The Gospel of Mark belongs to a time and place quite different from the present, especially in the northern hemisphere. In these essays Adela Yarbro Collins shows how understanding the life and times in which Mark wrote enhances understanding of the Gospel.
This volume presents essays by Adela Yarbro Collins on the Gospel of Mark originally published between 1993 and 2021. The earlier ones were written while preparing to write the
Hermeneia commentary on Mark, published in 2007. The later ones reflect the author's continuing interest in the interpretation of this Gospel. Major foci of the collection are the genre of Mark and of the passion narrative, and the meaning of the death of Jesus. She approaches the portrayal of Jesus in Mark by analyzing a particularly striking miracle-story, the walking on the water; the title Son of God; Jesus's action in the temple; the messianic secret; and particular aspects of Jesus's Jewishness. Another important topic is the significance of the empty tomb, that is, how the author of Mark envisioned the resurrected life of Jesus. Clues to this are found in the cultural contexts in which the Gospel was written.
Table of contents:
1. Introduction
2. The Genre of Mark: Its Production and Models
2.1. Composition and Performance in Mark 13
2.2. Genre and the Gospels
3. The Characterization of Jesus in Mark: Identity and Deeds
3.1. Rulers, Divine Men, and Walking on the Water (Mark 6:45-52)
3.2. Mark and His Readers: The Son of God among Jews
3.3 Mark and His Readers: The Son of God among Greeks and Romans
3.4. Jesus's Action in Herod's Temple
3.5. Messianic Secret and the Gospel of Mark
3.6. What Sort of Jew is the Jesus of Mark?
4. The Passion Narrative
4.1. The Genre of the Passion Narrative
4.2. The Flight of the Naked Young Man
4.3. From Noble Death to Crucified Messiah
5. The Death of Jesus
5.1. Finding Meaning in the Death of Jesus
5.2. The Signification of Mark 10:45 among Gentile Christians
6. The Empty Tomb and Its Significance
6.1. The Empty Tomb and Resurrection according to Mark
6.2. Ancient Notions of Transferral and Apotheosis in Relation to the Empty Tomb Story in Mark
