The Gospel of Mark

by Juel, Donald

• ISBN13: 9780687008490
• ISBN10: 0687008492
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Abingdon Pr

Summary

This volume is written for anyone who--for whatever reason--is drawn to the New Testament. It is also for those who are not so drawn, for it is written out of the conviction that good readers need to be formed. Anyone can read the Bible; no particular level of education is required, but readers need to learn what to look for in stories that may seem distant and strange. The long tradition of reading the Scriptures in the church is not the enemy in such an enterprise, but audiences change, and the Bible must be heard and wrestled with in each new situation.This volume focuses on the Gospel according to Mark, probably the first of the four Gospels to be written. It has received the least attention of the four in the history of the church. The explosion of Markan scholarship in the last decades tells a fascinating story that is not the focus of this study but informs it. The result of intense engagement with Mark within and outside the academic community has not achieved a meeting of the minds. Mark's Gospel does not easily yield its secrets. It is the case, however, that conversing about Mark has been enormously interesting and productive for the church as well as the academy. This volume is written to open readers to its remarkable story. Where engagement will finally lead remains as unpredictable and as promising as the Gospel itself.

Author Biography

Donald H. Juel is Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Foreword	11	(2)
Preface	13	(2)
INTRODUCTION: INTERPRETING MARK'S GOSPEL	15	(178)
Getting Oriented	15	(2)
What Should We Expect? Examining Prejudices	17	(4)
What Are We After? Standing and Understanding	21	(8)
The Role of the Reader	29	(2)
To Teach, to Delight, and to Move: A Rhetorical Approach	31	(1)
The Three ``Characters'' in Mark's Gospel	32	(11)
What Will We Read as ``the Gospel According to Mark''?	43	(6)
The Historical Jesus	49	(4)
The Opening (1:1-15)	53	(12)
The Observant Reader and Attentive Listener	54	(3)
The Knowledgeable Reader and Listener	57	(3)
The Imaginative Reader and Listener	60	(3)
Great Expectations	63	(2)
The Players	65	(12)
Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians	66	(3)
Scribes, Chief Priests, and Elders	69	(1)
Satan and Unclean Spirits	70	(1)
Family	71	(1)
Little People	72	(2)
The Disciples	74	(3)
Who is God?	77	(10)
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob	78	(2)
The God Who Acts	80	(1)
``The Kingdom of God''	81	(1)
God and the Law	82	(2)
God's Future Work	84	(1)
God the Father	85	(2)
Who is Jesus?	87	(20)
``Who Do People Say That I Am?'' Differing Appraisals	88	(4)
``But Who Do You Say That I Am?'' A Reader's Evaluation	92	(6)
What Language Shall We Borrow? A Brief Reflection on Titles	98	(9)
Plundering Satan's House	107	(12)
Defeating the Legion (5:1-20)	110	(4)
Freeing Two Women	114	(3)
Where the Devil Did the Devil Go?	117	(2)
The Teacher	119	(20)
``In Parables''	119	(10)
Taking Up the Cross: Instructions on Following (8:31--10:45)	129	(3)
A Glimpse of the Future	132	(7)
The Death of the King (14:43--15:47)	139	(18)
What Ever Happened to Peter?	141	(3)
``As It Has Been Written''	144	(1)
``The King of the Jews''	145	(2)
The Temple	147	(4)
The Way It Is	151	(2)
Epilogue: Some Historical Reflections	153	(4)
The Death of Jesus and the Will of God: A Theological Appraisal	157	(10)
``The Deep Magic''	160	(3)
Beyond the Boundaries	163	(4)
Endings and Beginnings	167	(10)
What Shall We Read?	167	(2)
Reading the Ending	169	(2)
``Those with Ears to Hear''	171	(2)
Promises Kept, Promises Not Kept	173	(4)
Secrets and Secrecy	177	(16)
Unseeing Eyes, Unhearing Ears, Hardened Hearts	181	(3)
A Test Case: The Disciples	184	(2)
Sight to the Blind	186	(3)
Implied Readers and Actual Readers	189	(4)
Notes	193	(5)
Bibliography	198	(1)
Index of Ancient and Modern Authors	199