MARKSMOTIFASINFORMEDBYDEUTEROISAIAH:ANINTERTEXTUALANALYSISOFMARK1.23AND8.2210.52

By

JOSHUAD.CARROLL

AThesisSubmittedtotheGraduateFacultyofWAKEFORESTUNIVERSITY

InPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsFortheDegreeof

MASTEROFARTSintheDepartmentofReligion

May2007WinstonSalem,NorthCarolina

ApprovedBy:MaryF.Foskett,Ph.D.,Advisor___________________________________________ExaminingCommittee:FredL.Horton,Ph.D.____________________________________________________KennethG.Hoglund,Ph.D.______________________________________________

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Iwouldliketothankmythesiscommittee,Dr.MaryFoskett,Dr.Fred

Horton,andDr.KennethHoglundfortheirsupportandguidancewhilewritingthis

thesis.ToDr.Hoglund,IwouldliketothankyouforpatientlyleadingNew

Testamentpeople,likemyself,thoughthedepthsoftheHebrewScripturesand

DeadSeaScrolls.ToDr.Horton,yourabilitytohelpstudentshashthroughthe

infinitelycomplexGospelofMarkwhileneverforgettingtothrowinabitof

comfortinghumorisunparalleledThankyou.Specialthanksgotomyadvisor,Dr.

MaryFoskett.Herenduringsupport,unwaveringguidance,andopendoormade

mytimeatWakeForestenjoyableandmadethisthesispossible.Withinthe

classroom,Dr.FoskettdeepenedmyunderstandingoftheNewTestamentandthe

worldinwhichitwascomposedbyguidingmetotherightquestions.Outsidethe

classroom,shewasatrustedfriendandasourceofcomfort.Iwillcherishand

deeplymissourcountlessconversations.

Aboveall,IwouldliketothankmyparentsJamieandDaveCarroll.My

accomplishmentsareduetotheirsupport,encouragement,andlove.Inthemost

difficultoftimes,theirloveprovidedmethedeterminationtokeepmypenonthe

paper,andthewilltosucceed.Thankyou.

ThisthesisisdedicatedtomytwobrothersZacandDanielCarrollwho

walktogether.

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

PageABSTRACT.iChapter 1.FOCUSOFTHESTUDY.1 BriefIntroductiontoMarksGospel TheWayintheGospelofMarkCitationsandQuestions RelevantResearch TheApproachIntertextualityandIntertextualAnalysis ProgressionofthePaper 2..15 AnalysisofMark1.23 TheWayofGodinDeuteroIsaiah MarkandIsaiah FunctionoftheCitation

3.RHETORICALPATTERNS:REPETITION,SERIESOFTHREE,ANDTHREESTEPPROGRESSION36

TriplePassionPredictions ThreeStepProgression HealingofSightNarratives Progressionof8.2210.52 TheWay 4.REALTIONSHIPBETWEENYOUR[JESUS]WAYANDTHEWAY

OFTHELORD64 TheEthicalWay ConclusionWORKSCITEDBIBLOGRAPHY.73

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JoshuaD.Carroll

MARKSMOTIFASINFORMEDBYDEUTEROISAIAH:

ANINTERTEXTUALANALYSISOFMARK1.23AND8.2210.52

ThesisunderthedirectionofMaryFoskett,Ph.D.,ProfessorofReligion TheGospelofMark is repletewithwordsandphrases thatpoint to theJewish Scriptures. This suggests that the Jewish Scriptureswere important toMark and that they informhisunderstanding of Jesus. This study intends toexaminetheMarkanmotiftoshowthatDeuteroIsaiahplaysanimportantrole in theMarksreference totheway. Todemonstratemyargument IwillemployanintertextualanalysisofMark1.23and8.2210.52.Thesetwosectionsprovide evidence thatDeuteroIsaiah is a significant intertext forMarks motif. My conclusion is thatMark flips DeuteroIsaiahs depiction of GodsvictoriouswayonitsheadtoportrayJesuswaytosufferinganddeath.

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Chapter1FocusoftheStudy

TheGospelofMark isrepletewithquotations fromandallusions to the

Jewish Scriptures.1 At the beginning of the gospel,Mark announces that his

story of the good news about JesusChrist takes place as it iswritten in the

prophetIsaiah(1.2a).IntheclimaticsceneofJesuscrucifixion,Jesusresponds

tothehighpriestsquestionabouthisidentitywithaquotationfromDanielthat

isblendedwithanallusiontoPsalm110(14.6162). Betweenthefirstandfinal

chaptersofMark,JewishScripturalcitationscontinuallypopupusuallyonthe

lipsof Jesushimself. From the startof this thesis, it is important tonote that

whenIrefertoJewishScripturesIamspecificallyreferringtotheGreekversionof

theJewishScripturesknowastheSeptuagint.2

The wealth of references to the Jewish Scriptures indicates their

importancetoMarkandtheirimpactonhisunderstandingofJesus.Thisstudy

intendstoexaminethemotifintheGospelofMark.Thethesisofthispaper

1ForaconciselistseetheusefulhandbookRobertG.Bratcher,OldTestamentQuotationsintheNewTestament,ed.UnitedBibleSocieties,Rev.ed.,HelpsforTranslatorsSeries(London:UnitedBibleSocieties,1967),pp.1217.2Inchaptertwo,IwillprovidedetailedargumentsforwhytheSeptuagintinsteadoftheHebrewtextisthesourceofMarkswaylanguage,butfornow,itissufficienttosaythattheauthorofMarkwroteinKoineGreek.SeealsoMornaHooker,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark,BlacksNewTestamentCommentaries(London:HendricksonPublishers,1991),pp.38.

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is thatMarksuseof the term is informedbyandpoints to theDeutero

IsaianwayofGod.3 This supposition indicates thatDeuteroIsaiahplaysan

important,thoughnotexclusive,roleinMarksconstructionoftheway.4 To

demonstratemy position I employ an intertextual analysis ofMark 1.23 and

8.2710.52. These two sections serve as evidence that DeuteroIsaiah is a

significantintertextfortheMarkanwaymotif.Thisobservationwillallowme

to suggest that, through theuse ofdramatic irony,Mark recontextualized the

triumphalwayofGodsreturntodeliverhispeopleasdescribed inDeutero

Isaiah to illuminate the way of Jesus. By doing so, Mark reveals to his

audience that though Jesus way is one of suffering, it is nonetheless a

continuation of the way ofGod as it iswritten in theprophet Isaiah and

3AnydiscussionofMarkandDeuteroIsaiahisonlyapieceofalargerconversationthatincludesIsaiahasawhole.However,duetothebrevityofthispaperIfocusspecificallyonMarksuseofDeuteroIsaiah.FourimportantMarkanstudiesthatmakeuseofIsaiahingeneralareMornaHooker,IsaiahinMarksGospel,inIsaiahintheNewTestament,ed.SteveMoyiseandMaartenJJ.Menken(NewYork:T&TClark,2005),JoelMarcus,MarkandIsaiah,inFortunatetheEyesThatSee:EssaysinHonorofDavidNoelFreedmaninCelebrationofHisSeventiethBirthday,ed.AstridB.Beckandetal(GrandRapids:EerdmansPublishingCo.,1995),JoelMarcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,1sted.(Louisville,Ky.:Westminster/JohnKnoxPress,1992),RikkiE.Watts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark(GrandRapids:Baker,2000).4ThispaperattemptstoshowthatDeuteroIsaiahinformsMarksconstructionoftheway.ThisdoesnotmeanthatIbelieveDeuteroIsaiahistheonlytextthatinfluencesthewaymotifinMarksgospel;however,forthepurposesofthispaperIintendtofocusonlyontheIsaianinfluences.R.WattsisonescholarwhoilluminatesothertextsthathaveasignificantimpactonMarkswaymotif.AlthoughWattsaffirmstheIsaianinfluence,hearguesthatMarkswaymotifillustratesanewexodustypologythatisbestunderstoodagainstthebackgroundofMalachi,whichdrawsonbothExodusandIsaiah.See,Watts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark,pp.6787.

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interpreted by Mark. Because the way language in the second gospel is

informed byDeuteroIsaiah, I employ an intertextual analysis to supportmy

argument. An intertextual analysis is important because it takes into account

phenomenaintheworldoutsideofthetextbeinginterpreted.5

BriefIntroductiontoMarksGospel

Anintertextualanalysispresupposesthatlanguageandtheproductionof

written languagedonot exist in avacuum. Inotherwords, everything in an

authorsoutsideworld influenceshisorher languageand thewayheorshe

uses language, including thewrittenandorally transmittedtexts that figure

prominently in ones Sitz im Leben. It is, therefore, important to consider the

periodinwhichMarkwroteandtheshapeofhisgospel. Scholarsusuallydate

thesecondgospelbetween65and75C.E.6Althoughthereissomedebateasto

whether thegospelwaswrittenbeforeorafter thedestructionof the Jerusalem

temple,itseemslikelythatitwaswrittensubsequently.7Evidencesupportinga

5Myunderstandingofintertextureandintertextualanalysescomesfromandisdiscussedin,VernonRobbins,ExploringtheTexturesofaText:AGuidetoSocioRhetoricalInterpretation(Pennsylvania:TrinityPressInternational,1996),pp.4070.6Hooker,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark,p.15,ChedMyers,BindingtheStrongMan:APoliticalReadingofMarksStoryofJesus(NewYork:OrbisBooks,1988),p.41.7V.TaylorisonescholarwhoarguesthattheauthorofthesecondgospelwrotebeforethedestructionoftheJerusalemTemple,VincentTaylor,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark:TheGreekTextwithIntroduction,Notes,andIndexes(London:Macmillan,1959),p.30.ContraHooker,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark,p.8.

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subsequentdate is thatMark13 reflects the traumaof thosewhobelieved the

templesdestructionusheredintheendoftheera.8

The author of the second gospel intended for it to be read aloud to an

audience,notprivately. Constantrepetitions inthegospelsupportthis insight.

Words, stories, and geographical locations are repeated in the gospel, so the

audiencewouldbeabletoconnecttheentirenarrativeintoaunity.9Readingthe

gospeltoday,wetendtoisolatecertainsectionsthatdealwithdifferentthemes,

but thosewho first heard itwouldhave been farmore aware and attuned to

repetition and linking words. The gospel also has a clear shape: after the

prologue,we have an account of Jesusministry in Galilee.10 Following the

events at Caesarea Philippi (8.2730), Jesus teaches his disciples about

discipleshipandhisapproachingfate.In11.1,JesusarrivesinJerusalem,andin

8Hooker,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark,p.8andpp.297303.9Ibid.,p.16.10M.Hookerpointsoutthatthereisfrequentdebateastowhether1.1415belongtothePrologue(vv.113)orintroducethefirstmainsection.Shealsonotesthat3.712and6.713aresometimesregardedastheopeningparagraphsinnewsectionsandothertimestheythoughttobetheclosingparagraphsoftheperviousones.Questionsalsosurroundtheexactdivisionofthemajorsectionthatbeginsattheendofchapter8:doesitbeginin8.22,8.27,or8.31?Thispaperagreeswithherargumentthatitisdifficult,ifnotimpossible,toclearlydividethegospelofMarkintosections.Ibelievethebestwaytodescribethegospelsdivisionsistosaythattransitionpointsdoexistinthenarrative.Thismeansthepassageslistedabovereferbothbackwardsandforwards,functioningasbothconclusionsandintroductions.SeeIbid.

