Mark and His Readers: The Son of God

J*
gnoma ews

Adela YarbroCollins
Universityof Chicago

First,a few remarksabouttheaudienceof theGospelaccordingto Mark.This

studyis basedon thepremisethatMarkwasreadaloudin gatherings of Christians
in the latefirstandearlysecondcenturiesthatwerenotnecessarilyliturgicalin a
narrowsense.lFurther, thosewho listenedwerenotall equallycommittedto the
Christianfaithandprobablyassimilatedandinterpreted the instructionthatthey
receivedin variousways.2Somein the audience,even if theywerefamiliarwith
thePaulineunderstanding of Jesusas the Son of God,mayhavepreferred to de-
fine Jesus'divinesonshipin another,moretraditionally Jewishway,to be dis-
cussedbelow.Finally,even if the Gospelwas writtenprimarilyfor insiders,it is
likelythatcopieswereavailableto interestedorcriticaloutsiders.Celsus'sknowl-
edge of the Gospelsshowsthatthis happenedat leastby the secondhalf of the
secondcentury.3

*This article is based on the first of the two Clark Lectures that the author gave at the
Divinity School of Duke University in February, 1999, and the first of the two Clark/Horowitz
Lectures sponsored by the Religious Studies Department of Pomona College in October, 1999.
The second, "Markand His Readers: The Son of God among Greeks and Romans," will appear
in the second issue of vol. 93 of this journal. I am grateful to the faculties and administrations
of these institutions for their hospitality and stimulating conversation.
IHarry Y. Gamble, in his otherwise excellent book, seems to project a later liturgical
reading into the earlier period; idem, Booksand Readersin the Early Church:A Historyof
Early ChristianTexts(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), ch. 5, "The Uses of Early
Christian Books," 203-41.
2Onthe mixed characterof the audience, see David E. Aune, TheNewTestament in lts Literary
Environment (Library of Early Christianity; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1987) 59-60.
3For the evidence, see Gamble, Booksand Readers, 103, 286 n. 70.

HTR 92:4 (1999) 393-408

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394 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

Now, the specific subjectof this article.The meaningof the expression"Sonof

God" among Jews of the late Second Templeperiod is disputedtoday. JosephA.
Fitzmyertakesthe positionthatthereis nothingin the Old Testamentor in the pre-
ChristianPalestinianJewish traditionthat we know of to show that"Son of God"
had a messianic nuance before it was appliedto Jesus.4William Horburyargues
thattherewas a long-termcontinuityin mythicalaspectsfrom the Davidic king as
God's son to laterJewish expectationof a messiah.5I intendto addressthis ques-
tion by inferringhow those membersof Mark'saudience who were knowledge-
able aboutand preferredJewish traditionswould have understoodhis portrayalof
Jesus as God's son.
The received text of the Gospel accordingto Markopens with the words "The
beginningof the good news of JesusChrist,Son of God."It is likely thatthe words
"Son of God" were not partof the earliest form of this verse.6But a little further
on, Jesus is portrayednarrativelyas the Son of God when, as he is coming out of
the waterafterhis baptism,the voice from heaven declares,"Youare my beloved
son; I take delight in you" (Mark 1:11). This divine declarationevokes two pas-
sages from Israel'sscripture,Ps 2:7, in which God says to the king of Israel,"You
are my son," and Isa 42:1, in which God says, "Behold my servant,whom I up-
hold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights."7
As is well known, the addressof the king as God's son in Psalm 2 was partof
the ancientIsraeliteroyal ideology.8Despite the differencesbetween Israeliteno-
tions and institutionsrelatedto kingshipand those of the other nations of the an-
cient Near East, evidence survives that the fundamentaland central concept of
Israeliteroyal ideology was that the king of Israel was a superhuman,divine be-
ing. He is not only Yahweh'sson, as in Ps 2:7, but he himself is an Jelohzm,a god,
accordingto Ps 45:7 (45:6 in the RSV). According to Ps 110:3, God says to the
king, "Onholy mountains,from the womb of the rosy dawn, have I begotten you
like the dew."9This mythologicallanguagehas a range of potentialmeanings. In

