One thing that's been bothering me for a few months is my observation that the Gospel of Mark gives every indication that Jesus is the supreme prophet and priest of God, but not God himself. Given that Mark is the earliest gospel written, this is somewhat problematic, because it makes belief in Jesus's divinity look like something Jesus did not endorse in his lifetime.
1) Jesus is the "new Elijah/Elisha" in Mark:
Elijah performed 7 miracles (not counting the ascension) and Elisha performed 14 (7*2), according to Kings. How many does Jesus perform in Mark?
If you exclude generic references to "healing many" here and there and stick with the formulaic healing and nature miracles, Mark lists 18. What does this have to do with Elijah/Elisha? Add in the accounts of the Baptism and Transfiguration (which were "signs" from God) and the Resurrection (of course) and the total jumps to 21 (7*3).
Combine this with the fact that John the Baptist is described as the reincarnation of Elijah in both appearance (camel' hair, leather belt) and from Jesus Himself ("I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him." (9:13)) This creates an "Elijah/Elisha" relationship between Jesus and John (and Elisha was said to have a "double portion of Elijah's spirit).
2) Jesus is the "new Ezekiel" in Mark:
Jesus's baptism (and the departure into the wilderness) is phrased in a way that resembles prophet-priest Ezekiel's calling, where the heavens were opened while he sat by a river (Eze 1:1), and the spirit came into him (2:2), and he sets off into the plain (3:22-23). Throughout the book, Ezekiel is known as the "son of man" (2:1, et al).
While Ezekiel says that the heavens are "opened", Mark says that they were "torn open" to bookend the presence of the spirit in Jesus with the tearing of the curtain at his crucifixion (since Jesus was the new "priest"). This indicates that Mark saw something very unique about Jesus's baptism that removed the need for a virgin birth. It essentially served as the ordination of the Holy Spirit in an otherwise un-divine Jesus of Nazareth through the blessing of "Elijah".
3) Jesus distances himself from God
Quotes like the following could be interpreted as Jesus denying his own divinity:
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." (8:38)
"Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me." (9:37)
"Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." (10:18)
I'd like to be at peace with this issue. Do you all agree that without the other three gospels (all later compositions), there is no indication in Mark that Jesus is God Himself? Is there something big that I am missing?
(I have no problem isolating Mark's gospel as an unorthodox (or at best, incomplete) opinion that sparked the need for revisions in Matthew and Luke, rather than representing normative Christian belief on the nature of Christ at the time of writing...)
1) Jesus is the "new Elijah/Elisha" in Mark:
Elijah performed 7 miracles (not counting the ascension) and Elisha performed 14 (7*2), according to Kings. How many does Jesus perform in Mark?
If you exclude generic references to "healing many" here and there and stick with the formulaic healing and nature miracles, Mark lists 18. What does this have to do with Elijah/Elisha? Add in the accounts of the Baptism and Transfiguration (which were "signs" from God) and the Resurrection (of course) and the total jumps to 21 (7*3).
Combine this with the fact that John the Baptist is described as the reincarnation of Elijah in both appearance (camel' hair, leather belt) and from Jesus Himself ("I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him." (9:13)) This creates an "Elijah/Elisha" relationship between Jesus and John (and Elisha was said to have a "double portion of Elijah's spirit).
2) Jesus is the "new Ezekiel" in Mark:
Jesus's baptism (and the departure into the wilderness) is phrased in a way that resembles prophet-priest Ezekiel's calling, where the heavens were opened while he sat by a river (Eze 1:1), and the spirit came into him (2:2), and he sets off into the plain (3:22-23). Throughout the book, Ezekiel is known as the "son of man" (2:1, et al).
While Ezekiel says that the heavens are "opened", Mark says that they were "torn open" to bookend the presence of the spirit in Jesus with the tearing of the curtain at his crucifixion (since Jesus was the new "priest"). This indicates that Mark saw something very unique about Jesus's baptism that removed the need for a virgin birth. It essentially served as the ordination of the Holy Spirit in an otherwise un-divine Jesus of Nazareth through the blessing of "Elijah".
3) Jesus distances himself from God
Quotes like the following could be interpreted as Jesus denying his own divinity:
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." (8:38)
"Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me." (9:37)
"Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." (10:18)
I'd like to be at peace with this issue. Do you all agree that without the other three gospels (all later compositions), there is no indication in Mark that Jesus is God Himself? Is there something big that I am missing?
(I have no problem isolating Mark's gospel as an unorthodox (or at best, incomplete) opinion that sparked the need for revisions in Matthew and Luke, rather than representing normative Christian belief on the nature of Christ at the time of writing...)
I find it easier to discuss this sort of thing verbally and I'm new to the forum (as you can probably tell...)
