Class 2 THE GOSPEL OF MARK - Santa Clara University

THE GOSPEL OF MARKClass 2

Outline

§ What is a “Gospel”?

§ Academic Approaches to (Sacred) Texts

§ Mark as Story

§ Pastoral Issues & Gospel Themes in Mark

§ The Development of the Gospel Tradition

§ The Synoptic Gospel and Its Solution

Methods

NarrativeCriticism

RedactionCriticism

Tools

Biblicalresearch

tools

Synopsis

Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament

Dr. Catherine Murphy

WHAT IS A “GOSPEL”?

What is a Gospel?

§ “Gospel” = English translation of ευαγγελιον (good news)

§ It’s a political term

Priene Calendar Inscription

9 BCE

Octavian, later“Caesar Augustus”Roman Emperor37 BCE –14 CE

ευαγγελιον

Priene Calendar Inscription

9 BCE

since [the birthday] of the godwas the beginning of the

good new[s] for the world that came by reason of him

The Greeks of Asia resolve to reset their calendar from a lunar

calendar to a solar one, beginning on the birthday of

Augustus Caesar

This word “good news,”

ευαγγελιον,is our word “gospel”

What is the/a Gospel?

§ “Gospel” = English translation of ευαγγελιον (good news)

§ It’s a political term

§ There are four in the Bible, but over 50 known texts:¨ Biographies¨ Sayings of Jesus (no stories)¨ Special revelations¨ Infancy stories¨ Passion accounts

Matthew, Mark, Luke, JohnThomasMary, Philip [John]James, ThomasPeter

§ Not just “histories,” but calls to us to believe and act

What is the/a Gospel?More like ancient biographies (bioi) than history

§ little interest in character development, “essence” is thought to be somewhat static throughout life

§ unlike history, it is often anecdotal, and less concerned with cause and effect

§ variety of social functions

• Propagation of a message

• Teaching to form community

• Literary artistry to delight/render ideas memorably

• apologia (defense of the person against criticism or misunderstanding)

• encomium (praise of the worthy person to foster emulation)

• establishment of a line of tradition to authorize certain persons in the author’s present



ACADEMIC APPROACHESTO (SACRED) TEXTS

Text

Author Audience

Author / Text / AudienceThe 3 parts of every communication act

• As scholars, we appreciate the complexity of these three parts

• We distance ourselves (temporarily) from our current beliefs to study the text and allow new meanings to emerge

• This space we create is called “critical distance”

Text

Author Audience

“Methods”give us critical distance

Sayings Clusters

Passion Narrative

Miracle Cycle

Birth Story

Source Criticism

Worldbefore

the textMiracle Parable Controversy Chreia

Form CriticismGenealogy

Think of a “method” as a set of steps to answer a question

What question do you want to ask?(Workbook pp. 48-50)

Text

Author Audience

What questiondo you want to ask?

WorldOF

the text

Text Criticism(if you know Greek)

Let’s take a detour to see what manuscript evidence we have

for Mark

Gospel of MarkManuscript Evidence

There are 1,738 manuscripts of Mark; only 9 of these date to the first 600 years of Christian history

Century Manuscript Extent

Mark 1:1-4Codex

Sinaiticus

200s P45 Parts of Mark 4–9, 11–12 (& Mt, Lk, Jn, Acts)

300s P88 27 verses from chapter 2

01 all

03 all

0188 7 verses from chapter 11

c.400 05 1:1–16:14

400s 02 all

04 most

500s 032 all

D. C. Parker, An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and Their Texts (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 319-20.

Codex SinaiticusMark 1:1-4

Text

Author Audience


WorldOF

the text

Redaction Criticism(if you have the sources he edited)

Text

Author Audience


WorldOF

the text

Rhetorical CriticismSocial-scientific Criticism

Text

Author Audience


Worldafter

the text Contextual Criticisms Postcolonial Criticism

Feminist CriticismCultural Studies



NARRATIVE CRITICISM

Literary Criticism in General

§ encompasses many approaches

§ initially meant any close reading¨ including form and source criticism

§ but since 1960s, it has shifted to methods practiced by English literature scholars

¨ focus on final text, not sources

¨ author worked with sources, but his new creationhas its own literary integrity

¨ increasing attention has been paid to readers’ response

Narrative Criticism

A branch of literary criticism that examines narratives or stories.

The term has been largely coined by biblical scholars who have sought to apply the insights of literary critics to the gospel narratives.

Narrative Criticism:Authors & Audience IN the Narrative

RealAuthor

RealAudience

ImpliedAuthor

ImpliedAudienceNarrator Narratee

Text or Narrative

≅ ≅ ⦚⦚

Narrative Criticism: The Story-Discourse Distinction

Story

Discourse

Seymour Chatman, Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1978).

