Who Will See “The Kingdom of God Coming with Power” 21 is to offer such a reading by drawing prior attention to the group(s) which will experience (“see”) “the kingdom of God coming with power”, first in 9,1 and then in 13,26 and 14,62. When the apocalyptic language in Mark 9,1 — which can certainly in and of itself convey both judgment and vindication — is subjected to this perspective in reading, the bystanders emerge as antagonists, with which the audience would not have identified, and the prediction of “the kingdom coming with power” emerges as a threat of divine judgment. In support of this reading it is argued that (1) the bystanders in 9,1 are in a synonymous relationship with those who are threatened by Jesus in 8,38, (2) the only other similar apocalyptic events of the manifestation of divine power (duvnami") in 13,26 and 14,62 are likewise expected to be “seen” by the story’s antagonists, and (3) similar apocalyptic events in early Judaism were expected to be “seen” by antagonists. 1. The Ashamed and the Bystanders: A Synonymous Parallelism Between Mark 8,38 and 9,1 One of the questions which necessarily arises in any narrative reading of Mark 9,1 concerns its relationship to the immediate context. Should Mark 9,1 be read as the conclusion of a pericope or as the beginning of the Transfiguration account (3)? In addressing this question, redaction critics have rightly focused much of their attention on the editorial formula kai; e[legen aujtoi'". While 9,1 may have at one time been an isolated unit, I follow the lead of those critics who argue that the formula is more closely connected to 8,38 than to 9,2 on the basis that kai; e[legen aujtoi'" is used elsewhere in Mark to conclude and to preserve the salient point of a larger discourse (4). In addition, J.D. Crossan has convincingly argued that 8,34-9,1 must be regarded as a (3) Very few argue that 9,1 stands alone as a sole vignette in the final redaction. E.g. L. OBERLINNER, “Die Stellung der ‘Terminworte’ in der eschatologischen Verkündigung des Neuen Testaments”, Gegenwart und kommendes Reich. Festschrift S. Anton Vögtle (ed. P. FIEDLER – D. ZELLER) (SBB; Stuttgart 1975) 63. (4) Of the eleven other occurrences, kai; e[legen aujtoi'" functions as a link which connects the preceding material. See 2,27a; 4,2b.11.21.24; 6,4.10; 7,9; 8,21; 9,31; 11,17. See, for example, E. TROCMÉ, ‘Marc 9,1: prédiction ou réprimande?’ SE 2 (1964) 260-264. This connection is also found in modern Greek New Testament editions (e.g. WESTCOTT – HORT, UBSGNT 1-4, NESTLE- ALAND 26th and 27th).