Great Miracles
See also: Miracles of JesusFrom here to the end of chapter 5 are accounts of great miracles. These miracles raise the stakes over miracles which have been reported before. Mark probably intends to demonstrate the greatness of Jesus' authority (εξουσíα). The calming of the sea demonstrates Jesus' authority over nature. Jesus has authority over not only men but even an untamable man, delivering the demoniac from not merely one demon but a whole army of demons, see Mark 5. At the climax of these miracle accounts, Jesus does not merely heal the sick, but he raises the dead girl, all of which sets the reader up for a greater contrast when Jesus is rejected in his home town of Nazareth (6:1-6) in Mark 6. (see France for an extended discussion)
Read more about this topic: Mark 4
Famous quotes containing the word miracles:
“If it could be proved today that not one of the miracles of Jesus actually occurred, that proof would not invalidate a single one of his didactic utterances; and conversely, if it could be proved that not only did the miracles actually occur, but that he had wrought a thousand other miracles a thousand times more wonderful, not a jot of weight would be added to his doctrine.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“A star was broken
Into the centuries of the child
Myselves grieve now, and miracles cannot atone.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)