Opening Question

Would you rather live with no controversies or with them?

Introduction

Dr. Shepherd notes how this section adds controversies at the close of Jesus’ ministry that parallel the beginning of his ministry. The “sandwich story” concept in Mark extends even to the macro-level of the narrative structure. Some have wondered if Mark knew that he was writing in these parallel forms, if it was his just a subconscious Hebrew way of thinking, or if it was a divine inspiration that created such order. Either way, the closing scenes in Mark depict Jesus once again in contention with the religious leaders. ...