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Mark14.1,thestoryofthepassionbegins;thegospelendswiththewomensfear

andamazementattheemptytombin16.8.11

TheWayintheGospelofMarkCitationsandQuestions

IntheGospelofMark,thetermmakesatotalofsixteenappearances

(1.2, 3; 2.23; 4.4, 15; 6.8; 8.3, 27; 9.33, 34; 10.17, 32, 46, 52; 11.8; and 12.14). It

appears twice at the head of the gospel in a conflated citation that Mark

attributes to Isaiah. Theconflatedcitationestablishesaparallelbetweenyour

way and the way of the Lord (1.2b3).12 Then,Mark uses the term as he

narratesthestoryaboutJesusandhisdisciplesmakingtheirwaythroughthe

grainfields(2.23).ThenexttwooccurrencesarefoundonthelipsofJesusashe

instructshisdisciplestotakenothingexceptastaffontheirjourney(6.8),and

thenhetellsthemthattheymustfeedthecrowdsotheywillnotfaintontheir

wayhome(8.3).InChapters8.2211.1,Markusesvariousformsofseven

times.TheprolificuseoftheterminthissectionleadsJ.MarkusandR.Wattsto

callthistheway/journeysection.13

Thephrase is locatednear thebeginningandendof8.2211.1

whereMarklinksitwiththemiraclesofsight(8.27;10.46,52).Theprepositional

form,,isusedinthestoryoftherichmanwhoencountersJesusonthe

11Ibid.12Marcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.3741.13Ibid.,p.32,Watts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark,p.124.

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way(10.17).In8.27,introducesJesusteachingondiscipleship,which

isfollowedbythefirstpassionprediction.Again,in9.33,34linksthe

secondpassionpredictionwith teachingondiscipleshipand in10.32 the same

phrase introduces the finalpassionprediction. Markuses the termsooften in

thissectionitisimportanttoasktwoquestions:HowdoesMarkusethetermin

hisGospelandwhatistheway?

Scholars interpret Marks use of in various ways. W. Swartley

focusesonthestructural functionof. Swartleynotes thatappears in

keycontextsand isprogrammatic formotifssuchascovenant,Temple,desert,

andkingdomofGod.ThesemotifsarepickedupintheTemplecleansingandat

transitionalplaces such as by the sea (1.1620), on themountain (3.1335),

andinthewilderness(6.731).AccordingtoSwartley,thesemotifsprovidethe

gospels sixfold framework and present Jesus ministry as the to the

kingdomofGod.14Ontheotherhand,V.TaylorbelievesMarkusedasa

linking phrase creating a transition from Jesuswork inGalilee to his fate in

Jerusalem.15 This journey fromGalilee to Jerusalem is linkedwithhis teaching

on discipleship and his approaching fate,which illustrates that the way of

14W.M.Swartley,TheStructuralFunctionoftheTermWayinMark,inTheNewWayofJesus:EssaysPresentedtoHowardCharles,ed.W.Klassen(NewtonKansas:FaithandLifePress,1980),pp.7879.15Taylor,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark:TheGreekTextwithIntroduction,Notes,andIndexes,pp.37476.

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discipleshipisexemplifiedbyJesusownwayofsuffering.Althougheachstudy

isimportant,neitherdirectlyaddressestheintertextualcontextofMarksuseof

theway.

In1.2a,Markascribesthescripturalcitationinvv.2b3toIsaiah:justasit

iswrittenintheprophetIsaiah.ThisdeclarationdirectlypointstoIsaiah,atext

thatseems tohavebeen familiarand important toMark. Marksuseof Isaiah

alsorevealsthatIsaiahinformshisinterpretationorunderstandingofJesuslife.

Therefore,IbelieveanexaminationofinMarksgospel,especiallyinMark

8.2210.52,shouldaccountfortheIsaianinfluence,towhichMarkpointsin1.2a.

RelevantResearch

MostMarkan scholars are aware ofMarks abundantuse of the Jewish

Scriptures. Recently, however, Markan scholarship has come under sharp

criticismforneglectingthefunctionandimportanceofsuchcitations.16Speaking

ofrecentscholarship,JoelMarkuspointsoutthatA.Suhlsdissertationwasthe

onlyfulllengthmonographofmajorimportance,whichwaspublishedin1965.17

Following Suhls lead,U.Mauser, andmore recently, J.Marcus, andR.Watts

16Marcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.2,WillemS.Vorster,IntertextualityandRedaktiongeschichte,inIntertextualityinBiblicalWritings:EssaysinHonourofBasVanIersel,ed.SpikeDraisma(Kampen,Netherlands:UitgeversmaatschappijJ.H.Kok,1989),p.15.17Marcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.2.ForSuhlsworkseeA.Suhl,DieFunktionDerAlttestamentlichenZitateUndAnspilungenImMarkusevangelium(Gtersloh:GerdMohn,1965).

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have successfully completed studies on the importance of Jewish Scriptural

citationsandtheirinfluenceonMark.

In hismonograph, Christ in theWilderness,U.Mauser carries out a

detailed study of the wilderness motif in Marks gospel.18 The thesis of

Mausers book is thatMark used traditions about the wilderness thatwere

bothpeculiartohimandhighlysignificantforhistheology.19Mausershowsthat

theprimarybackground forMarks wilderness theme is fixed in the Jewish

Scripturesnamely Hosea (2.14), Ezekiel (20.3538), and DeuteroIsaiah (40.3;

48.2021).20 He contends thatwhen theMarkanwilderness image is read in

lightoftheseJewishprophetsexpectationthatIsraelwillmoveintothedeserta

second time to experienceGod, itdoesnot recall the storyof the first exodus.

Instead, it expresses a hope for a second exodus at the end ofdays,which is

illustratedinDeuteroIsaiah:

Isa 40 seems to open the scene with a description of the council ofYahweh. A herald announces the coming of the Lord to the towns ofJudah (40.9) and to Zion (52.7). The return of God to the desolateJerusalem isapicturesque figureofspeechwhichhas thesamemeaningas other passages proclaiming the return of the exiled people to theirland.21

18UlrichMauser,ChristintheWilderness:TheWildernessThemeintheSecondGospelandItsBasisintheBiblicalTradition,ed.C.F.D.Mouleandet.al.,StudiesinBiblicalTheology(London:SCMPressLTD,1965).19Ibid.,p.13.20Ibid.,pp.4552.21 Ibid., p. 51.

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He believes this same expectation can be observed inMark 1.3537; 1.45; 6.33

wherepeopletendtoflocktoJesusafterhegoesintothewilderness.22

Joel Marcus takes a different approach. In The way of the Lord:

Christological Exegesis of theOld Testament in theGospel ofMark,Marcus

focusesonpassages inMarksgospel thatciteorallude toverses in the Jewish

ScriptureswhichcouldrevealMarkschristologicalunderstandingofJesus:1.23;

1.911; 9.28; 9.1113; 12.1011; 12.3537; and 1416. Marcus interprets these

passageswithintheirwiderJewishScripturalcontextandshowstheimportance

forunderstanding themwithin thatcontext. Inhisexaminationof the text,he

employsthetraditionalmethodsofhistoricalcriticism.Hisdiscussionofin

1.23and8.2711.1willbeofgreatimportanceforthispaperashesuggeststhat

MarkturnstheIsaiantriumphalwayofGodimage(cf.Isa40.3)onitsheadto

describeJesuswayuptoJerusalemwhereheundergoessufferinganddeath.23

Another study that will be important in this paper is Rikki Watts,

IsaiahsNewExodusinMark.WattsfollowsinthefootstepsofU.Mauserby

scrutinizingtheexodustypologyinMark.Watts,however,contendsitisIsaiahs

conceptoftheeschatologicalhopeforaNewExodusthatiscrucialforMark.24

Inthefirstsectionofthebook,WattsdiscussesMarksintroductorycitationand

22 Ibid., p. 107. 23Robbins,ExploringtheTexturesofaText:AGuidetoSocioRhetoricalInterpretation,p.46.24Watts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark,pp.4849.

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its relation to Jewish Scripturesespecially DeuteroIsaiah. In the second

section, Watts discusses Marks Jesus as the culmination of DeuteroIsaiahs

YahwehWarriorandIsraelsNewExodushealer.Inthefinalsection,Watts

contends Isaiahs portrayal of Yahwehs enthronement inZion becomes Jesus

enthronementonCalvary.

EachofthesestudieshighlightsMarksuseofJewishScriptures.Forthat

reason,theywillbeimmenselyhelpfulinthisstudy. Thisthesis,however,will

focus solely on the way in which Marks construction of the motif is

informedbyDeuteroIsaiah.FollowingMarcuslead,Ispecificallyaimtoshow

that beginning in Mark 1.13 and especially in Mark 8.2210.52 Mark

recontextualizedtheDeuteroIsaianwaytodescribethewayofJesus.

TheApproachIntertextualityandIntertextualAnalysis

The authors of the New Testament drewmost of their argumentative

methods from contemporary rhetorical practice. One of the more common

techniquestheyemployedwastherelativelyfreequotationofJewishScriptures

tosupportanargumentorillustratetheirpoint. Whatisastonishingaboutthis

method is how the New Testament writers understood and applied the

authoritative texts to their storiesand situations.25 Theapproachof this study

25TheauthorofMarkisnottheonly,orfirst,authortouseoutsideauthorities.TheappropriationofauthoritativetextsiswidelyobservedwithintheDeadSeaScrollswhereitisevidentthatthecommunityinterpretedtheHebrewScripturesand

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willbetodoanintertextualanalysisoftheMarkanmotif,whichwillshow

thatDeuteroIsaiahisonesourceinformingMarksdescriptionofJesus.

DefinedbyV.Robbins,intertextureisatextsrepresentationof,reference

to,anduseofphenomenaintheworldoutsidethetextbeinginterpreted.26In

otherwords, the intertextureofa text is thecomplex interrelationshipbetween

languageinthetextandoutsidematerial.Outsidematerialincludes,butis

not limited to, other texts, historical events, values, customs, or social

institutions. An intertextualanalysisfocusesonhowanauthorappropriatesor

configures the outsidematerial in his or her own text. Amajor goal of an

intertextual analysis is to ascertain the nature and result of processes of

configurationandreconfigurationofphenomenaintheworldoutsidethetext.27

One of theways to study the intertexture of a text is to examine the

relationshipbetween the languageused inearly JewishChristianwritingsand

thelanguageofotheroutsidesourcesprecursorsandcontemporary.Thisis

known as the oralscribal intertexture of a text.28 OralScribal intertexture

concernsatextsdependency,eitherexplicitlyorwithoutreference,onanyother

appropriatedthemtoapplythemtheirsocialcontextandreligiousbeliefs(e.g.1QS8.1216;9.1720andmostobviouslyinthepeshercommentaries).Moreover,R.BratchershandbookillustratestheimportanceoftheHebrewScripturalcitationsintheNewTestament,seeBratcher,OldTestamentQuotationsintheNewTestament..26Robbins,ExploringtheTexturesofaText:AGuidetoSocioRhetoricalInterpretation,p.40.27Ibid.28 Inadditiontooralscribalintertexture,atextmayalsoexhibitculturalintertexture,socialintertexture,orhistoricalintertexture.SeeIbid.,pp.4071.

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textoutsideofitself,whetheritisanascription,aGrecoRomandocument,non

canonical manuscripts, or the Hebrew Bible.29 Two forms of oralscribal

intertexture that are important for this paper are recitation and

recontextualization.

