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I did it! It wasn't in a day and it certainly wasn't in one setting, but I did it. I read through the Gospel of Mark in the KJV. That means I am one book shy of reading the entire New Testament in the King James Version, except for Matthew, which will come next.
I'm sure I missed on out some things by reading chapter by chapter. I did read chapters 1-4 in one sitting and then I read the last six chapters in one sitting. The reason for the latter was that I fell behind and was reading chapters 11-14 and then it dawned on me, "With only two chapters left, I might as well read two more chapters and then I can move on to Matthew."
Now, I'm going to confess there is a lot that is hard to understand in the KJV unless I'm really familiar with it. But of course there are new things I glean from reading in a different translation than what I am the most familiar with. I think it would be more helpful to have a KJV study Bible to keep me on track (That's a hint to anybody wondering what to buy me for Christmas. I'd prefer the Oxford Annotated Study Bible with the Apocrypha).
There are three things that stand out to me (Why is it always three?). One, in each Synoptic Gospel (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the sermon is different. Matthew's is on a mountain (a.ka. mount), Mark's is on a boat, and Luke's is on a plain. I will spare you my speculation on what harmonizers of the gospels (You must know my agony in whether to capitalize "gospel"). I'll save the biggest one for the end.
Second, is the two different endings in Mark. Of course, anybody who reads only the KJV will be confused about this point if they have never read a modern translation that brackets everything after verse 8 of chapter 16. And if the shorter reading is correct, Mark ends kind of on a sour note. "And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid." (KJV) Okay, so not quite the sour note I remembered. But not as clear as the rest of the chapter, allegedly added later, according to some scholars. First on my wish list is the dissertation of Kara Lyons, Gospel Women and the Long Ending of Mark. I'll save a conclusion of which is appropriate for further study.
Third, get ready for a flashback to my seminary days. I actually took a class on the Gospel of Mark, taught by Andy Johnson at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City. If you don't know me, this was a constructive time in my faith journey. My faith was broken down in college at Eastern Nazarene College and Northwest Nazarene University and then my faith was built up at Nazarene Theological Seminary. This is not a post to complain about those institutions. All three were good. But I have to admit, as I read the end of Mark, I was reminded of that class and that time in my life. At one point I was disillusioned and even tried to be Agnostic but my now deceased uncle, Leland Dirks, mostly convinced me that wasn't a realistic position because we have to make choices every day on limited knowledge. And so, this time as well, I was grabbed (read "convicted") by Mark 15:39.
We miss the point today, but the gospels were originally dramas that were read to congregations. They were dramas, according to Andy Johnson (That was more than a few years ago but that is how I recall it being presented in class). Imagine hearing/seeing the story unfold and the most unlikely of candidates affirms that Jesus was in fact, the Son of God. That character was "the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39).
Suddenly the read (a.k.a. audience) is without excuse. You can't just say, "I'll think about it." No, you have to choose to be a person in the story. You can be Judas who betrays Jesus or you can be a variety of people. You could be the centurion, one who would seem to be objective and yet not even he doubts the reality of Jesus being the Son of God, or to put it another way, that Jesus was who he said he was. Can you deny the reality of Jesus as the Son of God?
You may be more bold than I. I personally cannot. I am compelled to respond favorably to God's grace that says God revealed Godself to us through Jesus who was in fact the Son of God. The centurion believes in Jesus as the Son of God (We could get hung up on whether the centurion really believed that Jesus was the Son of God, but I think we'd be missing the point that this was a rhetorical device to make a point). It is as if to say, "Who are you, that you don't believe Jesus was who he said he was and others like the centurion and the disciples who became apostles who testified that Jesus was in fact the Son of God, and yet you don't believe Jesus was the Son of God." I for one could not and cannot. I am compelled to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
