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
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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
What questiondo you want to ask?
WorldOF
the text
Redaction Criticism(if you have the sources he edited)
Text
Author Audience
What questiondo you want to ask?
WorldOF
the text
Rhetorical CriticismSocial-scientific Criticism
Text
Author Audience
What questiondo you want to ask?
Worldafter
the text Contextual Criticisms Postcolonial Criticism
Feminist CriticismCultural Studies
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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
The Gospel of Mark The Significance of the Passion
Last days in Jerusalem
Passion narrative
The Gospel of Mark The Significance of the Passion
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!’”
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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
The Synoptic Gospels:The Evidence
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
The Synoptic Gospels:The Evidence
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
Graduate Program in Pastoral MinistriesPMIN 210 The New Testament
Dr. Catherine Murphy
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 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
1. Identify source and editor
2. Describe the changes
3. Select the most significant difference
4. Explain the change
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
1. Identify source and editor
2. Describe the changes
3. Select the most significant difference
4. Explain the change
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
1. Identify source and editor
2. Describe the changes
3. Select the most significant difference
4. Explain the change
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