(1 Corinthians 11-15)For it hath been signified unto me concerning you, my brethren, by them that are of the household of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I mean, that each one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, save Crispus and Gaius; lest any man should say that ye were baptized into my name.
Logically, for Paul, a ''divided Christ'' is ''another Jesus'' (2 Corinthians 11:4) by definition preacher of ''another Gospel'' (Gal 1:8) different from his.
Note that Paul says something in more: for him, a ''divided Christ'' is absurd as well as ''a Paul crucified for you''.
Therefore Mark could only introduce ''another Jesus'', if, as Irenaeus confirms:
(Against Heresies III,11,7)Those, again, who separate Jesus from Christ, alleging that Christ remained impassible, but that it was Jesus who suffered, preferring the Gospel by Mark, if they read it with a love of truth, may have their errors rectified.
Per Gal 1:8, that ''divided Christ'' or ''another Gospel'' could cause only an ''anathema'' on all his followers.
The pauline condemnation of the anti-pauline idea of a ''divided Christ'' is found in Mark 1-2, when read by the insider separationist.
First, a short synthesis of the actors of Mark:
Christ = Son of God = Jesus Christ.
Jesus Nazarene = Son of Man = symbol of an earthly Israel = the totality of the his Jewish observers (his disciples, scribes and pharisees, the people healed by him).
The irony in Mark should be clear: who observes the son of man is paradoxically the same observed son of man (that the Son of God will lead on the cross = the destruction of Israel in 70 CE).
With these premises, we can start a separationist commentary of Mark 1-2:
| Mark 1-2 | Commentary |
| The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way; The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight; John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leathern girdle about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I baptized you in water; but he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit. | John admits that his baptism of sins is insufficient to his goal. Therefore all Israel needs a more strong purifier of the his sins. |
| And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan. | this Jesus Nazarene is symbol of a sinner Israel. He is davidic without knowing it, because Nazaret (from Netser, radix of David) is an indefinite point and therefore may be everywhere in Galilee: any Jew from Galilee may be the real descendant of David (and therefore a potential Messiah) without knowing it. |
| And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him: and a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. | 'Thou' is referred to the Spirit possessing the mere son of man Jesus Nazarene. From this moment, the son of man is possessed by a distinct entity: the Son of God, the Christ of Paul. |
| And straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. | At this point, the Mark's condemnation of the idea of a ''divided Christ'' starts really. Jesus Nazarene is ''moved'' by the Spirit of Christ, and by that 'pressure' by Christ (almost as if to oppose to it) the son of man has some relative form of autonomy: he is under the illusion of having the spirit of Christ all for him, in the desert. He believes wrongly that Christ is ''of Christ''. |
| Now after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel. | The illusion of the son of man (of having Christ only for him) ends soon: abandoned the desert, now the son of man, possessed by the Christ, preaches the coming 'kingdom of God': really, the crucifixion (''Jesus Nazarene Rex Iudaeorum'') = his destruction and expiation of his sins. |
| And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they left the nets, and followed him. And going on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him. | the irony behind the term ''fishers of men'', one allusive of war, is that to preach the Gospel is equivalent to preach the coming destruction of Israel. About the Pillars John and James, they will be the two thieves (lesthes) crucified with Jesus, because Josephus says that the ''son of Zebedee'' is a thief. |
| And they go into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. And straightway there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Nazarene? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And the unclean spirit, tearing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? a new teaching! with authority he commandeth even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. And the report of him went out straightway everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about. | Two interpretations are possible: 1) the demons recognize really who is Jesus (a simple man possessed by Jesus Christ) or... 2) the demons don't recognize really who is Jesus Nazarene (believing wrongly that the son of man is the same Son of God and not instead a mere man possessed by him, as he is really). |
| And straightway, when they were come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever; and straightway they tell him of her: and he came and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. | The episode is strongly ironic and grotesque. Really Peter is so idiot to believe that the son of man is came only for him and his clan ? Soon the reader will realize that Christ is not ''of Cephas''. |
