand of God.
Mark 16:20
And they went out and proclaimed the good
news everywhere, while the Lord worked with
them and confirmed the message by the signs
that accompanied it.
2) "Jesus was a good man, but that is all" Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your
answers showing you've considered more than one point of view.
This is raising the issue of Jesus as the son of God or just as a person who had a philosophy of love and
caring (the Desmond Tutu or Martin Luther King of his time). Some questions to start you off on this:
What was the motivation for Jesus' acts
Were the acts he did about charity and kindness or about faith ?
What actions of Jesus point towards him being the son of god (think about the miracles)
What actions could be considered good acts ?
Are the stories in the bible true ? If not which bits are made up (the supernatural bits?)
There have been lots of 'good men', through history why was Jesus different?
