The Passion of Mark

There once was a glorious kingdom ruled by a powerful king who was favored by the one and only God. This king was anointed and his kingdom was blessed. The people of the kingdom were bound to a covenant with this all powerful God, and the center for the worship of this deity was in a grand temple found within a great city. The nation was composed of tribes, but these tribes enjoyed unity. The followers of this God began to go astray from the law given to them by this God, so He sent prophets to warn the people. The prophets were not taken seriously and were often spurned and looked down upon. One day the kingdom was attacked by a foreign force, its temple destroyed, and its people were taken away to live in other lands and often forced to worship other gods. Eventually, the people found their way back home, but things were not as they once had been. They were able to rebuild the temple, but they were still under the rule of foreign power not able to establish a powerful king as they once had. The people grew o resent the foreign power and rose up against it. For a time, they enjoyed freedom from foreign powers, but once day a mighty foreign power came and conquered the people. Within the tradition and hope of these people, there was a figure who would arise and turn the suffering of these people on its head. This great man was thought to be a mighty ruler who would re-establish a kingdom in the capitol city, or as a cosmic judge who would vindicate the people who had endured much suffering at the hands of evil. Around the year 30 CE, the end to this millennia long tale was finally in sight as a man rode into the anticipatory atmosphere of the crowded capitol.
Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem upon a colt as crowds press in upon him from all quarters shouting “Hosanna!’ and “Son of David”. It was Passover season, the Jewish celebration that commemorated the exodus of the Hebrew slaves from the oppression of Egypt. This longing for freedom was no strange theme to the Jews of Palestine during this time. No doubt that the symbolic meaning of this festival began to take on real tones as news spread across Palestine of Jesus, the man who drew crowds, taught with authority, and in whom many had hope for a messiah. Perhaps the crowds that surrounded Jesus as he entered Jerusalem hoped that this Passover was the moment when the messiah would rise up and reclaim the kingdom of Israel. The expectations of the crowds are evident in the cries that reflect messianic hopes, but Jesus, before arriving in Jerusalem, had already predicted his own demise. When Jesus arrives his first action is to go to the temple and take a look around. Then, he went back to Bethany. No overthrow. No judgment. This is a rather anticlimactic day in relation to his entry. In Luke, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, tells a parable, and commences to clean the temple, but in Mark, Jesus simply looks around and leaves. The next morning Jesus is returning from Bethany when he curses a fig tree that is not bearing fruit even though it’s not the season for figs.
Jesus enters the Temple and undertakes actions that may have led to his arrest and execution. Having seen the Temple his first day in Jerusalem, Jesus must have seen the money changers and merchants, so his actions that second day in Jerusalem were premeditated. In Matthew, Jesus performs miracles and healings following the cleansing of the Temple, and in John, Jesus makes a prediction about his resurrection. In Mark, Jesus cleanses the temple, but no further action is described. By cleansing the temple, Jesus provided the chief priests with a charged that could bring him before the Sanhedrin. It was this moment that the chief priests and scribes began to seek the suffering and death of Jesus. Mark’s technique of intercalation brings this passage to a close by returning to that cursed, barren fig tree. When the disciples pass the tree the following morning, they are astounded to find the tree has withered to the root. It seemed a little harsh of Jesus to expect to find figs on this poor tree when no figs were out of season. The fig tree reflects Israel. The people of Israel were waiting for a particular figure to arrive with obvious signs and grandeur. When they saw the messiah coming, then they would behave as if the messiah were coming. Jesus did not fit what was expected of the coming messiah, so the chief priests plotted against him. They failed to bear spiritual fruit when it really mattered. Since they did not anticipate Jesus being the messiah and the spiritual harvest was not nigh, it didn’t seem to be the season for spiritual fruit.
.After Jesus had spent the day teaching the people and rebuking the officials, in the house of Simon the leper a woman approached Jesus with a very costly flask of perfumed ointment. The woman anointed Jesus’ body with the ointment at the behest of the disciples. Some in the house felt that the ointment could have been put to better use by selling the perfume for a hefty amount and given to the poor. Jesus responded to the grumblers by supporting the woman and explaining that she had anointed his body for his burial. The anointing of Jesus has an ironic twist. The king of Israel was anointed, but also, the dead were anointed before burial. Had Jesus affirmed that the anointment had been for his kingship, perhaps attitudes would have been different. Instead, Jesus affirms that he is to die soon. This assertion that the woman’s actions had been honorable was not welcome news. Jesus informed the disciples that the poor would always be among them, but he would not. This idea does not coincide with the political revolution that is to take place with the Messiah. This seems to have been the action that triggered the betrayal that would ultimately hand Jesus over to the officials who sought his death. The other gospels attempt to make Judas Iscariot greedy, evil, or a double crossing thief, but Mark portrays Judas in a more sympathetic light. Judas must have been sorely disappointed by the turn he thought Jesus had took. Judas had hoped for a revolutionary figure in Jesus. Instead he got a man who was determined that he would suffer and die before any revolution came. It’s likely that Judas felt that he had been betrayed. Judas then approached the officials offering them Jesus. They then in turn offered him money. Matthew specifies that he amount paid for Jesus’ betrayal was thirty pieces of silver, and Luke claims that Judas was overcome with the devil. In John, Judas is angered by the anointment purely because of the money. John claims that Judas stole from the common purse. Mark’s portrayal of Judas depicts a visionary who lost his vision.
