The Gospels are not easy to define. The components that are typical within a Gospel are biography, history, and theology. If one is to come away with the author’s intended meaning, he must account for these three components (the content) and the method (how the content is put together) in which they are structured.

The literary structure (the “how”) of the Gospel of Mark is narrative; that is, communicative acts/episodes that are structured together (typically by chronology or geography) to provide a whole. Each of the episodes speak into the larger whole and thus give the reader/hearer the authorial intended meaning. This is discourse.

The genre (the “what”) of the Gospel of Mark is theological narrative bioi. The genre is one that I have put together to account for all of the above (biography, history, and theology). Mark has constructed his Gospel to explicate the words and deeds of Jesus Christ, the unifying focal character (biography), through three geographical settings during first-century Judaism in Palestine (history) with the intent that the reader will understand the significance of Jesus’ words and deeds as they pertain to the reader’s life (theology). This is genre criticism.

I’m still working through Mark’s argument, but at this point my initial thinking is that he communicates his intent up front, (1:1) — the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; for this is his christological title that is illustrated throughout the narrative giving the reader the true identity of Jesus Christ. More to come

This time of year is bitter-sweet; for the students truly add a dimension to teaching that is irreplaceable. I’m already looking forward to when they come back. Looking forward to 3rd semester Greek, working through Titus!

I will be working on my dissertation this summer; it MUST be a productive time. As I work on the dissertation, my blog should be filled with little exegetical nuggets this summer. Tune in . . .

As months went by my wife and I continued to discuss salvation with Jack. He asked many questions, of which I trusted God through his word with my answers. Jack said more than once, “Dad, can we talk about salvation tonight?” Nothing could make a dad more proud; especially knowing that the prayers of many people, the lessons in Sunday School, the truths of God’s Word, and prayerfully the life lived by his mother and father were working on his behalf. To God be the glory!

Easter weekend is something special; for it is the celebration of the death (Mk 10:32-34; 15:32-39) and resurrection (Mk 16:1-6) of the Lord Jesus Christ. It demonstrates the willing obedience of a man, namely the Son of God, to His Father unto death (Phil 2:6-8). Easter weekend also makes it possible to have direct access to God for those who have accepted him as Savior (Heb 4:14-16; 10:14, 19-21) and are now qualified to worship Him (Heb 10:14).

Easter weekend will now be special for another reason; that is, my son Jack received Christ as his personal savior on Easter evening (April 24, 2011). As his father and mother, we could not be more proud and thankful for God’s wonderful grace (2 Pet 1:1-3). My dear son Jack, . . . is now my brother in Christ! He too has Christ continually interceding on his behalf (Heb 7:25) who is also willing to call him ‘brother’ (Heb 2:10-11).

God, thank you for your grace, the death & resurrection of your dear Son; for you have made it possible for my son to celebrate Easter in a whole new way. Amen.

Rather than potentially falling from your secure position in Christ, Peter admonishes us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Do not decline morally, but instead progressively grow in our Christian life. This growing is a present imperative indicating an ‘on-going’ growth that is to take place in the believer’s life. The question remains, ‘are we continually progressing in our growth of His Word so that we do not fall?’

The joy of the readers, Peter contends, is that they have an unchanging message of hope and truth by which they can rely upon for their growth (1:16-21). The question for living that I proposed to my Sunday school class is, “do you have a clear understanding of God’s Word? Are you sincere when coming to God’s Word?” In other words as you prepare to read, study, and then meditate on His Word, do you allow God’s Word to control/direct your life rather than the desires of your own heart? –> The false teachers took it upon themselves to have distorted thinking; for they ran from the truth and became entangled in their own lusts (cf. 2:19-22).

The question that I posed to my Sunday school class was in relation to Peter’s characterization of the false teachers. At what lengths will we go to live righteously? to grow in godliness? Are we training our hearts in a similar and diligent fashion as those false teachers in Peter’s day?

I have also spent some time considering my next Sunday school lesson, 2 Pet 1:5-8, and I am continually reminded of vv. 1-4 of chapter 1. It is here that God bestowed on ‘the faithful ones’ divine power in order to live godly. Believers can now partake in the divine nature; for this enables them to continue to grow in godliness. What a wonderful truth; that is, believers live as representatives of Christ. This is all because God dispenses righteousness to those who accept him. Praise the Lord for his kindness!

I challenged the flock of Sonrise Baptist Church using this Psalm to trust in God’s faithfulness during their struggles. The psalmist wonders if God has forgotten him and even asks, ‘how long, God, will you continue to ignore me?’ He is trying to motivate God to answer; to act on his behalf. The psalmist therefore, uses three different features in the text that point to the theology of the text. These features include: repetition (“how long . . .” – demonstrating/highlighting the psalmist’s desperate situation); sarcasm (“answer me!” – as if God ought to listen & pay attention to us); and irony (“but as for me . . .” – contrasting the psalmist’s tone due to God’s action). These features point to three theological points. One can use these theological points to meditate upon  and impact one’s way of handling future struggles. They are: God is there and does see us in our struggle, he is not ignoring us (Ps 13:1-2); God does hear us, he is not ’hard of hearing’ (Ps 13:3-4); and God is covenant-faithful (Ps 13:5-6).

So ask yourself these questions, Do you ever think that God is ignoring you? Do you ever think that God is ‘hard of hearing?’ Is the psalmist’s cry the cry of your heart? That is, God is faithful even amidst my struggles. As Francis Schaeffer puts it, “he is there, and he is not silent.”

The topic for this year’s council was Dispensationalism, Language, and Scripture. Various papers were read and discussed. Scholars that attended included, Dr. Thomas Ice (Exec Dir of the Pre-Trib Research Center Lynchburg, VA), Dr. John Master (Prof, School of Biblical Studies, Philadelphia Biblical University, Langhorne, PA), Dr. Elliott Johnson (Sen Prof of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX), Dr. Robert Thomas (Prof of New Testament, Master’s Seminary, Sun Valley, CA), and the faculty of Baptist Bible Seminary, PA. You can read more about the council here.