In this study of early Christian traditions, C. Clifton Black explores the figure and function of Mark, the apostolic associate to whom Christians traditionally have attributed authorship of the New Testament's anonymous Second Gospel and whose very existence has been a controversial issue among scholars. Black contends that in their justifiable doubt about Mark's writing of the Second Gospel, biblical scholars have neglected the development of that ascription as well as its religious motivations.
Using a variety of critical lenseshistorical, literary, and theologicalBlack examines the images of Mark that emerge from the New Testament and from the writings of the early church fathers. Black's comprehensive investigation culminates in a fresh appraisal of the relationship between the Gospel of Mark and the legends surrounding its composition. Black concludes that the figure of Mark was carefully crafted as a part of the interpretive framework within which early Christians read the Second Gospel and heard its witness as faithful to their understanding of Jesus. Like the Markan Gospel itself, the image of Mark the Evangelist helped the early church in the formation of its religious memory and theological identity.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction: The Quest for the Historical Mark?
A Maximal Reconstruction
A Minimalist Reconsideration
Some Critical Shifts
The Reconsideration Reconsidered
A Way to Proceed
Part I: Glimpses of Mark in the New Testament
Chapter One: The Wayward Attaché: Mark in the Acts of the Apostles
The Portrayal of Mark in Acts
Conclusion: John Mark in the Lukan Tradition
Chapter Two: A Beloved Junior Partner: Mark in New Testament LettersThe Pauline Tradition
The Petrine Tradition
Some Conclusions: The Different Portrayals of Mark in the New Testament
Part II: Portraits of Mark in Patristic ChristianityChapter Three: Lineaments of an Apostolic Author: The Figure of Mark in the Second Century
Some Orientative Observations
The Apostolic Fathers
Papias of Hierapolis
Justin Martyr
Toward the Century's End: Mark and His Gospel in Syria, Lyons, and Rome
Chapter Four: Sketches of an Apostolic Evangelist (I): The Figure of Mark in Western Christianity of the Third and Fourth CenturiesStumpy-Fingered but Apostolic: Mark in Rome and Western Europe
Defender of the Faith or Obedient Epitomizer?
Mark in North Africa
Chapter Five: Sketches of and Apostolic Evangelist (II): The Figure of Mark in Eastern Christianity of the Third and Fourth CenturiesAttendant to the Apostles: The Alexandrian Traditions
The Return of the Pauline Collaborator: The Syrian Traditions
An Imperfect Marriage: The Palestinian Traditions
Chapter Six: Gathering the Threads: A Patristic ConspectusPart III: The Second Gospel and Its Evangelist
Chapter Seven: The Second Gospel and the Traditions about Mark (I): Evangelical Author and Petrine Authority
The Evangelist Mark as Author
Mark and Peter
A Limited Warranty
Chapter Eight: The Second Gospel and the Traditions about Mark (II): Ubi et Unde?All Roads Lead to Rome?
Mark and Alexandria
Some Conclusions: The New Testament's Gospel and the Fathers' Evangelist
Conclusion: Mark the Evangelist: Some Reflections out of SeasonPersonification and Apostolicity
The Evangelists on Jesus and the Father on Mark: Some Procedural Similarities
Jesus and Mark as Biographical Subjects
Select BibliographyIndex of Biblical and Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Subjects
About the Author :
C. Clifton Black, the author of the Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections on the First, Second, and Third Letters of John, is Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. His other works include The Disciples According to Mark: Markan Redaction in Current Debate and Mark: Images of an Apostolic Interpreter. He is also the co-editor of Exploring the Gospel of John in Honor of D. Moody Smith and a founding editor of the New Testament Library.
