TheSouthern Baptis

journalof Theolory

The Gosp*laccordirgto Mark

 Christ'sBuptismand Cnrcifixion:
The Anointing and Enthronement
of God'sSon
,-1.B. Curtedat,

A. B. Canedayis Professor
of I'le,r,; I n t r o d u c t i o n l vl atthei .r'antl I-uke, has taken pr ior it y
iestament
Strrdres
andElitrlical
Theol If o n e c -l i dn o t al t' eadt'recogni zc'i t, redac- i n conternporaryscl rol arshiprEar
. '11'
lit er -
cgyat Northwestern in Saint tion cliticisrl shon,eclrt'hat shotrld have
Collegrr fl r1znt-,.1source cri ti cs assigneclpr ior it y
Paul,
Minnesota
Hersthcco auliror t r c e r r o t r v i o t r s t o a l l - t h . r t the Gospel to Mark as the fi rst of the iour Clospels.
Thonras
rvritlr U Schreiner) ol Tlte r v r i t e r s p l a l ' a c r e . a t i r r e
role in shaping More recentll' tlre programuratic n'orl<
Theol t l r e t h c o l o g i c a l i m p r o r t o i t h e i r n a r r a -
SaceSerBeforeUs A BiLtlical of R l -roadsand l v{i chi e ha s siver r f r esh
ogv'of Persevttrance
& Assuranceti v e . ;' l c c o r-rnts
concerni ng Jesr-rs C hri st. i r t r p e t u st o t h e s t u d y o f M a r k ' s G o s p e l
(lnterVarsity,
2001)0n MarksGospel Aftc .r th e e n tranceoi redarcti oncri ti ci stn arrclto al l the Gospel s,an im pet us t hat
hehaspublished "lv4ark's
twoessays: a n c l th e e m e rgerl ceof l i ter:arycri ti ci sm, has endured for tr,r'oclecades.rGeneralll',
Provocative in Narra- N e r,r,T e s ta rn ent schol ars have i ocused
Useof Scripture their r,r'orkcorrtinuesto stirnulate interest
tiort,HeWaswiththeWrldArrrrnals
and u p o n t h e n a r r a t i r r e t e c h n i q r - r e o
sf the irr reardingeach of the Cospels as stor\/.
AngelsMinlstered
to Hinr"tnBulletin
for e v a n g e l i s ts .I -i terar:ycri ti ci sm, al so, has I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e y , L ) r o \ / i r l eg t r i r l a n c e
Biblical
fresearchI (1999);and"l-le sirrrpll, Llt-rco\rerL.d lr'hat is tru11,prescnt corrcerningMark's narratirrepatterns and
Wrote
inParables Mark's lvithirr the Gospel narratil'es, r,r'hiclrto
andRicidles, stor1,-1glI
i n6;techniques.
asa Lilerary
Gospel Reproductiorr
of olrr shame got bltrrred, distclrted,or e\/ell An atomistic reading of lvlark'sCospel,
Jesus'TeachingMethod"
in Ditlaskallal o s t t o C h r i s t i a r r s n ' h o t h o r - r g h t h a t t o or an\r of the Gospel s,gi ves t he im pr es-
10( 1 9 9 9 ) r:c a dS c ri p ttr re as l i terature cl i r-ni ni shed si on that the storl ' l i ne corrsist sof "a ser ies
the llilrle. Reclisco\/eryoi thc' Bible as lit- o f d i s p a r a t e e p i s o d e s s t r : u n gt o s g t h s l
e ra l trl rc ,i n the harrds oi C hri sti ans rvho l i ke cl i sti nctbeads on a string ot hcnr , ise
criticalll, engage modern criticism of url col ' l nectedto each other . "l A holist ic
th e l l i l rl e , rre ednot resul t i n treati ng the reading, horvel'er,yielcls recognition of a
Il i l rl es i mp i l ' as any other good l i terattrre. storl,line that irrtegrateseach eprisodeinto
R i g h tl r,s e e l r,tl i e B i bl e i s the or:i gi nalthat a vvholeby n'a1,ol a cotlplex varietl' tli
c l a s s i cIi tc l a tr-rl ehas i mi tatecl .S cri pLure' s storl-tel Ii ng tecl-rnicllles.Mar k g ives stru c-
I i terarl' pa ttern s and featr-r
res sign if-icantl1' ttrre to hi s story try rcpeating r vor r lsand
irrfluerrcedgreat literary r,t,orksfar bevond pl rrases for l i terarl , ei fect and t heologi-
merL.qtrotations anc-laI lusions. cal significallce. I-le.trses ioresharion'ing
P a s s 6i s t h e c l a i m t h a t t h e a u t h o r o f and refl ecti on.R ectrl renceof colnpar able
th e s e c o n d Gospel " \\,as a cl umsv n' ri ter setti ngs arl cievents assi stsr eader st cl see
and tcl hear the me.ssagethat escapesthe
t t n n ' o r t h ) t o f t t r e t r t i o t ri t r a n 1 ' I i s t o r l '
' fn' el ve
o f l i t e r a t l l r e . " lT ' h e s a n r e i s t r u e o f t h e . l t' hcl se vi si on anrl lr ear iug ar e
rro ti o rrth a t l v{ark w as theol ogi cal l ;' art- i r-npai red.l vl al k frecl uentll' n'r aps one
less.Mark's Cospel, iormerly passeclover' episode arouncl another by telling tlre
becatrseits cortttrrts l.r'ereassurtreclto be begi nrri ng of orre epi sode on11,t o int er -
i n c o rp o ra te d i nto the l arser Gospel s of rupt i t rvi th another anc-lth er r t o r e. t t r r n

70
to fi nis h t he f ir s t . aBy s o d o i n g , M a rk n o t e -a rl i ersl -rortstttdi c-sthat cal l l atterl ti or-t
use of
o n l y s i g r r a l sf o r r e a c l e r sa r c ' l a t i o n s h i p to Mark's aPfrareritlf il-t1.t-riiorral
'15:38
betn,eenthe trvo storics,but by n'rapPilrg schizl in troth 1:10arrcl to fortn atr

o rreepis odear ot t n c la trttth e r,h i s a rra n g e - i rrc l usi o1,i el dmore i nsi ghts.rlLane' scl as-
ment of the ttvcl episttdes nrakes arpoint y Mark provocati vel )'cal l s for
s i c str-rcl of
"lt
that clneepisode aloue n,oulc-lrrot sigrrify. thesestr.rc-lies lr1'observiug, is prolralrly

Another of lviark's fc'aturesis chiasnl or significarrt that in the pre.f;rceto the Cos-
"episodes itt a concetrtric pattertt," sttcl-t prt'lthere is arrerrding of tlte' skl' and the
Sotr
as ir-r2:7-3:6n,iththe A-B-C-81-A11-rattern.5 proclat-uatiotrtl-ratJesusis the divinc'
N u r - r r e r o t t ss t t r d i e s s h o t t t t h a t c h i a s t l r (Ch. l:'11)to u'hiclt col'respolrdthe-retrcl-
o cc r r r sat t nt t lt iple l e v e l s i r-rMa rk ' s C o s - ing ot'the ten-rpleveil and the' confessiotr
p e l , f r om t he t ex t' s s ttra l l e s tl e v e l , s ttc h th a t Jestrsi s S otr of God i rl C h. 15:38i ." r3
a s sl- r or tpr ov er bi a l s ta tc ' trl e l l ts ,tc l th e l'his essay seeks to fill ottt l-atre's pithl'
evelopccl contnteut cotrcerni trg the
e n tir c ' t ex t , it r c luc l i n g th e u ' h o l e C c l s p e l bu t u nc-l
n a rl at iv e. 6Y et , t lie c o mp l e x i ty o i Ma rk ' s n a r rati ve and theol ogi cal si gni t' i canceoi
n arrat i rre arra lt g€tlttetrt1ri sl Lls tlu llltlroll s, lvlark's inclr,rsio.
ii r-rotcot'npeting,irrterpt'etit'r'structttral
a rra nger nent sof s e v e ra l c h i a s ms n ' i th i l r T h e Li terary C ompl exi ty of Mark' s

a large cl-riasm.Sonrearc c'latrorateu'hile Inclusio

rl th e r s ar e t r t or ' les t.7 Van lc'rselfinclsthe trvo etrdsof Mark's
W liile r eadir t gD o rra l d H . J tre l ' sA M n s - Gospel cotlne'cted lt)' r'r'a)'tlf s)'nrbcllic
"dcsert" and
tt'r rtf SLff7.tvi5s,l first etlcottntr:recltl-resr-rg- r e p r e s e n t a t i o u , l i r r k i t - t g
"tonllr."I4Som e scholars agree,iclettti f i rlg
gestiorr tl-rirtN{ark envelolres his Cospcl 1r
l l e c a l l sa tte l r- 1 :2 -73and 15:42-16:8
n a r r at iv cr t ' it h ar rin c l tts i o .E as Mal k' s i trcl ttsi o,
ntttrterolls titles
tiorr to rt,hat i had Lealc'l tre a ti ng 1:1as a ti tl e.r5The paral l el s thel '
rvithottt proper attention, tl'ratN4arktlsL's iderrtify, ltc'lttet'er, are pritnarily cotlceP-
schizaonce at eitl-rerencl of his Gospe'I,it-t t u a l a s s c - r c i a t i o nt sh a t d e p e n c l h e a v i l y
"The imagcs form u p o n an i ntel preti tre.l errelol ' readi trgthe
1:10and 15:38.He notes,
arr incltrsio: A patten-r tl-ratt-reginshere tcxt tl-ratadr-r-rittedly mol'es be1u6116 r'r'hat

at ]e.sns'baptism eucls tvith his t1c'ath."q t h e ' t e x t i t s e l f s a y s . l 6C a l e l t r l r e a d i n g

"Whetl the heavel-Isare shon,sthat stronger verbal linkages occllr
Juel contittttes,
torrl, the Spirit eutersJestrsand a hcavely b c ' trt' eer1 1:1-13and 15:33-39.P r:omi rrerrt
' s o l l .' At th e catchu,ords in these trt'o pericoPes stlg-
[si c ] r ' oic e addr es s e sh i n r a s
'breatl-redotrt his gest that these ttvo portions form Mark's
rnomerrtof his rleath,he
au. trans.);the temple cttrtain
spirit' (75:37, i r r c l t r s i o ,f e a t u l i n g J e s l t s 'b a p r t i s ma n d
tears;atrcla cetttltrion-16[ God.-r-nakes c ru ci fi xi ol l as art()i rrti ngand errthrone-
a declaration alrottt Jestts'stlnship."lf' ntent respectirrely.

