Lesson 7 - Mark (Intro)

Question 1

What are the options for the dating of Mark’s gospel? What are the arguments for/against each option?

Answer 1

1. ) 40’s - unlikely (Peter’s not in Rome yet)
2. ) 50’s
   - - depends on how you date Acts (60 AD)
   - - Luke would then be in the late 50’s, which would put Mark in the early 50’s, because Luke used Mark
3. ) 60’s - popular among evangelicals
   - - Mark has a lot of stories about persecutions, which ramped up in the 60’s. Inconclusive, because persecution was also happening in the 40’s.
4. ) 70’s - lot of scholars favor this
   - - All about the destruction of the temple, because Mark couldn’t predict the future

Question 2

What is Mark’s usage of the OT in his prologue?

Answer 2

3 verses: Malachi 3:1, Exodus 23:20, and Isaiah 40:3

1. ) Malachi 3:1 - God is coming and sends a messenger to prepare the way
   - - Mark is presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of the OT Yahweh visit to his people and standing in the place of God for his people
2. ) Exodus 23:20 - 2nd exodus is coming with Jesus
3. ) Isaiah 40:3 - shows that Jesus is the King that is coming in the place of Yahweh to visit his people

Question 3

How has the phrase son of God been used outside the Bible?

Answer 3

1. ) Hellenistic usage (Greco-Roman World)
   - - scholars: “son of God” was used for all kinds of people in the Greco-Roman world (doesn’t mean they are divine, just used to identify people as special)
   - - Criticism of this: used very randomly, hard to get conclusive evidence
   - - The phrase “son of God” didn’t show up until after the 3rd c. (most likely borrowed from the stories of Jesus)

Question 4

How has the phrase son of God been used in the Bible?

Answer 4

1. ) Universal Fatherhood of God
   - - “son of God” means that you are a human being
   - - Luke’s genology lists Adam as a son of God
2. ) Special Fatherhood of God
   - - Christians are called “sons of God” (Romans 8, Galatians 4)
3. ) Angels
   - - son of God used for angelic beings (Job 6:1, Daniel 3)
4. ) Messiah
   - - 2 Samuel 7:14 - speaking of the “son of David”
   - - Psalm 2:7

5) Supernatural
- - Messiah = the mission of Jesus, or his purpose
- - “Son of God” = Jesus’ status; the foundation to complete his messianic task
- - Jesus is given the title by others and openly receives it (temptation in wilderness, demons, debate with Pharisees)
- - son of God = divine figure that bares the same attributes as God himself