Episode Description
For decades, students of the New Testament have been told that the Gospel of Mark — the earliest of the four canonical gospels — ends without a resurrection appearance. This absence, many lecturers insist, proves that the belief in Jesus’ bodily resurrection developed gradually, only finding expression in later gospels. But a closer reading of Mark reveals something far richer and more complex.

This episode challenges the standard academic narrative by showing how the language, structure, and theology of Mark all testify to resurrection from beginning to end. Far from being clumsy Greek with limited vocabulary, Mark’s repeated use of the verb egeirō (“to raise up”) encodes the resurrection into every healing, parable, and prophecy. The so-called lack of resurrection in Mark dissolves once the gospel is read on its own terms — as a liturgical proclamation rather than a novelistic biography.

Listeners will also discover how Mark’s chiastic patterns and ternion structures build towards the dazzling Transfiguration in chapter 9 — the true centrepiece of the gospel and arguably its resurrection appearance. The result is a gospel that places the risen Christ, not at the end, but at the very heart of its proclamation.

This is an episode for anyone who has ever been puzzled, dissatisfied, or frustrated by the idea that Mark somehow “missed” the resurrection. Instead, it shows that resurrection is the pulse of the gospel itself — always present, often hidden, and finally revealed in glory.

In this episode:

• Why so much modern scholarship sells Mark short.

• The significance of Mark’s favourite word euthys (“immediately”) as a theological device.

• How the verb egeirō (“to raise up”) functions as Mark’s key to the resurrection throughout its healing stories, parables, and prophecies.

• The parables of the seeds and their hidden proclamation of resurrection life.

• How Mark’s ternions and chiastic structures build toward a dramatic centrepiece.

• The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2–8) as Mark’s hidden resurrection appearance.

• Why the gospel’s liturgical and catechetical context matters for interpreting resurrection in Mark.

Episode Description

Welcome to the first ever episode of The Scholar’s Bible! In this opening talk we begin our journey into the Book of Exodus — the second part of the great five-volume work known as the Pentateuch. We set the scene with Pharaoh’s ominous words, explore how Exodus continues the Joseph story, and look at how the book came together through centuries of scribal work. Along the way we trace the story from the oppression of the Israelites to Moses, the plagues, the crossing of the sea, and the wilderness wanderings. This isn’t a devotional Bible study, but an accessible, critical, and enjoyable exploration for anyone curious about the Bible’s history, literature, and enduring power.

In this episode:

• Why Exodus is really the continuation of Genesis.

• The Hebrew opening words that link Exodus to what came before.

• How the Pentateuch was shaped by different traditions (J, E, P, D).

• A synopsis of Exodus: from slavery in Egypt, through the plagues, to the wilderness tabernacle.

• The significance of Exodus as literature and history — not just faith.

• Hints of ancient traditions preserved in the text, like the “Song of the Sea.”