What stands out in Mark's Gospel

http://atheism.about.com/od/biblegospelofmark/a/mark01.htm

• Why did MArk skip the accounts of Jesus' cocneption birth and childhood?
• Mark's framing patterm a chiastic device.
• The meaning of the cursing of Capernaum, "Jesus' own city."
• Simon Peter's mother in law is healed of a fever demonstrating the increasing miraculous power of God over physical ailments, and that Peter is a manj married and foresaking family to be associated as a disciple of Jesus.
  

Unlike the other synoptic gospels, Mark does not open with Jesus’ birth or
childhood. The Jesus we find in chapter 1 of Mark’s gospel is already an adult
and is already capable of powerful actions: healing, exorcisms, etc. Jesus’ fame
also begins to spread, despite his requests that people remain quiet about him
and his activities.
Ministry of
John the Baptist (Mark 1:1-8)Unlike the other synoptic gospels, Mark does
not open with Jesus’ birth or childhood. The Jesus we find in chapter 1 of
Mark’s gospel is already an adult and is already capable of powerful actions:
healing, exorcisms, etc. Jesus’ fame also begins to spread, despite his requests
that people remain quiet about him and his activities.
Baptism and
Temptation of Jesus (Mark 1:9-13)This is the first appearance of Jesus in
the earliest gospel account - full-grown and ready to begin his ministry. We
have nothing here about Jesus’ conception, birth, or childhood - all very
popular stories which play important roles in Matthew and Luke. If these were
known events, why did Mark skip them?
Jesus Begins
His Ministry and Calls the Disciples (Mark 1: 14-20)Only now does Jesus’
ministry begin. The story of John the Baptist has been framed by references to
the gospel - first with the introductory line that this text presents the gospel
and now here again where Jesus actually begins to preach the gospel. This
framing pattern, also called a chiastic device, is used frequently by Mark
because it allows him to use both the internal passages and the framing passages
to explain and interpret each other.
Jesus in
Capernaum: Healing and Casting Out Spirits (Mark 1:21-28)Capernaum is a city
in Galilee often referenced in the gospels. Jesus is described as having spent
enough time in and around Capernaum that it came to be known as Jesus’ own city.
There are verses referring to Jesus healing and teaching here in all four
gospels. Despite all of this, however, Jesus is also depicted in Matthew and
Luke as having felt rejected by the town’s inhabitants and cursing them.
Jesus Heals
Simon’s Mother-In-Law and Leaves Capernaum (Mark 1:29-39)Simon Peter’s
mother-in-law is the first person to be healed of something other than
possession by an unclean spirit. She has a fever which Jesus takes away; later
he would also heal the lame, blind, and deaf, demonstrating increasing power
over physical ailments.
Jesus Heals
the Leper, Cautions Silence (Mark 1:40-45)Here we have a specific illness
that Jesus heals, one which has caused fear and loathing for centuries: leprosy.
Then again, it might have been some other skin disease that was mistaken for
leprosy - or perhaps many skin diseases at the time were all categorized as
leprosy

.