4Joseph A. Fitzmyer, "4Q246: The 'Son of God' Document from Qumran1"Biblica 74

(1993) 153-74, esp. 170-74.
fWilliam Horbury JewisSlMessianismand the Cult of Christ(London: SCM, 1998) 23,
113. On p. 113 Horbury cites 2 Sam 7:14; 4Q174 (Florilegium)line 11; Ps 89:26-27 and
especially Ps 2:7. In an endnote to that passage, he also cites Ps. Sol. 17.23-24; Ps 110; 1 Esdr
13:6-7, 32, 35-38, 52; and lQSa=lQ28 ii 11-12 in n. 13 on p. 195.
6Adela Yarbro Collins, 'Establishing the Text: Mark 1:1," in Tord Fornberg and David
Hellholm, eds., Textsand Contexts:Biblical Textsin TheirTextualand SituationalContexts:
Essays in Honorof Lars Hartman(Oslo: Scandinavian University Press, 1995) 111-27.
7See the discussion in Joel Marcus, The Wayof the Lord:ChristologicalExegesis of the
Old Testamentin the Gospelof Mark(Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox, 1992) 50-53.
8See also Ps 89:26-27.
9The translation is from Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms60-150: A Commentary (Minneapo-
lis: Augsburg, 1989) 344; for discussion see p. 350.

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 Yarbro Col lins 395

Egypt such languagehad a metaphysicalsense.l° But in Babyloniantexts the idea

that the king was "born"of a certaingoddess or is the "son"of a certaingod is a
mythic expressionof the idea of election andof the close relationshipbetween the
king and the god thatelection establishes.llThe Canaaniteand Israelitenotions of
kingship were more similarto the Mesopotamianthanto the Egyptian.l2
Nathan'soracle contains similar language in which, concerningthe offspring
thatwill come forthfromDavid's body, God promises: "I will be his father,andhe
shall be my son" (2 Sam 7:14). It is not impliedthatthe child will be God's son in
any physical or metaphysicalsense. Rather,the text implies that God will adopt
David's son. The model from which the languagewas drawnwas the grantof land
or a "house"made by a king or a lord to a loyal vassal. Such grantswere perma-
nently established by making them patrimonial:that is, the vassal was adopted
legally by the lord.Here the establishmentof a "house"for David is legitimatedin
the same way. It is suggested that Israelis the patrimonialestate of David's fam-
ily.l3Anotherpassage in 2 Samuel suggests that God's adoptionof David's child
also involved a close relationship.When Bathshebabore a son she named him
Solomon,but"Yahwehloved him andsent instructionsthroughNathanthe prophet
thathe was to be called Jedidiah,"which means "belovedone of Yahweh"(2 Sam
-25).14

The Greektranslationof Ps 110:3 implies thatthe king, or the messiah, is pre-

existent and angel-like.lSThe Gospel of Mark,however,does not imply pre-exist-
ence. The implicationsof the Markantext are similarto the adoptiveand relational
connotationsof thetextsaboutSolomonin 2 Samuel.The allusionin Mark1:11to Isa
42:1, "I takedelightin you,"interpretsthe allusionto Ps 2:7, "Youare my son,"by
placingthe emphasison therelationshipof Jesusto God,presumablyone of election.
Similarly,the additionof the word"beloved"supportsa relationalinterpretation.
This line of reasoning was taken to an extreme by Hermann Samuel
Reimarus, who attacked the traditional dogmas of Christian faith, in the form
of the Protestant orthodoxy of his day, from the rationalist perspective of the
German Enlightenment and English Deism. As is well known, Gotthold
EphraimLessing published fragments of Reimarus's major work, AnApology
for the Rational Worshippersof God, from 1774 to 1778.l6 Alluding to the

°S. Mowinckel, He ThatCometh(1951; reprinted ET New York: Abingdon, 1955) 28-29.

