Gospel muteness as evidence of anti-marcionism

[Giuseppe]

• 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.

• Another case of muteness as evidence of anti-marcionism is Luke 1:18-20, where Zechariah indulging in a (Marcionite) skepticism about the fulfilling of OT prophecies is punished by muteness:
  
  
  18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
  
  19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
  
  

• Another case is Mark 4:33-34:
  
  
  33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
  
  The last clause was necessary for Mark, since only so Mark could neutralize the implication in *Ev: that Jesus didn't even instruct on everything the his own disciples.
  This fear by Mark is corroborated by the his addition of the "explanation" of the Parable of Sower (Mark 4:11-15) which is really a mere repetition of it, useful only to reassure the reader that yes, Jesus "explained everything" to his disciples, pace Marcion. Since this explanation was widely known to have been absent in *Ev, then Mark reported that it happened "when he was alone with his own disciples", therefore none, not even Marcion, could deny that the disciples were not instructed on everything by Jesus.

[Giuseppe]

The last point counts really as a typical example of editorial fatigue:

How could Mark say that "when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything" (4:34) when, episode after episode, the same disciples are total idiots in Mark?

Best answer: the negative portrayal of the disciples is a courtesy by Marcion, and vainly Mark 4:34 could make the disciples less idiots than they were already in *Ev.

[RandyHelzerman]

• 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.

[lsayre]

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.

A ritual death followed by ritual resurrection cult?

To this very day the Christian attitude is that the non-believer is dead in his transgressions. You simply don't need to be dead to be dead. Now or then.

[RandyHelzerman]

A ritual death followed by ritual resurrection cult?

To this very day the Christian attitude is that the non-believer is dead in his transgressions. You simply don't need to be dead to be dead. Now or then.

Perhaps. This business of linen garments going on and coming off is just one of those weird little things about Mark.

And like you said, you don’t have to be dead to be born again.

[Giuseppe]

To introduce "women" as witnesses of a crucial fact was equivalent to introduce blind and silent witnesses for that fact. An ant could have more authority. Mark is saying that not only ants witnessed the empty tomb, but they were even crushed en passant.
Absolute silence about the fact is assured.

[RandyHelzerman]

To introduce "women" as witnesses of a crucial fact was equivalent to introduce blind and silent witnesses for that fact. An ant could have more authority. Mark is saying that not only ants witnessed the empty tomb, but they were even crushed en passant.
Absolute silence about the fact is assured.

Not convinced that Mark, or a student of Paul (in christ there is no...) would view women that way. Mark seems quite favorable to women. The woman who washed his feet certainly "got" fact that Jesus was going to die a horrible death, way before the male disciples did. And they hang on the longest....alas, they could withstand bad news, but apparently not good news. Irony of ironies, they fell away just at the point of Jesus's big triumph.

[Giuseppe]

The woman who washed his feet certainly "got" fact that Jesus was going to die a horrible death, way before the male disciples did.

you are talking to a *Ev prioritist, hence I remember that that woman was considered mentally a prostitute by Simon Peter in *Ev.

Moving an embarrassed Mark to replace Simon Peter with Simon the Leper.

[Giuseppe]

Another evidence of Markan antifeminism and anti-marcionism:

the episode of the Peter’s mother-in-law being healed by Jesus (so that she could "wait on them") was designed to legitimize married apostles (in contrast to Marcionite celibacy).

[RandyHelzerman]

you are talking to a *Ev prioritist,

A prioritist of Ev over Luke, or over Luke and Mark?