Gospel of Mark

A Look at Mark and his Vision of the Good News of Jesus

What you’ll learn
Identify Mark’s style of writing, what he chose to emphasise, and why he arranged his material in the way that he did.
Interpret what makes Mark unique from the other Gospels.
Investigate the ways in which Mark is a multi-layered account of the Good News of Jesus.
Discover how Mark portrays Jesus as Messiah and Son of God.
Examine how the Gospel of Mark can be considered an ‘apocalypse’.
Discern where YOU fit into the story that Mark is telling.
Requirements
Current translation of the Bible.
Desire to study what makes the Good News ‘good’ from Mark’s point of view.
Interest in learning how Mark’s story invites people into a great mystery.
Description
This course examines the oldest and the shortest Gospel in the New Testament, recorded for us by Mark. You are invited to study the life of Jesus and the Good News he both announced and enacted. Join Prof. N.T. Wright as he teaches and guides you to look through Mark at Jesus. Come find out what makes this Gospel distinct from Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts. Learn the reasons Mark selected and arranged his material in the particular way that he did. Discern the ways in which Mark may have launched a new literary genre for his time. Explore what Mark has to say about what God has done in and through Jesus. Discover the remarkable achievement of Jesus, and how Jesus calls people to be his followers as a result.

Students in this course will examine the Gospel of Mark through the following frameworks

– A ‘biography’ of Jesus.

– A book about how Israel’s scriptures and narrative came to fulfillment.

– A book about how God’s Kingdom–the place where God reigns over his world in a new way–was launched ‘on earth as in heaven’ in and through Jesus.

– A community-forming narrative about a new mode of being, a new epoch of world history, and a new people.

– An action-packed story of confrontation between Jesus and opposing powers, both worldly and spiritual.

– A book which invites readers to become part of the story themselves.

This course contains 27 lectures by Prof. N.T. Wright, along with corresponding quizzes to check your comprehension, and practice exercises to help you engage with the material. There are no extra academic articles or required readings. The ‘articles’ in the course include the biblical texts, and the practice exercises, which offer 8-10 prompts to help you absorb, reflect, and practice what you are learning.

Who this course is for
Anyone interested in studying the life and ministry of Jesus through the lens of Mark.
Students who wish to dig deeper into Mark’s ‘rapid-fire’ pace and style.
Church leaders who hope to apply Jesus’ life, teachings, and parables to the joys and challenges of ministry.
Bible teachers wondering how to explain Mark’s lack of a prolonged birth narrative and account of the risen Jesus.
Believers with questions about how their life fits into the story Mark is telling about the Good News of Jesus.