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THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
The next micro-narrative (Mk 1:9-13) has two parts, of which the second (Mk 1:12-13) is often undervalued by commentators. With the proclamation by John that a ‘mightier’ eschatological figure is soon coming, the readers of Mark’s Gospel are quickly introduced to Jesus. Here again, the characters in the story are not led on the same journey of anticipation or discovery as the readers of the Gospel are. Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan, imbued with the Spirit, and a voice from heaven declares that Jesus is ‘my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Mk 1:10). Yet little additional information is offered, and no formal commissioning is given to Jesus. Instead, the Spirit drives him into the wilderness, and while there, he is tempted by Satan and ministered to by angels.
Unlike Matthew and Luke, or even John, the author of Mark offers nothing about Jesus’ lineage, family heritage, or pre-existence. For Mark, the priority from the beginning is on who Jesus is, his ministry, and his death. To properly interpret this micro-narrative, these two sections must be treated together.
In Mark’s account of the baptism the vision of the heavens being opened and the voice that speaks from heaven is a private affair. Only Jesus, in the story, is privy to this revelation. Again, the reader is given the ‘inside scoop’ about who Jesus is. The reader is aligned with Jesus, God himself, and the narrator as those who are to be considered ‘in the know’. This alignment continues throughout Mark’s narrative.
The transitional phrase found in Mark 1:9, ‘in those days’, indicates a departure from a focus on the ministry of John the Baptist, to the ministry of Jesus. The context of Mark 1:2 makes it clear that Jesus was the ‘Lord’ referred to, and thus, his appearance on the scene is permeated by expectation and anticipation. As Collins notes, ‘The statement that Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan provides narrative continuity’ (Collins 2007:148). It is not explicitly stated in the text, but it is implied that the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan is the fulfillment of John’s prediction in Mark 1:7 that a ‘mightier’ one is coming. Rather than explicitly stating the fulfillment, it is left to the reader to ‘discover it for themselves’ (Gundry 1993:47). The order in Greek is also significant here. The words ‘in the Jordan’ precede ‘John’ and further demonstrate that the focus has shifted from John the Baptist – the one who stands in the prophetic tradition of the Hebrew prophets – to Jesus, the divine Messiah. Add to this Marcus’ point that, in this micro-narrative, Jesus becomes the subject of all the main verbs, and it becomes clear that the character of John is quickly and deliberately being eclipsed by Jesus (Marcus 2000:163).
Additionally, the Greek of Mark 1:9, ‘Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις ἦλθεν Ἰησοῦς’, would likely have been familiar to the readers of Mark’s Gospel. Parrallels to this abound in the Hebrew Scripture (cf. Ex 2:11; Jdg 18:31) and, as Marcus notes, the phrase has an eschatological essence as well because ‘in those days’ indicates an eschatological period that was referred to by the prophets (Jr 31:33; Jl 3:1) (Marcus 2000:163).
Mark 1:10-11 describe the details of Jesus’ baptism by John: ‘Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him and a voice came out of the heavens: ‘You are my beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased’. At this point in the story, the narrator, the Hebrew Bible, and John the Baptist have all spoken in unity that Jesus is the Son of God; now the author recruits God himself to reinforce this claim. The voice from heaven reiterates what the narrator begun the Gospel with. Mark 1:10 is the first usage by Mark of his well-used ‘εύθύς’.92 It propels the story forward in dramatic fashion. Mark does not allow the reader to have even a moment’s pause or tension. He refuses to allow his audience to wonder or questionwhether the lofty claims about Jesus are to be accepted as authoritative or not because ‘immediately’ God adds his endorsement.
Coming up out of the water, the heavens are ‘torn open’ – a dramatic verb (σχιζομένους) used only here and in Mark 15:38. Both Matthew and Luke choose a less dramatic word in ‘open’ (ἀνοίγω), and Collins notes that this is the word most commonly used in ‘theophanic, epiphanic, or revelatory’ situations (Collins 2008:148; see also Mann 1986:200). In Matthew’s rendering, the second person pronoun ‘you’ is changed to the demonstrative ‘this is’. The agreement of Matthew and Luke against Mark may be due to their being aware of a pre-Markan oral formulation or it may be simple happenstance (Stein 2008:57). What can be understood from Mark’s rendering here is that he is deliberately attempting to frame the baptism in an eschatological framework.
