INTRODUCTION. THE SOURCES OF THE GOSPEL. A. S. MARK. 1. ALMOST the entire substance of the second Gospel has been transferred to the first. The only omissions of any length are the following: (a) Mk 123-28 Healing of a demoniac. (b) 135-39 Preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. 426-29 Parable of the seed growing secretly. 732-87 Healing of a deaf man. 822-26 Healing of a blind man. 988-40 The exorcist. 1241-44 The widow and her alms. 2. But in 3-1358 the editor makes a good deal of alteration in the order of Mk.'s sections. The following table will exhibit this. Passages enclosed in square brackets are interpolations into Mk.'s narrative: [4. Birth and Infancy of the Messiah. 1. 2.] B. Preparation for His ministry. (1) 31-12 Mk 11-8. [7-10. 12] (2) 318-17 Mk 19-11 [14-15] (3) 41-11 Mk 112-13 [3-11a] 1353-58. Mk 319b-21. The alteration of order here shown is not arbitrary nor without reason, but is due to the scheme upon which the editor is building up this first part of his Gospel In 31-417 he has matter parallel to Mk 11-15 with considerable additions. It may be doubted whether he is here borrowing from another source, or whether he is borrowing from Mk. and expanding his narrative by additions, either from oral tradition, or from a second written source. 418-22 comes from Mk 116-20 Mk 121. The editor then comes to He has already (418) anticipated the mention of Capharnaum,1 and can therefore omit Mk 121a. Mk 121b speaks of teaching in the synagogue. Here, therefore, is an opportunity of inserting an illustration of Christ's teaching, which is to be followed by an illustrative group of His miracles. As an introduction to these two sections of illustration, the editor substitutes for Mk 121 a general sketch of Christ's activity (423-25), using for this purpose phraseology borrowed from various parts of the second Gospel. The reason why he places his illustration of Christ's teaching before that of His miracles is no doubt to be found in Mk 122, which describes the effect produced by that teaching on the people. The editor therefore inserts the Sermon on the Mount between Mk 121 and 22, and closes it with this latter verse. Thus: 423-25 are substituted for 5-727 are inserted. 728-29 = Mk 121. 122. The editor now proposes to give illustrations of Christ's miracles. The next five sections in Mk. are: 123-28 The demoniac. 129-81 Peter's wife's mother. 132-34 Healing the sick. We therefore expect the editor to begin his series of illustrations with the narrative of the demoniac, but he omits this altogether, and, passing over Mk 182-89, continues with Mk 140-45 the healing of the leper: 81-4 Mk 140-45 It is not easy to account for the omission of Mk 123-28, and for the transposition of 40-45. The following reasons may have co operated to produce them: (a) Mt. has omitted the reference to Capharnaum (Mk 121), and has adapted Mk 122 to an entirely different situation. But still he might have inserted a statement of an entry into Capharnaum to form a link between the Sermon and the healing of the demoniac. (b) The incident of the leper is recorded by Mk. without any detail of time or place, after a verse which states that Christ "came preaching in their synagogues throughout the whole of Galilee." It is therefore not unnatural to place the healing of the leper after the Sermon, which may be taken as illustrative of this synagogue preaching. (c) Leprosy was perhaps the most dreaded of all bodily The Kaτwknσe of 418 implies that Capharnaum will henceforth be the headquarters of Christ's ministry. ailments in Palestine, and its cure forms a fitting introduction to a series of three healings of disease. (d) The reason why, after inserting the healing of the leper, the editor did not continue with that of the demoniac, may have been that he wished to form a series of three healings of disease, and that in the Church tradition the healing of the centurion's servant was closely connected with the Sermon. Lk. has the same connection. (e) Moreover, there were features in the story of the demoniac which did not recommend it to the editor, features which Lk. found it desirable to modify. See below, p. xxxiii. After inserting Mk 140-45 and omitting 23-28, the editor inserts the healing of the centurion's servant, 85-13, and can then continue with Mk 129-31, thus forming a series of three healings of disease— leprosy, paralysis, fever. He closes the series with words borrowed from the succeeding verses of Mk 32-34, adding a quotation from Isaiah. Thus: 814 Mk 140-45 129-81 I 32-34 The next section in Mk. is 135-39. This would be out of place in a series of miracles, and is therefore omitted. Mk 140-45 has been already inserted. The editor, therefore, comes to Mk 21-22. This he postpones, perhaps because it occurred on a visit to Capharnaum different to that just described. By recording it here the editor would confuse the two visits. Mk 223-36 he reserves for a controversial section. 37-35 contain no miracle. 41-34 he reserves for his chapter of parables. He therefore comes to 485. Here Christ is surrounded by a crowd. The editor adapts this to his context: 818 inserts 819-22 = Mk 435, Mk 496-520. and then takes over Mk 486-520 with considerable omissions: In Mk 521 Christ returns to the western side of the lake. Mt. adds to this, that "He came to His own city": Mk 521a, Mk 21-22, and can then go back and borrow Mk 21-12 with its sequel 18-23: thus completing a second series of three miracles which illustrate Christ's power over natural forces (823-27), over the hostility of demons (28-34), and in the spiritual sphere (the forgiveness of sins, 91-8). The editor now postpones Mk 223-434 for the same reasons as before. He comes therefore to 522-48. This he abbreviates, and adds two other miracles, thus forming a third series of three miracles illustrating Christ's power to restore life, sight, and speech: 918-28 = Mk 529-43 Having thus given illustrations of Christ's teaching and miracles, the editor now proposes to show how this ministry found extension in the work of the disciples. He therefore postpones Mk 61-6a, and expands 6b into an introduction to this mission modelled on the similar introduction 423-25: There now follows a series of incidents illustrating the growth of hostility to Christ on the part of the Pharisees. For these the editor now goes back to Mk 223-28ff.: 121-8 = 129-14 Mk 223-28 1215-16 31-6. summarises 1217-21 inserted. 37-12 Having already borrowed Mk 318-19 he now comes to 19b-21 and 22-30. For this he substitutes a similar but longer discourse introduced by another miracle : I 222-45 enlarged from Mk 319b-30, 331-35 This brings him to Mk 4, which is a chapter of parables. The editor borrows this and adds other parables: As he has already inserted Mk 435-543 he now comes to Mk 61-6a : From this point the editor follows the order of Mk.'s sections. 3. The editor not infrequently abbreviates Mk.'s record. (a) Some examples of abbreviation in expression are given below on p. xxiv. (b) In other cases details are dropped from the narrative. 120 "with the hired servants." 129 "with James and John." 226 "in the days of Abiathar the high priest." b |