A second passion prophecy Mk 9:30-34) Gospel of Mark Series.

A SECOND PASSION PROPHECY MARK 9:30-34)

During 2019, each week, I will write a weekly post about the Gospel of Mark, as I review and explore each of the 16 chapters and how it may be applied in our daily lives. If you are following this series for the first time, you will find this series under Scripture- New Testament- Gospel of Mark. 

Click here to read the first post in the series. I have written this series in different years (2012, 2015, 2018) with some irregularity, but am determined to complete this series this year since I am more than half way through this Gospel.

My goal is to understand and pray the Gospel of Mark. I hope you will join me on this journey as we travel through the liturgical season.  In today's post we explore chapter 9:30--34 which is called A second passion prophecy.

THE BIBLE: GOSPEL OF MARK SERIES.

For a second time, as they are travelling quietly through Galilee, Jesus begins to speak to His disciples of terrible sufferings for Himself in the future. As Mark was writing in the 70’s, he added more specific detail from hindsight of these future sufferings than Jesus at the time would have spoken.

Jesus with a firm trust in His final vindication by God the Father may have done more than warn His disciples in a general kind of manner of the likely dishonourable death awaiting Him, and of the failure of his mission by merely human standards.

As after the first passion prophecy (Mk 8:12-33), the disciples fail to understand what Jesus says to them about His future, and they are frightened to question Him.  They still have much to learn about the mission of Jesus and a lot of growing to do in their relation with Him.

When they arrive home in Capernaum, Jesus asks what they were discussing on the way.  They kept silent.  So far are they understanding what Jesus had just been saying to them that they had been discussing with one another who was the greatest among them.

Mark contrasts starkly the failure of the disciples to understand with the effort of Jesus to teach them about His way.  The ‘way’ used twice here (Mk 9:33-34) means not only the roadway to Capernaum, but points also to the way of true discipleship into which Jesus tries to lead them.

JOURNAL REFLECTIONS

In our journal and/or our discussion group we may wish to reflect on this passage as follows:

• Name the key points that you have learnt about the person of Jesus in this passage of scripture?

• Imagine that you are one of the disciples- What do you see and hear and feel. What can I learn from this?

• Imagine being Jesus telling the disciples and knowing that they did not understand- what would you have felt?  

• What is reading the Gospel passage with the eyes and ears of disciple mean to me?

• How does Jesus show Himself as the ‘’the way’’ to me?

• What are the areas in my life I need to bring to Jesus? What questions do I want to ask Him?

• Am I willing to look into myself with honesty and ask how much do I grasp what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus in the light of this teaching? 

• Is my faith in the divine power of Christ, whom we follow , large enough to make us ready to walking faithfully his ‘’way’’?

• In the light of this passage, how will you respond to Jesus as a true disciple?

• If a fellow parishioner had read this passage, what might he/she say about this passage?

• In the light of this Gospel passage what positive change will you adopt in your life and in your spiritual life.  How will you implement these changes?
  
  

We can thank Jesus that He was patient with the disciples when they misunderstood Him.  He did not give up on His mission because they did not understand nor did He treat them badly.  Rather He was patient with them knowing that they would come to understand much later.  Jesus is patient too with us.  We might not understand ‘’the way’’ He plans for us, but we know it is for our best.  We may not understand His ways, but He is patient with us as we learn more about Him.