Karl Matthias Schmidt
Wege des Heils
Erzählstrukturen und Rezeptionskontexte des Markusevangeliums
1. Edition 2010
609 pages
ISBN 978-3-525-53395-6
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus/Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments (NTOA/StUNT) -
plus S&H
Book
The book locates the Gospel of Mark between Vespasian’s seizure of power and a dispute about the role of the gentiles in the Christian community. In the first chapter, the author argues that a particular reading of the Gospel is necessary to comprehend the specific narrative structure. He shows that Mc 1.35–45 should be viewed as part of the Easter narrative. The apparently abrupt end and unusual structures of the Gospel thus reflects the idea that having reached the end of the text does not imply having finished reading it. Rather, the reader has to go back to the beginning. In this way, Mark broaches the issue of the gentiles’ community membership in the context of Jesus’ life. Starting from the observation that an excluded leper represents the paschal community, the second chapter asks whether the expulsion of a Christian community by the Jews triggered the dispute about the role of the gentiles. The third chapter concludes the book by relating the story of Jesus to the triumph of the gentiles over the Jews, as it is represented in contemporary narratives of Vespasian.