Juel stirred mf irnagirrationb1'observ- With van Iersel or lVailis, one rnight

"Reflectionstrggeststhat the relation- "bookellds" or
irrg, c'xpectto firrd Mark's
both ends of the irrclttsioare
ship Lretrveen i n c l r . r s i oi n l : 1 - 1 3 a r r d a c o r r e s p o n d i n g
corlplex, not simple, atrd urerit fultirer: I-lort'ever,
portion at the end itr 15:40-16:8.
stud1,."ll F{is o\vl1 \\'ork, hc)tvever,sir-rrpl1' upon reaclirrgtheseportiot-ts,oue does uot
touches Ltporlthis complexity rt'hile chal- find man)' r'erbal linkages Lretr'r'eetr tl-re

lenging reaclerstcladvancethe studl'. lin'o tu,o. Or-iefir'rdsMark's merrtiotr of John's

7T
 c a m e l h a i r s a r m e n t ( 1 : 6 )a n d t h e y r ) u n g oi rectrrring terrls, expressions,cognates,
man's robe (16:5).17
Th.'rugh lvlark's nrerl- a n d a s s o c i a t ei d e a s t h a t r r a t u r a l l t ' l i n k
t i o n o f c l o t l r i n gi s a d n r i t t e d l yu n u s u a l rvi th l :1-13.Motyer note.sa clt r st er ingoi
a rrc -ts i g n i fi cant r,r.i thi rreacl r of the tr,r' o rnoti fs that occtrr i n Mark's accour r t at
p a s s a g e s s, tr onger rrerl rall i nkage of' the botl'rJestrs'baptism (1:9-11)arrcilris death
r v i l c l e l r r e s sa l r d t o r n b s e t t i n g s l r ' o u l d ( 1 5 : 3 6 - 3 9i)r r c l u d i n g ( 1 ) c l e c l a r a t i o nt h a t
Ita v e n ra d e the connecti orrunmi stakatrl e. Jesr-rs i s the S on of God (at b apt isnr ,G od's
A c l e a re rl i n l< nri ght be tl -reexpl i ci t nl en- voice;at death, the centurion);(2)a tearing
tion of Jestrs'movenlelrts, irr the openine of the sky' nt-,.1oi tfuecurtain; (3) desce't
s c e n e " f r o n - rN a z a r e t h o f G a l i l e e " ( 1 : 9 ) o[ the Spirit arrrc]
tlesccntof the tear in the
ancl at the tornb "the NazArelte" is going ctrrtain (from top to L-rottonr);
(4) Elijah is
" i n to
G a l i l e e " (16:7).Y et, there i s l i ttl e i n s),mbol i cal l ypresent(atbapt isnr ,ir rJohn;
1 5 :4 0 -1 6 :8
th at comme.ndsthi s porti orl as at cleath, in the nrockirrg of the people);
the clostrreof the inclr-rsio.In fact, Mark's arrcl(5) recepti onof the S pir it ( pt u, t t n. r r ) 'at
s t o r l ' r e s i s t s c l o s u r e a t 1 6 : 8 . I n s t e a c l , b a p t i s m a n c ld e p a r t u r e o i C h r i s t ' ss p i r i t
"N{ark's
Gospreleuclslvith Lrothhope ancl at cleatlr (ercpneusen,75:37,39), sigrrifierl
d i s a rp p o i n tnrent." l lshe fi nal t\t,o vel ' ses rt,itl-rthe double use of the.noun's cognate
e-rrdthe narratir.e by sr-rstainirrgterrsiclrrs Greek verb as a euphr.nrisrn.2(' t)o these
of the storl', tension "betr,r'eerr
Lrlir-rdness exhar.rstthe verbal l i nkage . sbe. t r veent he
a n d i n s i g h t, conccal rnent;rnd openness, tn o [-rortions?
Jtrxtaposingthe tert of both
s i l e n c ea n c l procl anrati on.The terrsi oni s Lrorti orrshol ds pronri se fo r ir lent iiying
tlclt re.solr.ecl."I9 nrore l i nks.
T h trs , l a c k oi str:orrgverbal l rnkages 81,l 31,i ngthe trvo passag es
sicleb1, side,
rv i th 1:l -1 3a ncll ack oi cl osureto thc.story e\/en in English (but tretter in Greek),LrtL,
i n th e re s u rr ecti on narrati ve (15:40-16:8) el i scoversseve.relcatcl
l rn' o r ds ancl svr r -
i s l e s s t l r a n s a t i s f y i r r g .T h e c n r c i f i x i o n or1\'nrphrasestlrat lirrk the tu'o pt.r'icopes
p e ri c o p ei rr 1 5:33-39i s more.pront i si ng as as shou' n i n l abl e 1.
the clclsingr-nenrberoi the inch.rsicl
Lregun V I a r k ' s n a r r a t i v e o i fe s u s ' l - r a p t i s n ' r
i n 1 :1 -1 3fo
, r here onc di scoversa cl uster foresl rador,r' sthe crr-rci fi xion nar r at ive

Table I

C a t c h w o r d s a n d S y n o n y m P h r a s e st h a t F o r m t h e I n c l u s i o

Mark 1:l-13 Mark 15:33-41

l:l Son of God l5:39 Son of God

l:2 a v o t c ec n e s o u t I5:34 Jesuscried out with a loud voice.

l:10 heavenstorn open l 5 : 38 temple curtain torn open in frvo

l :l 0 Spirit descendinginto him l 5 : 3 7 , 3 9 he yielded his spirit

l:10 descending l -5:38 from top to bottom

l:lI a voice came fiom heaven l5:31 Jesusreleaseda loud voice

l:lI a v o i c e c a n r ef r o m h e a y e n l5:33 darknesscanre upon the earth

l:13 he was with the wild animals l5:39 Ithe centurion] who stood by in hostility to him

l:13 [ a n g e l s ]w e r e m i n i s t e r i n g t o h i n r l5:40 [women]were ministering to him

72
r,r'itl-rc;rtchr'r'ordsand s)'nolr)'nr phrases. n 'i l derness Jesttsi s bl essedb1, the voi ce
B o t ] r p r o r t i o r r so f t h e i r t c l u s i o i n c l t r d e tl r at conrcs.ft' otttl tei l l ,e
n, speaki ng C ocl ' s
l ru t i n
clear aif ir m at iorr o f J e s trsi' rl e rrti tr,' Worcl of anoi nti ng to hi rl from P sal m 2:Z
rLr\/erseorc1L.r. The evangelist tregins tl-re 11rcrlzsl1'rsalt-r-r (cf. Isa 42:1;2Sam T:il4;Cen
stor'\,abclutJesr,rs r,r,iththe titular t-leclara- ))' 2,72,l 6). On the cross,l teat' en' ssi l ence
"The
tiorr, begirrr-rirrg of the gospel of Jr-stts acconrpanieshc'ar/-\, darktress that contes
C lr r is t ,t he S or t t i Go d "(l :1 ).T h e s u rp ri s i n g ttL)ontlrcrplrctlttnrtlr, renriniscerntoi Ccld's
"Tr
Gentile centtrriort'scr-lriessiotl, r-rlt'this j u cl gn-rent of darknessthat came upon the
n-ran\\r;rstl're Sorro.iGod" (15:39),brir-rgs rr' hol el and of E g),Lrt(E xoci10:21-23).l esus
the ev angelis t ' sn a rt' a ti v eto a tr i ro r-ri cc l i - cries alour-lhis lamerrt oi abatrc-lotrtrteut,
mar.ll This irorr), is lr)' design, for Marrk of the
qtrotirrg Psalrn 2a:7,in thc rniclc-llc
terllshou' Jeslts,throughotrt his utitristl'r,', d a 1' rvl ten the sttn ordi nari l r,,shi nes. In
re v eals him s e' lf r,t,i thv e i l c c -ls p e c c h a n c l k ee' pi rrgn' i th Mark' s al l usi ve ref' erence
action to e1,esthat seebut clo trcltprr'rccive to S cri ptnre, cl arknessat the si xth hotrr'
and to ears that hear L-rutdo t-toi ttuder- o t the da1' 15C od' s eschatol ogi calj udg-
"Ancl
Nclr,rljesus' final act upolt the cross ment, as in Amos 8:t
star-rd. orr tl'ratduy,'
i ror r ic allt rt r r t r . e i l sl -ri stru e i d e rrti tl ,a s So rl the l-orclGoq'I r,r'il1
declare.s make the sttn
o.fCod, not to orre of his follor,t'ersLrttt tt.r g o don,r-rat noon and darken the earth i n
corttes Lrroac-lcla1,l1t1-',."'
his c'xectrtiorrertvltose cotrie'ssic-lrl
i n r es pons et o t h e n ' l a n n e ro f J e s trs ' c l e a th . N , [ a r k ' sn a r r a t i r . e d r a \ \ ' s a c o u t r a s t
Jesus' baptisnr aucl crucifixion
Bec aus eJ es r - r)s, i e l c 1hsi s s p i ri t o i h i s ttrt' u
l-retr,r'een
r.olitiorr,url,eilirrg his iclentit)',he sl'reaths u ,hi l e at the san-reti me l i nki ng the trt' o
the executiorter'ss\r'ot'c1. his deatlt lie
131' fot l1tttuaI intc'rpretatio1.At
itrsepraratrl)'
elicits flom his enetny n,hat nolte of his his LraptismJesuslte'arsthe hcavetllz 1261.u
" T rttl y tl -ri s rl a n of approbatiorr(lr4arkl:11).At his crucifix-
fo llon' er s c or lf e s s e c l :
So,as Mark's storl'
rt'asthe Son of Goc1."21 ion hear.erris silent and cottersJesusu'itl-r
l -' eginsit als o en d s l v i th a p l a i n a ffi r:n ra - tl ie darkness of j udgnrent (15:33).A t hi s
tion of Jesus'identitl', but ironicalll, it'ntrr Lraptismin the u'ilclelness the z,oice
.fronr
an ur-rlikel), character.2l speaksapproval to Jestrs,evidently
Irent,ert
Upon the cross ar-rdrt,ith a lotrd uoice for hinr alone, for there is no t-nentiotroi
Je s usc r ies out in th e d a rk n e s s th a t l -ra s o tl -rersheari ng (1:11;cf. Mati 3:17;Ltrke
" M )' C J o c l My
con' leLlpon hir n (1 5 :3 1 1 ). ! 3:22).At his cnrcifixiotl, Jesus'r,ttice
ft'ortt
G o c i ! W h y h a r . e 1 ' 6 1 1f o r s a k e l t l r L ' ? " t'nrtlrspeaks lamerrt to God, directecl to
p unc t r - r at esn' it h l a n re rrt th e s to rl ' th a t hirn alorre,Lrut b)rstarrder"s hear n'ithout
Lreginstvith auttther rtt'tict: otrt btrt
cl'1ri1-'t u r r c l e r s t a r - r r l i nagn d m o c k h i u r ( 1 5 : 3 5 ) .
"Pt'epare thc' tvitl' of l n the rt,i l cl ernessJesusexperi errcesthe
irr the rvilderrress,
th e t - or d; m alc e s tra i g h t p a th s fo r h i t' u " aLridingpresenceof Goc-lLr-1, 1n'uyof angels
( 1 : 3 ) .I s a i a h ' s " h i g h n , a v f o r t h e L o r d " i vho rri rristtn'ttthhn (Mark 1:13).A t l i i s cru-
rt'ith
reachesits zer-rithin tl-rer-rr-rcitlxiotr t Lry
ci ii x ion Jesustrnd ergoes aLrandont-rren
Je s t r s c' r \ / ir 1got t t, fo rs a k e trb \' h i s F a th e r God, by atlge'ls,by l-risfollor'r'ers,and evel-l
r,r'lroseuoit:eoi approbation he heard in by rvonren rvho r,\/el'efaithful tt^ttrtirristet'
the u'ilderness r,r'henhe rvas l-raptizecl, to l ri tnj n Gal i l ee (15:40).
Jestts'euuotutce-
"YoLl are ri-ly Sorr, the Lrelclvedt-ltre;it't merrtof his Cod-appointerlnrissiotrcomes

yot r I am r , r ' ellp l e a s e d " (1 :1 0 -1 1 ).

