of God and Jesus’ True Family
4:1–34 Kingdom in Parables
4:35–41 Stilling of the Storm and Unveiling of Jesus’ Identity
5:1–20 Healing of the Demoniac of Gerasenes
5:21–43 Jairus’s Daughter and the Woman with Chronic Bleeding
6:1–6a Rejection at Nazareth
6:6b–30 Mission Extended and Martyrdom Foreshadowed
6:31–56 Miracles Around the Lake
7:1–23 Redefining the Unclean
7:24–36 Extension of Jesus’ Ministry to the Gentiles
8:1–10 Feeding of the 4,000
8:11–21 Demand for a Sign and the Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
III. On the Road to Jerusalem: The Gospel and the Suffering Messiah (8:22—10:52)
8:22–30 Stuttering Beginnings of a True Perception
8:31—9:1 Messiah Must Suffer
9:2–13 Transfiguration and Transformation of Expectations
9:14–29 Boy with an Unclean Spirit
9:30–50 “The Messiah Must Suffer” and Sundry Lessons on Discipleship
10:1–31 More Revolutionary Values for Disciples
10:32–45 Following the Messiah in Service
10:46–52 Restoring Bartimaeus’s Sight
IV. The Climax of the Gospel: The Messiah and Jerusalem
(11:1—16:8)
11:1–25 Challenge in Jerusalem: Symbols of Fulfillment and Judgment
11:27–33 Jesus’ Authority Questioned
12:1–44 Further Controversies
13:1–37 Eschatological Discourse on the Mount of Olives
14:1–11 Anointing at Bethany
14:12–31 Last Supper
14:32–52 Gethsemane and the arrest of Jesus
14:53–72 Hearing by the Sanhedrin
15:1–20 Roman Trial
15:21–41 Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
15:42–47 Burial of Jesus
16:1–8 Resurrection
Within each phase two entities stand out: the Messiah and his people/disciples. What connects the Messiah and his people is the gospel that is preached, enacted through mighty acts, and embodied through suffering obedience.
The Beginning of the Gospel (1:1–13)
The Heading (1:1)
In a world where many things compete for the interest of a potential reader, the beginning of a book must be written in such a way as to be attention-grabbing. Its role is therefore critical because not only has it to perform the aforesaid function, it has also to inform the reader, at least in an implicit way, of what is to come.
What we now have shows that Mark has opened his narrative admirably. Not only are highly potent terms in his culture used (“beginning,” “gospel,” “Christ” and possibly “Son of God”), they are also expressed with an unexpected twist, signaling that what follows may be both explosive and subversive. We will explain how this takes place, but first, a question concerning the exact limits of the opening section of Mark has to be discussed.
Verse 1 serves certainly as a heading. What is disputed among scholars is whether it is the heading of the entire work or just a section, such as 1:1–13 or 1:1–15. By virtue of its compressed style and the presence of numerous significant words, we incline to the view that it serves as the heading of the entire work.30 A parallel that illuminates this is Hosea 1:2. We may also mention the fact that Mark does not write sectional headings, not even for his important Passion Narrative.
That said, we note that the Greek kathōs (“just as”) introduces vv. 2–3. Without the usual complement of a houtōs (“so”) clause, it implies that kathōs introduces a statement (i.e., vv. 2–3) to complete an earlier one (i.e., v. 1). This means v. 1 does not stand alone as a sentence, as we might expect the heading of the work to be. Verse 1 may then be understood as both the heading of the work and forming part of the opening section.31 This may appear confusing but it may have come about because Mark is not concerned with formal style. It is also possible that Mark is creatively ambivalent.32
With regard to the extent of the opening section, we think it ends in v. 13,33 as there appears to be a clear break in content and plot with 1:14–15. These verses speak of John’s imprisonment—implying the end of one phase—and introduces Jesus’ message to the readers.
We return to v. 1, especially the meaning of the significant terms in their context. The “beginning of the gospel” was certainly a loaded phrase. A calendar inscription from Priene (9 BC) illuminates this.34 We provide the English translation of Danker:35
In her display of concern and generosity on our behalf, Providence, who orders all our lives, has adorned our lives with the highest good, namely Augustus … And Caesar, [when he was manifest], transcended the expectations of [all who had anticipated the good news], not only by surpassing the benefits conferred by his predecessors but by leaving no expectation of surpassing him to those who would come after him, with the result that the birthday of our god signaled the beginning of good news for the world because of him.36
We can detect some subversion by Mark. The Greek word he uses for “gospel” is euangelion, which was important for the early Church, just as it is for Christian faith today. It was also important for the Roman Empire, although it is usually found in the plural form (euangelia). The Christian usage was always singular. What must not be missed is that the calendar inscription speaks of the beginning of the euangelia, stating its connection with Augustus Caesar’s birth, calling him a god and proclaiming a universal impact. Mark connects the beginning of the one gospel with Jesus Christ instead. If the phrase “Son of God” was original to Mark’s text, there is another point of contact that may be discerned. We know from other sources that Augustus Caesar was known as the son of god, after his adoptive father Julius Caesar was divinized by the Roman senate. In Mark’s text, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Markan subversion is clearly at work.
We now take a closer look at the meaning of Mark’s euangelion. That the word means good news is accepted by all scholars. But the framework within which we are to understand it has been disputed. Taking all the scholarly discussions into consideration but without going into detail, it seems best to understand this term against the OT and Jewish background,37 without negating the possibility that Mark would have been familiar with the Roman propaganda that uses the term. In other words, Rome may be the dialogue partner, but she does not define the meaning for Mark. That meaning comes from the OT, which the verses that follow make clear.
Of importance are the Hebrew words bāśar (verb) and mĕbāśśer (participle). These words are found
