Nathan Eubank, «Dying with Power. Mark 15,39 from Ancient to Modern Interpretation», Vol. 95 (2014) 247-268
This article examines the reception-history of Mark 15,39 to shed new light on this pivotal and disputed verse. Mark's earliest known readers emended the text to clarify the centurion's feelings about Jesus and to explain how the centurion came to faith. Copyists inserted references to Jesus' final yell around the same time that patristic commentators were claiming that this yell was a miracle that proved Jesus' divinity, an interpretation which was enshrined in the Byzantine text and the Vulgate. The article concludes that a 'sarcastic' reading is a more adequate description of 15,39 as found in B, NA28 etc.
05_Eubank_247_268 15/07/14 12:19 Pagina 259
DYING WITH POWER 259
In the Gospel of Peter the centurion sees the risen Jesus striding
forth from the tomb before he makes his confession. Similarly,
manuscripts of every text type apart from the Alexandrian say that
the centurion saw Jesus die while giving a great shout.
Rather than rewriting the text, patristic, medieval, and modern
commentators have sought to find an explanation for the centu-
rion’s belief 35. Until the advent of modern textual criticism, most
texts indicated that it was in fact Jesus’ dying yell that impressed
the centurion; so it is not surprising that most pre-modern commen-
tators have read Mark accordingly. Interestingly, many modern ex-
egetes have persisted in assuming the centurion saw something
magnificent, either Jesus’ dying yell, the rending of the temple cur-
tain, or even a demon flying out of Jesus.
All of these interpretations, however, have significant weak-
nesses. I have already noted the problems with Danker’s exorcism
theory. The miraculous yell theory has in its favor the fact that Mark
draws our attention to Jesus’ dying breath: ou[twj evxe,pneusen in v.
39 pellucidly refers back to evxe,pneusen in v. 37, and this could in-
clude the “great shout” that Jesus released as he died. Nevertheless,
this theory seems to be based more on Johannine notions of Jesus’
equanimity and power than on a careful reading of Mark. Those
who argue that the centurion witnessed the rending of the temple
curtain claim that Mark may not have been familiar with
Jerusalem’s topography, while ignoring the fact that Mark gives no
indication the centurion saw any such thing. Rather, as just noted,
Mark draws our attention to Jesus’ dying breath. But how could
Jesus’ dying breath prompt the centurion’s response if not by its
miraculous strength 36?
35
This description introduces a somewhat artificial distinction between
ancient copyists and interpreters of Mark. I retain this language for the sake
of convenience, but, as this very discussion shows, the tasks of copying and
interpreting Mark were intertwined.
36
One might argue that the darkness is supposed to convince the centurion
that Jesus was a son of a god. It would have been seen by everyone and could
be plausibly included as part of how Jesus died. Nevertheless, the flow of
15,33-39 weighs against this reading. Confusion and mockery surround Jesus
even after the three hours of darkness (see vv. 35-36).