A consensus reading of this Gospel from the scholarly literature gives the impression that Mark dashed out his Gospel at white heat with little thought to any subtleties of literary construction. This impression is certainly confirmed by presence of the word “immediately” forty-two times in the text and the abruptness with which the Gospel ends. Both of these issues, the literary skill with which the book is written and the completeness of the text, will be dealt with to some extent as we discuss this Gospel's structure.
Thematic Threads
A first indicator that the above opinion may be faulty is the interweaving throughout the text of three related themes: Jesus purposefully concealing his true identity (“The Markan Secret”), Jesus concealing the meanings behind his parables from the crowds, and the Apostles' inability to grasp either Jesus' identity or teachings. The latter even seen to increase as the Gospel account proceeds, according to Marcus who points to 4:13, 6:52, 7:18, 8:14-21 and 14:68.
The Markan Sandwich
As a second point in establishing the literary credentials of the book, Hooker notes the importance in Mark of connections between adjacent paragraphs. This is especially in evidence in the phenomenon variously called intercalation or, somewhat less elegantly, “the Markan sandwich.” In this literary technique, a story is interrupted in the middle to tell another story before resuming the first one, thus forcing the reader to consider the thematic connections between the two narratives. Intercalation differs from an ABA' pattern in that the last unit continues the action of A and is not just parallel to it.
Foreshadowing
This common literary technique is also employed by Mark. The most elaborate use of foreshadowing in the Gospel is found in ch. 6 where the events surrounding Jesus' death are prefigured in the details of John the Baptist's last days.
Long Range Patterns
Mann and others, have noted favorite words and phrases of Mark that occur more than once in the text. Three simple examples are given below:
right and left Apostles seated on either side of Jesus in heaven (10:37)
Thieves crucified on either side of Jesus (15:27)
--------------------------------------------------------
condemn Son of Man will be condemned to death by the chief priests and scribes (10:33)
Son of Man condemned to death by the high priest, chief priests, elders, and scribes (14:64)
--------------------------------------------------------
lead out Jesus leads a blind man out of village, spits on his eyes and lays hands on him (8:22-23)
Soldiers lead Jesus away inside the palace, strike his head, spit on him and lead him out of the city (15:16-20 – 2x)
The above examples also illustrate a peculiarity in Mark's style noted by Brett in reference to the chiastic structure of small units within the Gospel, namely that he “frequently makes use of a double reference within one of the units.” However, it has not generally been appreciated that these repeated words often give rise to symmetrical patterns when their contexts are considered. This peculiarity occurs much more regularly than would be expected by mere chance. At least 35 such patterns have been detected, ranging from simple ABA structures such as for “given over to” –
the hands of men (9:31)
the chief priests and the scribes (10:33)
the hands of sinners (14:41)
up to a 22-membered chiasm formed with the verb aperchomai. One thing is certain in light of the above constructions, and that is well expressed by Perrin, who states even without recognizing their existence: “Mark's Gospel is extremely sophisticated and yields up a level of complexity that is sometimes mind-boggling.”
Proposed Divisions for the Gospel
There is little agreement on this subject, even among those who view this book as a simple two-part work: Ministry and Passion. Those relying mainly on geographical markers to divide the gospel into its intended parts demonstrate no better agreement. Various thematic analyses or those based on supposed parallels with Greek tragedy yield even further possibilities:
Concerning the proposed structures for Mark's Gospel, Childs remarks, “It is difficult to deny that several possible outlines are illuminating in highlighting important features within the book. However, it is equally difficult to establish conclusively the superiority of any one scheme.” One way out of this impasse, as demonstrated in analyses of other books of the Bible, is to look for outlines containing self-authenticating features such as inclusio, internal symmetry, and repeated words and phrases.
The Six-fold Scheme of Mark's Gospel
Laurence F. X. Brett has masterfully developed such an analysis for the Gospel of Mark. He states with unnecessary modesty that “the suggestions presented remain precisely that – suggestions...these views are offered to advance the cause of Markan studies and not to anticipate a conclusion of them.” The treatment that follows is basically a summary of his scheme with some minor variations.
