Mark. Kim Huat Tan
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grand schemes and structures which are transparent only after sustained analysis? That said, this criticism must not be taken as rendering void all rhetorical studies of Mark’s text. Rather, it is to say, secondly, that we should expect Mark to employ small-scale techniques, utilizing small chunks of text so that the listener might not be lost in a wealth of details. Indeed, Mark makes use of flashbacks, small-scale chiastic structures, the sandwich technique for relating one story to the other, suspense, paradox, and topical arrangements. Such techniques hold the listeners’ interest, and help them to connect episodes or passages so that a profounder message may be perceived. Finally, it suggests that the structure of the book is straightforwardly simple and predominantly linear. Our proposed structure will take this into account. But before this is offered, we must consider an important datum often missed by scholars emphasizing that Mark’s Gospel is written for oral presentation.
In Mark 13:14, Mark inserts his editorial remark “let the reader understand.” This directive to the reader is important for our consideration of the kind of text Mark’s Gospel is. If Mark were written merely for oral presentation, we should expect the remark to be “let the listener understand.” The fact that the reader is alerted, without giving him explicit clues as to the meaning of the abomination of desolation, implies that this reader is no ordinary reader but someone who has been trained. He could then be expected to explain to the audience the meaning of v. 14. This certainly means he is also expected to explain or clarify Mark’s teaching to the audience.
Moreover, Mark’s text is too long for a one-sitting reading. A reader must know the appropriate points to stop his reading. He must be guided by the contents, rather than by length. Thus we should expect a clear structure to be found and clear indications of breaks in the text.
If the above conjectures are correct, an important rider must be added to the valid concept of the Gospel of Mark being written for oral presentation. It is a bios, written for oral presentation by an informed or trained reader, who has the duty to study his text so he knows where to stop the reading for the day, and so he can prepare himself to explain certain aspects of it to his audience. Therefore, we must allow for some sophistication to Mark’s Gospel, even if the structure is straightforwardly simple.
We can now present a proposed structure for it. We argued earlier for a structure that is clear and simple. Two cues are provided at the beginning and at the end respectively. First, Mark has announced his primary subject matter right at the start—the gospel of Messiah Jesus—and this must guide us in our construal of the structure. The second is obtained by considering the sort of denouement Mark has adopted for his narrative. Scanning through the text, one observes that the Passion narrative takes on a prominent role. Moreover, Mark narrates only one trip of Jesus to Jerusalem, which is a climactic and fateful one. Of course, Jesus would have made many trips to that city, historically speaking. So Mark’s narration of only one trip indicates to us where his narrative emphasis is, and what sort of structure he is adopting. It describes the progression of Jesus’ gospel ministry, using a geographical approach that is easily remembered: beginning with Galilee and ending with Jerusalem.
The Structure of Mark
I. The Beginning of the Gospel (1:1–13)
II. The Gospel in Galilee: The Mighty Acts of the Messiah
(1:14—8:21)
1:14–15 Jesus’ Inaugural Gospel Message
1:16–45 Typical Activities of Jesus’ Ministry
2:1—3:6 Conflict with Religious Authorities
3:7–12 Summary of Jesus’ Deeds
3:13–35 New People 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