Irr th e to pass-" The S on of Mrrtr di d rrot come

nc)
IJ
 ttt lte rnilristcredfo Lrtrtto tttittister'"(10:45). seenlsto foreshac-krn,
his descriptionof the
Sigrriiicarltllr\,1ot'p's
dttal ttse'oidinkorre0
in I{ otnan centuri on.16
The rvi l c lt r east s,hos-
th i s p -r3 5 5 ;1egcleroesi ts use i n the trapti snr tile ioes in the r,r'ilclerness,
corresponrl tr-r
e p i s o tl e (i :1 3 ) arrc' forc.shadorvs
l i ts trse all tt'ho a1-lplo,,.ed
Jestts'cr"ucifixicln,
bttt in
i rr tl re c rtrc i fixi on account (15:40).These parti ctrl ar to the r-enturi onn 'ho st ood by
a l e th e o n l y ' t rses of the vertr i n Mark' s the cl oss i n l i osti l i trr ton,arclJest r s( 15: 39;
C o s ;re l . lut pnrest€kds
ej\ etrnrrtinsntftott).
B e s i c l e sc a u s i n g t h e c e n t u r i o n ' s c r ) l t - it4ark's Lrapt i sr-rrn at'rative also i r-nprli c-
fe s s i o n -" T rtrh' tl ri s nrarnrvas the S on ot i tl t, for:eshadon'hi
s s crtrci fi xionn. rr r at ive
Cod" (1 5 :3 9 )-j esus' l oudl y voi cecl),i el cl - r,r,ithreferenceto Elijah.The drama Lrt'gins
irrg of lris spirit tenrsctpetttlre tenrple r,'eil u,i th the eschatol ogi calE l i j a h pr : eaching
fronr top to bottonr into tr.t'opieces. I'hese i n the l vi l dernessand adrni nist er ingpur i-
ti t' o e ffe c tso f Jesr-rs' ci yi rrg-(1)
the teari ng fi cati or-rri tes for l ' eP entarrce
of sir r in t he
o f th e c trrta i rrand (2) the cerrttrri on' scorr- Jordan River (Mark l,:2-9). The prol',hecies
i e s s i o rr-s i g n i f1,that tl ri s i s not the cl ose ci ted (7:2-3;Mal achi 3:1;Isa iah 40: 3)and
o f a tra g i c l i fe btrt the i roni c di scl osure the. urrarnbi guous notati on on clot l- r ir - r g
o f th e s a n reJestrsn,ho sarv the heavens by rt' hi ch E l i j ah rvas i denti ti ed ( M ar k 1: 6;
trtrrto 1 :trt,i rrto rvhotn the S pi ri t descarrtl etl2, K i ngs 1:B )rnake i t evi cl e r r tt hat lvI ar k
and n,ho hcarc'la r,oiceacclatinr,"YoLl are vie\,r'sJohn as the last davs Elijah rt,ho
rn y S o n , th e b el ovecl orre; i n yotr I arn scrves eistl-reheralci for one to conre rvho
n ' e l l p l e a s e e l "(1:1i ).fhree escl ratol ogi cal i s " m o r e p o r t ' e r i u l " ( M a r k 1 : 8 ) . 1 7T h i s
events occur at once-(1) tlie renclinq o[ allusive reference to Elijah foreshaelou,s
tlre ho.avens([sa (t4:I), the anoilrting b1' thc' Lrystanders'taunting; anticipation of
tl re Sp i ri t d e s cendi ng i nto hi m (l sa 67:7), Elijah'simminerrt appearanceto takeJesus
a n c l th e v o i c e or:i ei nati ng from hcaven dorvn fror-nthe cross (Mark 15:35-36).
Tlie
(l s a4 2 :1 ;P s 2 .7).24
Thesethl ec' si gni fy that taunti ng crcl r,vd' smockerv-"19pf t ! He
Isaiah'sprophecy concerrrinsthe "Wa1'6,; cal l s for E l i j ah" -r' esponds to Jesus'loucl
H o l i n e s s ," \\' hereno uncl ean person rvi l l cry irr Ararnaic, "Ekti! Eloi! Lartn snltnch-
tra v e l , i s rro rt'i trl fi l l ed (Isa 35:B )as Jesus thttni !" 28B ecausethel ' fai l to r ecognize
s u l rn ti ts to J ohrr' scl eansi ng l i te, l rot to Jolrn as the prornised Elijah figure (77:27-
c o n i e s ss i n s a s others cl o (Mark 1:5),btrt 33), tl'rey also clo not ackrrou,ledgt'Jesus
a s C o d ' s b e l o rred S on rvho pl eases the as Sorr of God (12:7-72).
F a th e r to l e a cl C od' s p-reopl efronr exi l e
i n to p ro m i s e . The Li terary S i gni fi cance of
In k e e p i n g r,vi tl iJesus' anoi nted carl l , Mark' s Incl usi o
thcSpirit,girrentoJestts,castshirnoutinto As state.ce l arlier, the strtrcttrre of
th e n ' i l c l e n l e s sto be tempted b1' S atanfor IvIark' sGospel i s compl ex rvit h var ious
fo rtt' d a 1 ' s ,re pl i cati ng l srael ' sexperi ence epi sodes tangl eci toeether so t hat t he. y
i u th e ' u ' i l c l e rtress
for fort1,years.l sIn t]i e bear nl ore than one Ii tel ar], r 'elat ionshipr .
v v i l c l e rtre s Js e sus dr,r' el l sanrong S atau' s For exarnpl e,consi cl erTabl e2.
a l l i e s ,l re i s u ,i th w i l d bensts
but not al one, N oti ce that Mark 6:30-44has t r n, olit -
to hi nt (I:12-13;cf. P s
fo r a n g e l s trti rti ster erar)/ rol es. Fi rst, i t provi des t he secor r d
9 1 9 -1 3 ).T i ro trghMark' scl escri pti onoi the hal f of the fr;-rme.
that L-reg ins
in 6: 6b- 13
r,vildbeastsis Lrriei(etrrrretntdrt tlreri0rr),it arrd r,r'rapsarou nd 6:74-29.Second,Mark

71
 Framing
A B A l

6:6b-13 6:14-29 6:30-44

Recursion

A B C D E A1 B1 cl Dr E1
r--L-l
6 : 3 0 - 4 46 : 4 5 - 5 67 : 1 - 2 3 7 :2 4 -3 0 7 : 3 1 - 3 78 : 1- 9 8 : 1 0 8 : 11 - 13 8 : 1 4 - 2 18:22-26

lnclusio
A B
I
/ \
8:22-268 :2 7-9 :2 9 9 : 3 0 - 1 0 : 310:32-45
1 10:46-52

Table2

6 :30- 44is t he f ir s t e p i s o c l eo t' fi r,e , n ,i th otrtliner-las a d istir-rct

trr-rit,
the corrcspond-
e a c h h a v i n g c o r r e s p o r r c l i r r gr c c u r s i v c ' i rr g i ncl usi o porti on to n,hi ch i t l i nks l i ter-
e p is odesir r 8: i- 2 6 .So , 6 :3 0 -4 4(fe ' e d i n go f' a ri l 1,(15:33-41)
i s i r-rseparatrlenrbcddcd
l,
th e 5000) c or r el a te sto 8 :1 -9(fe e c l i n go f i n the cmci fi xi on narrati ve (15:21-41).
As
the 400t1)r'r'hichbegirrs the livc're'ctrrsit.e s h ort' n above, thi s i s the di ffi cul tl . that
e p i s o d e s . S i m i l e r r l ) ' ,8 : 2 2 - 2 6 f u n c t i o u s It4ark' s cor-npl ex1i terar1'arrange' mertts
pivotalll, for trt'o literary portio.s. First, it
Pose for identiff ilg strttcture, even n-Iore
is the firral episode in the recursirrec1,cle so for arrall'11631
outlirresfor teac|i.g arrd
. sus'giving sight
that s pans 6: 30- 8 :2 6 [e prcacl-ring.
to t he t r lind nla n o f Be tl i s a i d a (8 :2 2 -2 6 ) \Vhat is the significance of Mark's
co lr es pondst o Je s u s 'g i rri rrgu r-ri n rp a i re d r t , h o l e n a r r a t i v e i n c l u s i o ? D i s c n s s i o r - r
hearing and spee.clito the c-leaf-r-utrte
nlan above alread;' hints at much ot the sig-
(7:31-37).)e Secorrd,Jesus' giving sight at nificance.The qtrestionis r,r'orthyoi some
(B
Bet l'rsai r1a :22-26)b eg i n s t h e nr i c1sect i o n foctrserlreflectiorr.
oi the Cospel, rvhicl'rrecotrntsJestts'thrce Marrk' sC ospel uses i ncl trsi o to en\/e-
e xplic it annollnce n re n tsth a t fe a ttrreh i s l ope a si r-rgl c'cpi socl e or to encl ose an
impencling clc-athn'ith lrrief nrentiotr of exterrdec'lrrarraLiveportion. An erarnple
(8:27-9:29; o f a si ngl e epi sode i r-rcl trsiios the P arabl e
after three cla1,s
lris restrrrectic'rr-r
9 :30- 10: 31; 70. 3 2 -1a5n)d e n d s rt' i th [e s tts ' o f the S oi l s rvi th Jesus'cal l at i ts outset tcr
" Li sten!" (4:3)
g i v ir r g s ight t o L rl i n d Ba rti tl a e u s (1 0 :-1 6 - and hi s appeal at i ts cl ose,
"Lct
52).The trvo episodesof Jestts'givirrg sight the one rt'ho has ears tcl hear listen!"
t o b l i n d e y e s f o r m a r r i r r c l n s i o a r o u n d (a :9).l -l -ri sLrri efi rrcl usi o si gnal s hearers
BecatrseMark entangleshis epi-
8:27-70:45. a lrout the i r-nportanceof heari rrgthe par-
t o u tl i n e th e
so dest his r v ay it i s d i ffi c r.rl to al''le for understarrding. Orre u'ho he'eds
Cospel'rt'ith fi rm literarl, f.l6s11daries. ]estrs'call to listerrrecognizesthat the par-
W hile t he bap ti s m e p i s o d e (.1 :1 -1 3i s) alrleis atroutl-rearinS; and various levelsoi
' t h e p ro l o g u e a n rl c a u b e
d i s c er r r ablcas i mpai red heari ng. Thus, ol re r,r' hohears