Mowinckel, He ThatCometh,36.
See P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., ll Samuel(AB 9; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984) 207.
3McCarter, ll Samuel,207.
I4For the translation of these verses, see McCarter, ll Samuel,293. McCarter concludes
that Solomon was the king's private name and Jedidiah his throne name; ibid., 303.
l5Horbury, Jewish Messianismand the Cult of Christ,95-96.
16 The work as a whole has been published:GerhardAlexander, ed., ApologieoderSchutzschrift
fur die vernunftigenVerehrerGottes(2 vols.; Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1972); for an

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396 HARVARD THEOLOG ICAL REVIEW

story concerning the birth of Solomon (2 Sam 12:25), Reimarus claimed that
among the Hebrews the expression "son of God" meant nothing more than
"beloved of God (Jedidiah).''l7He also quoted four biblical passages in which
it is Israel as a whole that is described as God's son and argued that mere
human beings are called son of God "because God loves them, has pleasure in
them, shows them his graciousness, and protects them."'8The last of these
passages is especially interesting for our purposes, since it was written rela-
tively close in time to the date of the composition of Mark. In the Wisdom of
Solomon, the wicked are portrayed as saying "Let us oppress the righteous
poor man;''l9they propose to lie in wait for him because he opposes, reproaches,
and accuses them. They seem to be offended at the fact that the righteous poor
man claims to have knowledge of God and calls himself a tra I S KUp I OU, which
can be translated either as a " child of the Lord" or a "servant of the Lord"
(Wis 2:13). Most importantly for our purposes, the wicked protest that the
righteous boasts that God is his father.20This passage suggests that by the
first century CE it was typical for religious Jews to understandthemselves as
children of God and to address God as Father. Philo, however, restricts the
epithet to those who are good, outstanding, and wise.2l
That this usage goes back at least to the second century BCE iS confirmed by
Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach. This work contains a
prayerfor self-controlin which the speakeraddressesGod as "FatherandRulerof
my life" and"Fatherand God of my life."22The addressof God as Fatheris further
attestedby a fragmentaryHebrew narrativefrom Qumranthat was composed in
the first centuryBCE at the latest. This text portraysthe patriarchJoseph praying
"My Fatherand my God, do not abandonme to the hands of the nations."23 But
thereareelements of the accountof Jesus' baptismin Markthatindicatethathe is
not simply a righteousmanfavoredby God.WhenJesuscomes up out of the water
he not only hears a voice from heaven, he also sees the Spirit like a dove coming

English translation of the fragments published by Lessing, with an introduction and notes, see
Charles H. Talbert, ed., Reimarus. Fragments (Lives of Jesus series; 1970; reprinted Chico,
CA: Scholars Press, 1985) .
7 Talbert, Reimarus, 76-77.
l8Exod 4:22-23; Deut 1:31; Jer 31:9, 20; Wis 2:10, 12-13, 17, 18, 20; Talbert, Reimarus,
77-78.
l9 Wis 2: 10 (RSV).
20aAa(0VEUETal FaTEpa eEOV; Wis 2:16; see also 14:3.
21 See Eduard Schweizer, "uioc, uio0Eala, C.I.3," Philo, TDNT 8 (1972) 355-56.
22 Sir 22:27-23:6; citations from 23: 1, 4.
23 4Q371-72; the translation is from Geza Vermes, T}le Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in
EnglisSl (New York: Allen Lane/Penguin,1997) 530. See also 1QH 17:35; 3 Macc. 6.3,8; Tob
13:4. For further references and discussion, see Mary Rose D'Angelo, "Theology in Mark and
Q: Abba and 'Father' in Context," STR 85 (1992) 149-74, esp. 151-56.