The audience for this gospel was most likely of the same background as the author since printing and distribution were no easy task in those days. By this criterion it can be deduced that the readers or listeners to the Gospel of Mark were Greek speaking Christians living outside of the region of Palestine, the region where the events of the narrative took place. The particulars about the geography and customs of Palestine were not of the utmost importance to Mark’s audience. The experiences of the audience are the experiences of the author, so the events and circumstances that were prominent in the life of the author will naturally appear in the text and appeal to the reader’s to whom the work is readily available. By this logic and knowledge of history it can be concluded that the readers of Mark were a persecuted community who underwent a great deal of suffering for following The Way. This atmosphere of persecution and suffering can explain the emphasis that the author of Mark places upon suffering in his gospel. Suffering is a major theme that appears in the teachings, predictions, and life of Jesus. Writing of a figure who enjoyed much privilege and pleasure as he went about Palestine teaching and proclaiming the apocalypse would not have appealed to those who suffered for following those teachings. The theme of suffering found in Mark certainly was familiar to the community who was persecuted for their beliefs. Had the community lived under different circumstances, therefore allowing the author to live under different circumstances, the Gospel of Mark would have contained very different themes or perhaps may not have came to existence at all. The Gospel of Mark can be seen as a message of hope to those who suffered, and to those who showed weakness during the trying times.
The disciples in Mark never seem to understand the man that they follow. Their reasons for following Jesus do not reflect the reason for Jesus’ leadership. This lack of understanding is what leads to the scattering of the disciples when Jesus is captured and their absence at his greatest hour of need. This ignorance coupled with fear is what led Peter to deny Jesus just as Jesus predicted. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus makes a prediction that Peter will deny him three times before the cock crows, a prediction that Peter strongly opposes, but when Jesus faces the Sanhedrin and execution, in fear for his own life Peter denies Jesus. This denial of Jesus in the face of pain and suffering shows the weakness not just of Peter, but of the humans in general. When Peter was faced with a hostile crowd, self preservation became more important than remaining faithful to Jesus and his teaching. Despite this denial and failure Peter still rose to be a great figure in Christianity. The tradition of Peter’s denial that can be found in Mark offers hope to those believers who were undoubtedly faced with fierce or even violent opposition. Denying Jesus did not ruin Peter’s future, and this fact would be evident to the followers who knew the great prominence to which Peter later would rise. This story of denial offered hope to the followers who faced persecution and denied their faith for the sake of self preservation. Jesus himself knew that Peter would do this, but did not rebuke Peter harshly. The Markan Jesus seemed to understand the frailty of man all too well. Jesus expected all his disciples to desert him. The follower who denies Jesus is also given the same hope, thus making the denial of Jesus a story of hope.
In the Gospel of Mark Jesus’ understanding of what it means to fulfill his messianic destiny requires that Jesus must suffer and die. This suffering was not easy for Jesus as can be seen in the prayer in Gethsemane and the crucifixion on Golgotha. While in Gethsemane, Jesus prays with great fervor and asks that the tasks before him might be avoided if there is any other way, but Jesus, seeing his ultimate destiny, accepts the terrible fate that awaits him. When Jesus faces trial before the Sanhedrin, he does not refute the faulty witness accounts or attempt to defend himself. This image of a silent, apparently broken Jesus was not the Messiah that had been anticipated. Why would the Messiah allow the political order to slander him and prosecute him? It is here that the supportive crowds seem to falter and turn on Jesus. This man was clearly not the Messiah they had thought he was. Having been abandoned by his disciples and followers, Jesus was taken before Pilate where once again he was mostly silent in the face of condemnation. When Pilate offered the crowd to deliver either Jesus or Barabbas, they chose the murderer Barabbas. It is interesting that the crime that Barabbas had committed was murder during an insurrection. Perhaps after seeing the meek character of Jesus, the crowd preferred the violent tactics of zealots like Barabbas. This man who once hoped to be the King of the Jews was now mocked as such. He was flogged and beaten, given royal symbols in jest, and finally hung upon a cross with the inscription “King of Jews” above his bloody head. After six hours on the cross, Jesus cries out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Jesus, the Messiah, dies alone and humiliated on the cross.
This ending of Jesus’ life differs from depictions found in the other gospels. In Matthew, Jesus’ death is simultaneous with cosmic events. In Luke, Jesus ministers to the thief beside him and gives his spirit up to God. In John, Jesus doles out final instructions and declares it finished. In Mark, Jesus dies alone and forsaken. After his death Jesus is buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. The man who was once hoped to bring about the revolution to establish once again the kingdom of Israel had been killed and buried. Three days later women who had witnessed Jesus’s death and burial returned to the tomb to find it empty. There were no earthquakes, angels, or appearances of a resurrected Jesus as is found in the other Gospels. The women then fled the tomb and told no one. The fact that the resurrected Jesus is never seen in this shorter version of Mark raises interesting points.
Belief in the resurrection for Mark’s audience was assumed. The audience already had their conclusion, so what they needed was encouragement to endure the suffering and persecution and continue waiting for the second coming predicted in Mark. The Gospel of Mark was not intended as a proselytizing document, but a document meant to help believers keep the faith. The identity of Jesus as Son of God is not understood by the characters in the gospel, those who continued the tradition. This proclamation of Jesus’ identity is uttered by a Roman soldier; however, the tradition is carried on by those who fled and denied Jesus. The realization of Jesus’ true identity must have come after his death, thus the resurrection. The readers of Mark already knew the conclusion of the story they read. They already believed it. The suffering and death of the messiah only makes sense with a resurrection. The resurrection was the key to belief for Mark’s audience. The life of Jesus was not a compelling argument for a messianic identity, a point that is driven by Mark, so the resurrection trumps the humble life and death of Jesus. The audience of Mark’s gospel was so compelled by the belief in the resurrection that they were willing to endure persecution and suffering