Mark Jennings, «The Fourth Gospel’s Reversal of Mark in John 13,31‒14,3», Vol. 94 (2013) 210-236
I argue that the author/s of the Fourth Gospel knew Mark, based on the reversal of certain Markan themes found in John. No attempt is made here to suggest the kind of literary dependence which is the basis of the Synoptic problem. Rather, my thesis is that the author/s of John may have used Mark from memory, writing deliberately to reverse the apocalyptic tendencies found in the Second Gospel. Isolated incidents of this possible reversal demonstrate little, but this paper proposes that the cumulative force of many such reversals supports the thesis of John's possible knowledge of Mark.
232 MARK JENNINGS
3. Similarities and Differences
The common elements of John 14,1-3 and Mark 13,24-27 and
13,1-2 are identified as follows:
– Jesus himself relates to his followers what will happen.
– Jesus was to leave (implied in Mark, explicit in John), but he would
one day return.
– When he returned, he would take to himself a faithful group. This
group was to expect his return and to live according to his teach-
ings in the interim.
– The enigmatic motif of “My Father’s houseâ€, the heavenly dwelling
Jesus will take his followers to, appears in John. Mark reports Jesus’
predicting the destruction of the temple. In both evangelists, this
theme is connected to the return of Jesus.
We will examine 1 through 3 under the broad heading “The Return
of Jesusâ€. Following this, we will discuss the way in which the two
evangelists use the temple and “My Father’s house†in the narrative.
a) The Return of Jesus
The Parousia is central in both John 14,3 and Mark 13,24-27.
However, the two evangelists describe this event in very different
ways. The Markan language is apocalyptic. Mark emphasises the
epoch-ending advent of the Son of Man, who comes to display his
glory and to vindicate himself and his followers. The consumma-
tion of the Kingdom of God, ruled by the exalted Son of Man, is
the climax of the discourse. The gathering of the elect is significant
in that the elect will participate in the new Kingdom.
In contrast, John 14,3 is bare of any apocalyptic references. The
glorification of Jesus, and thus the commencement of God’s glori-
ous reign, takes place for John in the cross/resurrection/return to
the Father, and thus does not await future fulfilment. The Parousia,
on the other hand, is a future event for John, but it is described in
simple language as a reunion, emphasising the simple fact that
Jesus and his followers will be together. This is the ultimate goal
for John 89: it is this reunion which makes the Parousia significant.
LOADER, Christology, 55.
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