f-t v

/5
 c l o e sn o t n c ccl to ask for an expl anati on r r a r r a t i v e ?C r r - r c i a la s t h e r e s t r r " r ' e c t i o n
-fivelve
of the paralrle. The fact that the rrarrativeis to the frrll storl,of Jetsus,
Ir,,[ark
a s kJ e s u si o r a n exprl anati oni nc-l i cates
tl rat does rrot feattrreit r,r,itlrinthe Gospel or as
th t' i r h e a r:i rrqi s 1' g1i ntpai red. l i i s l i terar:yi rrcl usi oor b1' giving it r - nt r ch
'ln.o
e x a r r r p l e so f i n c l u s i o t h a t s p i l l l
l ength.30W i th numerous cat chn, or cls and
l o rrg e r rra l ra ti ves are (1) gi vi ng si ght tcr synon\/n-rphrases that l i rrk t he bapr t isnr
th e b l i n c l m a n at B ethsai ci a(8:22-26) n' i th arrc-l
cr r,rcifi xion n arratives,Ma r'l<featur:es
g i v i n g s i g h t t o b l i r r c lB a r t i m a e l r si r - rl e r i - C hri st' s cr:uci fl xi c-ut,
not hi s r est r r lect ior r ,
c l ro (1 0 :4 6 -5 2)
errcl osi nsthe rrarrati veof as the clinrax of the story, placing the
Testts' thrr.e a11llollltcentents to the Tr,r'elve Lrr-rr:iarI
and reslrrrc'ctionepisoclesbet,ond
c o n c e rl ri n g h i s i n-i pe.ncl i ngdc.arthrr.hi l e thc. feattrreclcl i max. The m anllL- r r , r 'it h
t raveli n g torrral'rl Je.ru saIenr (8:27-10:45); rvhi ch Mark ends hi s Gospc'lin a kir r clof
anrl (2) the rvidor,r,r,r'ho,from her 1-ror'- narrarti l ' esuspensi on has l or r g iur pelled
er:t1iplacesall lrer r,r'ealt]rinto thc tenrple readc.rsto l ook for a sui ta r lr le. st r lr t ' cli-
trearsurl,(12:4i-44)u'ith the.nornrrrr r,r'iro nrax.sll \,{ ark' si ncl trsi o i cl en t if iest he cli-
a n o i n ts J e s u srt' i th extravagantperftrrne nrax to be C hri st' s cruci fi xi o n ar shis glor l'
(1a:1-11)
Lrr:acketing
Jestrs'ivlor-rntoi Olir,es and enthronemel ttersthe S o n of G od. I r or
D i s c c l rr
rs e th a i cal l s for u' atchful nessancl it is here that orreproprerlyrecoi;rrizesarrc-l
p e rs c rv e ra l l c cr
to rentai rr l o1' al cl i sci pl es confessesJestrs'trtre character, irlcrrtitl',
(13:l-37). anci rl i ssi orr. l t i s as the cru cif ieciSon oi
In c l trs i o ,s i r l i l ar to sandr,r' i chi ng(al scr C ocl that Jestrsrecei vesstrLr jectint s o his
c a l l e d f r a m i r r g ) ,i s M a r k ' s b u i l t - i n i r r t e r - kingdor-rr,rvhere erremies arrrj are
-i,ielc-l
p r e t i v e a s s i s t a n c ef o r h i s r e a C e r st h a t m;rc-l corrfessie ngstrLrj ects
l i k e t he cer r t u-
c a l l sa tte n ti o r rto the l i terarl ' rel ati onshi p-rs ri on n' ho ackrroi n' l ecl ges, "
fr uly, t lr is m an
a n ro l l g tl i e e ncl oseclrrarl ati ve epi sodes. r,r'asthe Son of God."
Ma rk ' s n a rra t i rre.oi Jesns'bapti sm fol e.- S i gni fi carrtas C l -rri st' sres ur r ect ior -is,
r
s h a d o r,r' sth e rcruci fi ri on narrati ve rt' i th Mark' s C osperli eature-sthe cr t r cif ixion
c a tc h n ,t' rrd sa rrcl s)/l 1orl vl -nphrases rrot i n Lroth tl ' re i ncl usi cl arrcl th e nar r at ir r e
fo r Ii te ra r),c u ri osi t)rl l or even for:l i terarl '
botrncl ecl bl ' tl re i ncl usi clE
. achof t he t hr ec
b e a trtvb u t i o r theol ogi calurrderstandi rrg. a n n o u r r c e m e n t so i J e s u s /a p f r r o a c h i n g
l v l a rk i o rg e s t hersei ntra-tcxtual verl ral d e a t h i n J e r t r s a l e mp r o v i d e s i r r c r e a s i n s
l i rrk s to s i g n a l readers that fesr-rs'barp- c l e t a i l c c l n c e r n i n g t h e m i t l l n e r o f h i s
ti s n r ;rn d h i s c rr-rci fi xi onare theol ogi cal l i ' death rvi th the sar-rre attach nr ent ,"af t cr
inseparalrleancl that these tr,r,cl
bookc.nds tlrlee c-la1's
he r,t'ill rise again" (ktti rtrt,ttt
b i n c i th e u ' h o l e narrati ve together-sothat, trei sl rl rrterns
nnsstesetniB;:31 ;9: 31; l0: 34) .
n ' i th o r,rtth e m, n' h.rt l i es betureen them Mark's featureof the crl-rcifixiotris eviclerrt
n'ill not be pr:operh'reacl or under.stooci. fronr the nri dsecti on of the . G osl- r gl,; 1s
Yet, the liter:ar'1, relatiorrshipis urutual, for hi rrteclat i n tl re carl i er di sct r ssionof t he
p r()p e r n rrd e rstanr-l i ng of Jesus'Lrapti snr l i tcrarl , arral l gemetrtof N { ark 8: 22- 10: 52.
a n rl o f h i s c r" trci fi xi onrecei vesi ts fr-rl l ness This, the heart of lvfarl<'sGospel, is rvhere
from thc narratirreencasecir,r'ithinMark's rt,e find catchu'ords apd s)/l1ol1)/11
p[rases
I ite ra-r
ry Lroclkco\/ers. front the baptisrnarrd crtrcifixionc.pisocles
A l l th i s p ro r upts a questi on:W hv does i rrtersecti ng.Jesus'tri pl e al tlt oult cem t nt
th e i n c l u s i c ln o t encl osethe' resnnecti on of hi s i mpendi ng crtrci fi xi on f eat ur eshis

76
 rii
rii
sa crif ic ialdeat h as h i s g l o ri o trse n th ro n c - P c t e r c o n f e ' s s e s",Y o u e r e t h e C h r i s t ! " llri
me.ntarrd thus the clin-raxof lvlark's Cos- (8 :2 9),he, u,i th the.other di sci pl es,i nrme-
i,i
p e i . \ , V er t ' ill f oc t r s a ttr.rrti o rtu L ro rttrv o
p e ri c opes :J es us ' L ra r-rs fi g u ra ti o(9
diatcll, shon's hort' faintlt, he hears ancl
n :2 -1 3 ) h ttrv di nrl l , l re sees Je' stts'true i denti ty
ilr
l i
a rrd J am es ar r d J o h r-r' strrru s u a l rc c l trc s t (c t. 8:31-33).Li ke the bl i nd r-nanertJestrs' .i.
(10:35-45). fi rs t toLrch,thei r serl sesl acl <cl ari t), ancl I
i1
ll

i s u s ' g i v i n g s i g h t to
Th e inc his io c - rJe
L rl i n de) ' eslr our r dsM a rk 8 :2 2 -1 0 :5u2,h i c h
definiticln. Accnrate as Pc.tet''s
conf-ession
i s , i t l a c k s c o l r p l e t e l r e s s ,r v h i c h J r ' s t r s
,.
lN
f e a t r - r r ehs i n r g i v i n g i n s t n r c t i o n t h r e e b e g irrs to ruake pl ai n by sayi ng that l -re
ti me s t o all his disc i p l e s c o n c e l n i r-rgth e n ' i l l suffer ancl di e at the hands of tl -re
rl e a th a n d a
p l rrp os e oi his ir - rrp e n d i r-rg rtl i g i ous l eacl ersancln' i l l ri se agai n after'
fo trr t h t it ne pr iv aL e l l ' to th re e .d i s c i p l e s thrc'e da1'3.Peter'spatlorrizilrg arrd srt,ift
at his transfigtrratior-r.As shor'r,ne'arlier, rebtrkeexposesthe inar-le(luac\/
of his con-
J e s u s ' o p e r - r i n t€ . \ ' e sa t B e t h s a i d a i s a s fessiorr.3llb acknorvledge Je'susu'ithor.rt
l i t e r a r i l y l i n k e c l t o h i s g i i t s o f s p e e c h ;rccotrntingt'orhis crucifixion at the hancls
arrd lrearing to tl-redeaf mrrtc (7:37-37)as o i th e rel i gi ous l eader:si s i narl ecl uatearrd
to h i s giv ing s ight to B a rti n ra e u s(1 0 :-1 5 - i n n eed of furthel i nstructi on.
5 2 ) . 8 1 . h c ' . r l i r - rign ' r p a i r e d h e a r i n g a n d Iieginning in tl-retraptism pericope ar-rd
speeclr(7:31-37)and r.ision (8:22-26)Jesr-rs running ll-rrolrghotrtN4arl<'sClcispelis a
"\'oice (7ilntto)
icaII1,6lro,r-rati
s1'r'nlrol zes h is teachi ng role rnotii" n'ith r,r'ordsexpress-
fc'attrresnrakc'it
rvith the T\r'eh,e.Se-\,eral i n g recogrri ti onof Jestrsas C l od' sS on,for,
cl e a r t hat J es usc lesi g rre cthl e s e tn ' o s i g n s in part, the plotted conflict the rrarratirze
to repr es et t t s 1r 11 [ro l i c a l l th
y e d i s c i p l c ' s capttrres devc'lopsal'oul-rc-l
rival voices.'A
n 'i th t heir dt r ll ear s , i rl rp s l 6 g p ti v ee \/e s , voicecrf ing in the rtrilderness"app-rointed
"pre1-rare
arrc-l their inatrilitl, to arrnotrrrcervith clar- to the u'ity of tl-reLord" (1:3)is
' fl ' ,. "voice
i t1 'Je s t t s 't r ue ider r ti ty . d i s c i p l e s a re joinecl b)t it frour hea\zr'lt"sa1,it-tg,
"YoLr
like these t\r,o lnen u,hont Jesusheals. As are my Son, the belovec-lorre;irr )/ou I
r,r'iththese t\,r'onren, Jcsr,rs
arlsohas drau'rr anr r,r'ellpleased"(l:11).This prir,atedivine
" S on
the T\r,el',,easide frorn the crorvclsto give i rrv e sti ttrreof Jesusn' i th thr. ti tl e of
special attt.ntiorrto thenr to unstop their' Cod" tinds rival voicesfrom demons r,r'ho
d e a f ear s and t o ope rl th e i r b l i n d e y e s(c f. s e e k to preempt Jesus'sel f-cl i scl osnre
i rr
4:17-72;7:77tf\. I-ike the deaf arrd mtrte t h e a p p o i r - r t e ct 1i m e t r y p t r b l i s h i n g h i s
'frve'lve
I-ltal'I,the lteat' onll' folt-ttl1'1"1-t-1 ide'ntitl' openllt. 'Aud Cr1zi1-tt otrt f itft a
'What
Je su s is t c , ac hir r ga tro u t h i n -rs e l f.T h e i r loud voice, l-resaid, do y,611have to
i mp air ed s peec lrf a i l s to c o n fe s sp l a i n l l ' d o rvi th nre, Jesus,S on of the Most H i gh
n'ho Jesustrttllz is because their eal's arL' Coc-l?I acljtrre1'olrLr1,Cod, c]or-tott6ruteut
"'
trc)tPrqpslll, ]-t"' rirrg tryfiatJc'sttsIas L'tt-etr nref (5:7).Even thor,rghdemorrscclrrc.ctll'
sa yi rr g ( c f . 4: lO f f; 7 :7 7 i f).J e s u sp € rfo m rs Son (cf. 7:23-26,31),
iclerrtifl'lrim as Goc-l's
mA rl L re fo reth e
h i s s ign r v it h t he L rl i r-rd Jesusconsisterrtly,1'..1-,.,Oes tht'ur becar.tse
disciprles'cYes,lrtri thsy fail t6 perceiye h e i rr terrdsto trnvei Ihi s or,r' rr
i dtnti t1' rt' i tl -r
i ts trtr e s igr r if ic anc e(c f. 6 :5 2 ;8 :7 7 -2 t).
T ' h e h i s orvn r,oi cei n l -ri sappoi nteclti me ancl
disciples pe'rceiveonly clirlll' 11'11.',Jc'stts ltt allrler.