| And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were sick, and them that were possessed with demons. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick with divers diseases, and cast out many demons; and he suffered not the demons to speak, because they knew him. | The illusion of Peter is soon frustrated: the son of man is came not only for him, but also for the other men of Capernaum. |
| And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed. And Simon and they that were with him followed after him; and they found him, and say unto him, All are seeking thee. And he saith unto them, Let us go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for to this end came I forth. And he went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons. | But even the illusion of the men of Capernaum is soon frustrated and the Mark's point occurs again: Jesus is not ''of Cephas'' nor of the men of Capernaum, but of all the Galilee.. |
| And there cometh to him a leper, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And being moved with compassion, he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean. And he strictly charged him, and straightway sent him out, and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to spread abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter. | Now the illusion of ''possessing'' Jesus is held by all the sinners of the entire Galilee: therefore the son of man needs to send a message to the priest. In other terms, he is came not only for the sinners, but also for the right people. |
| And when he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was noised that he was in the house. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, no, not even about the door: and he spake the word unto them. And they come, bringing unto him a man sick of the palsy, borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed whereon the sick of the palsy lay. And Jesus seeing their faith saith unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins are forgiven. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak? he blasphemeth: who can forgive sins but one, even God? And straightway Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, saith unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. And he arose, and straightway took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. | I have already made the complex analysis of this passage here and here. In short: the right people (the ''scribes'' = outsiders) condemn rightly the son of man (=the earthly Israel, therefore themselves, too!) for blasphemy, but the insider (the ''paralytic'') knows the truth: that the Son of God - and not the son of man by him possessed, against the same words of Jesus (who therefore is lying!) - has the authority to forgive the sins. |
| And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the place of toll, and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass, that he was sitting at meat in his house, and many publicans and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. | To reiterate explictly the point that the Christ is not even ''of the righteous'' (as well as he is not ''of Cephas'', nor ''of Galilee''), the son of man has to say it bluntly. The implicit corollary is that all Israel is sinner, the son of man included (since he is symbol of the earthly Israel). |
| And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting: and they come and say unto him, Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day. No man seweth a piece of undressed cloth on an old garment: else that which should fill it up taketh from it, the new from the old, and a worse rent is made. And no man putteth new wine into old wine-skins; else the wine will burst the skins, and the wine perisheth, and the skins: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins. | This passage is the culmination of the introduction of Mark: while Jesus confirms the futility of the fasting and the baptism of John in redeeming Israel, Jesus says in a cryptic way that the true pauline Christ (''the new wine'') has to come to break the ''old wineskins'' (the earthly, corrupted Israel): to lead all Israel to ruin on his(of the son of man) cross. This is the effect of the action of an irrational ''man'' (the historical enemies of Paul the apostle) who ''putteth new wine into old wine-skins''. |
| And it came to pass, that he was going on the sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Did ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and they that were with him? How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to eat save for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: so that the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath. | For the second time (the first time was with the ''scribes'', now he proves with the ''pharisees''), Jesus is deliberately prompting the Pharisees to condemn, for blasphemy, the davidic Jesus Nazarene, that is, the mere son of man (and all his disciples included), by insinuating deliberately the blasphemous idea that the son of man (every Jew) is ''even lord of the sabbath''. But the insiders know who is really the entity that possesses the son of man: the true Christ, the Son of God. Therefore, for the insiders there is no blasphemy for the Son of God, while there is real blasphemy for the earthly Israel: the son of man (who therefore deserves really the crucifixion in virtue of his sins). |
Note what I had said first: for Paul, a ''divided Christ'' is an absurd idea as well as ''a Paul crucified for you''.
Mark paulinized the son of man ''Jesus Nazarene'' precisely in order to represent a ''divided Christ'', a separationist Christology to condemn all Israel and make it purified and risen in the ''Galilee of gentiles'': the pauline sect.