GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 9:31
The Value of Repetition
Repetition is fundamental to learning. Dog trainers reward the animal repeatedly when it behaves correctly. I’m currently studying with a teacher who frequently revisits a linguistic principle. I get it—he wants me to remember the concept. I have a stack of English vocabulary cards that I go through because when I see a new word, I make a card and review it occasionally. My current word is “thaumaturgy” (thô′mə-tûr″jē). There’s no need to look up the word; it translates as “wonder worker” and is generally used to refer to the skill of a magician. I’ll probably never use the word in a sentence, but if I repeat it and write it several times, I’ll recognize it when I see it. This illustrates the value of repetition.
Mark recounts that Jesus and his disciples went to Galilee. Jesus wanted to be alone: “For he was teaching his disciples, and he said to them, ‘The Son of Man will be given over into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and being killed, after three days, he will arise.’” (Mark 9:31) Mark, who recorded Peter’s recollection, likely provides a synopsis of Jesus’ lesson, somewhat like saying that a history teacher’s lesson covered the 1920s. Without being overly pedantic, I hope, the word translated “teaching” is an imperfect indicative active verb. This tense of the verb describes an action that began in the past and continued into the present. In this sense, Jesus started teaching this lesson to his disciples and continued teaching it. Jesus taught this lesson to the disciples over and over. This is the second time in Mark’s Gospel that he provides the outline of Jesus’ lesson about his death and resurrection. Moreover, his account indicates that Jesus taught this lesson repeatedly to the disciples.
It’s important to note that Jesus’ lesson always ended with the same message: “After three days, he will arise.” That message never varied.
Previous
Next
Directory