is. They hc'ar or-rlyiairrtl\' 1.'1't',Jestrsis So, Mark featr,rresat the center of his
te a ching c onc r ' r nirrgh i n rs e l i . E i ' e n a ftc r (i i -rspelthe trarrsfi gurati onof the S orr of

n
hh
 Il'lan rr,hen tlie dil'ine voice comes fronr (9:7; t:gerretorreTtlrcle
cpiskinzousanufois).
the clotrclto iclenLif1' unambiguous11, The clotrclforcshaclorvsthe darkness that
Jesr-rs
"Son
as o f Gocl ." l lOther featuresbesi des comes upon the lr,hole earth at mic'lclav
th e c l i rri n ev oi ce l i nk the tl ansfi gurati on r,r'lteuJestrsis cr:r-rciiicd (15:33).The voice.
e ' p i s o d c(9 :2 -13)
rvi th the bapti snraccotrrrt h e a r c l a t J e s t r s 'b a p t i s n r s p e a k s a g a i r r .
( l : l - 1 3 )a n d r v i t h t h e c r u c i f i x i o nr r a r r a t i v e M a r k ' s n a r r a t i v e e c h o e s a r e L l n m i s t a k -
(15:33-41T
) .h e s e t h r e e a c c o u r r t sr e p o r t - abl e. l n the rvi l dernessat Jesus'bapr t isr n
i n g a p o c a l l zpti cever-l tsl i terari l y fol m a tl teutti cecotnesotttoJhenret r( 1: 11)O
. n t he
cl'riasnr(A-ll-Ar; see Table 3). nrotrrrtainat Jesus'tr:ansfigtrrationthcuctice

Table3
Inclusio and Chiasm
34
Apocalyptic Events in l\'[ark's Gospel

A B AI
I\larkl: l-13 I\Iark 9;2-13 I\Iark l5:3341
Baptism Transjiguration Crucifrtiotr
l:l0 Heavens torn 'femple
9:3 Garments become radiant white l5:38 curtain torn
l:4-9 John as Elijah 9:4 Elijah appearswith Moses "Behold,
l5:34 he calls ElUah.'
l:10 Spirit descends 9:7 Cloud descends l5:33 Darkness comes
l:lI Voice from heaven 9:l Voice from the cloud 1 5 : 3 3 Jesus'loud voice
"You "This "Truly, this
l:ll are my Son, the beloved 9:l is my Son, the beloved l5:39 man was the
one, in you I am u,ell pleased. one. Listen to himl" Son of God."

Six davs after Jestrs'iirstexplicit contesortf o.fthc clotrd(9:7).J-heclotrclthat

annolrncernetro
t f his God-appointed once shror-rdedMor-rntSinai (Exorl 24:75-
c n rc i fi x i c tn , h e tal < esP etc.r,Jarnes,anci 16),tl-ratcovered the r,r'ildentessttrbcrnacle
J o h n to a h i gh ul ol l nt.ri rr i or a pri vate as the glory of the Lorcl inhabitecl it (Exori
a p o c a l l ,p ti cd i scl osLl re,si gni l yi rrg vi si ta- 4 0 : 3 5 ) ,a n d t h a t l a t e r f i l l c . c lS o l o n r o n ' s
ti o n c l f G o d i s at hand. On the mountai n tenrprls(1 Kings B:10-1
1) r1o\^r
o\/e1s|adorvs
he is joinecl b), ttt',, sigtrificalt charactc.Ls the trarrsfi guredJestrs,hi s ancier r tcor n-
from lsrael'spast, It4osesand Elijah. Just pani ons, ar-rc1 three cl i sci ples,sigr r iil, ir r g
a s C o d h a c l r. i si teciIsrael i n theophani es the presence ancl glorv of Goct. Heaverr
orr N'lount Sinai (Exocl 24:15-78;1 Kings and earth collverge in Jesus;in liirlr Cot-l
1 9 :B),s o J e s usrnc-rr.rrcntaril ilft"
v ti re vei l drvel l s bocl i l l ' amorl fi htrma r r s. 35
O n t lr e
o f h i s h trrn a n i ty to shi rre r,r' i th raci i ant hi gh rnotrntai n LheS on oi Man is r . isilr ll,
splerrcloru'hile-spr.akirrgrt,ith Moses arrcl arrclatrdil-rly'reveraledas the Son of God
E l i j a h ,i u d i c a ti ngthat the ti me of sal vati on and n' i tnesseclby three of his clisciples
proprhesiecl
['t' the Lau' and the Prophets n,hor" nJestrs i orbi cl s tcl tell anl, t t ne oi
h a s n o n ' c o rn ei rr Jesus. u' hat the1,l 1n6seen trrrti l the Son 'f M a. r
Ec h o e sfro rl Jesus'bapti sm narrati ve r,r' orrl dri se i ronr the cl ead ( 9: 9) . O n t l- r e
revellrerate i rr the tla nsfig trr:ation episocle. mountai n Jesus'di vi rre desigr r at ionand
Liken'ise,the transfigurationnarrative hi s l reavcnl l rgl orv starkl )' cont r ast ivit h
foreshac1c-nvs elenrcntsfouncl in the crtrci- hi s pl ai n speechof l i trnri l i at ion t hat "t he
'l'he
fixion accotrnt. glory of Jesr-rs' tr.ans- S on of N 4arrrnust suffer nran] / t hings ancl
ligtr ration Lreconres s[rrtucieclryitfi a clcttrtl Lrerej ecteclb1, the el tl ers a nd t hc clr iei
tltnt corttt:s ot e rslrntlotuirtg e\/er)/ol1epresent pl i ests anrl the scri bes,and b e killecl,and

78
 I

a i ter t hr ee c lc l\ . rsi s e a g a i n " (8 :3 1 ). tl-recoalescerlceof Moses' presence,oi the

l - h e p r e s L r n c eo i E l i j a h r o i f l r l \ z f o s e s clotrd oltthe Lord's presellce,of the r,r,ords
b ear s s igniiic ar r c e s u b tl i ' d e v e l o l -re ' ci tr
1 s poken Lr1't,he di r.i ne voi ce, and of the
Mark's Cospel fclr all n'ho havc' e)/es to g l ori ous di spl a;, of tl ' rcS on of C l od bears
se.eancl c.arsto hear.l6 Eliiah's presence g reat si grri fi cance.It foreshadcl n' sl t' l tat
n'ith the' Son of Gocl on the urottntait'tis takes placen'hernJesusbreaths out his last
a n e- c hof r om t he b a p ti s rr c p i s o d e .J trh n , loutl Cr'1,i.or-t-rthe cross ancl thc' temple
fo re to l d o f c u rtai n i s torn frout top to bottorn.I-i kel y,
s liia h (c f.6 :1 1 -2 9 ),
th e las t c la1,E
"\\'ho is t'uorepotverir-tl the torn clrltair-t refers fo the outer rreil,
the Corling Otrc'
t[t- r 1 1. " Lik er y iS e ,i 1 th e p re s e n c eo f tl -re betn'eertthe Court of Jsraelatrd the clttte'r
S orro f N ,l a n ,E l i j a h y i e l d s to c o trrts,l ,i si H e to the C errti l ece' tttttri t' rtt.37
trans f igr , r r ed
th e.S on of G oc lu' h o m h e a n d a l l th e g rc ' a t If so, tl -ri scl i vi ne tcari ng si gni fi esa tri pl c
line of proprlretsin Israelthat follt-rtt'ccl him fr" rl fi l l ment.l t ful fi l l s Isai al ' r56:6-7,speak-
" tl tese u' i l l bri ng to nty'
foreshadott'ed aucl proprhesied.Je'str s cotr- i rr g oi Ge' nti l es, I
firn-rstlie significatrceoi Elijal"r'sPresetrce h o l 1,mcl nntai n,and rl al < e them j oyftrl i rr
to the dis- t-u1'house of pral'er; their btlrnt offc'rilrgs
on the mountaitr as he rc-s;-rt-lttcls
"\A/hl' and theil sacrificesr'r'illt-reacceptedor1my
ciples' rllrestiotrduring tl'redescettt,
d o t he t eac he' r so f th e l a u ' s a 1 'th a t E l i j a h a l tar;for nrl , house shal l be cal l ed a hortse
'fearirrg
rl u s t c om e f ir s t ? " (9 :1 1 ). th e i r of pral'e1 for all 1-ret'rplcs"
J e s u src ' c a s ts (ESV).
"\\'l-Iet1 o f t l i e c u l t a i n f u l f i l l s
rltrestionof curiosity about Eliiali. T e s u sd r a m a t i z e d
El ijah c onles iir st h e re ' s to re sa l l th i n g s . prtlphecl/ Collcerllilg t6e tenr'le's doot'
Arrci rvh)' then is it t'r'ritten that the Sor-r (1 1:15-33)
dtrri ng u,]ri ch he cl uotesIsai ah
of Man rlust suffer mttch anc-llrc rejected? 5 6 :7.Ironi cal l y the teari ng of the cr,rrfai r-t
that Elijah has come, and aIsoftrIiilIs the trvistc'dpr:ciphecl'reported
Ilut I Salz161'or-r
thet' did to hir-n tvhatever they desirecl, L r )'fal sen,i tnessesat hi s mock tri al (14:58)
just as it is r,r'rittenof ltint" (9:12). a n d used by mockers at hi s crtrci fi xi orr
The significance oi lvfoses'presetrceis (1 5:29).38
confirnted tr1' the' divirte voice from the F o r o u r p u l ' L r o s e so r r c 1 - r e r i c o p ei n
"This is tl1' Sott,tt'hour I love. I-istett Mark's Cospcl retuairrs for consideratiot-t
clotrd:
to him ! " ( 9: 7;c i. 1 :1 1 ).T l -rev o i c e d o e s n o t b e f o r e c - l r a r t ' i r r gt h i s d i s c t t s s i o t r t o a
sp eak t o J es t r sas a t h i s b a p ti s r-n(1 :1 1L) rtrt c oncl nsi c-rn.
Mark 10:35-45i s crtrci al for
"Liste'ttto trnderstar-rcling the sigrrificaltceof Mark's
to the three disciples.The n'ot'ds
hinr!" arc'a clear allusion to Detttelollotlly r,r,hole-Gospelirrcltrsio,Each oi tl-rcthree
1 8 : 15- " T he Lor d )' o tl r Go d n ' i l l ra i s e u p ti mes Jesus anl l ol ul ces hi s i nrper-rdi ng
for 1,ou a 1-rrophetlike tue frour antollg c r u c i f i x i o n r , r ' i t hi n c r e a s e d c l e t a i l , h i s
trrothers. You ttrttst listerl tc-l d isci pl esexhi bi t thei r l ack of ttuderst;rud-
vollr o\,\''11
"proprhetlike tue" tl-ratMoses i rrg (B :31-34; 9:33-37;70:35-45). Fol l on' i ng
hinr." The
has colrle, and he is greater
Lrropl-resied h is pl ai nh, spoken anntl tl rl cemetrtoi hi s
than M os es . He i s a l s o g re a te r th a n th e strfferings arrd death irr Jerr-tsaletn,
Jat-nes
corzenantir-rstitutiorrsthat canle thlor.rgh and Jol-rnr-nakea request-"[]gcf1l\t' to tts
M os es , inc ludin g th e ta l re rn a c l ea n c l i ts that rve may sit one on )rottr right side arrd
sLlccessor,rvhich had Lreerrtilled rvith tl-re one on )/our lc'ft in ).our glor1," (10:37).re
cloud of the Lord's pl'eseltcL'frot-u r'r'hich T li i s recl uest serves as a11occasi ou for'
God's voice carne.T'hus,on the tlot-ttltaitt, Jesusto provide f r-rrtherirrstruction abottt

