[B-Greek] The opeining lnes of Mark's Gospel

Richard Richmond rickr2889 at yahoo.com
Mon Jun 6 14:10:36 EDT 2005


Despite the fact that Mark is regarded as the first of the canonical Gopsels,  The document has drawn a lot of criticism over the years for clumsy construction, inaccurate citations, faulty geography and poor presentation of the history of events. It may be that scholarship is overlooking a lot in making that evaluation of the text of Mark. In my research I must say I have found these observations to be more false than true. 

 

I would expect that someone writing for a first time audience would want to include a purpose statement of some sort.  Within the first three lines of the Gospel, Mark indicates why he is writing, to whom,  and where he is writing from. When one gets a handle on the writer’s intentions there is definitely a well defined method to what appears to be his madness. When Mark names the High Priest in his reference to David eating the showbread it is a different High Priest, Abiathar in place of Ahimelech. When he refers to Herod he calls him “king” and the Herod responsible for the death of the Baptist was actually not a king. Sailing across to the other side, sometimes arrives at a point on the same side of the Lake. But let me warn you, Mark was not quite as inept as many of his critics have maintained. There are reasons for these apparent errors; reasons that serve a purpose to the work. The parable of the soils is an example of how Mark views his own work. At first glance the sower
 seem very careless in his task; sowing alongside the path, on the rocky soil, among the weeds.  However, when one learns the meaning of the parable and discovers that what is being sown is the word of God the indiscriminate sowing is no longer an issue. Likewise when one comes to understand what Mark’s intentions are the carelessness is no longer an issue. The nature of the sowing method actually mirrors the way the rain and snow come down upon the earth indiscriminately falling on the just and the unjust. The way that Mark presents the story has its own purpose; although it appears careless it is done in the way that best serves that purpose.

 

Some of the criticisms are completely unfounded and not the fault of the writer; they are due to misunderstanding, and inaccurate translations of the text. We are afforded a primary example of this sort of mistranslation in the opening lines, often called the prologue. If we have failed to get the first three lines of the text translated correctly, how will we ever understand what the writer is trying to say in the rest of his document? This is where we can start dissolving some of the misconceptions about Mark’s writing. These verses are intended to point the reader to Isaiah chapter 40 which should in turn direct attention to the fall of Jerusalem as it happened in 586 B.C.E. and subsequently in 70 C.E. In Mark’s Gospel the parable of the wicked tenants, and Isaiah’s prophesy concerning the destruction of the Jerusalem temple are part of the writer’s plan to address the situation immediately after the fall of Jerusalem; The time when this Gospel must have been written would have
 been after 70 and probably after 74 C.E.

 

 If Mark’s reader had the scroll of Isaiah, he would first come to the word for glad tidings at verse nine of chapter 40. His scroll would not indicate chapter and verse but nonetheless that is where he would first find the word for Gospel or glad tidings. The passage indicated by the introduction of the Gospel is, in its own context, a consoling word to an Israel that had been dispossessed and thoroughly beaten in war. Mark’s decision to present his message by focusing on Isaiah chapter 40 is an indication that his anticipated audience would have a strong interest in the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem. in the year 70 the tragedy that Isaiah wrote about had been repeated; Jerusalem the holy city and the temple of God lay in ruins. The profound effect of the events between 66 and 74 on the Jewish population and the Jewish Christians contemporary to Mark cannot be overstated. Both groups expected a different outcome, the rule of God and a Palestine free of Roman
 control. The attempt to duplicate what had been done by the Maccabees had failed miserably.
In the Gospel according to Mark, the reason for writing, the approximate date, and the location of the writer can be determined right from the text itself. 
 
Consider these opening words: [Beginning] [1]the glad tidings of Jesus Christ [son of God] just as it stands written in Isaiah the Prophet . The proper translatation these words is critical to discerning the writer’s intentions for creating his document. The texts that our New Testament is compiled from is in Greek, so a bit of explanation is in order but the point I will make is actually quite simple and does not require a background in the language. I have maintained that the above text in bold face type is a complete statement and not intended to introduce a quotation as commonly thought. One only needs to examine the text of Mark to see that his use of the conjunction kathos “as” always compares something stated before the conjunction with something that comes immediately after. When we associate the reference to Isaiah with the following line we are not taking into account this habit of the writer to divide the comparison with the conjunction. Reading the text as though the
 writer was introducing  a quotation - which is really not a quotation at all – does not take into account what has come before the conjunction. The little word “as” is the translation of the Greek kathos in most English bibles. I am tempted to list all of the occurrences of kathos in Mark at this point but I will forgo the temptation in the interest of pressing on to the mark, no pun intended. 
 
The verb gegraptai “written” is in the perfect tense, passive voice, and indicative mood. It should be translated as though the writing is now in a completed state resulting from a past action[1]. There is also the sense in the Greek gegraptai in its context in Mark, that at one time in the past the action of writing was ongoing, then became completed and has now been recently ongoing and completed again. There is no English tense that relates all of this information about the action of the verb. All of this is bound up in Mark’s use of the past perfect indicative of this Greek verb for writing. 
 
The Greek language is much more definitive than English. The form is rare as the language goes and it shows sophistication that few are willing to grant to the writer of the first Gospel. I translate “the glad tidings of Jesus Christ Son of God just as it stands written in Isaiah the Prophet” the verb form brings together that past action and its completion with the present Gospel that Mark has just completed and that the reader is reading. The first part of the comparison always comes before the conjunction, kathos, in Mark’s work; therefore, we must look for what stands written in Isaiah before the conjunction “as” and not after. In this instance it is the Gospel or glad tidings of Jesus Christ Son of God being compared to the glad tidings that stand written in Isaiah 40:9. This passage of Isaiah has the term “euangellion” Gospel or “glad tidings.”  It is the occurrence of this word in Isaiah that completes Mark’s point; the glad tidings do indeed stand written in Isaiah, twice to
 be specific:

 

40:9 “O you who bring glad tidings to Zion, get up to the high mountain, you who bring glad tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God”. 

