Mark is cued to ambiguities in Galatians

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gryan
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Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 4:11 am

Mark is cued to ambiguities in Galatians

Post by gryan »

Imagine trying to interpret the three mentions of a "James" in Galatians without gMark (and the other Narriative Gospels). It would be a whole other project than the one I have undertaken. I have become convinced that Mark is cued intentionally toward providing a narrative back-story for the three ambiguous mentions of "James."

1. Who is "James the Lord's brother" of Gal 1:19? In Paul's writings, there is only one other mention of "the Lord's brothers" and no names are specified. So it comes as a relief to learn that, in gMark, there is a "James" identified as one of the "brothers" of Jesus by folks from the synagogue where they grew up. And so when I read in Gal that Jesus was "born of a woman, born under the law" I imagine James, the Lord's brother was born of the same woman--gMark gives her the name "Mary"-- and born under the same law.

2. In deciding how to identify the "James" of "James and Cephas and John" in Gal 2:9, what is the significance of the phrase, "the recognized ones" (οἱ δοκοῦντες) (a designation repeated three times in Gal 2:1-9)? If this is your question, and you are leaning toward seeing this James, not as the Lord's brother, but as one of the 12, then it is very interesting to learn that Jesus gave a discourse on "οἱ δοκοῦντες". That's right. The same from of those very words come out of the mouth of gMark's Jesus, and the audience is an exclusive gathering of the 12. Jesus says that the ones recognized (οἱ δοκοῦντες) as rulers among the Gentiles lord it over one another, but to those in the 12 he gives the true meaning of greatness. To be "first"--note that James is listed first--"you must be a servant." This fits. James was a servant when he was named first among those who gave Paul, Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they arrived with the uncircumcised Gentile, Titus.

3. The most ambiguous mention of "James" is in the phrase "some from James" in Gal 2:12. Which James? It does not sound at all like the pillar who gave Paul the right hand of fellowship and who as such is "great" by the standards of Jesus. Could it be "the Lord's brother"? If you are reading "some from James" and asking "Which James?" it is instructive when the James of Mark 15:40 who's mother is Mary, and whose brother is Joses, (in other words, the James identified previously as the "brother" of Jesus in the ordinary hometown synagogue sense) is designated with the epithet "the lesser". This epithet so often considered ambigouous in gMark is cued to answer a question in Galaitans! The Lord's brother is "the lesser" of the two Jameses by Jesus' standard of greatness. "Some from James" who influenced Cephas to stop eating with Gentiles came from "the lesser" James. Two ambiguities are joined to make two clarities. In Mark, as in Galatians, there are two different Jameses. These two Jameses have two different mothers, both named Mary in Mark 15:40 and Mark 16:1 respectively. The epithet "the lesser" distinguishes the natural brother of Jesus from the James who would become "greater"--James, son of Alphaeus, the recognized pillar Gal 2:9, the seer of 1 Cor 15:7.

When I read NTGalatians as a coherent whole in relation to NTMark as a coherent whole, I come up with a way of interpreting the ambiguous James where all the parts fit. And the resulting way of putting together the puzzle stands up to in relation to gJohn, gMatt, and Luke-Acts. None of the later accounts directly contradict this rereading of Galatians in light of cues provided by gMark.
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