7e
 h i s c l e a t h a r r c li t s r a r n i f i c a t i o r r sf o r h i s a sense somen,hat clifferent tront his use
clisciples. of tl i enr r,r' i threi erence to ] r ir nscli. I r or
E v i d e n tl y Jamcs arrclJohn thi rrk that him, the ctrp arrclbaprtisnrentail his Cr-rt1-
Jesus, rt,ltcltrr the1, (1-1qr\r'
to be lvlessiah allottec-lrole as one n'ho is r-rotserveclLrut
(8 :2 7 -3 0 ),
i s g o i ng to restore to Jertrsal erl serves[1' gi vi ne ]ri s ortrnl i i e as a t 'a11solt 1
thc glorl, of tl-rc falle'rr th'o'e of Da'irl for nrarrl ' (10:45),
a cl ear al l tr siont o I saiah
tty t,nseatingthe Ronransand clriving 53:10.For his rlisciprles,
the irtrap;e.r1,
prairoi
th e m o u t. J c .sus'respol tse i s sharp and the ctrp and oi Lrapti snrrcfer s t o pe. r secu-
relrtrking in riddlc iorrl: "YoLl do not ti on that i s appoi nted to the - r 'n
as Clr r ist 's
t r n d e r s t a n d n ' h a t ) / o u a r e a s k i r r g .A r e follou'ers.
)tou ablc'to c-lrirrkthe cr-rpthat I rlrink or Jestrs'r'idclle-'like
resporlseto Jantesancl
Lrebi'rprtized n'itl-rthe Lraptismrvitl-rr,r'hich John concernitrgbaptism verl-rallvechoes
I anr Lrapttzer1?" (l0:38).Tlreil aflirnrative the narrati ve of hi s bapti sm ir r t he Jor clan
reslronseclran,svet arrother ritlclle: "The R i ver and l ' oreshacl ol vshi s cr ucif ixion
c u p th a t I d ri rrk, yotr n' i l l dri nk, and the rt,ith s)/nonyltl pftrases.Jvl.rrk'smentio'
baptisrtr r,r.ithr,vhich I am baptizecl, \/olr of the truvorobbers cruciiied vr,'ith]estrs,
l v i l l b e L ra p ti zed,but to si t at m1' ri ght "one
on his right and one on his left"
Llr nr)/ left is not nrine to trestort,Lrtrtfor (N zl ark15:27),recal l s Jarne s anc'lJohn's
tl'roseto rt'hom it is preparecl" (10:39-a0). l equest: " Let one oi trs si t at
) / our r ight
T h e c r,r1o-'f' rvi ne i s a coptrrrop i rrrager' )' arrd the other at youl l ef-ti rr
) / opr glor lr "
o i d i v i n e a l l o tment, parti ctrl ar:i yas here (l\'lar:k70:37).I'heirorrl'of the reqtrr.starrcl
i o r C o c l ' s r v r a t h f u l j u c l s r n e n t ( c f ' . I t s of Jesus' response shotrl d n or v l- r econr e
75:B;Isir 51:17-23; " gl c-rt),"
Jer 25:15-28).That Jestrs cl ear. The ol :errthl onem ent t he
s p e a k so f th e angl ri sh of hi s cl cathtrurl er c i i s c i p l e qe x p e c t e c li r o n i c a l l y t t u r - r so u t
d i v i n e j trri g n "rent
i s e.vi denti n hi s use ol to be Jesus' cruci ti xi orr. l ' he shanr eless
th e i r-n ;rg e r't\rvi
, ce agai n i n V {ark. Tl i i s n t o c k e r l ' h e a p e d u p o l r J e s u s , L r 1 ,t h e
i n r;rg e rv a p p e ars n,i ren he i nsti tr-rteshi s R omarrsol di e:rsi n thei r tnoc k cor onat ion,
r-tlr.nroriallrlearl-'Anc1 he.toclk a cup. . . . tr1'tlre crir-nirralcharge irrscrilreclasainst
'This
is m1' blood ot'the correrrant,r,r'hjch hi m (" Jestrsof N arzareth,the King of t he
is pourecl out for ntally,"' (74:23,24)ancl Jetr,s"),b), rnocking passersl-ry,
apd Lr1,11'r"
then later n'hen he pralrs, "Take tlris ctrp cliief priests, tr-rmsout to be Jestrs'glorl',
ilonr lne!" (la:36). I'risenthronenlent.Tlref intencl instrlt,but
T l ro trg h th e i nrag€r1z1.,ibapti sm for their instrlts speak truths thel' rreitlrer
b e i n g " o v e r' \\'hel medn,i th somethi ng" i s intend nor u11de.rstancl.
Thev trnrt'ittir-rgly
n o t a s p ro m i rrent u,i thi rr the C reek Ol d ftrl l i l l Gotl ' s pLl rpose of ern t hr onir r gt he
' fc .s ta n re n t,
i t i s present (LX X Isa 2l :-l ). S on of C otl , for the Father'sappr oval-
Sh a d c so f th i s sL.l rseal e L)resenti n John' s "Yotl
are ttt)/ Sou, rvftot1 I lorre; f itft \'cttr
arlrlolurcenrerrt:"I trafrtize)'clr-r rvith \\,atr-l; I arn rt'ell pleass6{1"-1uillbe Tesus',only
L-rtrthe rvill baptize y,c-rtr n'ith the Hol'',' if he clrinks fr"rlly"tl-recu1-r"appointed for
Sp i ri t" (M ;rrk 1 :8).l rr V l ark l 0:38-39Jesus hi nr (cf. 10:38anct14:35i ).
speaks oi Lreingoverlt'helnrecln'ith sor-
rorn' arrcln.ith sr,rffer:ingas he speaks ot Concl usion
th e n i a n rre ro i h i s death.Jestrsi nveststhe Mark's Gospel is pr-rncttratedthrouglr-
inragcrv of tlre cuprancl of baptisn-rr,r'ith otrt n,i th i t' otr1,that i s botft r 'er bal apd

80
s i t u a t i o n a l .I r o n y i s p r e s e . t rrtt ' i t h i n t h e dalrktre'ss deprs;15 o1l1'lt,itI Jesrts'passage
individtr;-rlperico;resoi tl-reinclttsict,in tlie fronr tl'risliie, ripping the temple veil, an
ir-rterplayof tlie trvo Pericoltesciftl-reincltr- a p o c a lt,pti csi grr of the ternpl e' sci estruc-
" thc:
sio, ancl in the \\,a)/the inclr.rsioitrterfacc's ti o n a nd the openi ng of \r' a),of the
rt,ith the rt'hcileof Mark's narrative. This L o rc l " f or C enti l es.
irony intensifies n'ith Je'strs'crr.rcifixiolr.
As religiorts,cit'ic,antl nrilitar'1r s1i1.'ott ENDNOTES
" Ki n p ; th e 1E. Tr,-,cm6, The Formntion of tlte GosTtel
i u Je rus alenlm oc k J e s u sa s of
Jen,s" the1,proclainr the tlr-rthand ironi- toMntk, trans.Patlela Car-rgharr
nccordirtg
calll' enthrone hinr as king Llponthe cross. (I-o n don:S I' C K / P hi l adel phi a:W estnri u-
Blirrded t-ryreligiotts zeal, apart frot-ttthe' s t e r ,1 9 7 5 ) , 7 2 .
z D a v i rlR hoadsand D orral clMi chi e, Mnrk
Gentile executioncr,the1,fail to recognize
the apocall'ptic signs ft'our heaverr tl-rat to the Nnrrntiue
ns Story: Atr ltrtrodtrctit'ttt
si g rra l God' s v is it at io n i n j trd g rn e n t a trd (l'hiladelphia: Fortress,7c)82).
o.fn GosTtel
sa l va tion. Hunr ar t m o c k i n g a c c l a n ra ti o n C f. D avi d R hoads, JoanrraD ertey, and
a rrd d i v ine jt r c lgm en tc o n v e rg eu p o n th e A tr l tttro-
D o rra l d Mi chi e, Mnrk ns S torry:
Jestts'baptism
Son oi Goc1.P.rrtrdoxicalllt, 2"" ed.
drrctiturto tlrc Nnrrnfitteo.fn GosTtel,
r,r'ithdarkness is his glory, l-riserrthrone- (lvtinrreapolis:Fortress,1999).
3Rlroacls,Der,r,e1r,
arrd Miclte, 47-62.
ment.
rScl'rolarsname this valiousll, 3s irrter-
Jesus,rriro rcceives the exalted irtt'es-
"Solr" from his Heavenll, p311.'"t c a l a t i orr, frami ng, sandrvi chi ng, cven
titure of
a s h c is anoir r t ec -f lor h i s m i s s i o n a t h i s c l o v etai l i ng. S ce Mark 3:20-27,22-30,
baptism ancl again at his transfiguration, 31-35; 4:7-9, 70-72, 73-20; 5:21-24,25-34,
e rrd u re sanot her bap ti s m tl -ra tb ri n g s h i s 35-43; 6:7-13,14-29,30-44; 71:12-74,
15-79,
earthlv rlissiorr to its God-appointed 20-25; 14:7-2,3-9, 10-11,17-2I, 22-26,27-
goal. Crucified upon the cross he is over- 3 1 , 5 3-54, 55-65,6(t-72;15:40-41,42-46;
" Markan
r,r'helmedu'ith anguish and suifering as C f.J. R . E dn' ards,
1 5 :4 7 -76:8.
he gives l-rislife as a ransotl for nrany.The Sandwiches: The Significance of' Inter-
is silent.The cloud oI Cod's
hearterrl)'r'oice polations in Markan Narrati\'€s," I'Joz,utt
preselrce arrcl glori, that orrershaclon'ed rnn 3I (1989):193-216;atrclTom
Testnmetrf
those on th c'm ou rrtai tr sig r-ri fi e'dheavenll' Slreplrerd, Mnrknn SnndruichSlorie-s; Nrrr-
as
approlration. Norv the clotrclc-lescetrds rntiott,De.finitiorr,nnd Frmcfion (Andle\\/s
the clarknessof Cocl to enshrotrd Jestts, Urriversity l)octoral Dissertation Serie's
heayell)' reprotraticl1a1d ide.-
signiff ir-r5; 18; Llerrien Springs, Ml: Anc-lrervsUtri-
ti ff i n g him r t ' it h t he rt' h o l e e a rth ttn d e r \/c.rsit)/Press,1993).
slihoads, Der'r'e1,,& Michie, 52-53.The
d i vi r-reu' r at h and jud g me ttt. J e s trsd o e s
'Abba, Fatlter," as itr the Carden e p ri sodestake the fol l orvi ng arrarl ge-
not cry,
(1,1:36),
for the end has conre. The clark- n-le11t:

n e ss o f apoc all, pt icjt rd g me n t h a s fa l l e rr A I{ealing of the parallrtic (2:7-72)

upon him lt,ith divirre estrange'ttrenttrncl 1 3Eati ng rvi th tax col l ecttxsatrclsi u-
n ,ra th . I r r s t ead,he la n re n ts rv i th a l o u d ners (2:-13-77)
"My C Ij ati rrg on a day of fasti ng (2:18-
voice, Cocl! VI1,Q6c1!Wh1, ltave )'t'rtt
forsaken rlle?" I)assagcof titlt' doe.strot 22)
c l i s p r etl h i s a p o c a l y p t i c d a r k n e s s . T h i s 8 1E ati ng by pl trcki ng grai tr orr