Recitation isthetransmissionofspeechornarrativewiththe implication

or explicit statement that the words stand written. Recitation may be a

verbatimwordstring from another text or speech. Often people of antiquity

committed tomemorywordstrings frompopular or authoritative texts.30 An

exampleofrecitationisMark12.26:haveyounotreadinthebookofMoses,

inthestoryaboutthebush,howGodsaidtohim,IamtheGodofAbraham,the

God of Isaac, and theGod of Jacob? Jesus quotation ofGods speech is a

verbatim quotation of the LXX version of Exodus 3.6.31 On the other hand,

recitationmaypresent speech ornarrativewith one ormoredifferences. The

differencescanincludetheomissionofwords,additionofwords,orusingwords

different from the authoritative source. John 2.17 is an easy example: His

disciples remembered that itwaswritten, Zeal for your housewill consume

me.Thesourceofthisphrase,Psalm69.9,reads,Itiszealforyourhousethat

29Ibid.,p.40.30ChristopherD.Stanley,TheSocialEnvironmentofFreeBiblicalQuotationsintheNewTestament,inEarlyChristianInterpretationoftheScripturesofIsrael,ed.StanleyE.Porterandet.al.(Sheffield:SheffieldAcademicPress,1997),p.20.31Inthispaper,LXXwilloccasionallybeuseasanabbreviationforSeptuagint.

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has consumedme; the insultsof thosewho insultyouhave fallenonme. A

closereadingrevealsachangeinverbtensefromhasconsumedtowillconsume.

Recontextualizationpresents language fromanoutsidesourcewithout

stating that the words stand written anywhere else.32 Like recitation,

recontextualizationcanbeintheformofawordforwordwordstringoritcan

exhibit one or more differences from the source. An example of

recontextualization isMark 15:34: On the ninth hour Jesus called outwith a

loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?which is translated, MyGod,My

God,whyhaveyou forsakenme? In this instance,Markplaces theAramaic

wordsofPsalm22.1inthemouthofJesuswithoutanyreferencetothesource.33

In this paper, recitation and recontextualization are important. I show

thatMarkrecitesandrecontextualizesDeuteroIsaiahswaytodescribeJesus

wayinMark1.23and8.2210.52.

ProgressionofthePaper

InchaptertwoIanalyzeMark1.13toshowthatDeuteroIsaiahprovides

significant intertexture for the language inMark1.23. Because Ibelieve

DeuteroIsaiahinformsMarksmotifitisimportanttoexaminethewayof

God image depicted inDeuteroIsaiah. Then I discuss the points of contact

32Robbins,ExploringtheTexturesofaText:AGuidetoSocioRhetoricalInterpretation,p.48.33ThisexampleisborrowedfromV.Robbins.See,Ibid.

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betweenMarkandDeuteroIsaiah. In theconclusionofchapter two, Idiscuss

thefunctionoftheconflatedcitationinMark1.2b3.

Inchapterthree,IturnmyattentiontoMark8.2210.52,thesectionofthe

Gospel thatcontainsextensive references to the . Iexamine the rhetorical

patterns inMark 8.2210.52 to show that the sectionprogresses in away that

leadstotheclimaticstoryaboutblindBartimeaus,whofollowsJesus.

Iargue that the storyaboutblindBartimeaushas significant intertextwith the

DeuteroIsaianwayofGodimage.ThenIdemonstratethatJesuswayupto

JerusalemexhibitsastrangereversaloftheDeuteroIsaianwayofGodimage.

Intheconclusionofchapterthree,IarguethatMarkreinterpretedtheDeutero

Isaian way ofGod image to describe Jesusway,which is also theway of

discipleship.

Inmy conclusion, I revisit theparallelbetween the your [Jesus]way

and the way of the Lord established in Mark 1.2b3 and discuss the

relationshipbetweenthewaythatisdescribedundertwonames.ThenIshow

that thewaymotif inMarksgospel isawayofethics. It is theway in

whichJesuscallshisdisciplestofollow.

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Chapter2

ThepurposeofthischapteristoarguethatMark1.23pointstoDeutero

IsaiahandthatDeuteroIsaiahinformsMarksconstructionoftheway.Ibegin

byclaimingthatMark1.13constitutesthefirstsentenceofMarksgospel.This

isinoppositiontomanycommentatorswhoplaceaperiodattheendof1.1.34R.

Guelich, however, convincingly argues that in theNew Testament the scribal

formulaalwaysplaysatransitionalrole;itsfunctionistolink

apreviousstatementtoaJewishScripturecitationthatfollows.35Notonlyisthis

importantasitaffectsourreading,italsoallowsmetodefinetheparametersof

thepassageIexamine.Inthesecondsectionofchaptertwo,Iprovideadetailed

analysis of 1.23. My analysis reveals two pieces of information thatwill be

germanetoourdiscussion.

ThatIsaiahwasavailabletoMarkseemsclear,forMarkbeginshisgospel

about JesusMessiahwithaquotation thatheattributes to Isaiah theprophet.

Moreover,thisistheonlyexpliciteditorialScripturecitationintheentiregospel,

since theotherreferencesarealways in the formofdialogueandusuallycome

34Taylor,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark:TheGreekTextwithIntroduction,Notes,andIndexes,p.152.35RobertA.Guelich,TheBeginningoftheGospel:Mark1:115,BiblicalResearch27(1982):p.6.

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from the lips of Jesus.36 It is also striking thatMark refers to Isaiahbyname

twiceinthecourseofhisgospelbutdoesnotidentifybynameanyoftheother

biblicaltextstowhichhealludes.37SinceMarksIsaiahquotationisfoundinthe

very first sentenceofhiswork, Isaiah seems tobeofparticular importance to

Markandhiscomposition.

AlthoughscholarscommonlyregardMark1.1asadistinctunit,Guelich

arguesthatthescribalformulamakesthereadingofMark1.1

with1.23 imperative. According toGuelich, the functionof thewords

istoformabridgebetweenwhathasprecededandthecitationthat

follows.38Inotherwords,thequotationalwaysrefersbackandneverforwards;

therefore,vv.2b3commentonv.1.

Guelich finds evidence supporting his thesis in the Septuagint (2 Kgs

14.6),Paulineliterature(Rom14times;1Cor1.31;2.9;2Cor8.15;9.9),LukeActs

(Lk2.23;Acts7.42;13.33;15.15),John(6.31)andMark(7.6;9.13;14.21).Guelich

alsouses literature fromQumran todefendhisposition ashebelieves

has a directHebrew counterpart (1QS 5.17; 8.14;CD 7.19; 4QFlor

36Hooker,IsaiahinMarksGospel,p.35,Watts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark,p.53.37MarkreferstoIsaiahbynamein1.2and7.6.ForthisobservationIamindebtedtoMarcus,MarkandIsaiah,p.451.38Guelich,TheBeginningoftheGospel:Mark1:115,p.6.

21

1.12).39 In the light of this evidence, I agreewithGuelich that in an English

translation of the gospel, a commanot a period, should be placed directly

before the scribal formula. Therefore, this paper proposes that the first few

versesofthegospelarebesttranslatedthusly:

ThebeginningofthegoodnewsofJesusMessiahsonofGod,justasitiswrittenbyIsaiahtheprophet,beholdIamsendingmymessengeraheadof you,whowill prepare yourway; a voice crying in thewilderness,Preparethewayofthelord,makestraighthispaths.40

Consequently,Mark creates a rather ponderous opening to his gospel,

consistingofastatement(1.1)supportedbyacitationofIsaiahspromise(1.23).

Such a construction creates difficulty for some scholars. Commentatorswho

placeaperiodat theendof1.1oftenargue that1.1 isa titleand1.23refers to

JohntheBaptistandhiscominginthewilderness.41 JohntheBaptist,then,is

39Ibid.40Unlessnotedotherwise,alltranslationsaretheauthors.IshouldalsonotethatIusethewordsgoodnewstotranslate.Myreasonfordoingthisissimplytoavoidtheconfusionsurroundingthewordgospelasitisalsodesignationofaliterarygenre.IbelievethatM.HookerrightlystatesthatthetermwasnotyetatechnicaltermmeaningadocumentduringthetimeinwhichMarkwrote.SeeHooker,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark,p.33.41TherearemanydiscussionssurroundingthefunctionofMark1.1.M.EugeneBoring,Mark1:115andtheBeginningoftheGospel,Semeia52(1990):pp.5051,Hooker,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark,p.33.arguethatMark1.1originallyfunctionedasatitleratherthanasanelementofthefirstsentence.Thetwomainargumentsfortheirpositionare:1.)Mark1.1doesnotcontainaverb;2.)therefersnottothefollowingverses,aswouldbethecaseifthiswerethefirstsentenceofthepericope,buttotheworkasawhole.However,asR.Guelichdemonstrates1.1mustbereadinconjunctionwith1.23.Thus,thispaperagreeswithR.Guelichthat1.13constitutesthefirstsentenceoftheprologue.Theextentoftheprologueisanotherissuethathasgainedtheattentionofmanyscholars.Toseeaconciselistofpastscholarly

22

Jesus precursor and the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Messiah is the

preachingofJohntheBaptist.Althoughitisnottheintentofthispapertoenter

thatdialogue,abriefcommentisinorder.

If1.1isatitle,thentheascriptiontoIsaiahandthecitationofhispromise

(1.23) are the openingwords of the gospel and their function is to introduce

JohnscomingandteachingintheWilderness. ForMarktohaveconstructed

suchanelaboratebeginning in1.13with JewishScripturalcitations,simply to

identify Johns rolewithoutmentioning themainperson in the gospelwould

seemstrange.42

Above Iargued that1.13 is the first sentenceofMarksgospel. Also, I

suggestedthatthescribalformulain1.2arequiresustoreadthecitationin1.2b3

as a comment on the the beginning of the good news in 1.1. This analysis

allowedmetoestablishtheparametersofthepassageIwillanalyze.

AnalysisofMark1.23

Following the comment in 1.1,Mark immediately refers to the Jewish

Scriptures,withtheintroductoryclause,JustasithasbeenwritteninIsaiahthe

discussionsurroundingtheextentoftheprologueseeFrankJ.Matera,ThePrologueastheInterpretativeKeytoMarksGospel,JournalfortheStudyoftheNewTestament,no.34(1988):pp.46.IbelievethemostconvincingargumentisthatofE.KeckwhoarguesthatMark1.115constitutestheprologueofMarksgospel.SeeLeanderE.Keck,IntroductiontoMarksGospel,NewTestamentStudies12(1966).Althoughscholarsdisagreeabouttheparametersoftheprologuenearlyallagree,asdoI,thattheprologueintroducestheentiregospel,notthefollowingpericope.42Guelich,TheBeginningoftheGospel:Mark1:115,p.7.

23

prophet.43 In spite ofMarks ascription to Isaiah, the quotation is in fact a

compositeone:v.2bcombinesExodus23.20andMalachi3.1,whileIsaiah40.3is

thesourceofv.3. Theaccompanyingchartshows thedifferentversionsof the

Jewish Scriptures conflated by Mark.44 I will address two questions in this

analysis:1.)istheSeptuagintortheHebrewtextthesourceofMarkscitation?2.)

isMarkresponsiblefortheconflation?

43Somemanuscripts(codexVaticanusandCodexSinaiticus)readandomitthereferencetoIsaiah.Iretainthereadingonthecriteria:1.)thesuggestedreadingisthemoredifficultone;2.)theearliestrepresentativewitnessesoftheAlexandrian,theWestern,andtheCaesareantypesoftextssuggestmyreading.Itseems,therefore,acopyistalteredthewordsinIsaiahtheprophettothemorecomprehensiveintroductoryformulaintheprophetsbecauseoftheconflationwhichfollows.SeealsoBruceMetzger,ATextualCommentaryontheGreekNewTestament,ed.KurtAlandandetal,3rd.ed.,ACompanionVolumetotheUnitedBibleSocietiesGreekNewTestament(NewYork:UnitedBibleSocieties,1971),p.XXVandp.73.44Inthiscase,forthetranslationoftheMasoretictextIamrelyingonMarcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.14.