• the content of the narrative; WHAT it tells• includes characters, setting and plot

• the RHETORIC of the narrative; HOW it is told

• includes several techniques for shaping the story elementsto persuade a reader of the author’s point of view

Seymour Chatman1928–2015



MARK AS STORY

I. Prologue (1:1-3)

II. Galilean Ministry (1:4-8:21)

III. Peter’s Confession, Prediction of Passion andJourney to Jerusalem (8:22-10:52)

IV. Controversies in the Temple (11:1-13:37)

V. Passion Narrative (14:1-15:39)

VI. Resurrection Narrative (15:40-16:8)

The Gospel of Mark as StoryAn Overview of the Gospel Plot

The Gospel of Mark as StoryNarrative Elements

Plot

Characters

Settings

Rhetoric:

How the authorshapes these

elements to persuadethe audience of

his/her point of view

The Gospel of Mark as StoryRhetoric: How an Author Shapes Narrative Elements

Plot

Characters

Settings

• order, duration and frequency

• revealed by showing or telling

• exhibit dominant traits; rarely “change”

• flat or round

• they are evaluated by the implied author

• locations

• temporal markers set narrative pace

• causation (kernels & satellites)

• conflict

Rhetorical Techniques

• point-of-view

• symbolism

• irony

• juxtaposition & sequence: framing, intercalation, repetition

The Gospel of Mark as StoryRhetoric: How an Author Shapes Narrative Elements

Symbolism

Irony

Narration Who narrates? What is his/her level of knowledge, reliability, point of view?

Technique for suggesting interpretation; depends on shared context knowledge

The use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning. Dramatic irony refers to a situation in which the audience knows something that the characters don’t.

The Gospel of Mark as StoryRhetoric: Point-of-View

The (implied) author shapes the response of the reader by insisting that the reader adopt a point of view consistent with that of the narrative.

To discern the evaluative point of view, read closely the narrator’s statements and be sensitive to the structure of the narrative. Determine the norms, values, and worldview with which the narrator judges the evidence.

The Gospel of Mark as StoryPlotting Exercise in Mark 1:1–8:38 New Testament Workbook, pp. 52ff

1. Where are the episode breaks?

2. Do any episodes seem more significant than others (possibly “kernels”)? How do you know?

3. Is there a building of characterization or conflict?Are there causal connections between episodes?

Plotting Techniques

§ Order, duration, frequency• Intercalation: Markan “sandwiches”

Mk 5 Jairus’ daughter [bleeding woman] Jairus’ daughter

Mk 6 Sending of 12 [death of JBap] Return of 12

Mk 11:15ff Curse of fig tree [Temple “cleansed”] Withered fig tree

• Repetition – are any scenes repeated?

• Duration – does the speedy action ever slow down

§ Causation

§ Conflict



MARK’SPASSION NARRATIVE

One could call the Gospels passion narratives with extended introductions consisting of isolated units.

The So-Called Historical Jesus and the Historic Biblical Christ (Philadelphia:

Fortress, 1964; original 1892) p. 80, n. 11.

The Gospel of Mark The Significance of the Passion

Martin Kähler1835-1912

Passion narrative


Last days in Jerusalem

Passion narrative


Last days in Jerusalem

Pharisees& Herodians

plot to kill Jesus

Herodkills

John the Baptist

Jesus predictshis arrest, death,

& resurrection

Chief priests& scribes seek

to kill Jesus

Prophecies: woman anoints, Jesus predicts betrayals of

Judas and Peter

§ Mark believes Jesus is the messiah

§ The messiah was supposed to usher in God’s reign on earth

§ Jesus was crucified by the Romans; their kingdom won

§ How then can Jesus be the messiah spoken of in scripture?

The Gospel of Mark Why is the passion so important?

§ Where was God’s victory?

§ Where and how could believers maintain theirrelationship with God?

The Gospel of Mark Why is the passion so important?

§ The Romans had also just destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish temple

The Gospel of Mark The passion & the plot of Mark

§ Mark telegraphs Jesus’ death at every turn

§ He interposes scenes of Jesus’ power with teachings about the reign of God to explain what it is, and what it is not

§ If we read carefully to identify linked scenes, we can see how the passion is explained within the plot

SymbolismJesus’ final discourse on the Mount of Olives

32 “But of that day or hour, noone knows, neither the angelsin heaven, nor the Son, but onlythe Father. 33 Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. 35

Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. 36 May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”



PASTORAL ISSUES &GOSPEL THEMES IN MARK

§ Death of eyewitnesses

The Gospel of Mark Pastoral Context & Resulting Themes

Jesus as suffering messiah

disciples’ failures

messianic secret

THEMES

Real enemy = Satan(religious leaders = proxies)

overtures to Gentiles

Gospel written

§ Response to turmoil of mid-1st century¨ Nero’s persecution of Christians (64 CE)