Regarding the phrase ‘the Spirit descending on him like a dove’ (Mk 1:10), coming to grips with the exact meaning of the text is difficult. The ‘Spirit’, as Bultmann (1951:251) has noted, is most often indefinite in its usage, but this usage is not absolute, as has been demonstrated by finds at Qumran (Stein 2008:57). An additional argument against Bultmann’s assertion is that the definite ‘Holy Spirit’ or ‘The spirit’ are referred to in the verses that precede (Mk 1:8) and follow (Mk 1:12) the baptism-narrative. This, coupled with the fact that the Spirit came ‘from heaven’, make it hard to avoid the conclusion that Mark is likely meaning ‘the Holy Spirit’, as opposed to meaning ‘one’s inner spirit’ or something akin to ‘unclean spirit’. Second, the complication is compounded because the simile of the dove is difficult to understand. The simile is present in all four Gospels.
Additionally, the apocalyptic nature of the word ‘like’ in Mark 1:10 is an aspect that must feature into our interpretation. It has been noted that ὡς occurs more often in Revelation than any other book (Marcus 2000:159). So why did Mark include the reference to the dove? Perhaps it was simply part of the tradition that he received (Stein 2008:57). Another view is that the dove is being contrasted with the Roman eagle. This is keeping with the trajectory that the narrator started in 1:1 of simultaneously teaching about Jesus and demonstrating the disjunction between he and Rome. This view argues that since the Roman World esteemed the eagle, Mark is here depicting Jesus as a ‘counter-emperor’ (Van Eck 2013:7 quoting Peppard 2010:450). In the end, no clear parallel exists that helps in the interpretation of the dove simile. Guelich summarizes the point well, ‘The absence of clear precedent for identifying the dove symbolically with the Spirit, despite the extensive literary use of the dove in ancient literature … makes any symbolic explanation of the dove’s role in the pericope … tenuous at best’ (Guelich1989:33).
THE TEMPTATION
The next instance in which the title ‘Son of God’ occurs in Mark is in Mark 3:11. However, to jump from the baptism to the third chapter is to commit the ‘word-concept’ fallacy. Just because the word ‘Son of God’ does not appear in the intermittent verses, does not mean that concepts, themes, or motifs surrounding sonship are not present. There is much inthe passage in between that will illumine the present study. Take, for example, the temptation narrative. Since the opening verses in Mark leave open the Jesus-asrepresentative Israel, and since Israel was commonly known and referred to as God’s Son, a corporate story line (of Israel) may be being applied to the life of Jesus.
Mark introduces his short temptation narrative with ‘immediately’ (εύθύς), thus creating a close link with the baptism account that preceded it (Stein 2008:62). There are a number of significant differences between Mark’s account and the way the temptation narrative is rendered in Matthew and Luke (see Gundry 1993:55). The same Spirit that Jesus would baptize with, and the same Spirit that came down as a dove from heaven now takes an active role in the story. The Spirit ‘drives’ (ἐκβάλλω) Jesus into the wilderness (ἔρημος) for forty days where he is with the ‘wild animals’.96 Mark’s use of the term wilderness is interesting. In indicates the barren places that God is now invading and bringing life to.97 First, a voice is heard in the ‘wilderness’ (Mk 1:3), then a voice preaches in the ‘wilderness’ (Mk 1:4), then God’s voice is heard in the ‘wilderness’ (Mk 1:11; Jordan area where John was baptizing), then Jesus is ‘driven’ out into the ‘wilderness’ to be tested. The desert appears five times in the first 13 verses of Mark. The ‘wilderness’ cannot be any real defined geographical place for Mark since Jesus goes from wilderness to wilderness. The narrator has already indicated that John was baptizing in the wilderness, and right after Jesus was baptized he leaves that region, called the ‘wilderness’ to go to the ‘wilderness’.