81
 the Sabbath (2:23-28) e 1 [i c' l . Finally both storiestell hor,r'rren,life
A 1 Healing o f th e n ra n rt' i th th e l"lL'ric1.
T'he tn'o portions read sr/rizo- spri ngs r-rpi n thesep lacesoi cleat h,
n, it her eclh a n d (3 :1 -6 ). (l:10); furkntn-
menoustt'tust'tt.tt'ttrrorrs i n the fi rst through the bapt isni, ir r
6lr or ex ar - np l es, e e l v l . Ph i l i p Sc o tt,
(15:38).
pt:tnsnratot.ntttouescltisth€. the'seconclthrough the resurrection
" Chias t ic l rIL ' ,i d.
S tru c tu re .;A K e 1 ' to th e fronr the dead" (27).
int er : pr et at i o no f l v { ark ' s C o s p re l ," l2seeSiephen lvlotyer; "The Rencling 1 s S e e ,e r . g . ,A u p ; u s t i r r e S t o c k , f / r c

B ilt lic nlT lr c o l o g 7B u l l e ti n 1 5 (1 9 8 5 ): of the Veil: A lviarkan Pentecost?," lvlethodmrd lvlessweof NInl, (\Vilm-
17- 26,Ci. [ Ja s c o n rW a l l i s , N Iq rk ' s l J c z r 'T - c snfn t ( : t l tS t u d i e s3 3 ( 1 9 8 7 ) : ington: Michael Glazier, 19Bt));
lvlenrorry
of tlrcL"utrtre:
t\ Studtl itr fhe 155-757;atrd Darricl Ularrsel,, " fl-re' and Wallis, 20ff. I harre strege.ste'd
Art of Theology(Richland llills, l'X: H eavenl )'V ei ITorn: Mark' s C osmi c elsert,heretlrat lv{ark l:l shor-rldnot
BIBAL PrL.ss,1995), 70, 279, ior a i rrcltrsio," Jort' rtnl of Biltl i cnl Lit et'nt ttre be treateclas a ti tl e, cliscor r nect ecl
chiastic arrallgeltrent of thc' n'hole' 1 1 0( 1 9 9 1 ) : 1 2 3 - 1 2 5 . i rom the fl ort' of the t ext becat r sco[
Gospel arrd 36 for identificatiorr of trwilliarrr L. Lane, 'llrc See A. B. Caneclal,,"lvlark's
Cosuelncct'trtl- kcrthas.
t he c hias t ica rra n S;e mc rrt
o f tn ro o f irrg tttMnrk (Nert, Interuatiorral P r o v o c a t i v e U s e o f S c r : i p t u r ei n
J es us ' pr ov e rl -rs F
. o r e x a mp l e , s e e C o mmetrtarl r otr tl re N L.\,\'Testa- Narration: 'I-{e Was lvith the \,Viki
Matk 2:27: nrent; Crand Rapids: Eerdllitns, Anirnals arrclAngels Vlinisterec'lto
A The Sabbath 7 9 74),576. Though dated, Lane' s Hinr,"' Bulletin o.fBiltlicnlRasenrt:h
9
B u'as made ior hrrmankincl, n ' ork encl uresas a cl assi c. (1999):21. S ee al so A. I J. Car r eclal',
laVanIersel states, "The "He
8 1 a n dn o t h t r n r a n k i n c l rvorcls 'cles- Wrote in Parablesarrc-ll{iclclles:
A r f or t he S a b tra th . e r t' arrd' tornb'refer to pl acesn' hi ch Mark's Ciospelas a Literarlr (etr'c)-
Tltor a restrainecl exarlple,
see Bas i n the experi enceof thc.reacl erare dtrction of Jesus'Teaching N,[ethocl,"
van iersel, RanditrgN'Inrk,trans. W. i n r n a n y \ / a y s i n t e l r e l a t e c l :t h e v
Didnsknlisl0 (i999): 40-47.
I-1.Bisscheroux(Eclintrtrrgh:T. & T. l6vvallis, 27-22.
do not forrn part of tlie inhal-rited
Clar k / Colleg e y il l e , MN : L i tu rg i c a l 1 7 \ , V a l l iasr g u e s , " B o t h
r,r ,orl d,
peopl t' do not settl e.i n them, oi the gar-
Press,1988),20-21.Van lersel strm- and they are therefore preenri- metrts are eschatol o gicalst 'm bols.
nr ar iz es t he s tru c tr-rreo f l V{ a rk a s nerrtlv stritable as dr,r'ellir-re-places J o h n ' s c a n r e l h a i r r e c a l l s E l i j a h ,
follon's: for denrons. . But not only are and at the tontb, the arrgcl'sr,r,l-rite
Title(t:1) the places reierred to b1' the.r,vords apparel echoesthe epiphanies in
'desert'
(A 1) In tlrcdesert(1:2-13) arrd 'tomb' related to each H ebl er,r,S cri pttrres a nd in int cr t -
( ) ' 1 ) fi rs t h i n g e (1 :1 a -1 5 ) other; both parts of the story taking estamentall i terature. I n t lr e t r ans-
( B 1) I n Ga l i l e e(1 :1 6 -8 :2 1 ) place there show nrore remarkable fi gurati ol t scene,Jesus' gar nr ent s
(z 1) blinclnLrss- sight sirlilarities. In both a tnesserlger becotne 'cTazzling n,hite, snch as
(B:22-26) al)pears, John ancl a youllg rnar1, l1oone on earth cotrlclL-rleachthenr'
(C 1) Ott therttny(8:27- n ' hose dress i s rnenti oned i n each (9:3)" (22), Wallis, as others, rloes
1 0 :4 5 ) c a se(n' hi ch i s excepti onali n Mark), not regard Mat:k' sruent ionoiJesus'
(z 2 ) b l i n d n e s s- sight anclLrotl-r
spearkof local nrorrernents gl a\/e cl othes (15:46)as havir r g ar r y
(1 0 :4 6 -5 2 ) of Jestrs,his coming after the Baptist si gni fi carrce.
( B 2) I n l e ru s n l e
n t (1 1 :1 -1 5 :3 9 ) and his going on before the dis- 18Jtrel, 116.
( 1 ' 2 )s e c o n dh i r r g e( 1 5 : 4 0 - c i pl es, respe-cti vel y.In both parts leIbi.l.
4r) a l s o the ' \r/av' of Jesusi s an i mpor-
tOCf. espc'ciallf
Motlrsl:, 155f. Lr-rke
6 2) At tlrc tonilt (15:42-76:8) tarrttheme, referred to irr the forrtrer 23:45 trses ckprueo=
r,r'ith the urrder-
sDonald H.
Juel,A Mttsterof Stn'ptrise: throrrgh tl-requotations in 1:2-3and standing that it signifies Jesus'
A4nrkInterp rctcrl(Mirrneapolis: For- in the la-rttcr
ihrotrgh Jesusgoing on voluntary l,ielding of his spirit
tress, 7994),34. b e forehi s cl i sci pl esto Gal i l ee(16:1). r , r ' i t hJ e s u s ' q u o t a t i o n o f P s a l m

82
 3 l ' 5 - " F a t h e r , i r r t o 1 ' o t u 'h a n d s I merttStudies37 (1991):621-629. A s Israel , the prrototype of Jesus'
2 3 Ba s e .d
l argel y uporl the text-cl i ti cal tenrptati on, er tdu r ecl
r' rri l cl c.rness
com m it m y s pir i t."
2lSeeRhoads,Den'e1,, & Michie,50-67. rvork oi P. M. I-lead tt'lto contends Goc-l'stesting to urtcotrc'rtvltat rtras
'in
Verbal iron1, occLlrstr'hen att actot: th a t th e ori gi nal text prol " rabl ydi cl 1'e1r1'heart'(Dc'r-rt8:2), so Jesus
i n a r r ar lat iv ept r r :p o s e l y ' u s etvso rd s (seeibid.), Ilarl
rrot have hrtittstltt't-ttr r'r'astempted fort1, dalrs tclprove his
thal c.xpressolre thing Lrtrtrtreanil-re S.Johnson,Jr.ar{lres that the Rornan character,iaithiul to his Father."Sr.e
"Mark's i
For exarlple, tl-resoldiers
o1-rposite. centurior-r'scon iession i s altogc'tl-rer Caneday, ProrrocativeUse
s p e a k t h e t r t r t h L u r i r - r t e r r t i o n a l l t , to o a m bi guoLl sto l end an\zsl l ppnt' 1 of S cri pture i n N arrati on: ' 3I .
"Hail,
a s t hey m oc k J e s tts ,s a 1 ,i rrg , to the clainr that Mark's Christc-ilogY 2 6 O n t l i e s i g n i i i c a n c e o f t h e r ' r ' i l c 1
K i n g o f t h c ' J e r ' r ' s ! "( l v l a r k 1 5 : 1 8 ) . r e ' a c h e si t s c l i m a r i n l 5 : 3 9 ( " M a r k arri mal sarrd thc-presenc eof angels
I - i k e r r . i s e ,t h e i n s c r i b e c i c h a r g e 1 5 :3 !)and the S o-C al l eclC onfessi orr see ibid., IL)-36.Ct. Jeffrey B. Ciib-
"Jeslrs' IclernessTeml-rta
a g a i n s t J e s t r ss a r c a s t i c a l l l ,1 e ' 3 ! - l s , o f tl re li onrarrC entrrri orl ,"B i bl i cn8] sor1, Wi tion
"K ing
of t he J c \\ts ,"b trt i s i rr fa c t [2 0 0 0 1:406-413).C ontrastP . D ar,i es, . f or t he
accordi ng to JV l ark,"Jrnt r t t nl
" M a r k ' s C h r : i s t o l o g i c a lP a r a c l o x , " 53 (1994):
of tln:lJerrrTcsfnrrrcrrt
Sttrdry
t h e t r u t h . S i t t r a t i o n a lo r d r a m a t i c
"Jesus
i ro n1,oc c ur s it he tr th e re i s c o n fl i c t J o u rtrn l .i ot' tht: S t trdrl o.f tl tc l Jczc 3-34;and Richard Bauckham,
rvhat an actor in the ri ratna
l-retrveerl T e s t n m t ' t 3t t5 ( 1 9 8 9 ) 3
: - 1 8 .S e e a l s o ar-rdtl ' re\V i l ci A ni mal s (Mar k l: 13) :
e x pec t s t o happe tr a n c l tv h a t a c ttt- , Mnrk,480-483.For a tert-
Eclrvarc-ls A Christological frnage for an l]cr-r-
a l h' t ak es plac e . F o r e x a tn p l e , th e c ri ti c a l dei enseof tl -rcreadi ng hui tts logical Ag"," ir-r/esrrsof Nnznretlt:
chief priests and scribesriclicule th e o rri rr 1:.l ,see D ani el B . W al l acc, Lord ntulClrrist.Essnyscntthe Ilistori-
"F{e "Does Mark 1:l Call 'Cod's
Jes t t s ,s af ir r g, Sa t' e d o tl ' re rs ; Jestrs cnl Jesrss
nrrdN eruTestnnt ctClu'ist
tt ol-
h e c ar r nots av eh i n rs e l f." L i ttl e d i d S o n ' ? -A B ri ef Text-C ri ti calN ote," ogv, ecl s.J. C reen and M. Tur t r er
the1.k nor t ' t he t r u tl -rth e l ' s p o k e , fo r n .p . [i i0 S eptember i 999] Or.rl i rre: (Crar-rrlIi.ap-rid
s: Eerdrn an s/ Carrl i sle:
\\/ere he to save hinrself, l-recotrld /d ocs/ soap-
http :/ / r,vn'rt'.LriLrle.org I ) a t e r n o s t e r ,1 L ) c ) 43) ,- 2 1 . S e e e s p .
.,t S it y et t t her s . b o x /n r ark1-1.htm. Edrr.ardsn,ho takes the n.ild beasts
22Tl're 2 rC o n rp are E drvards, Mnrk, 34-35, as al r al l usi ve referenceto Chlist 's
is irorric
cerrttrriorr'scortfc'ssiorr
"alclrrgn,ith other ironic staternetrts rv l ro ci tes T. Leui 18:6-8,shon' i rrg beirrg thron'n to the u,ilcl llon'ran
at the foot of the cross" (EarlS.John- that Jelvish tradition expanded bc'asts(Mnrk,47).
"ls Mark 15:39 tl-reKey to 27Mark'sdescription oi "all the
son, Jr., Lrponlsai ah's prophecies,reflecting
N4ark'sClrristology?" lournnlfor the a n e x f rectati onful fi l l ed i n Mark' s Jtrdean cottutrl zsi dedrt' eller : sald
nrent31 [1987]:
Sttdy of tlrcA/erlTc-sfn e p i s o c - l oe f J e s u s 'b a p t i s m . C f . ' t . al l the Jerusal en-l i tes"be ing bap-
16). Concerning the cetttttriott's Iu rl . 2 1:7-3.On Isai ah 63 (LX X ) as ti zed Lr1' Jol i nseemsto ha ve a dual
dispute its
ironic cclnfessiolt,sol-I-le the background for Mark's account f r - r n c t i o ni n t h e n a r r a t i v e . F i r s t ,
authentic rlaturL'.For example,Juel o f J c s us'bapti srn,see al so R i kki E . fronr among al l r,r' hocam e t o be
"in Watts, lsninh'-sNezpErodus ht Mnrk baptized by John, one starrds ottt.
re gar c lst he c onf e s s i o ua ta tu n t
' 1997;
l it h t he re s t o i th e ta u n ts
a c c or c -u' (T ti b i n gen: Mohr [S i ebeck], I-le does not confesssins; his Father
i n t he ac c ount o i J e s r-rstr:i
' al ancl Grarrd Rapicls: Baker, 2000), 702if. acclair-nshim as his Son irr rt,honr
cleath" (74,note 7). CorrtrastJanes Watts ef fectively shorvsthat Mark's he i s pl eased.S econd,Messiahdoc's
to
R. Edrvards, T-heGospelnccordittg trs e o f schi zl i nstead of the LX X ' s not come from Jerusaler-nor Juciea
Mnrk (I'illar Ne\t' Testament Com- seems rnore accurateto ren-
nttoiygO btrt from Gal i l ee,a l i kel y a llt r sior trcr
mentary; Grand Rapicls:Eerdmans/ d e r I s a i a l : . 'qst ' ' . Isaial-r9 :1-2(cf. lvlatt 4:72-76).
2 5 Me n ti on of " forty days" si grri fi es 28l i kc.l ),,the bystanders "r t . illf ulll'
Leicester:Apollos, 2002),483; and
'A Text-Cr:iticalStudl' " repl i catesIsrael ' sexpe- rni si nterpretL.d"Jesus' cr y ( I - ane,
P. N4.Head, th a t J e sus
' T he Be g i n n i n g o f tl re ri e n c e s i n the rt' i l derness,but he 573). Van lersel hypothe-sizesthat
o f Nlar k 1. 1.
"The bystanders r,r'ho apparer-rtlv
Gosl-reloi Je'susCltrist,"' lrla:ro Testn- does so as Cod's'n,ell-pleasing'Son.

