October 05th, 2024

This Sunday is the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, and it has the Gospel reading of Mark 10:2-16. With the readings of this website, we have just finished going through the Gospel according to Mark. We went through the entire account, a section at a time, the order in which the writer laid it out. Since we still have a few weeks left in this “B-series” of the church year, and this year has focused on the Gospel according to Mark, we are going to go back, to look in greater detail, at some of the most unique and significant characteristics of that Gospel account.

This writer would propose that one of the most interesting things regarding the literary style of ALL four accounts is that they all incorporate some form of what is called the historical present. That is where a past-tense verb is expected, but a present tense is given. These happen in all four accounts, and they happen in different ways and with different verbs.

One of the most interesting aspects to these interesting historical presents is the way in which they initially appear in each Gospel account. It could also be said that connections could be made between these historical presents and the living creatures that are part of the LORD’s throne.

In case you are not familiar with those living creatures, they may be found in the first chapter of Ezekiel, as well as other places. In the Ezekiel text, the creatures have the order of the man, lion, ox, and eagle, and these could be connected to the four Gospel accounts in their regular order. Unfortunately, the four accounts have been connected in different ways to different living creatures, especially in the way in which each account begins.

Since the Gospel according to Matthew begins with a genealogy, it has been connected to a lion, one of the tribe of Judah, and not just a man. And since the Gospel according to Mark begins with a Jesus who is already an adult, it has been connected to a man and not just a lion.

It may be clearer to make connections between the living creature and the Gospel account by means of the historical presents, and not just in the way that the Gospel account begins. Historical presents, after all, have an effect and come into the present with their present tense. These four living creatures are still living today, and their characteristics, therefore, have ramifications for today. Jesus doing something like a man today is important. Jesus doing something like a lion today is also important.

What follows is a mention of at least the first historical present within each account and how it relates to the living creature (you may wish to study these more with various resources):

MATTHEW
The first historical present is that an angel of the Lord APPEARS in a dream to Joseph (2:13). What is interesting is that the angel again APPEARS just a few verses later (2:19). This pattern continues with another word in the historical present appearing in 3:1 and 3:13 with the verb meaning “to arrive” or “to come”. And to make it even more clear that there is a pattern, another set appears at 3:15 and 4:11 with the verb meaning “to allow” or “to leave”. This pattern seems to point to a man who gives structure to various things. And it could be said that Jesus gives a significant structure to this present life.

MARK
The first historical present within this account is that the Spirit THROWS OUT Jesus (1:12). What is interesting is that, later in the chapter, the word is used again. At 1:34 and 39, it is described that Jesus threw out demons (with verse 34 describing this as MANY demons). But then, at 1:43, Jesus THREW OUT A MAN THAT HE HAD JUST CLEANSED FROM LEPROSY. The same verb is used (although translations do not give a “rough” translation of the word). That is certainly a rough way to treat someone just recently healed. But that seems to fit with a lion. And the message that comes across is in this verb is that Jesus went through hard times, and the point could be made that the people around Jesus went through some hard times, and I think you might have an idea of what to expect for Christians in the twenty-first century.

LUKE
What is interesting about the use of the historical presents in the Gospel according to Luke is that the first one is far later into the account, at 7:40. It is found when one of the Pharisees REPLIES to Jesus, that he is okay with Jesus saying something to him about his thoughts. A sinful woman was anointing Jesus’ feet with tears and some special perfume, and the Pharisee had some negative thoughts about the woman, and Jesus is about to set him straight.

The typical turning point for this Gospel account is typically seen to be 9:51, when Jesus sets his face to go to Jerusalem, so why is the first historical present even earlier? When it comes to historical presents, even more important than coming into Jerusalem is a reference to Jesus’ resurrection, that Jesus’ coming back to life again is a situation that continues to this day. And this could be said to happen at Luke 7:13. And it is an unusual circumstance. There is a widow, and her son just died. And the text says that Jesus, called in this text as the LORD, has compassion, and he raises the son to life again. Does that sound familiar?

The connection to be made to the ox is one that there is a great variety of people who are connected to the historical present within this account. This starts with a Pharisee, and that is not a bad place to start. The Pharisees tried very much to be good. In the same way that an ox can work with a variety of other animals and people, Jesus does the same. His resurrection is for all. And this is especially seen in the book of Acts.
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JOHN
Historical presents are frequent and common within the Gospel according to John. With the connection to an eagle, an animal with a broad perspective, this is not too unusual to have so many events that are in the present. The first historical present goes along with the first quote from this account, in 1:15. John the Baptist WITNESSES concerning Jesus. As this account supports the others, there may be seen the eagle, the one flying high overhead, giving support to those on the ground. All four accounts can work together in this very special way.