Mark’s Travel Narrative (part 1 of 3)

Each of the Synoptic Gospels–Matthew, Mark, and Luke–have a section of the story that happens between Jesus’ Transfiguration in the north and his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. This section is sometimes called the Travel Narrative. Each Gospel author uses this section to highlight a specific aspect of Jesus’ teaching. Matthew presents the Community Discourse in this section. Luke spends ten chapters for this section and uses it to present the bulk of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God.

Notice what Mark does. It has a chiastic structure, which is a Hebrew literary form that places the main point at the middle of the text like a symmetrical shape C-B-A-B-C. When you see all of these stories laid out you can see the pattern

The Disciples’ inability to heal. Warning about imminent death in Jerusalem. Argument about greatness. Teaching about value. SEE, we’re going to Jerusalem. Arguments about Greatness. Healing of sight.

To simplify, it seems that Mark wants us to see that the main point is to SEE.

Jesus heals when the disciples can’t. The disciples are blind about greatness. SEE, The disciples are blind about greatness. Jesus heals the blind man who can SEE.

I could be totally wrong about the structure. However, the fact that Mark deals with the disciples’ misunderstanding of greatness two times in such a short section, seems to indicate that this is a major point Mark wants to make in his travel narrative.