¨ Jewish Revolt, destruction of Jerusalem (70 CE)

¨ Rome’s victory signaled cosmic support

¨ But life was marked by oppression and sickness

§ Challenges of discipleship¨ pressure under persecution

¨ internal tensions over leadership

§ Spread of message not only to Jews but also Gentiles

§ three key titles¨ Messiah¨ Son of God¨ Son of Man

§ a suffering messiah¨ not power and glory, but suffering and death¨ earthly but also cosmic contest, resolved in

• signs of power (δυναμεις) and exorcisms• willingness to do father’s will• resurrection

The Gospel of Mark Christology: A Suffering Messiah



USING BIBLICALRESEARCH TOOLS

• Everyone receives the Concordance excerpt

• Tonight: Choose a facilitator and divide the following tools:

§ Biblical Apparatus

§ Commentary

§ Bible Dictionary

§ Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT)

• Review your tool and report out at start of our next class

Using Biblical Research Tools:The Elijah Project (Workbookpp. 83-85)

Bias in Our Scholarly SourcesTheologischesWörterbuch zum NeuenTestament (TWNT/TDNT)

Bias in Our Scholarly SourcesTheologischesWörterbuch zum NeuenTestament (TWNT/TDNT)

Gerhard Kittel

Karl Georg Kuhn



THE DEVELOPMENTOF THE GOSPEL TRADITION

The Development of the Gospel Tradition

JESUS6 BCE 29 CE 51 60 70 80 90 100 120

Paul

Oral Preaching

oral & written traditionsdeveloping

The Development of the Gospel Tradition

JESUSMark Matthew

6 BCE 29 CE 51 60 70 80 90 100 120

Luke–Acts

John

Paul

Synoptic Gospelssyn = with • optic = seeing

These three share a lot of material; they “see” the story of Jesus “with” each other

oral & written traditionsdeveloping

Defining SynopticMatthew, Mark and Luke “see the story with each other”

While he was saying these things tothem, behold, a ruler came in

[ and] knelt before him, saying,

“My daughter

has just died; but come andlay your hand on her, and

she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.

Matthew 9:18-19

And one of the synagogue leaders named Jairus comes

and seeing him falls at his feet and implores him repeatedly,

“My little daughter

is at the point of death. Come so that you might lay the hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went away with him.

Mark 5:22-24

And behold, a man came named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue; and

falling at the feet of Jesus he implored him to come into his house, that he had an only daughter, about twelve years, and she was dying.

As he went,

the people choked round him.

Luke 8:41-42



THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM& ITS SOLUTION

So What’s the Problem?The Synoptic Problem

§ Matthew-Mark-Luke are SO similar that they must share some sources in common

§ But they are also different from each other

§ So how do we explain their literary relationship?

This question is called the synoptic problem

The Synoptic Gospels:The Evidence

Case 1Some material is shared by Mark, Matthew and Luke. This is called the Triple Tradition.

While he was thus speaking tothem, behold, a ruler came in

and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died;

but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.

Matthew 9:18-19

Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name;

and seeing him, he fell at his feet, and besought him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death.

Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.”And he went with him.

Mark 5:22-24

And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue; and falling at Jesus’ feet he besought him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

As he went, the people pressed round him.

Luke 8:41-42


Case 2Some material is not in Mark at all, but is identical in Matthew and Luke. This is called the Double Tradition.

“He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 10:37-38 Mark

Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:25-26


Case 3Some material is only in Matthew, and some material is only in Luke.

Matthew Mark

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger!...”

Luke 15:11-32

The Synoptic GospelsThe Consensus Solution: The Two-Source Hypothesis

The theory that the authors of Matthew and Luke used two shared sources for their gospels

• the Gospel of Mark and

• Q (from Quelle, German for “source” –a list of sayings of Jesus)

in addition to their own unique material. The theory is one way of accounting for the synoptic problem.

The Synoptic GospelsWhy It’s the Consensus View

1. Markan Priority

2. “Q” (Q stands for Quelle, the German word for source)

¨ The style and theology of Mark’s gospel is rough. It’s easier to explain how later authors “cleaned up” Mark than to argue that Mark abbreviated the other gospels and created an inferior narrative.

¨ Matthew and Luke have all of Mark except 3 verses, and largely follow Mark’s order. Meanwhile, there’s a lot in Matthew and Luke that doesn’t appear in the other or in Mark.

¨ It’s reasonable to imagine that a list of Jesus’ sayings would have circulated.

¨ We’ve never found it, but the Gospel of Thomas is like it.

