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Mark, or Mark the Evangelist, was the writer and author of the Gospel Of Mark. Mark was born in 12 AD Cyrene, Libya. He lived under the Roman Empire, making his mother tongue Greek (which also explains why the Gospel Of Mark was first written in Greek.) When Mark was a teenager and a young man, he was a follower of Jesus when he was in Jerusalem. During Mark’s life, which overlapped with Jesus’s, the Roman Empire controlled and King Herod dictated the Roman Province of Judea. King Herod, the Herodians and the Roman Army caused the public great suffering. Violent arrests and discrimination was aimed towards the public when they couldn’t pay the usually high tax. Apart from the political oppression, women were discriminated against in multiple aspects of life, daily and religious. People from different backgrounds experienced racism due to the tension of battles and wars from different groups and areas such as Samaria. People who had illnesses, conditions, physical and mental disabilities were treated with prejudice and viewed as "sinners."

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Raising the Daughter of Jairus (1871), Ilya Repin

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2. Jesus Raises Jairus's Daughter & It's Symbolism Of Jesus's World:

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2. Jesus Raises Jairus's Daughter & It's Symbolism Of Jesus's World:

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The story of Jairus’s daughter holds such significance for that time in history, because Jesus had raised a girl from the dead. The two important aspects here are that Jairus’s daughter was a girl, but also that Jesus was helping someone who was viewed as “beyond lost.” Jesus was one of the very first and very few to do something different in his time, he helped the underprivileged. The Saduccees and Pharisees were consistently creating religious laws that benefited themselves and oppressed the underprivileged. Those who had mental or physical disabilities, conditions or illnesses were excluded. Females were simply viewed as homemakers and mothers. Jesus’s deep care for Jairus’s daughter, even though her father comes from a higher social status, was a glimpse at the corrupt times in comparison to the justice he served.

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From the story of Jesus raising Jairus’s daughter, Mark has spoken about Jesus’s deep care for women and his beliefs of gender equality, but also that Jesus was the one of the only people who fought injustice. Jairus was a religious leader of the Synagogue in Capernaum, Galilee and Jesus had been consistently spied on and looked down upon by the high priests of groups such as the Saduccees and the Pharisees. Mark was saying here, how moving and courageous it was of Jesus to bring back Jairus’s daughter’s life, no matter her social status. It simply came from Jesus’s deep care for women. He had other fond relationships with “outcasts” such as Mary Magdalene. Mark also wrote about Jesus’s various miracles in the Gospel Of Mark, proving him to be this figure in a broken society that cared for all who were underprivileged.

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4. What is Mark's Message to Christians?

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4. What is Mark's Message to Christians?

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Mark’s message for Christians in 2024 is that we should be inclusive and harmonious towards everyone to create a serene and idyllic Kingdom Of God, between us all, on Earth. Being inclusive means that we should include everyone, especially underprivileged people into spiritual places and places or worship, but also everywhere and anywhere. Having harmony between people means to not discriminate. And if there is discrimination towards poorer people, it should be called out and acted upon. Nobody should be a bystander. Justice should be served. The Kingdom Of God is a place where there is serenity, but we won’t find serenity unless if we are peaceful towards all people.

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The story of raising Jairus’s daughter is relevant in my own life because I am also a girl, but because it also reflects on my values and beliefs. This story in the Gospel Of Mark displays Jesus’s care and justice for women, but also his choice to not remain a bystander. Even though I live in a modern society, it can still be a time of injustice for me and various other women, girls and females around the world. I like to support charities/foundations for women and have found that some of my closest relationships have come to be from girls supporting girls. My values of caring for women, fighting sexism and speaking out against sexism (not remaining a bystander) can be tied into Jesus’s position in this story, even centuries later.