Untitled Sermon

Preaching Lab Small Group Leaders Notes

Schedule

9:00am—9:15am—Introduction to Lab

9:15-10:00am—Devin preach Mark 11:1-11

10:00am-10:15—Response to preaching

10:15-11:00—Small group covering Mark 11:12-33

11:00-11:45—Cory Mitchell preach Mark 14:10-31

11:45-12:00—Response to preaching

12:00-12:45—Lunch

12:45-1:30—Small group covering Mark 14:32-72

1:30-2:15—JMP preach Mark 15:1-39

2:15-2:30—Response to preaching

2:30-3:00pm—Prayer

Explain Genre to your small group

Within the Bible there are several types of genres or categories of writing that demand different ways of “decoding” the text. We do this naturally with the way we read newspapers. We do not “decode” the comic section the same way we “decode” the obituary section or the sports section.

The different genres of the Bible include law, narrative, historical, poetry, wisdom, epistles, apocalyptic, and gospel. Some argue that the gospel genre is not a legitimate genre, but rather a mix of biographical history and narrative. However, the gospel books are more than historical, and more than narrative. The gospel genre uses biographical history and narrative to prove something cosmic about Jesus. Each gospel emphasizes different aspects of the nature of Jesus. Matthew shows us that Jesus is the King of the Jews. Luke shows us that Jesus is the Son of man, and John shows us that Jesus is Life.

What does Mark teach us about Jesus and how is that emphasized within the Passion portion of Mark? That is our focus today during this Lab.

Explain major theme of Mark to your small group

Here is an excerpt from Fee and Stuart’s Book, How to Read the Bible Book by Book, that help us focus on the major themes of Mark’s gospel.

Mark tells the story with profound theological insight. Absolutely crucial to your reading with understanding is to note how he presents Jesus as Messiah. Three things emerge at the beginning that carry all the way through to the end: (1) Jesus is the kingly Messiah, (2) Jesus is God’s suffering servant, and (3) Jesus keeps his identity secret.

Mark’s telling of the story thus emphasizes the “messianic secret,” the “mystery of the kingdom of God,” namely, that the expected coming King knew he was destined to suffer for the sake of the people. The demons, who recognize him, are silenced (1:25, 34; 3:11–12); the crowds to whom the King comes with compassion are told not to tell anyone about his miracles (1:44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26); when finally confessed as Messiah by the disciples, he tells them to tell no one (8:30). What no one expects is for God’s King to be impaled on a cross! But Jesus knows—and he silences all messianic fervor, lest it thwart the divine plan that leads to the cross.

When the disciples are clued in to the “mystery,” even they fail to get it (8:27–33); they are like the blind man who has to be touched twice (8:22– 26; in their case, by Jesus’ resurrection).

But in reminding his readers of the nature of Jesus’ messiahship, Mark also reminds us that this is the way of discipleship as well. Indeed, the first instruction on discipleship (8:34), which calls for cross bearing, appears only after the first disclosure to the disciples of Jesus’ own impending death (v. 31).

Mark also uses the theme of God’s kingly suffering Messiah to show Jesus’ connection to the story of Israel, especially Isaiah’s (now long- delayed) new exodus. The key moments in the first exodus are deliverance, the journey through the desert, and arrival at the place where the Lord dwells. Isaiah (chs. 35; 40–55) announces the return from Babylonian exile as a new exodus. Notice how Mark puts us in touch with this theme in his very first sentence: “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus the Messiah, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet.” Jesus then steps into the role of Israel (through the water and testing in the desert). The theme carries all the way through. Mark cites Isaiah at key points (the opposition’s hardness of heart, “those on the outside” [Mark 4:10–12; 7:6; 9:48]; the inclusion of Gentiles [11:17]). He echoes Isaiah in all kinds of ways: Jesus’ ministry is expressed in the language of Isaiah 53 (Mark 10:45); the parable of the tenants (12:1–12) recasts Isaiah’s “song of the vineyard” (Isa 5:1–7); the motif of eyes that see but don’t perceive and ears that hear but don’t understand (Isa 6:9–10). The long-awaited Deliverer has now come, but contrary to common expectations, he has come to suffer for the people in order to lead them from exile into the final promised land (Mark 13).

A significant part of the new exodus included the gathering of the Gentile nations. Since Mark’s Gospel is intended for people who are already a part of that mission, his way of placing them in the story of Jesus is by relating a series of non-Galilean (Gentile) narratives in 6:53–9:29. In this context he places the matter of ceremonial washing, for example, and he comments that Jesus in effect abolished the food laws (7:19b). Moreover, the Gentile mission delays the dropping of the final curtain on history (13:10), and in repossessing the temple as Israel’s “king” (11:17), Jesus cites Isaiah 56:7 (“my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” [= Gentiles]).”

For our purposes we will focus on these themes of Mark’s gospel: Mark proves to us that Jesus is the Messiah; Jesus is the Son of God who claims kingship through suffering; and Mark shows us what true discipleship looks like.

So as we think about preaching these passages and leading our small groups, we want to see if these themes present themselves as threads that hold Mark’s gospel together. The goal of our small group time is to help the preachers see the major themes of Mark and how they are intensified, explained, represented, etc., so that our preaching of these texts might fall in line with Mark’s purpose. It may be a good idea to come up with some ways we might normally waywardly preach these texts apart from Mark’s major themes in order to demonstrate how easy it is to ignore the Holy Spirit inspired purpose.

Small group #1—Mark 11:12-33

* these passages demonstrate the authority of Jesus as God’s son in cursing the fig tree; his authority in cleansing the temple; his deity (“have faith in God…”); and his authority over the religious leaders of the day.

Small Group #2—Mark 14:32-72

* These passages demonstrate for us the suffering aspect of God’s son, God’s king, and that much of the suffering happens through being alone. Jesus has been betrayed; He has predicted his disciples fleeing; his disciples fall asleep; his disciples run; liars surround him; Peter denies him. This is the suffering servant. (There is much allusion to Psalm 22 throughout this section)

Basic principles to keep in mind for narrative material

The following principles are helpful in that they give us bearings for looking at these passages. I have emboldened the ones I think most pertinent for the gospel genre.

Rules for Narratives (following taken from Fee, “How to Read the Bible For All It’s Worth”)1. An Old Testament narrative usually does not directly teach a doctrine.2. A narrative usually illustrates a doctrine or doctrines taught propositionally elsewhere.3. Narratives record what happened–not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time. Therefore, not every narrative has an individual identifiable moral of the story.4. What people do in narratives is not necessarily a good example for us. Frequently, it is just the opposite.5. Most of the characters in the Old Testament narratives are far from perfect and their actions are, too.6. We are not always told at the end of a narrative whether what happened was good or bad. We are expected to be able to judge that on the basis of what God has taught us directly and categorically already in Scripture.7. All narratives are selective and incomplete. Not all the relevant details are always given (cf. John 21:25). What does appear in the narrative is everything that the inspired author thought important for us to know.8. Narratives are not written to answer all our theological questions. They have particular, specific limited purposes and deal with certain issues, leaving others to be dealt with elsewhere, in other ways.9. Narratives may teach either explicitly (by clearly stating something) or implicitly (by clearly implying something without actually saying it).

Who are the main characters? (How are the characters defined/described in the text?)Who are the secondary characters, and how are they involved?What is going on in the story?Where are they at and where are they going?When is this taking place?When did they start/finish?Why is this event recorded?Why are certain things happening the way they are?