The Formation of the Gospels:A Sketch

Matthew Luke

M L

The Synoptic ProblemOther Possible Solutions

Farrer Theory

Mark

Matthew

Luke

Two-Gospel Hypothesis(or Griesbach Hypothesis)

A Protogospel

Matthew

Luke

Mark

Matthew

Mark

Luke

Protogospel

The Synoptic ProblemThe Two-Source Hypothesis

Matthew

Mark

Luke

Q

M

Some of Matthew’s Unique Content:

Wheat and Weeds (13:24-30, 36-43)Hidden Treasure (13:44)Pearl of Great Price (13:45-46)The Net (13:47-50)Unforgiving Servant (18:21-35)Laborers in the Vineyard (20:1-16)Two Sons (21:28-32)Wise & Foolish Virgins (25:1-13)

L

Some of Luke’s Unique Content

Infancy stories (ch. 1–2)Parables: good Samaritan, friend at

midnight, rich fool, beatings, barren tree, guests/hosts, counting cost, lost sheep/ coin/son, shrewd manager, rich man and Lazarus, widow and judge, Pharisee and tax collector

Miracles: miraculous catch of fish, raising of widow’s son, crippled woman, man with dropsy, ten lepers

Passion Narrative: trial before Herod, Emmaus, ascension



REDACTION CRITICISM

Practicing Redaction CriticismOur Two Approaches So Far

Narrative Criticism

Study episode plotting for clues about the design of the narrative.

This will yield some sense of the gospel’s core themes.

Redaction Criticism

Study how the later editor (Matthew or Luke) edited his source (Mark).

This too will yield some sense of the gospel’s core themes.

Are Matthew and Luke Mere Copiers?

§ It’s important to both of them to preserve tradition

§ It’s equally important to edit it

Redaction is the activity of collecting, arranging, editing, and modifying sources to adapt their message to new circumstances and to the redactor’s own theological perspective.

Practicing Redaction CriticismThe Chief Tool: A Synopsis(Workbook pp. 91-94)

• How it’s arranged

• Navigating a synopsis

A SynopsisHow It’s Arranged

A SynopsisNavigating an Entry

1. Passage header

2. Running page header

3. Synopsis # and title

4. Compare (duplicate entry)

5. Related passages (tiny font)

6. Absolute line numbers (for all passages)

7. Apparatus: major English translations/versions

8. Apparatus: Biblical allusions

A SynopsisIntroducing Redaction Criticism

2. Identify similarities and differences

3. Rank differences from most to least significant

4. Propose a theory to account for the later editor’s most significant change(s).

1. Select your later editor and identify the base text.

Matthew makes the questioners hostile, and changes scribe to Pharisees/lawyer

Matthew removes the beginning of Deuteronomy 6:5 (before the actual commandment)

Matthew Luke

M L

Practicing Redaction CriticismOur Working Theory: The Two-Source Hypothesis

While he was saying these things tothem, behold, a ruler came in

[ and] knelt before him, saying,

“My daughter

has just died; but come andlay your hand on her, and

she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.

Matthew 9:18-19

And one of the synagogue leaders named Jairus comes

and seeing him falls at his feet and implores him repeatedly,

“My little daughter

is at the point of death. Come so that you might lay the hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went away with him.

Mark 5:22-24

And behold, a man came named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue; and

falling at the feet of Jesus he implored him to come into his house, that he had an only daughter, about twelve years, and she was dying.

As he went,

the people choked round him.

Luke 8:41-42

Practicing Redaction CriticismOur First Exercise

Practicing Redaction CriticismThe Chief Tool: A Synopsis(Workbook pp. 91-94)

• How to find your passage• Running header• Index of Gospel Parallels• Index of NT Passages

Practicing Redaction CriticismThe Steps

• Describe how the editor changed the base text

• Select the most significant difference

• Theorize why the editor might have changed the source in this way

• Identify your source or base text and later editor (presuming the Two-Source Hypothesis)

The Steps

1. Identify source and editor

2. Describe the changes

3. Select the most significant difference

4. Explain the change

Matthew 3:13-17 Mark 1:9-11

Practicing Redaction Criticism§18 The Baptism (p.16)

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be

baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee

and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.”

The Steps





Matthew 8:16-17 Mark 1:32-34

Practicing Redaction Criticism§38 The Sick Healed at Evening (p.36)

That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons;

and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered together about the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

The Steps





Matthew 14:26-33 Mark 6:49-52

Practicing Redaction Criticism§147 Walking on Water (p.138)

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have nofear.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

But when they saw him walking on the seathey thought it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

The Steps





Matthew 12:22-25ff Mark 3:22-23ff

Practicing Redaction Criticism§188 The BeelzebulControversy (p.172)

Then a blind and dumb demoniac was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out

demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them,

“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste….”

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand….”

Exercise for Next ClassWorkbook p. 94

• Identify similarities and differences

• Rank differences from most to least significant

• Propose theory to account for later editor’s changes

• Select a passage in which Matthew depends on Mark

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