24

Mark1.2 Exodus23.20LXX Malachi3.1MT Malachi3.1LXXbeholdIam

sending()mymessengerbefore

you

whowillprepare()

yourway

beholdIamsending

()mymessengerbefore

you

toguardyouontheway

beholdIsendoutmymessenger

andhewillclear/surveya

waybeforeyourface

beholdIamsendingout

()mymessenger

andhewillsurvey()awaybeforeyou

Mark1.3 Isaiah40.3MT Isaiah40.3LXX avoicecryinginthewilderness

prepare

()thewayoftheLord

makestraight

()hispaths

thevoiceofonecrying

inthewildernessclear/surveythewayoftheLord

straighteninthedesertahighway

forourGod

avoicecryinginthewilderness

prepare

()thewayoftheLord

makestraight

()thepathsofour

God

Mark1.2bccombinesExodus23.20(beholdIamsendingmymessenger

beforeyou) andMalachi 3.1 (hewill survey awaybeforeme). Mark 1.2b

reflects theLXXofExodus23.20almostverbatim. Theonlydifference isMark

omittedtheemphatic,whichisfoundintheLXXofEx.23.20.

Mark 1.2c presents a littlemoredifficulty than 1.2b. The verbused in

Mark, (to prepare), differs from the verb used in the

SeptuagintofMal.3.1,(tosee/survey).ThishasledR.Wattsto

25

believethatMark1.2crepresentstheHebrewfoundintheMasoreticTextofMal.

3.1.45JoelMarcus,however,pointsoutthatbothverbscantranslatetheHebrew

foundintheMasoreticText;theSeptuagintapparentlytakesVbrasaqal,while

theSynopticversiontakeitasapiel.46AsMarcussuggests,thecasemaybethat

rather than being taken from the Septuagint, Mark 1.2c may represent an

independent textual rendering of theHebrew text intoGreek; 47 therefore, the

MasoreticTextcannotbefavoredsolelyonthegroundsofavarianttranslationof

oneverb. Theotherdifference in1.2c is thatMarkomitted thewordsbefore

youfromMal.3.1.Thisdetailwillbediscussedlater.

TheconflatedtextofMark1.2bcalsooccursinQ(Mt11.10=Lk7.27). In

Q,however,theconflationappearsinadifferentcontext.Itisfoundonthelips

of Jesus as praise of John the Baptist instead of a narrators comment and it

retainsthewordsofMalachi3.1beforeyouattheend.

UnlikeMark 1.2bc, there is little reason to believe that the citation in

Mark1.3comesfromanyothersourcethantheLXXofIsaiah40.3.Thecitationis

nearlyverbatim;theonlydifferenceisthatMarksubstitutesfor

.ThecitationinMark1.3,also,followstheSeptuagintinconnectinginthe

45Watts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark,pp.6162.46Marcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.13.47Inotherwords,MarcusarguesthatMarkmightbeusingaGreektextualtraditionotherthantheSeptuagint.SeeIbid.

26

wildernesswiththecryingvoiceratherthanwiththeimperativeprepare,as

itisintheHebrew.48FurtherevidenceofMarksdependenceontheSeptuagint

is thatbothMarkand theSeptuagintmakeuseof theperiphrasticconstruction

.49

Like the citation inMark 1.2bc, though,Mark 1.3 seemingly exhibits

somevariationfromQ.MatthewandLukeagreeinquotingIsaiah40.3directly

aftertheintroductionofJohntheBaptist.Moreover,Matthewdirectlystatesthat

IsaiahsprophecyisaboutJohntheBaptistwhichindicatesheistheonewhowill

preparetheway:InthosedaysJohntheBaptistappearedinthewildernessof

JudeaThisistheoneofwhomtheProphetIsaiahspokewhenhesaid,avoice

cryinginthewilderness(Mt3.13).

Fromthisanalysis,wesawthatthesourceofMarksquotationsofExodus

23.20andIsaiah40.3istheSeptuagint. AlthoughMark1.2cconfronteduswith

somedifficulty, theredoesnot seem tobeany compelling evidence thatMark

usedtheHebrewtextforthiscitation;thus,theSeptuagintisfavoredherealso.50

48Ibid.49Ibid.,p.15.50H.C.Kee,providesusadditionalevidencethattheSeptuagintisMarkspreferredsourceforcitingJewishbiblicaltradition.Althoughhisstudydoesnotdirectlyaddressourpassage,hedemonstratesthatinMark1116thereare21citationsfromthetextualtraditionoftheLXX.HealsonotesthatMarkemploysJewishBiblicalquotationsfromtheLXXatthemostcrucialpointsinthedevelopingargumentsofchapters1116.See,HowardClarkKee,TheFunctionofScripturalQuotationsandAllusionsinMark1116,inJesusUndPaulus:FestschriftFurWernerGeorgeKummelZum70.Geburtstag,ed.E.EarleEllisandErichGrasser(Gottingen:Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht,1978),p17274.

27

It is also important to keep inmind thatMarkwrote inGreek; therefore, the

Septuagintseems tobe thenaturalandmost likelysourceofMarkscitation in

1.2b3.51 Thisanalysisalsodemonstrated thatwhileQ includes thesecitations,

theircontextsaredifferentfromtheMarkanversion.ThissuggeststhatMatthew

andLukefollowedQratherthanMark. ThisindicatesthatMarkisresponsible

for the fusion of Exodus 23.20 andMalachi 3.1, and the context of the entire

conflated citation.52 The evidence supporting this argument is threefold: the

introductionofExodus23.20andMalachi3.1intoitspresentcontext(Mk1.2b),

theeliminationofthewordsbeforeyoufromMalachi3.1,andthemovement

ofIsaiah40.3fromitsmorenaturalpositionafterJohntheBaptistisintroducedto

itsMarkan locationbefore John theBaptist.53 Moreover, thesynthesisof twoor

moreJewishBiblicaltraditionsinonecitationisawelldocumentedcharacteristic

ofMarkswork.54ThisbringsmebacktotheobservationthatMarkomittedthe

wordsbeforeyoufromMalachi3.1.

51Ibid.,p.174.52 ItisalsoimportanttonotethatthecombinationofEx23.20andMal3.1isnotfoundinanyknowntextthatpredatesMark.SeeWatts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark,p.74.53Marcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.15.54Inadditionto1.23,Keenotesthefusionof1.11(Is42.1/Ps2.7);11.111(Zec10.10/Ps118.2526);12.112(Is5.12/Ps118.2223);13.2426(Is34.4/Jo2.10/Ez32.78/Dn7.1314);11.17(Is56.7/Jer7.11);and14.62(Dn7.13/Ps110.1).SeeKee,TheFunctionofScripturalQuotationsandAllusionsinMark1116,pp.17577.

28

Bylinkingtheconflatedcitation(1.2)withtheonefromIsaiah(1.3)andby

eliminating the words before you, Mark establishes a formal parallelism

between 1.2 and 1.3.55 The elimination of thewords before you alsoplaces

emphasisonthewaymotifandparallelsthetwowaysyourwayandthe

wayof theLord. That the emphasisof thisopening section isontheway

motif is also supported by P. Stuhlmachers observation that Marks use of

is rooted in the same Isaianpassage fromwhichMarkdrawshis

Isaiahquotationinv.3.56

The opening words of the second gospel are in the form of recitation

because Mark explicitly states that these words stand written in Isaiah the

prophet.57 Citing outside authorities was a common rhetorical practice

employedbyancientauthors.58Often,theauthorspurposeforcitinganoutside

authoritywastovalidateorlendcredibilitytohisorherargument.59Thisseems

tobeMarkspurposeasheexplicitlycitesatextthatisknownbyQ,andaswe

55Marcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.16.56PeterStuhlmacher,DasPaulinischeEvangelium,vol.1(Gottingen:Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht,1968),p.122.57Robbins,ExploringtheTexturesofaText:AGuidetoSocioRhetoricalInterpretation,pp.4148.58Stanley,TheSocialEnvironmentofFreeBiblicalQuotationsintheNewTestament,p.18.59JefferyRogers,ScriptureIsasScripturalistsDo:ScriptureasaHumanActivityintheQumranScroll,inEarlyChristianInterpretationoftheScripturesofIsrael,ed.CraigEvansandJamesSanders(Sheffield:SheffieldAcademicPress,1997),p.39,Stanley,TheSocialEnvironmentofFreeBiblicalQuotationsintheNewTestament,p.18.

29

shallseelater,otherJewishliterature.Moreover,bycitingIsaiah,Marksituates

hisgospelinthehistoryofJewishtradition.Inotherwords,heisillustratinghis

belief that the following story about Jesus is a continuation of the Jewish

tradition that began with Israels inception, was prophesized by Isaiah, and

continuesinJesus.60

As I have shown, followingMarks ascription to Isaiah is a conflated

citation.Thishasseriousimplicationsforourstudy.IarguedthatMarklinked

Exodus 23.20 andMalachi 3.1with Isaiah 40.3 toparallel yourway and the

wayof theLord,with the resulting emphasisbeingon . The conflated

citationandMarksrecitationofIsaiah40.3actlikeasignpostpointingtoatext

outsideMarkswork namelyDeuteroIsaiah. Therefore,Marks reference to

Isaiahmeans Isaiahprovides theproper context forunderstanding theway

andthegospelsbeginnings.

TheWayofGodinDeuteroIsaiah

It is commonly agreed that Isaiah falls into three major literary units

composed shortly before, during, and soon after Israels return from the

Babylonianexile:chaps.139addressissuesofforeignanddomesticenemiesand

the consequences of Israels alliance with rebellious Egypt; chaps. 4055 are

writtentowardstheendoftheexileandjoyfullyanticipateJudahsrestorationin

60Kee,TheFunctionofScripturalQuotationsandAllusionsinMark1116,p.174.

30

Jerusalem;and chaps.5666concern the timeafter the returnand the sobering

realitiesoflivinginarestorednation.DeuteroIsaiahwillbemostimportantto

thisdiscussionbecauseitisthesourceoftheMarkancitationin1.3.

F.LandycorrectlyrecognizesDeuteroIsaiahasapostcatastrophetext

becauseitwascomposedduringorshortlyaftertheBabylonianExile.61Forthat

reason, the voice ofDeuteroIsaiah juxtaposes voices of hope for returnwith

silence, absence, and grieving.62 Isaiah 1.111 functions as the prologue to

DeuteroIsaiah.63As theprologue, Isaiah40.111constructs thepastand future.

Thepastischaracterizedasabygoneagethathaspassedaway(40.2),whichsets

thestage forGodscomfort, return,and restoration (40.10;cf.49.813,51.1116;

52.710).64

The proclamation in 40.1 sets the tone. According to the LXX, God

commandstheprieststocomfortIsrael.Thiscomfortisfurthercommunicatedin

thedeclarationthatIsraelhasserveddoubletheiniquityforhersinsandhersins

have been pardoned; thus, Israels time of mourning is over. In 40.3f, a

declaration in the formofpropheticspeechgoes forth toprepare thewayof

61FrancisLandy,TheGhostlyPreludetoDeuteroIsaiah,BiblicalInterpretation14,no.4(2006):p.333.62Ibid.63JohnL.McKenzie,SecondIsaiah,ed.WilliamAlbrightandDavidFreedman,vol.19,TheAnchorBible(NewYork:Doubleday&Company,1968),p.16.64KlyneSnodgrass,StreamsofTraditionEmergingfromIsaiah40.15andTheirAdaptationintheNewTestament,JournalfortheStudyoftheNewTestament8,no.1(1980):p.25.