The Isaiah passage is a powerful statement that sums up the purpose for which Mark’s Gospel was written. It also addresses the question of the hour for any messianic believer affected by the failed attempt at revolution. The question of those affected would have been; where was the God of Israel in this dark hour? The good news to which Mark was pointing the reader was the final phrase of Isaiah 40:9 “behold your God!” Mark intends to demonstrate where God was before and during and after 70 C.E. His document will demonstrate that the Jesus, the Christ and the Son of God had been revealed to Jew, Greek and Roman before the destruction occurred. Mark is sending his good news to Jews, Greeks and Romans in Zion, Jerusalem and the Cities of Judah, just as it stands written in Isaiah. Mark has allowed Isaiah’s prophesy to identify his audience. His point is that God WAS involved in the events that transpired prior to and including 70 C.E.; but the supreme irony was that Israel like the
 stubborn and obtuse disciples of his forthcoming narrative, missed the warning sent by his prophets. When they should have recognized the presence of God in Jesus the Christ they were obtuse. 
 

All English translations assume that kathos was intended to introduce a quotation and this assumption has caused them to read the next line incorrectly as well.  I am not aware of a single English translation that does not treat kathos as though it were intended to introduce a quotation. Mark has often been accused of making an inaccurate citation and also an inaccurate quotation. If the purpose of kathos had been to introduce a quotation (something Mark never does with this form), the text that follows is not from Isaiah at all and has to be regarded as a poorly written paraphrase of Malachi 3.1. Scholarship has done Mark a great disservice in evaluating his work at this point in the text. The compiler of Mark was not in error nor was he trying to quote from Malachi. The next line, “Behold I send my messenger before your face to prepare your way” was intended as direct address to the reader. Mark was sending his document before the face of his intended reader. In the Malachi passage
 the messenger is sent to prepare the Lord’s way before the face of the Lord - quite different, and not the intention of Mark. In the written format, the reader is being called on as a leader to prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight. This is similar to what we see in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation.

 

 

Revelation 1.3 blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near. 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne (1.10) I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum etc. 

 

 

Essentially the same process is understood in the Gospel of Mark. In antiquity, among the Greek speaking peoples in particular, words, written or read aloud were conceived in terms of the Spirit or presence of the one writing. When writing was in its infancy among the common people, the fact that a person’s thoughts and words could be passed along without the human presence was quite amazing. People who could read and write were the social equal to a PhD in our society. A written document therefore, was understood in the same way we might understand a private lesson from a college professor on our favorite subject. In 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses the issue of the power of his presence in his letters:

 

 

I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ -- I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold to you when I am away! 

.for they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account." Let such people understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. (2Corinthians 10:1)

 

As the saying goes short people don’t get much respect. Paul responds to criticism regarding the difference between his personal and written presence. Among the groups of believers, a letter from a recognized teacher was comparable to a visit from his Spirit. Likewise, the wise teacher in charge of communication for any group of believers in a given location was the angel or messenger for that group. Some of the groups or churches were likely to have had only one person among them that could read and write. The original text of Mark and the book of Revelations would have been continuous script (no spaces between words) making it necessary to read aloud in order to locate the breaks between words. There are documented accounts of persons saying they could not read due to a sore throat. Mark was sending his written word to people that had suffered under the heavy hand and sword of Rome. He was writing to tell them that God was present in their circumstances. He was presenting his case
 for why God had allowed the revolution to fail. His narrative is a demonstration of what he believes happened and why it happened as it did. In his narrative the events indicate where God was at work and how God carried out his plan. Like the Isaiah message of glad tidings, Mark’s Gospel demonstrates that Israel’s time of punishment is over, God’s presence was, is and will be here. Like the words of Isaiah the heart of Mark’s message is “Behold your God.” 

 

The next line of Mark’s text is also highly significant. It reads “a voice of crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Continuing the direct address of the previous line, Mark is sending his reader a clue as to his location. This line indicates that the sender is a voice of crying (over the destruction of Jerusalem), a voice in the desert, at the same time he is crying out for the reader to prepare the way of the lord and to make the Lord’s paths straight. This line from Isaiah 40 was key to the understanding of the Qumran Community and came to be a designation for a program of study for priestly candidates who were sent their to “prepare the Way” which was understood to mean prepare the people (Luke 1:17). The writer of Mark was working from a position somewhere in the desert of Palestine. Immediately, Qumran comes to mind!  The Romans used the site during the war but after the final battle at Masada in 74, they left the site. The people, who
 were there before the armies arrived, hid the scrolls in nearby caves. Any one from the movement called the Way, would have been able to locate the scrolls and would have probably been inclined to put them back in their hiding places when he had finished using them. It is not unreasonable to speculate that the one table left in the scriptorium may have been used by Mark in the compilation of his Gospel 

The internal evidence makes apparent the reasons for Mark writing his Gospel: He saw the need to address the issue of why the revolt against Rome had failed and to show his audience how God was present and unrecognized before during and after the devastation. In his narrative he makes the case that that the victory of Rome was the result the people of God not recognizing and not listening to the second great prophet and successor to John.  The people of the Way had supported the revolution along with the Jews of Jerusalem, even though God had warned them in writing not to resist the power of Rome. Paul a Roman citizen warned against resisting the Powers that be, but his warning fell on deaf ears.

 

I welcome any questions or comments

 

Rick Richmond 



		
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