A Plausible Reading of Mark, Well-Done with a Side of Ram

[Peter Kirby]

But surely scholars can't be so dense to see that this is not how the Romans would look at matters. They certainly would have viewed the author of the gospel as having a choice as to what he put in his narrative and moreover they would not have been swayed by the idea that a god 'actually' came to visit in that age. Instead they would have viewed the gospel as an invented fiction - a myth - with a profound anti-establishment message. This is how mythicism is actually quite useful.

It would take seriously Mark's attribution of responsibility for the death of Jesus to Pilate, as something other than a recalcitrant nugget of historical tradition that could not be chipped away and replaced with something else.

[Peter Kirby]

That seems better to me, but the marked differences from the other processes are still a huge sticking point for me.

Thank you for these comments. I'm working on other things right now, but I do intend to come back to this.

[Ben C. Smith]

Thank you for these comments. I'm working on other things right now, but I do intend to come back to this.

No problem. No rush.

Ben.

[Peter Kirby]

Thread split:

http://www.earlywritings.com/forum/view ... f=3&t=1498

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

...My first instinct here, which led to the proposal, is to pan back a bit and look at what the author of the Gospel of Mark was doing in the passages just before and just after the difficult crux interpretum. Perhaps the clues there could alert us to the most likely manner in which the author was weaving his narrative here. Certainly it seems a better idea than treating a couple sentences in complete isolation.

Part I -- The Context of Mark, Before and After the Passage in Question, and the Author's Approach Taken There

Let's take a brief recap of four segments before and four after. For elaborate justification of the parallels, the literature abounds. This is not an exhaustive treatment of the passion story by any means, just a bit of well-worn wisdom to establish the context. All scriptural parallels here are located in the Torah, Psalms, and Isaiah, and sometimes there are more options than those that are presented. (Also, I'm not claiming that every last detail is motivated by scriptural precedent, as there is still room for the author of the Gospel of Mark to be his own storyteller, beyond stringing together these beads.)
...

I appreciate any critical and productive comments based on a careful reading. Thank you.

A great post, Peter. Thanks.

I've often wondered whether in Mark 15:21 might be a direct OT-allusion. I have found nothing that could convince me. But a good candidate seemed to be Jeremiah 3:14. Therefore I will add it. Maybe it convinces others more than me.

LXX-Jeremiah 3:14-17
14 Turn, ye children that have revolted, saith the Lord; for I will rule over you: and I will take you one of a city (ἕνα ἐκ πόλεως - Simon of Cyrene), and two of a family (δύο ἐκ πατριᾶς - the father of Alexander and Rufus), and I will bring (εἰσάξω) you in to Sion: 15 and I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they shall certainly tend you with knowledge. 16 And it shall come to pass that when ye are multiplied and increased upon the land, saith the Lord, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel: it shall not come to mind; it shall not be named; neither shall it be visited; nor shall [this] be done any more. 17 In those days and at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered to it: and they shall not walk any more after the imaginations of their evil heart.

[Ben C. Smith]

I've often wondered whether in Mark 15:21 might be a direct OT-allusion. I have found nothing that could convince me. But a good candidate seemed to be Jeremiah 3:14. Therefore I will add it. Maybe it convinces others more than me.

LXX-Jeremiah 3:14-17
14 Turn, ye children that have revolted, saith the Lord; for I will rule over you: and I will take you one of a city (ἕνα ἐκ πόλεως - Simon of Cyrene), and two of a family (δύο ἐκ πατριᾶς - the father of Alexander and Rufus), and I will bring (εἰσάξω) you in to Sion: 15 and I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they shall certainly tend you with knowledge. 16 And it shall come to pass that when ye are multiplied and increased upon the land, saith the Lord, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel: it shall not come to mind; it shall not be named; neither shall it be visited; nor shall [this] be done any more. 17 In those days and at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered to it: and they shall not walk any more after the imaginations of their evil heart.

That is very interesting. Thanks for sharing this. Not sure what to think of it yet, but thank you for a passage I had never considered.

Ben.

[Clive]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/relig ... 7506/posts

This looks like the only sermon on the internet that uses both passages from Jeremiah and Mark!