31

theGod. Thepreparationoftheway includesthe levelingofmountainsand

themaking of rough places smooth. The preparedway isGods and as the

leader,God isdepictedbothasamightywarriorwhohascome to rule (v.10;

LXX ) and as a loving shepherdwhowill lead the flockon their

waytoJerusalem(1.11cf.44.26;45.13;52.78). Thereisnoreasontosuppose

thatthereisadistinctionbetweenGodswayandthepeoplesway,forGod

travelswiththepeoplebeingboththefrontguardandrear(cf.42.16;43.13,19;

49.10;51.9;52.12). Thus, theway in Isaiah40.3 is thepathuponwhichGod

will lead Israel back to Jerusalem (1.11; cf. 49.813, 51.1116; 52.78).65 Also

inherent in the Isaian prologue is the everlasting promise ofGod: unlike the

witheringgrassandfadingflowerswhichrepresentshumanmortalityGods

promiseandwordsstandforever(40.8).66

65CarlDavis,TheNameandWayoftheLord,ed.StanleyPorter,vol.129,JournalfortheStudyoftheNewTestamentSupplementSeries(Sheffield:SheffieldAcademicPress,1996),p.64,JamesLimburg,ExpositionofIsaiah40:111,Interpretation29(1975):p.409,McKenzie,SecondIsaiah,pp.1819.ThesethreestudiesillustratetheviewofamajorityofcommentatorswhoagreethatthewayoftheLordinIsaiah40.3referstothewayuponwhichGodwillleadthepeoplebacktoJerusalem.Onescholarwhofavorsamoreliteralorrestrictivereadingis,JosephBlenkinsopp,Isaiah4055:ANewTranslationwithIntroductionandCommentary,vol.19A,TheAnchorBible(NewYork:TheAnchorBibleDoubleday,2002),p.181.HebelievesweshouldnotsupposethatthewayinIsaiah40.3referstoareturnfromexileinBabylonbecauseitisnotexplicitlystated.I,however,agreewiththemajorityofcommentatorswhobelieveGodsreturn,asdescribedinIsaiah,includestherestorationofJerusalem(52.78).Therefore,thepreparedwayistheroaduponwhichGodleadsthepeoplebacktoJerusalem.66Landy,TheGhostlyPreludetoDeuteroIsaiah,p.346.

32

Themainemphasisofthissectionisontheheraldingofthegoodnewsto

preparethewayuponwhichGodwill lead Israelback to Jerusalem. AsR.

Watts notes, Isaiahs declaration of deliverance presupposes Israels founding

momentandanunderlyingtwopartexodusschema:ajourneyalongawayin

whichGod leads Israel from their exile to Jerusalem; and arrival in Jerusalem

where God reigns in the gloriously restored Zion.67 The language used to

describeGods returnandenthronement is thatof joy,celebration,andvictory

(cf. 40.910). Moreover, Gods victory procession leading the people on the

waytoJerusalemclosesthegapbetweenpast,present,andfuture,andfulfills

thepromisethatthewordofGodstandsforever(Isa40.8).Therefore,Deutero

Isaiahdoesnot representanew tradition; rather, itexpressesacontinuationof

thetraditionthatbeganwithIsraelsinception.68

InDeuteroIsaiah,thetermisnotlimitedtoIsaiah40.3,foritoccurs

ninetimesoutsideoftheDeuteroIsaianprologue(40.14,27;43.16,19;48.15,17;

51.10; 53.6; and 55.7). In threeof theDeuteroIsaianpassageswhere the term

appears it is in reference to the human (40.14; 53.6; and 55.7). In these

passagesthehumanwaystandsinoppositiontothewayofGod.Theyare

characterizedby a call for thepeople to turnaway from thehumanway in

order that theymay follow in thewayofGod:let thewicked forsake their 67Watts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark,p.77.68Landy,TheGhostlyPreludetoDeuteroIsaiah,p.357.

33

way,andtheunrighteoustheirthoughts;letthemreturntotheLord(Isa55.7).

From these passages, it seems that human action is required to follow in the

wayofGod.

In theotherDeuteroIsaianpassagewhere the termappears it is in

referencetoGodsway.ItisawaythatisconstructedbyGodsanditisthe

wayuponwhichGodleadsthepeople:Iwillleadtheblindbyawaytheydo

not know Iwill turn the darkness before them into light and the crooked

placesIwillmakestraight(Isa42.16).Thewayisdepictedasanextensionof

Godssalvationandrule intoa lostworld.69 Certainly, it isapathuponwhich

humansareinvitedtofollow,buttheirabilitytofollowismadepossibleonlyby

God(cf.Isa42.16).

It is also important to note that in DeuteroIsaiah the way is often

describedusingeschatologicallanguage.Isaiahseschatologicaldepictionofthe

waycanbenotedinapassagesuchasIsaiah43.1819:

Remembernottheformerthings,norconsiderthethingsofold.BeholdIamdoinganewthingIwillmakeawayinthewildernessandriversinthedesert.

Inthispassage,Godsactionsmarktheendoftheoldtimesandthebeginningof

thenew.

69 Marcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.33.

34

TheDeuteroIsaian way ofGod is best described as an image. The

image isof a literal way through thewildernessbywhichGodvictoriously

leadsthepeoplebacktoJerusalem.ThusinDeuteroIsaiahthewayofGodis

aneschatological imageofhopeandconsolation that isextended to thepeople

throughGodsrule.

Giventheprophetspresentationofcomfortandhopein40.111,itisnot

difficult to seehow thispassagebecame the source for several Jewishauthors

who articulated their hope forGods return and redemption. In theQumran

texts,Isaiah40.3isusedtodefinethecommunitysselfunderstandingthatthey

and their actions are a necessary element in preparing the way for Gods

return (1QS8.12b16a;9.17b20a).70 Baruch5.7drawsonIsaiah40.4 todescribe

Israelsredemption:ForGodorderedeveryhighmountainandtheeternalhills

tobe loweredand theravines tobe filled tomakeasmooth land inorder that

IsraelmaywalksecurelyinthegloryofGod.71Similarly,intheAssumptionof

Mosesmountainsaremade lowbefore thecomingofGod (10.15;c.f. Isa40.4

5).72

It seems various Jewish traditions regarded Isaiah 40.111 as a locus

classicusarticulatingGodscomfortandreturn.AsK.Snodgrassnotesthefocus

70Snodgrass,StreamsofTraditionEmergingfromIsaiah40.15andTheirAdaptationintheNewTestament,p.29.71Ibid.p.31.Also,histranslation.72Watts,IsaiahsNewExodusandMark,p.83.

35

onthepreparationofthewaygavespecificfocustotheeschatologicalorientation

by being interpreted of the return of the exiles.73 The various uses and

translations of Isaiah 40.111 might explain why Mark was able to use this

passagewithout explanation in the first sentence of the gospel. Moreover, this

suggests that theway inMark1.23probablypresupposes theeschatological

hopeforGodspresence,whichthelatterwritersascribedtoIsaiah40.3.

MarkandIsaiah

My position that the text of Mark 1.13 points to DeuteroIsaiah is

becoming clear. Our first andmost obvious indication of this is that the text

attributestheconflatedcitationin1.2b3toIsaiah.Second,ouranalysisshowed

that1.3isvirtuallyawordforwordquotationfromtheLXXofIsaiah40.3the

onlyexception is thesubstitutionof for . Third, fromP.

Stuhlmacher,welearnedthattheNewTestamentunderstandingof

is rooted in Isaiah 40.9. In the LXX, the Greek substantive participle

translatestheHebrewparticipleforheraldofgoodtidings.

Isaiah 40.9 is linked to Isaiah 40.3 by both proximity and thematically; the

declaration in 40.9 behold your God completes the imperative of 40.3 to

73Snodgrass,StreamsofTraditionEmergingfromIsaiah40.15andTheirAdaptationintheNewTestament,p.31.

36

prepareGodsway.74 Moreover, inIsaiah,as is inMark1.15, thegoodnews is

theannouncementofGodspresence. Lastly,IpointedoutthatMarkscitation

of an ancient authority, Isaiah, situates his story about Jesus in the Jewish

tradition,whichbeganwithIsraelsinception. Althoughinadifferentway,the

analysisof theprologue toDeuteroIsaiahshowed that it isalsosituated in the

traditionsofIsrael,foritjuxtaposesthewitheringgrassandfadingflowerswith

theeternalwordofGod(Isa40.8).

The numerous points of contact betweenMark 1.13 and Isaiah 40.111

showthatMarkwasfamiliarwithJewishScripturaltraditions.Marksascription

toIsaiahandtherecitationoftheIsaianpassageisespeciallyimportantbecause

it points to a text outside Marks writing. This suggests one source that

influencedthewaymotifinMark1.23isDeuteroIsaiah. Moreover,because

MarkstextpointstoDeuteroIsaiah,thewayoftheLordinMark1.3seemsto

refertoGodswaythroughthewildernessleadingthepeoplebacktoJerusalem,

asdescribedbyDeuteroIsaiah.

Functionofthecitation

Mark1.2b3 functionsasacommenton the firstverseofMarksgospel.

Thestructureofthispassage(1.13)revealsMarksbeliefthatthebeginningof

thegoodnewsof/about JesusMessiahbeganwith IsaiahsprophecyofGods 74Marcus,TheWayoftheLord:ChristologicalExegesisoftheOldTestamentintheGospelofMark,p.19.

37

return.Thisreadingforcesustoaskaquestion:isthegoodnewsaboutJesusor

fromJesus?Itispossibletoreadthegenitiveaseitherobjective

(aboutJesusMessiah)orsubjective(fromJesusMessiah).M.Hookerarguesthat

thegenitiveshouldbereadasanobjective,sinceJesusiscertainlythecontentof

Marksgospel.75Anothercommentator,ChedMyers,suggeststhatoneshould

read the genitive as an objective genitive. He notes that at the end of the

prologue(1.1415)JesusproclaimsthegoodnewsofGod,whichistheDeutero

IsaianpromiseofGodsrule;thus,inMarksgospelthegoodnewscomesfrom

Jesus.76 Bothargumentsare convincingand Idonotbelieve it isnecessary to

choosebetween the twosenses. Marks intentionmayverywellhavebeen for

thewordtobebireferential.ThegoodnewsofMarksgospeliscertainlyabout

Jesus,butthegoodnewsisalso,themessageJesusproclaims.

Following theopeningverse,Markpresents a conflated citation thathe

attributestoIsaiah.ThetextualrecitationofMark1.2b3pointstoIsaiah40.3.In

Isaiah40.3,theproclamationofthegoodnewsconcernsthereturnofGod,which

entailsGodsenthronementandGodsruleofthepeopleinZion.Thestructure

ofMark1.13establishesapattern.ThegoodnewsaboutJesusisthegoodnews

prophesiedbyIsaiah,which isthegoodnewsthatcomesfromJesus in1.1415.

Thestructureof1.13introducesJesusinlinewiththetraditionsofIsrael: 75Hooker,TheGospelAccordingtoSaintMark,p.34.76Myers,BindingtheStrongMan:APoliticalReadingofMarksStoryofJesus,pp.9293.

38

IsaiahgetsthegoodnewsfromGod(Isa40.12)MarkgetsthegoodnewsfromIsaiah(Mk1.2a)Jesusproclaimsthegoodnewstothepeople(Mk1.1415)

Thestructureof1.13illustratesMarksbeliefthatthestoryaboutJesusandthe

DeuteroIsaianpromiseofGodsreturnareinseparable.

