Mark: His Narrative Runs
And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret,
and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,
And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were
sick, where they heard he was.
Mark 6:53ff (Spoke 19, Cycle 2)
 The
Quph KeyWord qal (swift), so aptly descriptive of Mark's Gospel,
is used in Scripture to describe a fast runner, such as Asahael who
was "as light (qal) of foot as a wild roe
(2 Sam 2:18). Swanson's Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains notes that as a noun, the
word qal defines "a class of persons that can move quickly from one place to
another, implying fitness, strength, and health, with a central focus on running."
This cohere's precisely with Ralph Earle's
description of the unique characteristics of Mark's Gospel
in the introduction to his book
Mark - The Gospel of Action  .
Mark's gospel is primarily the gospel of action. About two out of three verses begin with "And."
In fact, a glance down through the first chapter will show that most of the verses begin that way. As someone has well
observed, "His narrative runs." Over forty times we find
"immediately," "straitway," or "forthwith" - all translations of
the same Greek word. It might be said that while Matthew and Luke furnish us with color slides of the life
of Jesus, Mark gives us a moving picture.
These converging lines lead directly to another revelation of the supernatural integration of Mark with
the Quph KeyWord qal.
The table below shows four verses from Mark that have parallels in both Matthew and Luke,
and one with a parallel only in Matthew. In each and every case, God distinguished Mark with the word
run. The parallel verses in Matthew and Luke use phrases like "met him,"
"followed him," or "came to him" with no reference to running.
In these parallel verses, only Mark runs.
| Parallel Verses where ONLY MARK RUNS |
| Matthew | Mark | Luke |
| The Demon Legion Cast Out |
| [8:28] there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, |
[5:2] But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, |
[8:27] there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time |
| Five Thousand Fed |
| [14:13] and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them ... |
[6:33] And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people ... |
[9:11] And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. |
| Boy with Deaf and Dumb Spirit Healed |
| [17:14] And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire ...
|
[9:15] And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. … When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit ... |
[9:37] And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. |
| What shall I do to Inherit Eternal Life? |
| [19:16] And behold, one came to him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? |
[10:17] And as he was going forth into the way, there ran one to him, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? |
[18:18] And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? |
| Healing at Gennesaret |
| [14:34] And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; |
[6:54] And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick ... |
No parallel |
The consistency of this miracle is astounding; the same phenomenon is seen in all three
Synoptic Gospels, with parallels between Matthew and Luke showing that Matthew is marked
by righteousness (BW book pg 323) and Luke by friend (BW book
pg 346). The relation between all three is
discussed in The Solution ot the Synoptic Problem.
Has anyone ever seen such a wonder in the history of Bible study?
Next article: The Voice of Jesus Calms the Storm
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