GOSPEL READING
THE GOSPEL OF MARK: CHAPTER 1
An Overall View
The process of reading requires setting the scene before we get involved in the detail. We have now had an overview of the whole Gospel, we have some idea about what is happening at that level.
Now, we need a overview, a closer reading, of the first chapter before we begin reading it in detail. I am taking the first chapter as a unit not because it has been labelled a chapter but because, as we will soon see, chapter 2 opens a new stage in the unfolding story. It is always the text which must guide us as we try to follow the way the story develops.
Therefore, begin by reading chapter 1 and sort out its various sections, in particular look first at the different incidents which are covered after Jesus returns to Galilee. What markers are given by the Evangelist. Consider too why I think there might there be a new beginning in chapter 2.
The Prologue
The opening verses of the Gospel are commonly called the Prologue. We must now look closely at this opening:
How many verses do you think form this Prologue?
What are its various sections? Look for changes of character and location.
What do we learn from these opening verses which will be important to us as readers of the Gospel?
Now have a look at my response
Having looked at the response, we are now ready for our reading of the Prologue.