The conflated citation in 1.2b3 further supports the inseparability of

Jesus way and the way of the Lord. As we saw in our analysis, the

conflated citation of Exodus 23.20,Malachi 3.1, and Isaiah 40.3 is aMarkan

creation.Inthecitation,onewayisdescribedundertwonames:yourwayand

thewayoftheLord.TheparalleldemonstratesMarksbeliefthatyour[Jesus]

way is an extension of theDeuteroIsaian way ofGod. Thus, the citation

functionstoplaceJesusinlinewiththetraditionsofIsraelandillustratesMarks

beliefthatthewayofJesuscannotbeunderstoodoutsideoftheDeuteroIsaian

wayofGod.

39

Chapter3Inthischapter,IshowthatthemessageMarkconveysin8.2210.52isthe

meaningofJesusidentityandtheintricaciesoffollowinginthewayofJesus

(i.e. discipleship). The structure and rhetorical patterns in Mark 8.2210.52

exhibitanadvanced levelof literarysophistication thatattractsmuchattention.

DefinedbyG.Kennedy,ancientrhetoricisthatqualityindiscoursebywhicha

speaker or writer seeks to accomplish his purposes.77 Modern rhetorical

analysisgivesspecialattentiontothesubjectsandtopicsatextusestopresent

thought, speech, stories, and arguments.78 Mark, like all authors of New

Testamentbooks,hadamessagetoconveyandsoughtanaudiencewhowould

accept it. Important to the authors rhetorical techniques are choice and

arrangementofwords.

Inmyexamination, I reveal three typesof rhetoricalpatterns thatMark

employed in8.2210.52 toadvancehismessageseriesof three, repetition,and

threestepprogression.WithintheframeworkoftheserhetoricalpatternsJesus

identityasMessiahand themeaningofdiscipleshipunfolds in the text. These

77GeorgeKennedy,NewTestamentInterpretationthroughRhetoricalCriticism(ChapelHill:TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaPress,1984),p.3.78Robbins,ExploringtheTexturesofaText:AGuidetoSocioRhetoricalInterpretation,p.1.RobbinsdefinitionofrhetoricalanalysisisdependentuponBurtonL.Mack,RhetoricandtheNewTestament(Minneapolis:FortressPress,1990),pp.1920.

40

rhetoricalpatternsindicatethatMarkcarefullyconstructedthissectiontoconvey

hisparticularmessage.

Mark8.2210.52isintroducedwithahealingofablindmanstory,which

is followed by three passion predictions and three sequences of threestep

progression. The section comes toadramatic conclusionwith the storyabout

blind Bartimeaus. The story of blind Bartimeaus is important to our study

becauseafter JesushealshimBartimeausgetsupand follows Jesus .

AsIwilldemonstrate,thestoryofblindBartimeausisinformedbytheDeutero

Isaian image of the way ofGod. BecauseDeuteroIsaiah informs the

motif in the climatic episode of this section, I suggest that the other six

occurrencesoftheterminMark8.2210.46shouldbereadinthesamelight.

RhetoricalPatterns:Repetition,SeriesofThree,andThreeStepProgression

Redaction criticshave longbeen aware that repetitions,pleonasms, and

duplicationsarecharacteristicsofMarkanstyle.FransNeiryncksstudyofMark

illustrates the abundance of repetitive forms in the Gospel of Mark.79 His

analysis shows that there are twentytwo threefold repetitive forms inMark.

Mark14.6672isawellknownexamplewherethreefoldrepetitionprovidesthe

frameworkforanentirescene:

79SeeFransNeirynck,DualityinMark:ContributionstotheStudyoftheMarkanRedaction,vol.31,BibliothecaEphemeridumTheologicarumLovaniensium(Leuven:LeuvenUniversityPress,1972),pp.11012.

41

1.Ayounggirlcamebybuthedenied()it(14.6668)2. and the young girl again began to say but again he denied()it(14.6970)3.andagainsaidbuthebegantoinvokeacurseonhimselfandtoswear thenPeterremembered thatwhich Jesushadsaid tohimyouwilldeny()methreetimes(14.70b72)80

Inthisscene,repetitionoccursinPetersdenial. Inthefirstunit,ayoung

girlidentifiesPeterasoneofJesusfollowersandhedeniestheaffiliation.Inthe

secondunit,bystanders recognizePeterasoneof Jesusdisciplesandagainhe

deniesit.ThefirsttwounitssetthestageforthethirdwherePeterswearshehas

noknowledgeofJesus. TheunitcomestoadramaticcloseasPeterremembers

Jesus telling him that he will deny Jesus three times. This brief analysis

demonstratesthatrepetitiveformsareacommonrhetoricaltechniquethatMark

employedthroughouthistext.81

V.Robbinsanalysisofseriesofthreeisalsoimportantforthisstudy.At

themost primary level of composition, a series of three occurswhen three

people,things,orphrasesoccurinaserieswherethesecondandthirditemsare

connectedtothefirstbytheconjunction.82

Mark 5.37 and 6.4 are simple examples of a series of threewhere the

secondandthirditemsarelinkedtothefirstbytheconjunction:

80ThisexampleisfoundinIbid.,p.112.81ForacompletelistofseriesofthreerepetitioninMarksgospelseeIbid.,pp.11012.82VernonRobbins,SummonsandOutlineinMark:TheThreeStepProgression,NovumTestamentum23,no.2(1981):p.97.

42

1.AndhedidnotallowanyonetofollowhimexceptPeterandJamesandJohn(Mk5.37)2. Then Jesus said to them,Prophetsarenotwithouthonor,except intheirhometown,andwiththeirownkin,andintheirownhouse(Mk6.4)83

In the first example, the names Peter, James, and John are linked by the

conjunction. Thesecondexampleshowsaconstructionwhere three things

arelinkedinaseries.Interestingly,onefindstheexactconstructionofMark5.37

in9.2and14.33:

1. Sixdays later,JesustookwithhimPeter,andJames,andJohn,and ledthemupahighmountain(Mk9.2)2.HetookwithhimPeterandJamesandJohn,andbegantoaddressthem(Mk14.33)84

ThisbringsustoMark8.2210.52,whichisthefocusofthischapter.Iwill

beginbyanalyzing therhetoricalpatternswithin thissection. Iwillshow that

thepassionpredictionsinMark8.31,9.31,and10.3234exhibitrepetitiveforms.

ThenIwilldemonstratethateachpassionpredictionexistsinaframeworkthat

containsathreestepprogression.85 Lastly,Iwillshowthatthehealingofsight

miracles,whicharelocatedatthebeginningandendofthissection,arelinkedto

thepassionpredictions; thus, theyestablish theparametersofMark8.2210.52.

83TheseexamplesarefoundinNeirynck,DualityinMark:ContributionstotheStudyoftheMarkanRedaction,p.111.84AlthoughIusedtheseversesasanexampleofseriesofthree,weshouldnotethatPeter,James,andJohnarerepeatedlymentionedbecausetheyaresignificantdisciplesinMarksnarrative.85Threestepprogressionwillbedefinedlaterinthischapter.

43

This is important to our analysis of the way because the healing of blind

BartimaeusexhibitssignificantIsaianintertext.

TriplePassionPredictions

ThetriplepassionpredictionsinMark8.31;9.31;and10.3334arethemost

wellknown instancesof repetitive form in thegospelofMark.86 The first two

passion predictions are quite similar. Some variation, however, occurs in

wordingandinreferencetothosewhoabuseJesus:

1. TheSon ofmanmustundergomuch sufferingandbe rejectedby theeldersandby thechiefpriestsand thescribesandbekilled;andafter threedayshewillriseup(8.31)2.TheSonofManwillbehandedoverintothehandsofmen,andtheywillkillhim;andwhenheiskilled,afterthreedayshewillriseup(9.31)

In8.31and9.31repetitionoccursinthewordsSonofman,beingkilled,and

risingafter threedays (italicizes). Moreover, therepetitive forms in8.31and

9.31arepresentedwithininaseriesofthree,fortheSonofmanisconnectedto

the actionsofbeingkilled and risingwith the conjunction . InMark 8.31,

those who mistreat Jesus are also depicted in a series of three (underlined

words).

86AfewstudiesthataddresstherepetitiveforminMark8.2210.52areNeirynck,DualityinMark:ContributionstotheStudyoftheMarkanRedaction,pp.11012,NormanPerrin,TowardsanInterpretationoftheGospelofMark,inChristologyandaModernPilgrimage:ADiscussionwithNormanPerrin,ed.HansDieterBetz(Missoula:SocietyofBiblicalLiterature,1971),pp.713,VernonRobbins,JesustheTeacher:ASocioRhetoricalInterpretationofMark(Philadelphia:FortressPress,1984),pp.2225.

44

Thethirdpassionpredictiondiffersfromthefirsttwointermsoflength,

wording,andthosewhomistreatJesus:

3.Look,wearegoinguptoJerusalemandtheSonofmanwillbehandedover to the chiefpriest, and the scribes, and theywill condemnhim todeathandhandhimovertotheGentiles;andtheywillmockhim,andspitupon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days hewill rise up(10.3334)

The third passion prediction is linked to the first two by the same repeated

phrasesSonofman,beingkilled,andrisingafterthreedays. However,

in thisprediction thedepictionof the events arepresented in expanded form.

Jesus arrest, trial, and conviction by the Jewish authorities are followed by

anotherseriesofthree:mocking,spitting,andfloggingbyGentiles. Thedetails

listedinthefinalunitofthesequencestressesthebrutalityoftheeventspriorto

Jesusdeathandrisingup.

The imagesof Sonofman, beingkilled, and rising inMark 8.31;

9.31;and10.3334revealrepetitionwithinthreepassionpredictions.Marksuse

of repetition illustrates that8.3110.34 isa carefully constructed section,where

thefirsttwopredictionsanticipatethethird,whichisthemostdramatic.87

ThreeStepProgression

Each passion prediction also occurs as the initial step in a threestep

progression. Threestepprogression is a rhetorical literary techniquewhere a

87Robbins,SummonsandOutlineinMark:TheThreeStepProgression,p.102.

45

sequenceofthreestepsbuildsupononeanotherlikebuildingblocks.Eachstep

providesinformationandcontributestothemeaningandsignificanceofthefinal

stepintheprogression.88Thethreestepprogressionin8.2710.45resideswithin

aframeworkthatconsistsofapassionprediction,aresponsefromthedisciples,

andJesusinstructionondiscipleship:

PassionPrediction Response Instructionondiscipleship

8.31TheSonofman/be

killed/andafterthreedayshewillriseup

8.3233PeterrebukesJesus

8.349.1savelife/loselife

9.31TheSonofMan/and

theywillkillhim/afterthreedayshewillriseup

9.3234Disciplesdonot

understand,theyareafraid,andsilent

9.3537first/last

10.3334theSonofman/andkill

him/andafterthreedayshewillriseup

10.3541SonsofZebedeepetition

Jesusforpositionsofpower

10.4245great/least

Ineachsequenceofthreestepprogression,thefirststepconsistsofJesus

prediction of his ensuing fate. The passion prediction paves theway for the

second step as it invites a response from Jesus disciples concerning the

prediction. The third step ends the threestep progression. In each of the

88ThedefinitionofthreestepprogressionisfoundinRobbins,JesustheTeacher:ASocioRhetoricalInterpretationofMark,p.23.

46

sequences, the finalstepbeginswith Jesussummoning ()or

calling()hisdisciplesfor instructionandendswithJesusteaching.89

Itisalsoimportanttonotethateachsequencealsoplotsajourneyinthreestages.

ThefirstsequenceoccursinCaesareaPhilippi(8.27).Thesecondsequencetakes

placeinbetweenGalileeandJudea(8.30;10.1)andthefinalsequencetranspires

uptoJerusalem(10.32).