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 Yarbro Colli ns 397

down to him from heaven (Mark 1:10). This endowmentwith the Spirit has pro-
phetic connotations.In the storyof how Elisha succeededElijah endowmentwith
the spiritsignifies installationinto the propheticoffice.24A similaridea is expressed
in Isa 42:1, a passage to which the divine voice in Mark 1:11 alludes, as we have
alreadynoted. In Isa 42:1, afterspeakingof the servantas God's chosen in whom
Godtakesdelight,Godthensays, ;'Ihaveputmy spirituponhim."Inthe Septuagint,
the servant is explicitly identified with Jacob and Israel in this verse; it is not
certainthatthe authorof Markwas familiarwith this reading,or, if he was, how he
interpretedit. It is clear from Isa 44:1-2 thatthe servantwas conceived originally
as the people of Israeltakencollectively. But the servantof the poems can also be
read as an anonymous propheticfigure.25The poem of Isa 61:1-11 portraysan
anonymousprophetwho is endowedwith the spiritof the LordGod.26In any case,
the descentof the spiritmay be understoodin light of Jewishtraditionas the initia-
tion of Jesus' activity as a prophet.27 It is by the spiritof the Lord thatthe prophet
is able to speak the truthregardingthe presentand the future.28
The descentof the SpirituponJesuson the occasionof his baptismby Johnalso
hasmessianicconnotations.By thetimeMarkwas wntten,some JewsunderstoodIsa
11:1-5 messianically.A passage in the Rale of the Commanityfrom Qumranex-
pressesthe expectationof an eschatologicalprophetand messiahsof Aaronand Is-
rael.29This messiahof Israelis probablythe eschatologicalDavidic king whose ar-
rival is predictedin othertexts from Qumran.For exarnple,a commentaryon the
Book of Isaiahcontainsa descriptionof the shootof Jesse,themessiahof the Davidic
line, basedon Isa 11:1-3. Althoughthe text is fragmentary,it is clearthatthe author
interpreted thepassagefromIsaiaheschatologicallyandwithreferenceto theQumran
community.Thereis referenceto "theend of days"andto a battlewiththe Kittim,the
eschatologicalenemyof thecommunity.30 Thename"Kittim"probablyrefershereto

242Kgs 2:9, 15; compare1 Kgs 19:16.

25Seethe discussionandthe literaturecited in ChristopherR. Seitz, '4HowIs the Prophet
IsaiahPresentin the LatterHalf of the Book?The Logic of Chapters40-66 withinthe Book
of Isaiah,"JBL 115 (1996) 219-40, esp. 238-39.
26Afragmentarytext fromQumran(4Q521) refersto a messiah,alludes to Isa 61:1, and
statesthatthe Spiritof God will hoverover the poor;the messianicfigurein this text may be
the eschatologicalprophet.See JohnJ. Collins, TheScepterand the Star: T/leMessiaSlsof tSle
Dead Sea Scrolls and OtherAncientLiterature(New York:Doubleday,1995) 117-22.
27Onthe accountof Jesus' baptismin Markas his installationinto the propheticoffice, see
KlausBaltzer,Die Baographieder PropSleten (Neukirchen-Vluyn: NeukirchenerVerlag,1975)
185-86.
281Kgs 22:24.
291QS 9: 10-1 1.
304QpIsaa;for text, translation,and notes, see MauryaP. Horgan,PesSlarim:Qumran
Interpretationsof Biblical Books(CBQMS8; Washington,DC: CatholicBiblical Associa-
tion of America,1979) 70-86. Ps. Sol. 17.21-24 combinesIsa I1:4 and Ps 2:9 in describing
the activity of the expectedDavidic messiah.

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398 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

