WHERE THE GOSPEL TEXT BEGINS: A NON-THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF MARK 1:1

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-127
Author(s):  
N. Clayton Croy
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
First Century ◽  
Peloponnesian War ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
Dionysius Of Halicarnassus ◽  
The Moment

AbstractDionysius of Halicarnassus, rhetorician and historian in Rome during the waning years of the first century B.C.E., wrote an essay on Thucydides in which he noted that some critics faulted the great historian of the Peloponnesian War for the arrangement (ταξις) of his work. They complained that Thucydides "neither chose the beginning of the history that was needed, nor did he fit it with a suitable ending." These critics insisted that "by no means the least important part of good arrangement was to choose a beginning, prior to which there would be nothing, and to conclude the matter with an ending in which nothing seemed to be lacking" (On Thucydides 10). If we overlook for the moment that Thucydides's history differs significantly in literary terms from the Gospel of Mark, we might find it remarkable how the same criticism has been leveled against the author of the second gospel. The oddity of Mark's ending at 16:8 is well known, but the beginning of Mark is also inauspicious. Does he, like Thucydides, suffer from faulty ταξις? This paper will examine the beginning of Mark's gospel and propose, or in truth, recall and corroborate, a rather pedestrian explanation of its many peculiarities.

scholarly journals A Sitz for the Gospel of Mark? A critical reaction to Bauckham's theory on the universality of the Gospels1

2000 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Van Eck
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Community

A Sitz for the Gospel of Mark? A critical reaction to Bauck-ham,s theory on the universality of the Gospels. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the article by Richard Bauckham, in which he challenges the current consensus in New Testament scholarship that the gospels were written for and addressed to specific believing communities. The thesis that Bauckham puts forward is that the gospels were written with the intention of being circulated as widely as possible - it was written for every Christian community of the late first century where the gospels might circulate. First, a Wirkungsgeschichte of Mark's gospel in terms of the possible localities of origin and the possible theological intentions for writing the Gospel, that is, of the results of the current consensus in New Testament scholarship, is given. Bauckham's theory is then put on the table and evaluated.

Mark’s Story

2021 ◽  
pp. 16-40
Author(s):  
Alicia D. Myers
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
First Century ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Minor Characters ◽  
Parable Of The Sower ◽  
Roman Palestine

This chapter begins the study of the canonical Gospels with the earliest Gospel written rather than the first in the Christian canon: the Gospel of Mark. After offering basic background on authorship, provenance, and date of composition, this chapter outlines the historical and political contexts of Roman Palestine in the first century CE. This introduction leads into a discussion of Mark’s apocalyptic perspective and presentation of Jesus’s mission as a cosmic battle. Following this background information, the chapter offers a literary overview of the Gospel and explores major themes and passages, including Jesus’s characterization, the Parable of the Sower and minor characters, Jesus’s time in Jerusalem, and the various endings of the Gospel of Mark. The chapter ends with a conclusion describing Mark’s challenge for its readers to choose between fear and faith.

The Birth of Christian History

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve-Marie Becker ◽  
John J. Collins
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
Literary Tradition ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
History Writing ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Historical Awareness ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Literary Memory

When the Gospel writings were first produced, Christian thinking was already cognizant of its relationship to ancient memorial cultures and history-writing traditions. Yet, little has been written about exactly what shaped the development of early Christian literary memory. This book explores the diverse ways in which history was written according to the Hellenistic literary tradition, focusing specifically on the time during which the New Testament writings came into being: from the mid-first century until the early second century CE. While acknowledging cases of historical awareness in other New Testament writings, the book traces the origins of this historiographical approach to the Gospel of Mark and Luke—Acts. The book shows how the earliest Christian writings shaped Christian thinking and writing about history.

The new family of Jesus and the relativization of the natural family: An exposition on honor and shame (Mark 1:16–20; 2:13–14; 3:13–35)

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 592-601
Author(s):  
Narry F. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Social Values ◽  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
First Century ◽  
Value System ◽  
Natural Family ◽  
New Family ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Honor And Shame

In the time of Jesus, the social values of honor and shame were embedded in the family. The Gospel of Mark not only evidences these social values but also radically redefines them through their narrative reversal. The narrative reversal seeks to persuade the readers to view as honorable what they have valued as shameful, and to regard as dishonorable what they have seen as honorable. Although the natural family is important in the Gospel, Mark transforms it and the honor–shame value system by emphasizing the greater value of the new family that Jesus is forming (“fictive family”) over the importance of the natural family. In Mark 1:16–3:35, I see the narrative reversal of the family in two ways: (i) Mark highlights the three instances when Jesus calls to himself his new family with a transformed honor–shame value system; and (ii) Mark relativizes (i.e., takes away the foremost importance of) the first-century concept of family in favor of the new family of Jesus. Specifically, I will explore the three stories of the disciples’ call (1:16–20; 2:13–14; 3:13–19) and the intercalated story of Jesus’ natural family seeking to gain custody of him (3:20–21, 31–35).

PETER AS PETER IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK

1999 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-37
Author(s):  
TIMOTHY WIARDA
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
Weak Sense ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
First Century ◽  
Greek Literature ◽  
Future Role ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Human

Scholars tend to view the Markan Peter as a relatively impersonal figure, to a large extent blended with the group of the disciples. The idea that first-century society possessed a weak sense of the individual, the prevalence of typical figures in Greek literature, the special nature of the Gospel material, and Mark's lack of attention to Peter's future role are factors which contribute to this perspective. A survey of Mark's characterization of Peter, however, and comparison with the evangelist's portrayal of other disciples and the disciples as a group, reveals a distinctive figure and significant elements of individual human experience.

Mark 8–16

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Marcus
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of Mark ◽  
Political Context ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Religious Context ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Lay People ◽  
Jewish Revolt

In the final nine chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus increasingly struggles with his disciples’ incomprehension of his unique concept of suffering messiahship and with the opposition of the religious leaders of his day. The Gospel recounts the events that led to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion by the Roman authorities, concluding with an enigmatic ending in which Jesus’ resurrection is announced but not displayed. In this volume New Testament scholar Joel Marcus offers a new translation of Mark 8–16 as well as extensive commentary and notes. He situates the narrative within the context of first-century Palestine and the larger Greco-Roman world; within the political context of the Jewish revolt against the Romans (66–73 C.E.); and within the religious context of the early church’s sometimes rancorous engagement with Judaism, pagan religion, and its own internal problems. For religious scholars, pastors, and interested lay people alike, the book provides an accessible and enlightening window on the second of the canonical Gospels.

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