Jay Raskin has provided linguistic evidence that Mark and John are writing from a common source. Whether or not contemporaneous in an absolute sense, Mark and John are rewriting from a literal document from which each had access. Mark is the better written Story but "John has the gun with the fingerprints all over it" - He cannot help himself. The character John "Confesses" that he is not the Savior and that the One who comes after him is. Mark writes in a Symbolic Manner and his Symbolism points to something else, the "something else" GJohn realizes but cannot hide. "Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent..."Peter Kirby wrote:So, yeah, maybe Mark came before John, and maybe John is inverting or contradicting Mark.
The question is, of course, on the Symbolism but I believe that a coherent, agreeable understanding of the set of Symbols may be found, given that there is a Document from which Mark and John came.
With this Document, whether a Story written in Aramaic, a PLAY (Continuing Jay's work...) or something moved from some Literary Group based in Caesarea, it is a very short step to see that Mark is discrediting the purpose of the Original Document and that Purpose is to be found in the Assertion that the Priests (Mishmarot) and the Followers (Among them the Hasmoneans) were given the Promises by God and it is to them and them alone that the Rule and the Priesthood accrue.But what the hell was Mark discrediting? (Or was he just that deep of a literary author that he creates his own characters just to hang them?)
Mark 9: 42 (RSV):
[42] "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
This is a Herod Story and it dates the Story in Mark. Matthew has this as well and another version that Matthew might not even realize was about Herod (Matthew 7: 7 - 14). "Why Herod?" It tells us that the Original did exist and its purpose was changed.
CW