Themes
Christ's Life as a Parable
We must pray to the Holy Spirit and meditate on the parables that Christ taught us in the Gospels in order to understand them. Just as we need to think about parables in order to understand them, we also need to meditate on the events in Christ's life in order to understand the mysteries he wishes to reveal. The events presented in the Gospels are parables in and of themselves. |
Discipleship
Christ's disciples are called to follow him and to be with him, so that Christ can prepare them for their mission of later spreading the Gospel. The weakness and failings of the apostles are highlighted in Mark's Gospel. Although the apostles continually lack faith and need to be corrected by Jesus, he never abandons them. Jesus is calling us to be his disciples too. In the Gospel of Mark we learn that even though we are weak sinners, Jesus will always forgive us and never abandon us. We should continue to follow him, and allow his grace to heal us. |
Messianic Secret
In the Gospel of Mark Jesus repeatedly tells people/demons not to reveal who he is. Christ gradually reveals his identity on his own terms. He knows that people are expecting a worldly Messiah who will come to conquer the Romans. Instead, Christ gradually reveals that the Messiah must suffer. In the end he conquers so much more than they could have ever expected, as he defeats suffering, sin, death, and the powers of darkness. |