Essay Week 2: Mark All-Knowing

I absolutely loved reading the Gospel of Mark. Virtually everyone knows about the story of Jesus, one way or another, and it was refreshing to read about it. I am not quiet sure what exactly it is that I am interested in as far as over arching themes.  It might be possible that I am interesting in tormented people or the flaw in mankind. I have always enjoyed reading stories about man’s imperfections, and Mark really reflects that concept (from time to time).

I found it humorous when the disciples doubted Jesus even after they watched him perform miracle after miracle. Their continuous questioning of him (and ultimate ear slaughter and betrayal) further demonstrated how flawed man is. One of my favorites was when Jesus told Peter “before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” Well of course Peter said that it would never happen and it inevitably did.  Man’s inhumanity to man and the imperfection of mankind are probably the two themes that probably grab my attention and interest the most.

There was also the part when Jesus is on the hill praying before his crucifixion. Something about how he fell down and asked for the hour to pass so he would not have to be crucified, really grabbed my attention. It is the torment that we, as people, have to endure from within ourselves that grabs my attention. It is not the physical torment that go through, but the mental and emotional one that appeals to my senses. The fact that people are wanting to escape the hell that they are forced to endure, and how their hell preys upon them and against them. But it is through our hell that we learn who we are.   Let's call it a morbid curiosity.

Lights at the End
Wikipedia Commons

It is worth noting that the King James version is the most difficult version of the Bible to read. Since it is in old English, many of the words were difficult to decipher, and some adverbs and proper nouns (i.e., the) were not present from time to time. As much as I doth loveth ye olde style of speaking, I think I would much rather read stories that are not so Shakespearian.