the Romans.3lThe associationof the royalmessiahwith a battleagainstthe Romans

suggests thatthe conquestof Judahby the RomangeneralPompey in 63 BCE pro-
vided an impetusto the revivalof hope for the restorationof the Davidic monarchy.
This text speaksof the Davidicmessiahin termstakenfromIsa 11:2,"Andthe spirit
of the Lordshall restuponhim, the spiritof wisdomandunderstanding, the spiritof
counsel and might,the spiritof knowledgeandfearof the Lord."32
The Psalms of Solomon,which date to the first centuryBCE, also cite Isaiah 11
in describingthe Davidic messiah:"Andhe will not weaken in his days, (relying
upon his God), for God made him powerful in the Holy Spirit and wise in the
counsel of understanding,with strengthand righteousness."33 Those in the audi-
ence of Markwho readthis passage as a messianicprophecymay have interpreted
the accountof the SpiritdescendinguponJesus in its terms.34 Any expectationsof
a warrior-messiahwho would restorethe kingdom of Israel in a militaryand po-
litical sense, however, is frustratedby the rest of the narrativeof Mark.It is pos-
sible thatMarkpresentsJesus as the royal messiah designate, who will carryout
the expectedactivitiesuponhis returnas Son of Man. I will returnto this question.
The next passage thatpresentsJesus as the Son of God is the summaryin Mk
3:7-12. A greatmultitudeis following Jesus because he had healed many people,
and all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. "And the unclean spir-
its, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and cry out, saying,
'You are the son of God!"' (Mark 3:11). The reference to "uncleanspirits"is a
Jewish formulationthat may be related to the story of the fallen angels.35In 1
Enoch God instructsEnoch to rebukethe fallen angels, the Watchers,and to ask
them: "Why have you left the high, holy and eternal heaven, and lain with the
women and become uncleanwith the daughtersof men . . . ? And you were spiri-
tual, holy, living an eternal life, but you became unclean upon the women."36
Similarly,the book of Jubilees states thatone of the threecauses of the flood was
fornication,"thatthe Watchershad illicit intercourse apartfrom the mandateof

3lCollins, Scepterand tXleStar, 57-58.

32The translation is from Vermes, CompleteDead Sea Scrolls, 467.
33Ps. Sol. 17.37; the translation is by R. B. Wright, "Psalms of Solomon," in OTP 2. 639-
70; citation from 668.
34See also the Similitudes of I EnocSt, in which the messiah is described with language taken
from Isa 11:2-4. I Enoch49.3, alluding to Isa 11:3, speaks about the spirit of righteousness
dwelling in the Chosen One; I Enoch62.2 incorporatestwo ideas from Isa 11:2-4, that the spirit
of righteousness is poured out upon the Chosen One (the Spirit of the Lord rests upon the shoot
of the stump of Jesse) and that sinners are slain by the word of his mouth (Jesse's descendant
judges in righteousness, smites the earth with the rod of his mouth, and slays the wicked according
to Isa 11:4). For furtherdiscussion, see Leslie W. Walck, "The Son of Man in Matthew and the
Similitudes of Enoch" (Ph.D. diss., University of Notre Dame, 1999) 168-70.
3sGen 6: l-4; I Enoch 6-1 1.
361 Enoch 15.3-4

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 Yarbro Collins 399

their authority with women. When they marriedof them whomever they chose
they committedthe first (acts) of uncleanness."37 Thus, Jubilees can refer gener-
ally to "impuredemons."38The expression "evil spirits" also occurs in Jewish
literatureof the Second Temple period.39
The motif that the unclean spirits fall down before Jesus recalls the legends
regardingSolomon that depict him as having control over and being served by
manydemons.40The wordsof the spiritsandthe rebukeof Jesus "inorderthatthey
not make him known"suggest thatthey have special knowledge, concealed from
the humanbeings who surroundJesus.This special knowledge is analogousto the
knowledge of the future that the demons are said to have in the Testamentof
Solomon.4l One of these demons, Ornias by name, explains this knowledge as
follows: "We demons go up to the firmamentof heaven, fly aroundamong the
stars, and hear the decisions that issue from God concerningthe lives of men."42
The allusion to the special knowledge of the unclean spirits, the acclamationof
Jesus as "theSon of God,"and his rebukeof the spiritsare relatedto an important
theme in the Gospel of Mark,the questionof the identityof Jesus,which is usually

373ub.7.21; the translationis fromTheBookof Jubilees(CSCO5 11, Scriptoresaethiopici