83
 ' E l o i' fo r
] r av e no A r a ma i c m i s ta k e
E lijah.. . " ( 1f 1 9S
).tra n g e l l ,,T . B o m a rr
suggests that Jesuscried, ")rc',uare
'ntnlt,
nrv God" ('eli Ps 22:77),but the
t at r nt ing by s ta rrc l e rsh e a rd " E l i j a h
conre!" ('eliynfnh)("Das letzte Wort
JesLr,"Studin tlrcologica17 [1963]:
103-119).
"Lu1, Mark's accourrtsin 7:31-37ancl
8:22-26sicleby side. Be arn,edby the
c or r elat ing f e a tu re s o f J e s trs 'trv o
s igns . 81' his l i te ra rv a rra n g e rn e n t
Mark shon,sthat fesus designed
these tr.vo sigrrs for the. Tr,r'elve,to
er x pos et heir i n rp a i rru e n t o f h e a r- 391.
ing, of speakirrg,arrd of seeirrg, 3scf. Edrn'arcls,Mm k, 267.
3 6 l r 4ark'
s om et hing th a t b e c o m e s m a n i fe s t
" E l i j ah
ir-rinrediatell'after Peter's acctrrate
b r - r ti n a d e q u a t e c o n f e s s i o n ( 8 : 2 7 -
30) .
30Mark feattrres the cruciiixion nar-
rative orrerthe resurrection episode
b f i t s l e n g t h ( 1 5 : 2 1 - 4 7h a v e 3 7 1
ivords; 1(r:1-B
have'169 worcls).The
inclusion portion alone (15:33-a1)
'149
contains r'r'ords,onll, 2tl fer,r,er
t han t he r es u rrc c ti o nn a rra ti v e .
3t ou t he lit er a ry n a ttrre o f tl i e e rrd -
ing of Mark's Gospel sec j. D. H.
" Dra ma ti c
A nr ador , In c o n c l u s i o n :
Irorrv and the Narrative Rhetoric
of tlre Errding of Mark," lournal for
t lr e S t udr l of th e N e z rrT c s n f n re rtt5 7
( 1 9 9 5 ) :6 1 - 8 6 .F o r a c l i s c t r s s i o no f '
t ex t t r al ev ide n c e fo r th e e n d i n g o i
N'iark'sCospel see Edn.ards, Mnrk,
4c)7-504.
32By"patronizing" I reic.r to Peter's
reversalof roles.irr-ritatingJr-sus(cf.
Mark 7:33; B:23),Ireter took Je.sus
as ic le( 8: 32)t o i n s trtrc t l ri m .
33O fint er es tis th e s tu d 1 ,b 1 ' M. P l i i l i p
Scottu'ho iclentifiesthe transfigtrra-
t ion nar r at iv e a s Ma rk ' s c e n te r c l f
81
his large chiasm that constitutes enters Jcrusalem Cf l. P. I{c.il, 'A
h i s Gospel (" C hi asti c S trtrcture:A N ote on' E l i j ah n' i th Mosc's'inM ar k
Key 1ethe Irrterpretati orrof Mark' s 9:4," BiltlicnB0 (7999):115.
-fiulletin 37As l{eb 9:3 indicatc.s, there r\/ere
Cospel," BiblicnlTheology 15
f1e85l: 17-26). tl vclctrl tai ns hangi ng ir r t he t em ple
3 a B e nW i t h e r i n g t o n I i I s t r g g e s t sa
i n J e r u s a l r . mT
. he second curtain
s i m i l ar nnderstandi ng of the rel a- is more familiar. It divicled thc
ti onshi p of thc-three passages(Ti re I{ol1' Place fronr t6e Most HolY
G ospelof Mnrk: A S oci o-R l tetori c' nl Place (Exod 26:31-37;ci. Josephus'
Conrnrcrtt
ttry [Cratid Ilapricls:Eercl- clescr:iptionin Wnr 5.279).l.he first
rn ans, 2001], 398). H e rei ers to C . ctrrtain, less farniliar, segregatcd
l v l yers, B i r.rdi trg
the S trottcMort: A the C or-rrtof l srae.l(a lso called t he
Politicnl RenLlingo.fMnrk's Story of I-{olv Place) fronr the otrtel courts.
lcstts (lvlarvknoll, NY: Orbis, 1988), Josephtrsdescri best his ct r r t ain as
an embroi dereclB ab1r l6112lr t apes-
try th;it depicted the earth, the sea,
s
Leverse hi stori cal orcl er- and the lrearrensas it ,,t1,piiiec1
tlic
'
appearedr,r,i thMoses" (el i ns urri rrerse" (W nr 5.21 0- 1. {)Though
.
s urt ntdusci 9:4),
, though pl acec-li n Mark's r,r'orcl(to kntnpetnstnn)
is the
proper sequenceby' 1'","r, (9:5)-is sarneas usecli n H ebr er , ys( ( t : 1, 9; 9: 3;
u ' ortl -ryof note. It -l i kel v suggests i0:20) and in the LXX (Exorl 26:31-
that Moses, n,hose L)reseltceniight 37) fctrthe second ctrrtain. A cliffer-
L -re
expectcd,i s tl i e pri tnary vi si tor errt r,r'ord(to knlltunn)is used of the
a n d t h a t E l i j a h a c c o m p a n i e sh i m . first veil (Exoc127:16;Lev 76:2, 12).
Sonre take lvlar"k'sorcler to signify N evertl -rel ess,
i t i s l i kely t hat M ar k
"that
M o s e si s p l a y i n g a s t r b s i d i a r y refe'rsto the first ancl rrot the second
role" (e.g.,Morna Hooker, Tlrc Gos- curtairr,for he links tl-retearing r,r.ith
ptelnccordirrg
to St.Mttrlc[Black'sNerv the cerrturir-x'l's
confessicxr.
OnIv the
T e stamerrtC onrmenl ari es;London: outer ctrrtain cor-rlc1
LreseerrLry'the
A. & C. Illack/Peabocly,IvlA: I len- C e n t i l e c e r r t t r r i o n .S e e E d n , a r d s ,
drickson, 19911,216).
Cf. R. T. France, M n r k , 4 7 7 - 4 7 9 .C f . a l s o U l a n s e v ,
Tlte GosTtt:lof Mnrk: A Corrtrrtcrinrr,l 123-125.
o rttl teGreekTerf (N en, Internati onal : s B M a r k1 1 : 1 5 - 3 3c o n s i s t s c l I t l r r e - e
C r e e k T e s t a n r e n tC o m n r e n t a r y ; porti rrns-t I :l 5-19; 20- 26; 27- 33-
C rand R api cls: E erdmans/C arl i sl c, forrr-ri nga fr:anreclep isode. Jest r s'
Patc.rrr
ost er, 2002),351. lvlark's n1el1- p u r g i n g o f t h e t e n ' r p l e( v v . 1 5 - 1 9 )
tion of Elijah first likely fits the orcler and di sputi ng rvi th the.chiei pr iest s,
o f h i s narrati ' u' w
e i th E l i j ah fi guri ng the scribesanc-lthe elclers(vr'.27-33)
p r: onri nerrtl yi n the fi rst hal f of hi s
frame ]esus' cursi ng of t he f ig t r ee
C o speli rr corrnecti onrvi th John (1:4- fuv.20-26\.
B; 6:74-29;B:28)anc-lMoses having 3"Jest,s'responseto JanresanclJohn's
g reater promi l l cnce i n the seconcl initial rr.qrrest-"Whalt do }'ou \,\'ar1t
h a lf i n corrnecti onr,r' i ththe tenrpl e me to do fcl l vol r?" (10: 36) - f or e-
a n cli nsti tuti ons of the l -arv as Jesus shacl on' sthe sante qtr est ionaskecl
o f blind B ar t ir nae ttsu ' h o re s p o n d s
as the tr,r'oclisciples should hat'e,
" R a l r l - r i t, h a t I m i g h t s e e a g a i n ! "

(10:51).

85