The LXX renders ἔρημος 241 of 345 occurrences of י וֹדֽ רְִָ . There is a two-fold understanding of the ‘desert’ in the Old Testament. It is the place where God often reveals himself, and the place where demons and evil spirits threaten humans; it is at once a place of revelation and a place of desolation. Examples abound of God revealing himself to humans in the wilderness (1 Ki 19:4-6; Ex 3:1). Likewise, the desert is also the place of danger (Dt 8:15; Nm 21:4-9). This same understanding about the nature of the desert is found in the writers of the Synoptics. Through Mark’s account of the baptism and temptation of Jesus, we see both of the elements in play. God reveals from heaven that Jesus is his Son in the desert (Mk 1:11). Next, Jesus is tempted by demonic forces in the desert (Mk 1:13). What is curious about the temptation narrative is the way in which it is not essentially Satan against God (with Jesus in the fray), but rather is effectively Satan against Jesus. The cosmic struggle between good and evil pits God’s Son against the arch evil-one, Satan. As God’s Messiah and Son, Jesus is his representative and does battle with God’s enemies, just as he fulfills God’s mission.
Chapter 1 Introducing a Narrative Critical Approach to ‘Son of God’ in Mark
1.1 SETTING THE STAGE: INTRODUCTION
1.2 FORM CRITICISM AND THE EVANGELIST AS ‘AUTHOR’
1.3 REDACTION CRITICISM AND WREDE’S MESSIANIC SECRET
1.4 SOCIAL-SCIENTIFIC CRITICISM
1.5 NEW LITERARY CRITICISM AND THE NEW TESTAMENT
1.6 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH OF THESIS
1.6 THESIS STATED AND EXPLAINED
Chapter 2 Legitimacy of a Narratological Approach to Mark
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 NARRATIVE CRITICISM HISTORY
2.3 SOURCE CRITICISM AND LITERARY RELATIONSHIP
2.4 AUDIENCE OF A GOSPEL: NARROW COMMUNITY OR ALL CHRISTIANS? OR BOTH?
2.5 GENRE
2.6 A BROAD VIEW OF GENRE
2.7 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
Chapter 3 Placing ‘Son of God’ in History, Research, and Context
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 SON OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
3.3 SON OF GOD AND DEAD SEA SCROLLS
3.4 SON OF GOD AND HELLENISM
3.5 SON OF GOD AND ROMAN IMPERIAL CULT
3.6 SON OF GOD IN PAULINE LITERATURE
3.7 SON OF GOD AND SYNOPTICS
3.8 SON OF GOD IN JOHN
3.9 CONCLUSION
Chapter 4 Son of God in Mark
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 OVERVIEW OF MARK’S GOSPEL
4.3 MARK’S INCIPIT AND FOUNDATION
4.4 MARK 1:11: THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
4.5 THE TEMPTATION
4.6 MARK 3:11: THE SON OF GOD AND THE DEMONIACS
4.7 MARK 5:7: JESUS, SON OF THE MOST HIGH
4.8 NARRATIVE ASSESSMENT OF MARK 1:1-8:27
4.9 TRANSITION POINT IN MARK’S GOSPEL
4.10 MARK 9:2-10: THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE SON OF GOD
4.11 MARK 12:1-11: THE PARABLE OF THE TENANTS
4.12 MARK 12:35: ‘WHOSE SON IS THE CHRIST?’
4.13 MARK 13:32: ‘NOT EVEN THE SON’
4.14 MARK 14:36: ‘ABBA FATHER’
4.15 MARK 14:61: ‘ARE YOU THE SON OF THE BLESSED’
4.16 MARK 15:39: SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS – ‘TRULY THIS MAN WAS SON OF GOD!’
4.17 CONCLUSION
Chapter 5 A synchronic approach to Son of God theology in Mark
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 IMPLIED READER AND MARK’S POINT OF VIEW
5.3 IMPLIED AUTHOR: THE DEVELOPING OF A POINT OF VIEW
5.4 STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF MARK’S NARRATIVE
5.5 THE RHETORIC OF DEFAMILIARIZATION
5.4 CONCLUSION: OPPOSITION, MISUNDERSTANDING AND ALLEGIANCE RESOLVED
Chapter 6 Concluding thoughts and reflections
6.1 METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW
6.2 SUMMARY OF POINT OF VIEW IN MARK AND THE RHETORIC OF ALLEGIANCE TO JESUS SON OF GOD
6.3 ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
6.4 AREAS OF FUTURE STUDY
6.5 FINAL REMARKS
Works Consulted
