Mark is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it's outline is so sandwich-y a fact I learned in "Exegesis and Theology of the Gospels" with Dr. Bateman almost 10 (!) years ago as a first year seminary student.
A literary 'sandwich', sometimes known as a chiasm, is where three (or more) major sections can be distinquished with the first and last sections corresponding to one another.
The entire book of Mark can be broken down in such a way:
Jesus' Ministry in and around Galilee - 1:1-8:21
Jesus Predicts his death on the way to Jerusalem - 8:22-10:52
Jesus' ministry in and around Jerusalem - 11:1-16:8
As with any good edible sandwich, the most important part of a literary sandwich is the middle. Readers should take care to note the points and themes emphasized in the middle section. It's in our middle section that we find another sandwich, even more obvious than the book's general form:
Jesus heals a blind man - 8:22-8:26 (or vs.30)
Jesus predicts his death three times - 8:27-10:45
Jesus heals a blind man - 10:46-52
The themes we should pay attention to are the so-called "passion predictions" in chapters 8,9, and 10 and the implication on us as his followers. If Jesus came to serve, sacrifice, and give His life on our behalf, we should expect to do the same as his disciples. Jesus the Messiah was not the commonly-expected political savior, He was a spiritual savior whose mission was centered on giving up His life so that we might live. As followers of Jesus, we must not get caught up in the all-too-American values of material success and cultural glory. We must be resolute in embracing the position of a servant (10:43-45) and committed to taking up our cross each and every day (8:34).
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