In “the Eyewitnesses in the Gospel of Mark,” Richard Bauckham presents the argument that eyewitness testimony influenced the accounts of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Mark. Bauckham uses supporting evidence from ancient historians, specifically the writing of Polybius and Plutarch, to draw comparisons to the Mark narrative. Bauckham argues that within the text of the Gospels, the authors identify by name the eyewitnesses, whose testimonies they used to tell of the miracles Jesus performed. Bauckham contends that those minor characters named in the Gospel of Mark became prominent figures in the early church and their stories were later retold by others. Therefore, Bauckham deduces that those minor characters named were the eyewitness accounts that Mark used to write his narrative. Further, Bauckham also introduces the naming of Simon Peter to his argument.
According to Bauckham, Simon Peter is “inclusio” throughout the Gospel of Mark, which indicates he was a major eyewitness that witnessed Jesus’ ministry from beginning to end. Bauckham identifies parallels in the Gospel of Mark with the historiographies of Polybius and the biographies of Plutarch. Per Bauckham, Polybius accounts of Scipio’s military campaigns includes an inclusio of Gaius Laelius, who was an eyewitness who influences Polybius narrative, like Peter in the Mark narrative.
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Therefore, Bauckham infers that Mark’s repeated reference to Peter throughout the text identifies his eyewitness accounts as the main influence of Mark’s gospel. Per Bauckham, Mark not only names eyewitnesses by name, but he also makes it apparent that they witnessed Jesus’ death and resurrection, which exemplifies the “primacy of sight” utilized by many ancient historians.
Even though Mark does not blatantly identify these eyewitnesses for the basis for his narrative, Bauckham argues that by simply naming them, Mark makes this apparent. As his final piece of evidence, Bauckham draws on the similarities between Plutarch’s account of Caesar and the Gospel of Mark, where it is not necessary for the author to blatantly state that the eyewitnesses are the source of the
narrative. Throughout the article, Bauckham utilizes literary analysis of ancient biographies to draw parallels between ancient literature and the narrative of Mark. He uses these comparisons to support his statements that Mark used eyewitness accounts to write his Gospel, just as ancient historians did in the past. Bauckham intends to not only provide additional evidence of his theory to readers, but he also intends to defend his views against his critics. Specifically, he takes the time to detail 6 points to refute the criticisms of Joel Marcus and other critics, with detailed evidence and support for his claims. He then strategically uses historical literature of well-known authors to show how his model applies to other acclaimed works. By utilizing these comparisons to academically accepted works, Bauckham hopes to strengthen his argument and expand the previous held beliefs of the scholarly community. An analysis of Bauckham’s article reveals that Bauckham did an excellent job of utilizing historical literature to support his argument. Not only did Bauckham give readers concrete examples of the works of Polybius and Plutarch throughout his article, but he also carefully explained why he included them and how they were like the Mark narrative. Additionally, he used these literary references and citations very well, as they did support his claims and prove the connection between the text and the Gospel of Mark. Despite the accuracy of its use, Bauckham focused too much on the historical literature. His detailed writing on the supporting evidence deviated from the emphasis he should have place on the connection to Mark narrative. Additionally, Bauckham’s tone appeared defensive during certain points of the article, specifically when refuting argument of his critics. Bauckham should have refuted the arguments of his critics without naming names and used an informative tone, not a defensive tone. Even so, Bauckham produced a substantial argument that was backed by sound evidence and appeared to be logical.
The life of Jesus is one that is often discussed and debated among scholars and authors since the time Jesus walked this earth. Gerd Theissen’ s work, Shadow of the Galilean, takes the unique perspective of a grain merchant who has been enlisted by Pilate to find out information on various religious sects and report back to him. After Andreas, the grain merchant’s, first report he is given the task of finding out more about this Jesus who is gaining quite a following. Pilate and the Romans want to know if he is a threat to them. This book follows Andreas as he goes on a journey to find out more about Jesus from various sources for his report to the Romans.
From the excerpt from the novel, “Under the Feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes, the main character is Estrella, a young Spanish girl with a powerful desire to learn to read. Although she is persistent, her teachers refuse to educate her because they are more concerned of Estrella’s personal hygiene. This leaves Estrella resentful because of the barrier between herself and knowledge. Estrella remains silent until a man named Perfecto Flores teaches her how to read by using his expertise in hardware and tools to represent the alphabet. Viramontes depicts the heartfelt growth of Estrella through her use of tone, figurative language, and detail.
The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them.
Kodell, Jerome. "Luke." In The Collegeville Bible Commentary. Edited by Dianne Bergant and Robert J. Karris. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1988.
