Giuseppe wrote: ↑Wed May 01, 2024 2:25 am
- Martijn Linssen rightly pointed out that the pious women in Mark are condemned to silence because only so Mark could explain why the empty tomb story (absent in *Ev) didn't receive the attention that it would have deserved only with the his [of Mark] gospel.
That's an interesting hypothesis. I do very much believe that there are little anti-marcionite jabs sprinkled around in the final recension of the NT.
But there's another explanation: The failure of the women is the culmination of a series of failures of his disciples. They are starting not to be able to cast out demons, Judas sells him out, they all flee in the garden of gethsemane, Peter is still skulking around but denies him twice. All throughout this, though, his women disciples have remained loyal. Washing his feet with perfume, etc. And they turn up at the tomb to prepare Jesus's body.
But then.....at the very moment when they young man tells them that Jesus has triumphed over death itself, they are so overcome with fear that they just run away and tell nobody. It's the final betrayal. Jesus has nobody left at the end of Mark. (Good thing Paul was there to pick up the pieces...)
This episode seems to my ears to be an integral part of Mark--the coup-de-grace of his downer gospel.
P.S. since my brain is so full of secret mark, I can't help but also note that the theme of "linen" pops up here as well.......Jesus's gymnastic body was wrapped in linen, and the young man wore linen too.