James and John fight over who is the greatest.
             What continues are further accounts of the disciple's weaknesses. The disciples appear dominated by fear which seemed to be an expression of their habitual misunderstanding and lack of faith. In 4:40, after Jesus calmed the storm he challenged them saying "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have little faith? Alfred Kuby in Mark Traditions in Conflict, (Weeden, T.J, 1979, p.27) supports this saying "the disciples are dismayed that Jesus does not seem to be concerned about their plight. They exhibit no faith in Jesus who can save them. Similarly in 5:25 where the woman with the haemorrhage recognizes Jesus' power and has faith in him to heal her, the disciples on the other hand 'seem to be unaware of it' (Weeden, T.J, 1979, p28)
             In 10:32 they begin their final journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, in fear, a fear that eventually leads to flight in 14:50 where they 'all forsook him and fled'.
             What is interesting is Marks portrayal of the disciples. Mark presents a much harsher picture of the disciples and their 'un-perceptiveness' (Weeden.T.J, 1979, p.28) than Matthew, Luke or John. 'In fact both Matthew and Luke frequently omit or tone done the Markan passages in which Jesus criticizes the disciples' (Weeden,T.J, 1979, p.28)
             The question then, is why did Mark develop his theme of discipleship in such a way that highlighted the failures of Jesus' closest disciples? While many reasons have been put forward for this, this essay proposes that in hig
             ...