Mark Flashcards
Jesus’ pedagogy
Parables (chronological, mundane to explain something more comlex)
Type
Passion narrative with long into
Messiah or Christ
Person chosen to be a prophet, priest, or king and usually activated to be such through act of anointing with oil. Raised up to help Israel.
Son of Man
Transcendent judge and deliverer in Jewish apocalypses (or just a man)
Historical Jesus
Born 3 C.E. Jewish Poor tradesman Lived in region of Galilee Appointed 12 to be inner circle Crucified by Rome
Terminus ad quem
125 C.E.
Date as late as possible, without passing another text that mentions it
Use external evidence
Terminus a quo
70 C.E.
As early as possible, use internal evidence
Temple destroyed 70 C.E. by Titus (Mark 13), after Jewish revolt
Date of composition
68-69 C.E.
Could see events unfold before actual destruction of temple
Audience
Gentile Christians, unfamiliar with Jewish practices or expressions, somewhere around Syria
Mark’s habit of translating and explaining Semantic actions and words in evidence for this
Genre
Ancient biography:
Beginning of career of person, all the way to death
What lies between arranges thematically
Character hierarchy
Those who want to kill Jesus
Those who think Jesus is in cahoots with the devil
Those who reject Jesus
Those who hear Jesus and do what He teaches (disciples)
Twelve apostles (slow to believe, slow to understand- relatable and empathy, Jesus looks better in comparison)
Jesus (a class of His own)
Synoptic
To be looked at together
Matthew, Mark, and Luke
Historiography
The story of how and why each gospel was written
When two texts are extremely similar, only three options:
Text A used text B
Text B used text A
Text A and B used a third text
Synoptic problem asks two main questions:
Which was written first (probably Mark) Which text(s) did each gospel copy from?
Triple tradition
Sayings or episodes found in all three gospels, virtually the same order
Double tradition
Only found in Matthew and Luke, vary radically in order
Considerations:
Versions of the gospel we have now, may be different from what was used early on
Could we using their memory of the text, as opposed to the text itself
Could be using liturgy (sayings) and not particular text, even though that liturgy is derived from a particular text
Three major solutions:
Two document hypothesis
Farrer hypothesis
Griesbach hypothesis
Two document hypothesis
- Q
- then Mark
- Matthew knows of both and combines them (uses Mark’s material)
- Luke does same as Matthew independent of him (uses more of Mark’s order)
Evidence to contrary
- Show Luke or Matthew copied from each other
- > Both: same words, have birth narratives, have genealogies, etc.
Farrer hypothesis
- Mark
- Matthew expands from Mark
- Luke uses Mark and Matthew
Evidence to contrary
-Double tradition stems from Q source (Luke uses more of the original reading of Q)
Griesbach hypothesis
- Matthew
- then Luke expands on Matthew
- Mark uses both
Evidence to contrary
-Mark short in comparison, others expand on Mark (so Mark must be written first)
Mark 1-8
Although Jesus had become very popular with all of the miracles He had preformed, He did not want the attention. When He cured a man whom had leprosy, he asked him to tell no one, and He kept demons from saying that He was the Son of God. Jesus gives credit to other things for the miracles He carries out, such as the Lord and a person’s faith. Even when His disciples have figured out who Jesus is, He asks them not to tell anyone. When Jesus speaks to the crowds, He speaks in parables, only explaining to His disciples.
Mark 9-16
These chapters recount the story of Jesus’ death, and eventual resurrection. While teaching, Jesus uses many parables and hyperboles. Jesus also shows His wonderful sense of humor and His philosophical side. One example is when the elders demanded to be told where Jesus gets his authority from and in turn Jesus asks them a question in which either answer would harm them.
