The Gospel of John begins with an open disclosure of Jesus’ person—“the word became flesh.” The Gospel of Mark, on the other hand, follows a different strategy. Mark has arranged his Gospel to reflect the struggle of the first disciples to grasp the identity of Jesus. They come face to face with a human being who claims divine authority and does what only the God of the OT can do. Then, when they begin to grasp his uniqueness, they are confronted with the necessity of his suffering and death. Mark invites his hearers to join the disciples in this journey of discovery.
Furthermore, recognizing Mark’s strategy facilitates clarity of interpretation. If one would accurately assess this Gospel’s Christology, its understanding of the OT, its relationship to the Christology of the rest of the NT, and its place in subsequent Christological development, one must interpret each passage in relation to its role within this overall plan.
First, then, this paper provides a careful analysis of Mark’s arrangement. This analysis is a fresh—and, in my judgment, convincing—synthesis of textual features acknowledged by many other scholars. [I have refined my analysis of Mark first presented in Gareth L. Cockerill, “The Invitation-Structure and Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark,” The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 3/1 (Winter 2015): 28–43.]
Next, this study interprets key features of important Christological passages (1:1–13; 2:1–12; 4:35–41; 5:1–20; 6:36–56; 8:27–30; 9:2–13; 10:17–22; 12:1–12; and 14:55–65) in relation to the role each passage plays within this overarching arrangement. Each passage is also interpreted in relation to the rich OT citations, allusions, and echoes fundamental to Mark’s Christology.
I conclude that the Markan presentation of a human being who acts like God finds resolution in John’s “Word” who “became flesh.” In fact, the struggle of the disciples in Mark to grasp the identity of a human who claims divine authority, demands the loyalty due to God alone, and does what only God can do, is a sign post that points down the road to and finds resolution at Nicaea.
I interact extensively with the positions represented by Christology in Mark’s Gospel: 4 Views, edited by Anthony Le Donne. I also explore ideas fundamental to my forthcoming book, The Jesus Question (Hendrickson, hopefully 2025). In fact, I’m proposing this paper with the hope that this book will benefit from the critical feedback that I receive! I’m submitting this paper to the Biblical Theology Study Section because this study not only analyzes Mark’s Christology, but locates that Christology in relation to the NT and later Christological developments. It also draws on the deep OT sources of Mark’s thinking. Thank you for considering this proposal.