Dear friends,
Praise God, I have completed my second doctoral paper, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience as I learned so much through the studying, researching and writing. It helps that it is a subject which is intricately woven into the text of Scripture, so I was able to spend much of my time in the Word. I would like to share a bit of it with you, and again if you are interested, I will provide a link at the bottom of this post where you can download the entire 60 page paper and enjoy it for yourself. I told Holly I feel like I’ve been living with Jesus for the past several weeks as I’ve been working on this. For those of you who read it, I hope you experience the same thing, (but hopefully it will not take you several weeks to get through!) Enjoy!
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To apprehend and embrace the Jesus of the gospels is undoubtedly one of the highest of aspirations, and yet this objective proves elusive and enigmatic at many points in the journey. One of the primary reasons for this is the challenge in properly grasping what the original authors had in mind for the original readers as they wrote the four Gospels nearly 2000 years ago. Society, values, priorities, worldviews, setting, authority structures and relationships were so different from what they are today, and there are significant obstacles for the modern reader to interpose him/herself into the ancient Scriptures. In the briefest of the four Gospels, which also many consider to be the most mysterious and perplexing, Mark portrays the life and ministry of Jesus embedded in the ancient Mediterranean culture. In order to understand well who this person was and what he taught and did, we must view Mark’s account through those ancient Mediterranean cultural lenses. Of the various ways to examine Mark’s account, this paper will focus on sociocultural value sets in an effort to unlock some of the meaning of what Mark has written.
The thesis of this paper is that the meaning of Mark, and therefore the person and work of Jesus Christ who is the central figure in the gospel of Mark, can best be understood by utilizing the sociocultural lenses of value sets which were prevalent and embedded in the understanding of the original readers. The value sets which we explore through this paper include honor/shame, patron/client, innocence/guilt, power/fear, purity/pollution, limited good/wealth creation, individualism/collectivism, hierarchy/egalitarianism and finally reciprocity. In nearly every passage of the book of Mark, we witness at least one and most oftentimes multiple value sets at work, which help to give a clearer picture of how the original readers would have understood Mark’s gospel. During the course of carefully studying every verse of Mark, it has become clear that these themes can never be completely separated. In any given passage, several themes are usually integrated together, blending with various shades and nuances to communicate a complete, multi-faceted picture. This is a testimony to the divine authorship of the Bible, for no human author would be able to so fully comprehend and utilize every value set so as to exquisitely craft such an intricate masterpiece of written literature which will be exegeted and internalized be people from every tongue, tribe, nation, language, age, historical setting, culture and sociological background. Truly the Word of God is a treasure which can receive a lifetime of study and yet not be fully fathomed.
On a personal note, this journey of pouring over and probing into every verse in Mark and investigating many scholarly works written about these themes has been a thrilling revelation of insights and truths which previously I have never seen. It is critically important that any Bible student carefully consider how the original readers would have understood the text. In fact I teach this to pastors in Africa whom I train in expository Bible study and preaching principles. Yet it has only been recently that I’ve been exposed to studying these sociocultural value sets which were so prominent in the biblical world. A new world is opening up as I discover how people in Mark’s day would have viewed a “polluted” leper, or a “power” encounter with an unclean spirit, or crowds of people seeking healing from their “patron,” or the “honor-game” being played out as Jewish leaders try to shame Jesus publicly. These factors were not tangential in their world, but rather from our study it is clear that nearly every action, every interaction, even the motives of people go back to these value sets. It will be extremely important in my own study, as well as training of others, to be more observant and diligent in studying and teaching any given passage through the appropriate sociocultural lenses and not just my natural Western orientation.
Another fundamental discovery is that these value sets were not only a part of the ancient Mediterranean world of biblical times, but they are also profoundly significant in our world today. Various sociocultural constructs are more central in different cultures, for example honor/shame is embedded in the core of life in Eastern Asia far more than in America, where innocence/guilt is the prevailing construct. In Africa, where I work, power/fear is a primary value set, and informs much of life and worldview for the Africans with whom I work. In view of this, it is important to teach biblical accounts that tie in particularly closely with the predominant value sets held by that culture. So for example it will be wise for me to teach narratives that communicate a message about power/fear to my brothers in Africa who live in a power/fear culture. Using language and concepts that communicate in the locally held values will result in much more effective communication.
This is particularly relevant when trying to communicate the Gospel message. Depending on what culture one is working with, from the study in this paper it would be easy to share certain portions of Mark that would communicate Jesus’ message in a way that is clearly understood by that culture. In America, we would focus on Mark’s innocence/guilt passages to communicate the message of Jesus, but in Africa I could focus on Jesus’ encounters with demons or with the powerful Jewish religious structures in order to communicate his message. This insight will be extremely helpful in my work of training pastors. It will also help me to be more sensitive to and intuitive about which value sets are most influential in global locations where I train. Before making assumptions or bringing my preferred value sets to bear upon those I train, it will be important to ask questions, watch, listen and learn about the people I’m trying to reach. I pray this will translate into greater wisdom and effectiveness in serving the Lord, bringing greater honor to him globally.
Mark begins his book with the words, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” In a similar way, I feel like I should entitle this paper, “The beginning of a deeper understanding of the gospel of Mark utilizing sociocultural value sets.” I am filled with joy and excitement at where this will lead, and sense that God is well-pleased with the launching of the journey. It is most certainly true, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple…. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” (Psalm 19:7-10) To utilize several of our sociocultural themes in one concluding verse, I will end with this doxology from Revelation 7:12, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”