Experiencing the Mark Experiencing the Mark MGVHfman Mount Carmel - June 2008 www.crossmarks.com/mountcarmel A uiz on the Mark WARNING: These are all trick questions! According to the Mark: 1. How many wise men came to see the baby? 2. Was Joseph, ' father, a carpenter? 3. How were and John the Baptist related? 4. What did look like? Did he have a beard? How old was he? 1
A uiz on the Mark WARNING: These are all trick questions! According to the Mark: 5. Where was when he delivered his sermon which includes the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer? 6. Did claim to be the Good Shepherd? 7. What color hair did Judas have? A uiz on the Mark WARNING: These are all trick questions! According to the Mark: 8. How many nails were used in crucifying? 9. How many times did speak from the cross? What were his dying words? 10. To whom did first appear after his resurrection? Who was Mark? Traditional Author: John Mark Acts 12:12-25; 15:37; Col 4:10; Phlm 1:24; 1Pet 5:13; connected with Barnabas and Peter Location: Rome but maybe Decapolis, Syria, or Alexandria Date: Late 60 s-early 70 s i.e., around time Jewish War Mark 1.1 Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ [υἱοῦ θεοῦ]. The beginning i the Christ, Son God The beginning the What is a? Content preaching Content early Xn preaching re: What said was good news about God and what Xns said was good news about A book about From to Us Powell, s, page 11 STAGES IN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE GOSPEL TRADITION 1. The 2. Early Tradition: Oral Tradition Written sources 3. Composing the s (Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn ) 4. Preservation s 5. Translation 6. Reception 2
What actually said and did Written (?) about Oral about Mark s Luke John Translations Syriac, Latin, Ethiopic, Armenian English, German Oral What is the best = most original text? Mark Textual Luke Source Oral What were the sources for the s? Mark Textual Luke Form Source Oral What form did the oral units have before being incorporated into the s? Mark Textual Luke What actually said and did Oral Form Source Mark Redaction How did the authors edit their sources? Textual Luke Oral Original Autographs Mark Where is the? What is the most important point on this chart? Luke Christian BIBLE (4 th ) Latin Vulgate (4 th ) Official Church Collections and Editions KJV 1611 3
Oral Oral Literary Mark Luke Are the s simply windows that we try to look through to see? Focus on finished form text Emphasis on unity text as a whole Understanding text as an end in itself Basis on communication models speech-act theory Mark Luke John Narrative With what are we really working? Sender Message Receiver There s this guy who dies and... Author Text Reader Story Discourse (Rhetoric) Story What is said Discourse How the story is told 4
Story Discourse Story Discourse What is said How the story is told What is said How the story is told Characters, events, How it affects the places hearer Characters, events, How it affects the places hearer Attention to how story turns out Attention to temporal experience reading Story What is said Discourse How the story is told Characters, events, How it affects the places hearer 17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Attention to how story turns out Attention to temporal experience reading 18 said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 18 said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" 5
20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." 21, looking at him, 21, looking at him, loved him and said, 21, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, 6
22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Narrative How can an author be persuasive and create a desired effect? Narrative Point View Author influences reader by insisting that s/he adopt a point view consistent with the narrative God s or Satan s (or thinking human things) God s point view expressed reliably through angels, prophets, miracles, dreams, and Scripture In the Mark Point view Narrator (Mark) = Point view = Point view Reader The creation a narrative world in which God s evaluative point view can be determined and must be accepted as normative is a powerful rhetorical device. Narration Narrative First or third person How knowledgeable How reliable How intrusive Third person, omniscient narration creates a God perspective the story Symbolism Narrative Implies a recognition that something means more than it initially appears to mean Archetypal symbols (light/dark) Symbols ancestral vitality (#12) Symbols created by implied author (fig tree) Symbols cultural range (fox ) Luke 13:31-33 31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." 32 He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.' 7
In the Mark The use NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE brings the Narrator,, and the Reader into even closer relationship Mark 14:32-3737 32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want." Mark 14:32-3737 37 He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? So, who did actually keep awake and pray with? Narrative Irony (Verbal or Situational/Dramatic) Implies that true interpretation is actually contrary to the apparent meaning Reader rejects literal meaning in response to internal/external clues. Tries out alternative explanations Evaluates these in terms beliefs about author Makes a decision based on assumed intentions author In the Mark The use IRONY and RIDDLES brings the Narrator,, and the Reader into even closer relationship Mark 15:16-1818 16 Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. 18 And they began saluting him, "Hail, King the Jews!" 8
Narrative Narrative Patterns Repetition, contrast, comparison, causation, climax, interrogation, inclusio, interchange, interchange, chiasm, intercalation For example: Two feeding the multitude stories Mark 5.21-43 Jairus daughter and woman with flow blood Mark 11.13-25 Fig tree and cleansing Temple Such patterns cause reader to constantly (re)interpret In the Mark The use NARRATIVE INFORMATION brings the Narrator,, and the Reader into even closer relationship Mark 15.33-3535 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o'clock cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" Mark 15.33-3535 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o'clock cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 35 When some the bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he is calling for Elijah." Mark 15.33-3535 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o'clock cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 35 When some the bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he is calling for Elijah." Narrative Events and Plot Characters Settings The author makes decisions about how each these will be presented. These decisions do make a difference in how the reader perceives the narrative. 9
A Narrative Method for Interpreting Mark Mark as Story Events and Plot Characters Setting Narrator Rhetoric These are the elements that are considered when doing Narrative Which element can we really be sure about? Sender Author Message Text Receiver Reader Oral Mark Luke Literary John Reader- Response The Mark does not claim to be history. It is not even referentially oriented. Rather, it is pragmatically or rhetorically oriented. It is not about it characters; it is about its reader. The writer s chief concern is not the fate either or the Twelve in the story but the fate the reader outside the story. Robert M. Fowler, Let the Reader Understand, page 50 Narrative Reader Response Let the reader understand Is this author trustworthy? 10
Is this teacher trustworthy? Mark 1.1 Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ [υἱοῦ θεοῦ]. The beginning i the Christ, Son God What do you notice about this opening statement? What is assumed about you the reader? 11