Inthescenethatintroducesthefirstthreestepprogression(8.279.1),Jesus

askshisdisciples, Whodopeople say that I am? Jesusposes this question

whileheandhisdisciplesare.ThequeryisoneaboutJesusidentity

anditrecallsthefirstverseofMarksgospelwherethenarratoridentifiedJesus

asMessiahSonofGod.90Interestingly,thequestionandanswersrecalltheseries

ofthreethatgivesthesubjectmatterof6.1415:JohntheBaptist,Elijah,oroneof

the prophets.91 Just as the people displayed their ignorance in 6.1415, their

reiteration in 8.28 exposes the disciples continued incomprehension of Jesus

89Ibid.90IbelieveC.MyerscorrectlynotesthatthisisthesecondprologueofMarksGospel.Inthechaptersleadingupto8.27JesusdisciplesstrugglewithunderstandingJesuswordsanddeeds.Beginningwith8.22andthroughtherestofthegospel,thedisciplesstruggletakesonanewdimension.Nowthedisciplesmustincorporatesuffering,death,andresurrectionintoJesusidentityasthesufferingservant.Myersalsonotesthat8.27,like1.1,concernsJesusidentity.Moreover,thewaymotifof1.23isreintroducedin8.27butittakesanewdirection.Theformerway(1.23)isarticulatedasthewaythroughthewilderness,whereasthewayin8.2710.52isthewaytoJerusalem.See,Myers,BindingtheStrongMan:APoliticalReadingofMarksStoryofJesus,p.235.91Robbins,JesustheTeacher:ASocioRhetoricalInterpretationofMark,p.38.

47

identity.Afterthedisciplesspeak,Jesusasksthemwhotheythemselvessayhe

is. This question forces the disciples to produce an answer based on their

associationwith Jesusasdisciples. Peteranswersonbehalfofall thedisiples:

You are theMessiah. Peters confession introduces the title Messiah to

Marksstoryworld.Thistitle,whichwasfirstintroducedin1.1,doesnotoccur

anywherebetween1.2and8.30.92 Petersconfession, therefore, isanarrational

restatement of 1.1 and marks the beginning of the disciples attempt to

understand Jesus identity and the implications associated with his role as

Messiah.Thissection(8.2226)introducesthefirststepandformsthebackdrop

for the other two sequences of threestep progression in 9.3037 and 10.3245.

Thefirstsequence(8.279.1)revealsthethreestepprogressionthusly:

1. Prediction: Then he began to teach them that the Son ofmanmustundergomuchsufferingandberejectedbytheeldersandchiefpriestsandscribesandbekilledandafterthreedaysriseup(8.31)2. Disciplesresponse:Hesaidthesewordsopenly. AndPetertookhimasideandbegantorebukehim.ButturningandlookingathisdisciplesherebukedPeterandsaid,Getbehindme,Satan, foryouaresettingyourmindnotonthingsofGodbutonthingsofhumans(8.3233)3. Instructionondiscipleship:He called () tohim thecrowdwithhisdisciplesandsaidtothem(8.349.1)

ThetextintroducesthefirststepwithJesusteachinghisdisciplesthattheSonof

manmustsuffermanythings,die,andriseup.ThisisthefirstinstanceofJesus

incorporatingpublichumiliationanddeathintohisidentity. Thisteachingsets

92Ibid.,p.39.

48

the stage for the second step. In the second step of the progression, Peter

respondstoJesusteachingabouthisfatebyrebukinghim.Petersresponseisin

the formofqualitativeprogression.93 The thirdstepends the firstsequenceof

threestep progression as Jesus calls () the crowd and his

disciplesforinstruction. Theinstructionconcernsdiscipleshipandispresented

intheformofaseriesofsayings.Theseriesofsayingsjuxtaposesavingoneslife

andlosingoneslifeforJesussakeandforthesakeofthegospel.94

Thesecondpassionpredictionalsoresidesintheframeworkofthreestep

progression.Thesecondsequence(9.319.50)progressesinthismanner:

1. Prediction:Forhewas teachinghisdisciplesandsaying to them thattheSonofmanwillbehandedoverintothehandsofmen,andtheywillkillhim;and,whenheiskilled,afterthreedayshewillriseup(9.31)2. DisciplesResponse:Buttheydidnotunderstandandtheywereafraidtoaskhim. Then theycame toCapernaumheasked them,Whatwereyouarguingaboutontheway?Buttheyweresilent,foronthewaytheyhadarguedwithoneanotherwhowasthegreatest.(9.3234)3. InstructiononDiscipleship:Andhe satdown, called () thetwelveandhe said to themandhe said to thembut Jesus said(9.359.50)

Again, the firststep introduces Jesus teachinghisdisciples that theSonofman

will be handed over, killed, and rise up. In the second step, the disciples

93Qualitativeprogressioniswhenunexpecteddevelopmentsorareversalofexpectationoccur.V.Robbinssaysaqualitativerhetoricalprogressionoccursinthenarrativewhenthedisciplesreactdifferentlyfromwhatthereaderexpects.HealsonotesthatwhennewattributesandnewtitlesemergeinthegospelsportrayalofJesus,thenarrativeacquiresaqualitativeprogressiveform.SeeIbid.,p.9.94Myers,BindingtheStrongMan:APoliticalReadingofMarksStoryofJesus,p.237.

49

response to the passion prediction occurs in narrative form; they did not

understandsotheywereafraidandsilent. LikePetersresponsein8.3233,the

disciples response in9.3234 featuresaqualitativeprogression. Thedisciples

incomprehension, fear,andsilencepresentaqualitywhich illustrates that they

are inneedof further instruction. In the finalunitof thissequence, Jesuscalls

()thedisciplesandteachesthemtheintricaciesofdiscipleshipthrough

aseriesofsayingsthatjuxtaposesfirstandlast.Inthisstep,theseriesofsayings

aresupportedbydemonstrativeactionwhereJesususesachildasanexampleof

welcomingtheleast.95

The final threestep progression (10.3245) ends the series and it is

analogoustotheformof8.279.1and9.3050.

1.Prediction:Andtakingthetwelveagainhebegantotellthemwhatwastohappentohimsaying,See,wearegoinguptoJerusalemandtheSonofmanwillbehandedovertothechiefpriestsandthescribes,andtheywillcondemnhim todeathandhandhimover to theGentiles;and theywillmockhim,and spituponhim,and floghim, and killhim; and after threedayshewillriseup(10.3334)2. Response:JamesandJohn,thesonsofZebedee,cameforwardtohimandsaidtohimAndhesaidtothemAndtheysaidtohimButJesussaid to them they replied and Jesus said to themWhen the tenheardthis,theybegantobeangrywithJamesandJohn(10.3541)3. InstructiononDiscipleship:SoJesuscalled()themandsaidtothem(10.4245)

95C.MyersarguesthatchildrenrepresentedthebottomofthesocialandeconomicscaleintermsofstatusandrightsintheancientMediterraneanworld.SeeIbid.,p.261.TosupporthisargumenthealsocitesC.Carneywhoarguesthesame.SeeThomasCarney,TheShapeofthePast:ModelsandAntiquity(Kansas:CoronadoPress,1975),p.92.

50

Just likethefirsttwo threestepprogressions,thisonebeginswithJesus

teachingabouthisfate.IftherewasanyquestionthatJesuswasspeakingabout

himselfwhenhereferstotheSonofmanin8.31and9.31,itisnowclearthathe

is:And taking the twelveagainhebegan to tell themwhatwas tohappen to

him(10.32). Again,thesecondstep introducesthedisciplesresponsetowhat

Jesushastoldthem.Theepisodethatfollowsdemonstratesthatthedisciplesstill

do not comprehend Jesus identity as Messiah. Having just completed the

teaching about becoming last and servant of all, one can almost feel Jesus

exhaustion as he listens to James and Johns requests for privileged seats at

Jesus right and left.96 The third and final step ends with Jesus calling

()hisdisciplesforinstruction.Thejuxtapositionofgreatand

least, firstandslave,andservedandserve in Jesus final teachingsummarizes

Jesusteachingondiscipleshipin8.349.1and9.3537.

Fromthisanalysis,wehaveseenthat8.319.1;9.3150;and10.3345areall

partofaframeworkthatexhibitsthreestepprogression.Eachsequencecontains

threestepswherebythereisapassionprediction,aresponsefromthedisciples,

andJesuscalling(/)hisdisciplesforinstructionon

96Myers,BindingtheStrongMan:APoliticalReadingofMarksStoryofJesus,p.278.

51

discipleship. The threepredictionsprovideadramaticprogression to the third

prediction,whichisthemostemphatic:97

BeholdwearegoinguptoJerusalem,andtheSonofmanwillbehandedover to the chiefpriests and the scribes, and theywill condemnhim todeath,anddeliverhimtotheGentiles;andtheywillmockhim,andspituponhim, and floghim, andkillhim; and after threedayshewill rise(10.3334).

Redaction critics have provided one other very important piece of

information to our analysis of the rhetoricalpatterns in this section ofMarks

gospel. E. Schweizer correctly argues that the three sequences ofprogression

containedin8.3110.45arepartofalargersectioninMarksGospel.98Henotes

thatthissectionisframedbystoriesofblindmenreceivingsight(8.2226;10.46

52).

HealingofSightNarratives

Inthissection,Ibeginbyshowingthatthetext linksthehealingofsight

miracles to the firstand thirdpassionprediction. H.Lightfoothasshown that

there isremarkableparallelismbetween the firsthealingofsightstory (8.2226)

andPetersconfessionstory(8.2730).99Theparallelismisseenmosteasilywhen

thesuccessiveclausesofthetwostoriesaresetdownsidebyside.

97Robbins,SummonsandOutlineinMark:TheThreeStepProgression,p.102.98EduardSchweizer,ThePortrayaloftheLifeofFaithintheGospelofMark,Interpretation32(1978):pp.388ff.99RobertLightfoot,HistoryandtheInterpretationintheGospels(London:HodderandStoughton,1934),P.9091.

52

Mark8.2226TheycametoBethsaida.Somepeople

broughtablindmantohimandbeggedhimtotouchhim.Andhetooktheblindmanbythehandandbrought

himoutofthevillage;andwhenhespitintohiseyes,andlaidhishands

uponhim,heaskedhim,Canyouseeanything?

Andhelookedupandsaid,

Iseepeopleastrees,walking.

Thenagainhelaidhishandsuponhiseyes;

andhelookedintentlyandhissightwasrestored,andhesaweverything

clearly

Andhesenthimawaytohishomesaying,Donotevengointothe

village.

Mark8.2730AndJesuswentonwithhisdisciplesintothevillagesofCaesareaPhilippi;andonthewayheaskedhisdisciples,

WhodopeoplesaythatIam?

Andtheyansweredhimsaying,JohntheBaptist;andothers,Elijah;andstill

others,oneoftheprophets.

Andheaskedthem,ButwhodoyousaythatIam?

Peteransweredandsaidtohim,Youarethemessiah.

Andhesternlyorderedthemnottotellanyoneabouthim.

From this table one sees that the first section of each storybeginswith

Jesus and his disciples entering a village and Jesus posing a question. The

secondsectionofthestoriespresentstheanswerstoJesusquestion. Theblind

mananswersJesussayingthatheseespeopleastreeswalking,andinthestory

ofPetersconfession,JesusdisciplesanswerhimbytellingJesuswhopeoplesay

thathe is. Neitheranswer inthesecondsectionreflectsasenseoffulfillment

the blind mans sight is not fully restored nor have the discisicples fully

understood the identity of Jesus. The second section of each story lays the

53

foundation for the thirdwhere by the blindmans sight is fully restored and

Peterprovides thecorrectanswer to Jesusquestion.100 Bothstoriesendwitha

negativecommand.Inthestoryoftheblindman,Jesusinstructsthehealedman

to avoid the village on hisway home and he orders his disciples not to tell

anyoneabouthiminthestoryofPetersconfession.

This brief analysisdemonstrates that the story about the healing of the

blindman(8.2226)parallelsPetersconfession in(8.2730). AsIarguedabove,

Petersconfession in8.2730 that Jesus ismessiah introduces the firstpassion

predictionandformsthefoundationfortheothertwopassionpredictionsin9.31

and10.3334.Therefore,thehealingoftheblindmanstoryin8.2730islinkedto

thefollowingsectioninMarksgospelthatcontainsthethreesequencesofthree

stepprogression.101

100AlthoughPeteranswersJesusquestioncorrectlyhisresponsetoJesuspassionpredictionindicatesthathedoesnotfullyunderstandtheramificationsofthetitleMessiah.ThisissimplytosaythatinthestoryofPetersconfession,hiscorrectanswerdoesnotsignifyunderstanding.101Thisofcoursedoesnotexcludethelikelihoodofaconnectionbackwardswith8.1421.R.LightfootandR.Wattsnotethatthehealingoftheblindmanin8.2226isalsoconnectedto8.1421bythedisciplesinabilitytoperceive:Doyouhaveeyes,andfailtosee?(8.18)ThispaperaffirmsthepositionofR.LightfootandR.Wattswhoarguethat8.2226servesasatransitionpassage,endingthestoryofthefeedingfourthousandandintroducingthestoryofPetersconfession.However,Idobelieve8.2226hasagreatersignificancein8.2710.45thanitdoesin8.1421.Thereasonformypositionisthatanotherhealingoftheblindstoryoccursafterthethirdandfinalsequence(10.3210.45).ThesearetheonlytwohealingoftheblindstoriesinthegospelofMarkandtheyarelinkedtothefirstandthirdsequencesin8.2710.45.

54

InMark 10.4652, there is a second narrative depicting Jesus healing a

blindman.Thisnarrativeoccursdirectlyafterthethirdsequenceofprogression

(10.3245). Thetextopensthesecondstoryofablindmanas itdid inthefirst:

(cf.8.22). However,unlike the firststory the textdoesnot

linkthesecondhealingstorytothepreviousthreestepprogressionbyaformal

parallel;rather,thetextconnectsthesecondstoryofablindmantothepreceding

sequencewithaquestion. Following Jesus thirdand finalpassionprediction,

thesonsofZebedeetellJesustodoforthemwhatevertheyaskandJesusreplies,

Whatisityouwantmetodoforyou(10.36).ToblindBartimaeuspetitionin

10.4748 Jesus responds with exactly the same words.102 Moreover, it is

important to note that the text also links the story of blindBartimaeus to the

previoussection(8.2210.45)withBartimaeusactionfollowinghishealing.After

JesushealsBartimeaushefollowsJesus.Theexactphrase,,

isfoundnearthebeginningofthefirstpassionprediction(8.27),directlyafterthe

second(9.33,34),andatthebeginningofthefinalpassionprediction(10.32).103

Mystructuralanalysisofthehealingofsightnarratives(8.2226;10.4652)

demonstrates that theyare linked to the firstand thirdsequencesof threestep

progression (8.279.1; 10.3245); thus, they form an inclusio around the three

102Myers,BindingtheStrongMan:APoliticalReadingofMarksStoryofJesus,p.282.103Morewillbesaidaboutthetermandhowitfunctionsinthissectionlaterinthispaper.

55

sequencesofthreestepprogression.Thefirsthealingofsightnarrativesetsthe

stageforthedisciplesincomprehension.Theseconddramaticallyconcludesthe

sectionbyportrayingBartimeausasanexemplarydisciplewhofollowsJesus

.

Theanalysis theseriesof three,repetition,and threestepprogression in

8.2710.45 reveals that this is a carefully constructed sectionwherebyMarks

message of Jesus identity and thedetails of following in Jesus unfolds.

TheconstructionofMark8.2210.52emergesinthismanner:

Site PassionPrediction

Response Instruction

CaesareaPhilippi

8.31 8.3233 8.349.1

GalileetoJudea

9.31 9.3234 9.3550

Healingofsight

atBethsaida

8.2227Ontheway

toJerusalem

10.3334 10.3541 10.4245

Healingof

blindBartimeaus

10.4652

Progressionof8.2210.52

Notonlydotherhetoricalpatternsin8.2210.52providetheconstruction

ofthissection,theyalsorevealhowthesectionprogresses. Thetextintroduces

the sectionwith the firsthealingof ablindman story. The storybeginswith

JesusandhisdisciplesarrivinginBethsaida.WeshouldnotethatBethsaidawas

thedisciplesdestinationonthesecondmajorseajourney(6.45).104Theirvoyage,

104Myers,BindingtheStrongMan:APoliticalReadingofMarksStoryofJesus,p.240.

56

however,wasunsuccessful and the story endswith the first indication of the

disciplesblindnessandincomprehension:whentheysawhim(Jesus)walking

onwater theydidnotunderstand (6.4952). Their journey toBethsaida is

completedastheblinddisciplesfinallyarriveandJesushealsablindman.

Qualitativeprogressionoccurs inthehealingoftheblindmanstory, just

as it transpires in the following sequences of threestep progression. Against

what onemight expect, Jesus first attempt to heal the blindman fails: I see

peopleastreeswalking(8.24).105Theblindmandoesnotseeclearlyuntilafter

Jesussecondattemptathealinghim.Thefuzzyvisionfollowingthefirstattempt

is symbolic of eyes that do not see.106 It is also related to the disciples

blindness in the following section; the disciples will not perceive until they

acceptJesusteachingthathewillsuffer,die,andriseagain,andunderstandhis

teachingondiscipleship.107

Thesectioncontinuesas Jesusandhisdisciplesareon theway to the

villages ofCaesarea Philippi. It is in 8.2730 that Jesus begins to require the

105C.Meyersnotesthattheverboccursfourtimesinthegospelbeforethisstoryaswarningstothedisciplesaboutperception(4.12,24;8.15,18)andwillcontinuetoappearintheremainder(12.38;13.5,9,23,33).SeeIbid.106Ibid.,p.241.107ES.Johnson,Mark8.2226:TheBlindManfromBethsaida,NewTestamentStudies25(1979):p.383.

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disciplestounderstandhisidentityasmessiahandtheramificationsofthetitle:

suffering,rejection,anddeath.108

Myanalysisof8.2710.45shows that thesectionprovides the framework

forMarksportrayalofJesustrueidentityasmessiah. However,liketheblind

manin8.2226thedisciplesunderstandingofJesusidentityisfuzzy,fortheydo

notfullyunderstandhisidentityortheramificationsoffollowinginthewayof

Jesus.Ineachsequence,theirlackofunderstandingleadstoteachingwherethe

characteristicsoffollowinginthewayofJesusunfold.

The entire section isbrought toadramatic conclusionwith the storyof

blindBartimeaus. Unlikethefirsthealingoftheblindmanstorywherepeople

bringtheblindmantoJesus,Bartimeaus,theblindbeggar,issittingbesidethe

wayanticipatingJesusarrival. TheidentificationofBartimeausasabeggaris

importantbecausehe represents theleast, just like the little children in9.36.

WhenBartimeaus hears that Jesus is approaching he shouts out andpetitions

Jesustohavemercyonhimand Jesusfollowersrespondbyrebukinghimand

tellinghimtobequiet.TheirrejectionofBartimeausisafurtherillustrationthat

the disciples still do not comprehend the implications of following in Jesus

way(cf.9.36).

108Robbins,JesustheTeacher:ASocioRhetoricalInterpretationofMark,p.162.

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Asthestoryprogresses,JesusisapproachedbyBartimeausandJesusasks

him, what do you want me to do for you? Bartimeaus responds to the

question by telling Jesus to do a service for himrestore his sight. The text

drawsadevastatingcontrastbetweenBartimeausthebeggarsinitiativeandthe

objectionsof thedisciples.109 Bartimeaus courage in calling Jesus todohima

service illustrates his understanding that Jesus accepts and serves the least.

Unlike the first healing of sight story, Jesus restores Bartimeaus sight

immediately.ThestorycomestoadramaticendasBartimeausfollowsJesus

.

The analysis of the progression in 8.2210.52 reveals a crescendo effect.

The three threestep progressions provide information about following in the

wayofJesusandtheyanticipatetheonewhodoes.Theentiresectionleadsto

the storyofblindBartimeauswhich isdramatically concludedwith thewords

thatBartimeaus followed Jesus . The storyofBartimeaus stands in

contrast to thestoryabout therichmanwhorefused to follow Jesus (10.1722).

Bartimeaus also stands in contrast to Jesus disciples who desire status and

privilegedpositions. Thedramatic irony inthestoryaboutblindBartimeaus is

thatthefirsthavebecomelast,andthelastfirst.

109Myers,BindingtheStrongMan:APoliticalReadingofMarksStoryofJesus,p.282.

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TheWay

Marks motif figures centrally in 8.2210.52. first appears in

8.27whereJesusaskshisdisciples,WhodopeoplesaythatIam?occurs

withinornear thebeginningofeachof the threestepprogressions (8.27;9.33f.;

10.32).iswhereJesusencountersarichmanwhorefusestofollowhim

(10.17). Themajority, ifnotall,of the sevenoccurrencesof in8.2710.52

functionprogrammaticallyJesusisabouttobegintogoonthewayprepared

byJohntheBaptist,whichendsinJerusalem.110 Hisdisciplesaretofollowhim

onthisway.AsE.Bestnotes,thissectionisthecenterofJesusinstructionon

themeaningofMessiahanddiscipleship,anditwouldbenoexaggerationtosay

thatthephraseonthewaycouldbeusedasthesectionstitle.111

Inchapter two, Iargued thatDeuteroIsaiah informs thewaymotif in

Mark1.13. This isalso trueof thewaymotif in8.2210.52. Themostdirect

evidenceforthisclaimcomesfromtheclimacticinstanceofinthestoryof

blind Bartimeaus,which occurs at the edge of thewilderness.112 HereMark

110ErnestBest,FollowingJesus:DiscipleshipintheGospelofMark,ed.ErnstBammelandet.al.,JournalfortheStudyoftheNewTestamentSupplementSeries4(Sheffield:JSTORPress,1981),pp.1516.111Ibid.,p.15.112JerichoislocatedattheedgeoftheJudeandesert.OnJerichoswildernesslocationseeMauser,ChristintheWilderness:TheWildernessThemeintheSecondGospelandItsBasisintheBiblicalTradition,p.19.

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drawsonIsaiah,specifically.113ItisapeculiarIsaianfeaturetoassociatethecure

ofblindnesswiththecomingofthenewage(Isa29.18;32.3;35.17;42.16).Isaiah

35.58linksthecureofblindnesswithGodswaythroughthewilderness:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deafunstopped; then the lame shall leap like aheart, and the tongue of thespeechlessshallspeakplainly.Forwaterhasbrokeforthinthewilderness,andachannelofwaterinathirstylandTherewillbethereapureway,anditwillbecalledtheholyway.The combination of threemotifs a cure of blindness, theway, and a

wildernesslocationinbothIsaiah35.58andMark10.4652suggeststhatIsaiah

isasignificant intertext for thewaymotif in thestoryofblindBartimeaus.114

Anotherpassage inDeuteroIsaiah is even closer toMarks terminology, for it

portraysGodhealingtheblindandleadingtheminaway:

Iwill lead theblind inaway theydonotknow,and Iwillcause them towalk in pathswhich they have not known; Iwill turn darkness beforethemintolight,andIwillmakecrookedthingsstraight.(LXXIsa42.16)Thispassage speaksnotonlyofGodhealing theblind