John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina, vol. 2 (The Liturgical Press, 2002), 193. If Mark reacts in any way to the Cynic tradition it is rather to distinguish Jesus and his disciples from that tradition and implicitly to reject it as a lifestyle for Christian missionaries. Jesus' disciples are... Continue Reading →
John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina vol. 2 (The Liturgical Press, 2002), 160-161. Especially significant [to Mark 4:35-41] is Ps 107:23-32 (LXX 106:23-32), which Mark's narrative virtually paraphrases. According to that psalm people "went down to the sea in ships" and "saw the deeds of the Lord" (v. 23).... Continue Reading →
John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 16. If awareness of genre is a necessary entree to proper interpretation, then potential readers of Mark may be lost in the welter of proposals. Even if there may have been no single model that Mark followed,... Continue Reading →
John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 37. The testing of Jesus by Satan (1:12-13) alerts the reader to Mark's conception of Jesus' ministry as a struggle against the cosmic forces of evil. An eschatological dualism familiar from the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Prince... Continue Reading →
John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 33. Intertextually two very strong Old Testament themes merge in the Gospel of Mark. One is that Jesus is the "suffering just one" who is "tested" by God (see Mark 1:12-13), suffers opposition from enemies, and is... Continue Reading →
John R. Donahue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 17. Mark writes about Jesus with a great human realism that Matthew and Luke often omit or tone down; see, for example, 1:41 (his compassion); 1:43 (strong displeasure); 6:5 (surprise at disbelief); 8:12 (deep sigh); 10:14 (indignation);... Continue Reading →
Below is my translation of Mark 1:14-15 which describes the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Galilee following his baptism (1:9-11) and testing in the wilderness (1:12-13). MARK 1:14-15, AEV 14 Following the arrest of John, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God 15 saying, "The time has been fulfilleda and the reign of Godb... Continue Reading →
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