Figure 1: Overall Structure of Mark's Gospel
The Prologue (1:1-13)
Part One – The Sea of Galilee (1:14-8:21)
1. The Twelve are Called (1:14-3:19a)
2. The Power, the Kingdom and the Glory (3:19b-6:6)
3. The Twelve are Sent Out and Warned (6:7-8:21)
Part Two – Jerusalem (8:22-16:8)
4. Jesus' Death and Resurrection Foretold (8:22-11:11)
5. The Last Days (11:12-14:50)
6. Jesus' Death and Resurrection (14:51-16:8)
Numerous observations may be offered in support of the proposed relationships between the six sections of Fig. 1. As just one example, near the beginnings of sections 1 and 3 are quite similar ministry summaries, with elements presented in chiastic order. These summaries implicitly compare the Apostles' activities with those of Jesus:
“And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” (Mark 1:34a)
“And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.” (Mark 6:13)
Straddling the border between parts I and II of the whole composition are two quite similar healing accounts: that of a deaf man in 7:31-37 and that of a blind man in 8:22-26. Taken together these represent fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 35:5-6. This major dividing line in the Gospel is also demonstrated by the fact that the two great proclamations regarding Jesus’ true identity come at the start of the book and the beginning of Part II.
“You are my beloved son” (Mark 1:11)
“You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29)
There is a similarly strong correspondence between the two passages in Mark in which God speaks: 1:11 and 9:7.
As an inclusio for the whole book, several commentators have noted that Mark 1:11 anticipates the confession of the centurion at the end of the Gospel (at 15:39): “Truly, this man was the Son of God!” This literary device is strengthened if one accepts the strong textual evidence that includes the phrase “Son of God” in Mark 1:1.
Marcus offers in support of his proposed structure (six sections plus a Prologue and Epilogue) the fact that each of the major sections is approximately the same length. The organization pictured in Fig. 1 demonstrates the same phenomenon.
Individual Sections
Brett's analyses of the internal structures for each of the identified sections may be profitably adopted with some minor variations. For example, he sees a five-fold alternation for Mark 1:16-3:19.
A. Call of the Four Disciples (1:16-20)
B. Sequence of cures, last one involving a conflict (1:21-2:12)
A'. Call of Levi (2:13-17)
B'. Sequence of conflicts, last one involving a cure (2:18-3:12)
A''. Choice of the Twelve (3:13-19)
Several revisions in Brett's scheme appear to be in order. In the present proposal, the limits of the section are slightly altered to begin at 1:14 and conclude with 3:19a. In addition, Marcus has recognized that the first and last commissioning stories in this section are preceded by similar summaries of Jesus’ activities. This crucial insight can be extended to include the call of Levi, as has Farrer. These accumulated changes result in the modified arrangement of Fig. 2.
Figure 2: Revised Structure of Section 1
A. Summary of Activities (1:14-15)
B. Call of the Four Disciples (1:16-20)
C. Sequence of cures, last one involving a conflict (1:21-2:12)
A'. Summary of Activities (2:13)
B'. Call of Levi (2:14-17)
C'. Sequence of conflicts, last one involving a cure (2:18-3:6)
A''. Summary of Activities (3:7-12)
B''. Choice of the Twelve (3:13-19a)
Even though Brett's analysis of the sixth section is very appealing, an alternative scheme is offered in Fig. 3. It is not as detailed as his but has the advantage of exhibiting a more symmetrical pattern.
Figure 3: Structure of Section 6
A. A Follower Flees (14:51-52)
B. A Markan Sandwich (14:53-72)
1. Peter's failure 14:53-54 14:66-72
2. the council condemns Jesus 14:55-65
C. Jesus the King (15:1-39)
1. with Pilate and the crowd (15:1-15)
2. with the soldiers (15:16-20a)
1'. with those around the cross (15:20b-39)
B'. A Markan Sandwich (15:40-16:4)
1. the women's faithfulness 15:40-41 15:47-16:4
2. a council member buries Jesus 15:42-46
A'. The Women Flee (16:1-8)
Ending of the Gospel
The appropriateness of the sudden ending to Mark's overall theme has been rehearsed by commentators many times over the years. For example: “Considered from the viewpoint of dramatic composition, the conclusion of the Gospel at 16:8 is not only perfectly appropriate but also a stroke of genius. The Gospel ends even more abruptly than it begins, on a finale of poignant grandeur.” (Bilezikian) Not everyone is persuaded by such arguments, and a separate discussion (“Ending of the Gospel of Mark”) is presented in aanother post to deal with the possibility that a longer version of Mark's Gospel once existed.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments