Although Matthew is presented first, Mark was written first. And whoever Mark was he was a great writer!
“Mark’s story sounds true. Read it aloud; you cannot miss the “back to the wall” truth-telling tone. It is there in the first line, “Here begins the gospel of Jesus….” It is there in the transitions: “It happened at this time”, “After John had been arrested…”, “Very early next morning…”, “that evening after sunset…”, “When after some days he returned…”. It is there in the “facts”: “John was dressed in a rough coat of camel’s hair…and he fed on locusts and wild honey.” “So they opened up the roof over the place where Jesus was, and when they had broken through they lowered the bed on which the paralyzed man was lying.” The first gives us particulars that identify John and fix him forever in our literary history. The second draws upon an intimate knowledge of the beds and houses of that time and place. Mark also tells us that Jesus’s sanity was questioned, that he was misunderstood, dismissed, and ridiculed. What better way to convince readers of his overall veracity than to be specific and concrete with his examples? If this is propaganda let it be understood as first rate propaganda. Mark is an artist. Look at the beginning and ending of his story: the first image is one of flocks of people coming to John at the Jordan to be baptized, and the last image is the empty tomb. He opens with hundreds of people looking to be “saved,” searching for some meaning in their lives. And he ends with the promise signalled by the empty tomb. Could this image have within it the answer to the needs expressed by the flocks of people at the beginning? Mark gives us the hint, the mystery, and the fear: “They said nothing to anybody, for they were afraid.” The perfect ending for his story….” [RTB Chapter 11]
The current JBL is online now. Richard C. Miller’s essay “Mark’s Empty Tomb and Other Translation Fables in Classical Antiquity” shows parallels between gospel writers and other classical authors.
“He disappeared and was worshipped as a . . . god”: this is the statement recurring again and again throughout antiquity.
