michael wellenberg

There is the opinion that Jesus is described in the gospels as a divine being.
I wonder if this is true for Mark. At least 10:18 (“Why do you call me good ? No one is good apart from God.”) makes me doubt this.

But what about the designation Son of God ? Is it Mark´s prefered title exhibiting his view of Jesus´ identity ? And what does it mean for Mark ?

It does stand in prominent position : in the introduction (1:1), in the baptism (1:11) and transfiguration (9:7) scenes, and under the cross in the confession of the Roman centurion (15:39).
Further it is found in the mouth of unclean spirits (3:11 ; 5:7), and of the High Priest (14:61), and implicitly in 12:6.

To begin with the introduction, Son of God is absent in some manuscripts. Thus it seems reasonable to ask whether it were not added in the others rather than being omitted, especially in this case.

Perhaps there is still another argument to be found in the exact wording. It is at least remarkable that in most cases, when Son of God occurs, the definite articles appear both with Son and with God. 3: 11 ho huios tou theou ; 5:7 iesou huie tou theou ; 1:11 and 9:7 ho huios mou ; 14:61 ho huios tou eulogetou.
Only in 1:1 (huiou theou) and 15:39 (huios theou) articles are missing. Is this significant that these occurences do not originate from Mark ? (They are at least not found in Matthew and Luke).

In 3:11 and 5:7 Son of God is uttered by unclean spirits, in the latter case even called Legion. Is it likely that Mark uses demons, even pagan demons (Legion) to express the appropriate title of Jesus ? If it is not, then this casts an additional shadow upon the pagan centurion´s use of Son of God, and even leads one to consider whether Mark have a negative attitude towards this title.

The remaining instances (1:11 ; 9:7 ; 12:6 ; 14:61) could imply deification but may also be understood as Messianic titles referring to 2 Samuel 7:15-16 or Psalms 2:7. Especially in the mouth of the High Priest an implication of a divine status of Jesus sounds not very probable.

Does anyone like to make comments on this issue ?

Michael

Joan of Bark

According to E.P. Sanders in his book about the HJ, all Jews considered themselves to be "sons of God".