writers, that he has difficulties with other Christians, especially the tradition identified with the disciples, and he has a serious problem with the family of Jesus that Trocmé identifies with James and the leadership of the Christian community in Jerusalem (see also Weeden 1971, p. 50; Munro 1982, pp. 238–9). This, in part, leads Trocmé to the conclusion that many of the traditions that make up the first 13 chapters of the Gospel, as well as their original compiler, come from the north of Palestine and are in opposition to the community in Jerusalem (1975, pp. 136–7). The causes defended by the first section of Mark reinforce this understanding with a nascent ecclesiology rooted in the idea of Jesus as head of the Church, rather than any understanding of the disciples as leaders in any direct sense (1975, p. 214). The narrative of the Passion, however, presents a very different picture, being decidedly more favourable towards the disciples and more clearly rooted in the Jerusalem context.
Trocmé argues that the first section of Mark derives from a context in which the traditions of Galilee are brought together to form a continuous narrative by an individual who is sympathetic to the needs of the Christian community in that area, a view previously expressed by Carrington and others who tried to discover evidence for an early Christian calendar within the text of the Gospel (Carrington 1952, pp. 80–1). The Passion narrative, however, for both Trocmé and Carrington, existed as a separate document, probably originating within the community in Jerusalem. The two traditions are brought together, according to Trocmé, with a small amount of extra editing, possibly by an individual called Mark, and possibly in Rome, to form the Gospel as it exists today (1975, pp. 215–59).
Trocmé’s analysis is detailed and, in its parts, convincing. Many other commentators have come to similar conclusions (for example, Johnson 1960, pp. 220–2). However, it is not a view that has been developed extensively in more recent literature on Mark, with most recent commentaries assuming that Mark is a single coherent document that originated in or around Palestine and/or Rome in about 70–75 ce (for example, Peterson 2000). Smith goes so far as to suggest that ‘Mark’s passion narrative has been shown in recent research to be largely a creation of the gospel writer’ (2003, p. 225). Despite this, however, there are reasons to accept at least the possibility that a Passion narrative existed before the current Gospel was compiled and had been part of the tradition, at least in Jerusalem, from a very early date.
The origins of the Passion narrative
One of the few contemporary authors to raise the possibility of the Passion narrative forming a specific unit with a life prior to the compilation of Mark’s Gospel is Gerd Theissen. In The Gospels in Context (1992), he notes the fact that many scholars have recognized that the Passion forms a coherent whole, unlike the first half of Mark’s Gospel, which is made up of a series of sayings and stories that could be presented entirely separately and in any order (1992, pp. 168–9). However, Theissen asks whether the Passion narrative should begin at 14.1, which he recognizes as forming a natural break in the text. Alternatively it could begin with the arrest at 14.43, or perhaps from the account of the entry in Jerusalem at 11.1. Theissen then goes on to conduct the same kind of analysis of the Passion narrative that has already been described in relation to his work on 1 Corinthians. He begins to explore the people who are mentioned in the text and to ask why they are referred to in the way that they are (1992, pp. 170–89).
Pilate, for example, is referred to by name, but without his title. Meanwhile ‘the high priest’ is mentioned by his title, but his name is not given. Both of these would have been understandable if the text originated in Jerusalem only a few years after the events portrayed. Likewise, Simon is mentioned as the father of Alexander and Rufus, and Mary is referred to as the mother of the lesser James and Joses. In both cases it is the sons who are presumed to be known to the listener rather than the parents. This places the text within a particular generation, that of Jesus himself or the one immediately following. Third, the reference to places in people’s names – Cyrene, Magdala, Arimathia, even Nazareth – are not to places that would have been well known outside of Palestine at the time (Theissen 1992, p. 179; Best 1992, II, p. 857; Miller 2004, p. 157).
Theissen then moves on to a discussion about Barabbas. Having noted that Mark gives no explanation of who he is when he first introduces him in the narrative – he is just ‘a man called Barabbas’ (Mark 15.7) – Theissen comments that Mark talks about ‘the rebels’ and ‘the insurrection’ suggesting that this has to be understood as the most recent insurrection. As there were further riots in Jerusalem under Cuspius Fadus (44–45 ce), Theissen asks whether the story of Barabbas must predate these riots (1992, p. 183). Finally, Theissen draws attention to two anonymous figures in the garden at Gethsemane. One strikes out with a sword and cuts off the ear of a servant of the high priest. The other, following a struggle with the guards in which he loses his clothes, runs off naked. Having looked at various interpretations for the role of these anonymous figures, Theissen suggests that the simplest explanation is that because of their actions these men are in danger from the authorities and therefore probably still alive at the time of the telling of the narrative (1992, pp. 186–7).
Drawing on these and other elements of the narrative, Theissen goes on to argue that it is possible that the Passion narrative, probably from 14.43, was developed within the Jerusalem community during the reign of Agrippa I, probably between 41 and 44 ce (1992, p. 198). This was a time, Theissen argues, when the community felt under particular stress with the ever-present possibility of persecution and the death of James. According to Theissen the Passion may have been compiled to enable the community to deal with this situation. As Theissen says,
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