<a190's summary: lgsites@mindspring.com states that there is no evidence
that the miracle stories were written before the "mass extermination" of
Jerusalem in the 70s.">
>KIRBY
<a190's summary: Peter Kirby gives evidence for his belief that the stories
of Jesus as a miracle worker evolved after his death.>
There is certainly no doubt in my mind that the stories *evolved* after his
death. Following JD Crossan (_The Historical Jesus_), I suspect the healing
and exorcism stories *originate* in Jesus' ministry. As with Tolkien's
_Lord of the Rings_, "the tale grew in the telling". Crossan presents a
naturalistic interpretation of how such stories may have originated.
>Another indication is the silence that Jesus is reported to have commanded to
>some of those whom he cured. For example, after curing a leper, Jesus is
>said to have done the following: "And he sternly charged him, and sent him
>away at once, and said to him, 'See that you say nothing to any one...'"
>(Mark 1:43-44). If rumors of miraculous powers circulated about Jesus after
>his death, and if people complained that they were unaware of this power
>while Jesus was alive, here was an explanation: the miracles were unknown
>because Jesus had commanded silence. "The silence repeatedly enjoined on
>these occasions," writes Loisy, "was the explanation, naive enough, but
>indispensable, of why...[the miracles] had not been heard of before." (Loisy,
>_Origins of the New Testament_, p. 80).
Norman Perrin has a more persuasive explanation of the messianic secret,
IMHO. (Norman Perrin & Dennis C. Dulling, _The New Testament: An
Introduction_. 2nd Ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1982.)
According to Perrin, form critical analysis of the miracle stories in
Mark show that they are older than the commandment to silence
(p.234). The entire reason that one collects miracle stories in the
first place (in the 1st century Hellenistic world) is to prove that
the doer of miracles is a Divine Man (p.247). The command to silence
works against this and, presumably, reveals part of the Marcan
theological agenda.
Perrin believes that Mark's gospel was written in an environment where
people were claiming that they were the risen Christ (p.241). As with
the Apostle Paul, so too - albeit using different tools - "Mark" seeks
to cool them off.
He refuses to let anyone "understand" Jesus or use Christological
language to talk about Jesus until he has completed his program of
re-interpreting that symbol through use of the suffering Son of Man.
Perrin points out that it is only at the trial, where the High Priest
explicitly
"challenges Jesus as 'Christ, the Son of the Blessed,' i.e.,
Son of God (14:61), thus bringing together the two titles
that have been separately juxtaposed with Son of Man earlier
in the gospel. Jesus accepts the titles (14:62), thus
formally abandoning the messianic secret by using 'I am,'
which is a formula of self-identification for deities,
divine men, and redeemers in the Hellenistic
world..."(p.253)
The scene at the cross also relates to the messianic secret.
"The ... verse (15:39) is also very important to Mark, for
the centurion's confession of Jesus as Son of God is the
climax of Mark's christological concern. It is the first and
only confession of Jesus by a human being in the gospel that
is not immediately corrected or reinterpreted, and the
reason is that after 14:62 the reinterpretation of a
confession of Jesus as Christ or Son of God by a use of Son
of Man is complete, the messianic secret is finally
revealed, and such a correct confession is now
possible. That a Roman centurion makes the confession
symbolizes Mark's concern for the Gentiles, also to be seen
in his reference to Galilee (14:28 and 16:7)" (p.254)
At any rate, it's a thought.
>
>Cheers,
>Peter #16
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Bill
a190@lehigh.edu (Bill Bekkenhuis) Myers-Briggs (INFX)
http://www.lehigh.edu/~a190/a190.html (Updated 6/17/97)
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