Gerhard Lohfink, in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth” believes that Jesus’ person and ministry are intertwined, or actually one and of the same. After Lohfink clarifies the difference between the "reign of God" as distinct from the “Kingdom of God,” he asserts that in Jesus, there is this active, ongoing reign which is not only revealed, but is manifested in all He says and does. Lohfink states, that Jesus is “not just preaching about the reign of God, but He is announcing it,” going on to indicating that Jesus is manifesting this reign in His own self disclosure and the actions of His ministry. Jesus ways of teaching and interactions with others, is shown as compassionate, gentle, direct and personal, as well as definitive and bold. As we also find in Ch. 3, “All that is happening before everyone’s eyes. The reign of God is breaking forth in the midst of the world and not only within people.” (51) And for Lohfink, this is taking place in the actual preaching, actions and life of Jesus Christ. Simply, we are personally and collectively and actively a part of establishing this “reign” right here, right now. A “reign” of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, self-giving, sacrificial love, as well as of justice and peace.
Do Matthew and Mark record two events or is it a doublet? Scholars generally agree Mark’s gospel was first and Matthew and Luke used, it with ‘Q’ ‘M’ & ‘L’, as their source. Mark was not an eye-witness but relied on oral and other sources. Matthew is generally seen as an update of Mark; so, perhaps, not surprising Matthew also records the second feeding. Luke and John may have had access to Mark’s Gospel, but neither record two separate events.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the origin of nearly everything the Christian Church teaches about Jesus. The Gospels, in turn, serve as the scale or test of truth and authenticity of everything the church teaches about Jesus. It is said that the Gospels are the link between Jesus of Nazareth and the people of every age throughout history who have claimed to be his followers. Although the Gospels teach us about Jesus’ life they may not provide concrete evidence that what they speak of is true there are several other sources.
The beginning and ending of the Gospel of Mark really support the four main themes present within the Gospel. The four main themes in the Gospel are: Jesus as being enigmatic, Jesus as a sufferer, Low Christology and Apocalypticism present within the Gospel. The beginning and ending of this Gospel support Jesus as being misunderstood because in the beginning, there is no birth story of Jesus or any background information presented, Jesus is just there. This makes one question where did he come from and who was he born to? In the end of the Gospel, the tomb is described as empty and the last sentences of the Gospel in Mark 16: 8 says: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (1743). This ending of the Gospel is enigmatic because there is no mention of Jesus’ resurrection or whether anyone ever found out that Jesus had ascended to Heaven. The beginning and ending, not to mention the entire Gospel, leaves one wondering many things about Jesus, because his whole existence in Mark is very mys...
In the short story of “The Gospel According to Mark”, Jorge Luis Borges introduces the readers to controversies to the works of missionaries faced by many civilizations around the world. Borges accomplishes this by accompanying the story with ironic symbols and substantial religious references which allow the readers to connect the story to relevant past events. In this short story, Borges ironically criticizes the effects which various missionaries had on different groups of indigenous people. Amongst these effects, a portion of the effects were positive, while a great majority of the effects was negatively impacting the indigenous groups which the missionaries came in contact with.
Stanton, Graham. Gospel Truth?: New Light on Jesus and the Gospels. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995. Paperback.
One of the main characteristics of the gospel of Mark is it’s length. Mark is much shorter than Matthew and Luke, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. The author of Mark does not slow down the gospel story and makes sure that only important and relevant details are included. When Mark is compared with Matthew and Luke, it becomes obvious to see what Mark has eliminated. The author’s omission of Jesus’ birth, lineage, resurrection, and ascension denote careful planning and purpose in the gospel of Mark.
Mark’s gospel and John’s gospel contain many differences from the beginning, but both end with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The gospels of John and Mark represent Jesus as two different people. The disparity is that Mark represents Jesus as a servant while John portrays Jesus as a divine being. However, one must realize the two texts are meant to read by different audiences during different time periods. Each description presents a particular aspect of the life of Historical Jesus.
Mark was Peter's son (I Peter 5:13, possibly spiritual son), who wrote down what Peter said about who Jesus was, what He did, where He went and what happened; Mark's gospel is therefore Peter's account, an eye-witness account, written down by Mark.
Throughout the first half of the 3rd century, source information relies heavily on the writings of Eusebius, a Roman historian. When he talks about evidence of Christ...
Many important themes arose while I was reading the Gospel of Mark. In my week 2 group discussion posts, the themes I listed were faith, power of prayer, forgiveness, repentance, optimism, gratitude and mercy. However there are more that I found in the chapter and I read through it again such as the healing power of God and standing for righteousness.