Author Archives: pchapman@uoregon.edu

Team 3, Question 1

Posted on by under john

The synoptic gospels are all similar compared to the Gospel of John. Some themes in John that stand out include: Jesus is the word of God (which is not found in any other Gospel) and the creator of the universe (1:1-5).

Many more examples in John are unique only to John: The story of Jesus turning water into wine, Jesus resurrecting Lazarus, long discourses and dialogue, specifically that with which he converses with Nicodemus (3:1-21).

Another interesting deviation is the lack of the messianic secret. Jesus doesn’t appear to hide his abilities; rather, he seems to demonstrate them as an example of who he is and his capabilities.

Jesus has a lot of “I am” statements as well. The latter verses in John in which these “I am” statements occur appear to reinforce how he is great and powerful rather than the Savior of Man, like he is portrayed in Mark. John seems to be creating a narrative in which serves to illustrate how Jesus wants people to know he’s the messiah. This is in contrast to Mark where he tells others to not reveal his coming, and is seen he denying those who ask for an example of his power or messianic status. They are then used as examples of those who do not have enough faith God.

Although, in John we see Jesus actively recruiting persons to his cause through demonstrations of power from God and performances of miracles shown as:

 

Changing water into wine in John 2:1-11 – “the first of the signs”

Healing the royal official’s son in Capernaum in John 4:46-54.

Healing the paralytic at Bethesda in John 5:1-15.

Feeding the 5000 in John 6:5-14.

Jesus’ walk on water in John 6:16-24.

Healing the man born blind in John 9:1-7.

Team 3: Question 1

Posted on by under mark

Two miracle stories in Mark act as bookends which work to provide insight into Mark’s view of Jesus. This Jesus is different from the Jesus that was understood by the disciples previously. This starts with Jesus healing a blind man and ends with him healing a different blind man. Mark is giving us an important view into the identity of Jesus. Mark uses this inclusio, and the verses between, as an attempt to reveal who Jesus really is. He is not a just a Messiah, nor just a “Son of Man” or even “Son of God”, but is all of these. Mark’s representation of Jesus’ in chapters 8-10 in which his suffering is made apparent, paints Jesus as the antithesis of the traditional Jewish and Roman view of “Sons of Gods” or “Divine Men”.

The inclusio here is depicting Jesus as different from other divine men. This is done in a number of ways. Mark’s narrative of Jesus in this section records instances of passion predictions and miracles, yet it is written that Jesus wanted the witnesses to keep quiet. Mark’s readers are therefore guided to understand the true identity of Christ as a new age Messiah.

The first miracle of the inclusio is said by some scholars to be a metaphor for the way that disciples and other persons in the Gospel of Mark see Jesus. They partially understand who he is, but not completely. In 8:22, a man is healed (not fully) by Jesus when Jesus spits in his eyes. Then he is fully healed when Jesus covers his eyes a second time. White argues that this is an allegory about how the disciples misunderstand Jesus as Messiah. They can only see parts of Christ, but not him in his entirety.

Mark proceeds to move through several verses in which explain the “true nature” of Jesus as a new messiah. Mark depicts this new messiah as being different from Roman and Jewish tradition. Mark’s Jesus is only fully understood by certain characters in the story — frequently women.  These people are then rewarded by Christ as “models of faith” (White). He delights in the women in the story who show examples of unfaltering service and faith. Jesus defends the woman who washes his feet with oil — then — rebukes his doubting disciples.Whereas those in positions of power seem to only see parts of Jesus’ identity, never truly understanding who he is.

Marks passages ultimately help the reader to see a different picture of Jesus and what he is commanding. In 9:34-37 Jesus challenges the views of servants, and children by saying that the last will become first and that those who welcome children are welcoming God, too. This leads up to the last verse in Mark’s inclusio where another blind man is healed but this time Jesus says ” Go; your faith has made you well.” The Bible states that immediately the man regained his sight and followed him.

Throughout this passage, Jesus continuously rewards the faith of those he heals. Mark is creating a narrative in that not only is there a new Messiah, but the good news that Jesus comes to bring is that faith in him will not go without reward. It is written that Jesus’ rewards are available to the very bottom of society: gentiles, women, and children, homeless, etc. It appears that this may even be the focus and that the low-end of society receives Jesus and what he offers more easily than other members of society. Jesus has come to save the sick, poor, and marginalized as well as teach others to do the same. Ultimately Mark is depicting Jesus as a humble servant rather than a king — as many of the jews may have expected — or an almighty God as the Romans might have expected. Mark therein directs the audience to the conclusion that Jesus was more or less misunderstood.

TEAM 3, QUESTION 2

Posted on by under oral tradition

A. The Last Supper contains phrases in which show that it has been passed through the Greek-speaking community as well as the Jewish community. One in particular is the word “that”. In Scripting Jesus, L. Michael White, it is note worthy that in Greek oral tradition the word “that” is used as means to quote something. This suggests that what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians is likely to have been passed down from the oral tradition. Thus making it likely he has received this information from elsewhere. Although Paul’s account of the Last Supper is the earliest recollection of the event, it still shows an evolution of oral tradition (White, 114). The basic story of the Last Supper is consistent between the four Gospels in this way: Jesus’ body is compared to the loaf of bread, his blood is related to the cup; however, the wording and patterns vary between traditions of Jewish and Greek culture, therein White suggests that there are indeed subtle manipulations of the oral traditions that are present when comparing the phrasing in Mark and Matthew and Paul’s letters to Corinth. 

B. White suggests that the gospels have been narrativized by describing variation of word usage between the four gospels. It could be argued that these differences in the synoptics and Pauline writings are possibly just differences in writing styles. But there’s no denying that the specific usage of certain phrasing and words demonstrates how oral traditions of the Jewish culture was influenced by the Greek communities they were in proximity with. 

The time in which the Gospels were written correlates to unique phrasing that points to the possibility of the Gospel authors reading, editing, and incorporating new ideas and concepts from a previous Gospel or even previous oral tradition. It seems that White is pointing out a differing time period of each of these books, as well as recognizing the redaction of oral tradition. As these stories were shared, they continued to morph over time to fit in with the evolving cultural traditions within that society.

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