88; trans.JamesC. VanderKam;Louvain:Peeters, 1989) 47.
38Jub.10.1; the translationis by VanderKam,Bookof Jubilees,58. See also the Gospelof
P/lilip from Nag Hammadi,which speaks of "malespirits thathave sexual intercoursewith
souls who conducttheirlives withina female shape,and female ones thatmingle promiscu-
ously with those within a male shape"(65. 1-8; the translationis from Bentley Layton,ed.,
The Gnostic Scriptures[trans.Bentley Layton;GardenCity?NY: Doubleday, 19871340).
These are the same as, or at least includedamong,the "uncleanspirits"mentioneda little
furtheron in thetext:"Forif theypossessedthe holy spirit,no uncleanspiritcouldattachitself
to them"(66. 2-4; ibid.). There is also a spell for driving out demons that shows Jewish
influenceandincludesthewords"untilyou driveawaythis uncleandaimonSatan(GKG0GpTOS
6Gl"XV 2GTGUGS), who is in him;"the translationis by M. W. Meyerin HansDieter Betz,
ed., TheGreekMagicalPapyriin Translataon IncludangtSleDemoticSpells (2d ed.; Chicago:
Universityof ChicagoPress, 1992) 62.
39Forexample,"Butnow the giants who were bornfrom(the unionof) the spiritsand the
flesh shall be calledevil spiritsuponthe earth"(I Enoch15.8;the translationis modifiedfrom
M. A. Knibb,"I EnocSl,"in AOT,204).
40Accordingto the Testamentof Solomon,a great numberand variety of demons were
forced by Solomon to assist in the buildingof the Temple;see also Louis Ginzberg,The
Legendsof the 3ews (6 vols; Philadelphia:JewishPublicationSociety of America,1909-25)
4. 150-54; 6. 292-93, nn. 54-56. Accordingto the SeferNoah 150-60, Solomonlearnedhow
to masterdemonsfrom a heavenlybook that was originallygiven to Noah by God through
Raphael;see Ginzberg,Legendsof the Jews 1. 157; 6. 177, n. 23. See also ibid., 4. 142, 144,
149, 175; 6. 289, n. 38; 291, n. 49; 296-97, n. 69.
41Test.Sol. 5.5; 20.1-21. See also b. Hag. 16a (a female demon states that she hearda
statementin heavenregardingHaninaben Dosa) andb. Git. 68a (Asmodeuspredictsthe fate
of a brideand groom).
42Test.Sol. 20.12; text from McCown, Testamentof Solomon, 62; translationis from
Duling, OTP, 1. 983.

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400 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

describedas the "messianicsecret."The firsttime thatJesus is describedas Son of

God in Mark,at his baptism,Jesus is the only characterwithin the narrativewho
hearsthe divine voice. In this scene, it is only the uncleanspiritswho know Jesus'
identity.These featuresof the narrativecall the attentionof the audienceto Jesus'
identity as Son of God and lead them to ponderits meaning.Those who link the
expression "Son of God" with the Davidic messiah, inspiredby Psalm 2 and re-
lated passages, may assume that Jesus is keeping his identity secret until the ap-
propriatetime, to be revealedperhapsby some divine signal. Those who hold that
all religious Jews are childrenof God are led by this passage to recognize that
Jesus is God's son in some special sense.
In Mark 5:7 the demon-possessedman addressesJesus, "Whathave I to do
with you, Jesus, son of the most high God? I adjureyou by God, do not torment
me."This uncleanspirit,or ratherthe legion of uncleanspiritspossessing the man,
also knows who Jesus is andrevealsthatidentity.Nevertheless,the narrativefunc-
tion of the revelationis quitedifferenthere.By pronouncingthe name of Jesus and
identifyinghim, the uncleanspiritattemptsto get controlover Jesus andto prevent
Jesus from drivinghim out of the man. The interchangeis similarto thatbetween
Jesus andthe uncleanspiritin the synagogueat Capernaum.Thatspiritalso names
Jesus and identifies him as "the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24). There also the
spirit is attemptingto wardoff the power of Jesus.
It is only in the accountof the transfigurationof Jesus, however, thatthe scene
rivals that of the baptism in terms of its significance. The turning point in the
narrativeof Mark comes in Mark 8:27-30, just before the transfiguration,in a
private dialogue between Jesus and his disciples in which it becomes clear that
Peter has come to know thatJesus is the messiah. Immediatelyfollowing Peter's
acclamation,Jesus explains to his disciples that he must suffer much, be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests,and the expertsin the law, be killed, and afterthree
days rise (Mark8:31) and that his followers must be preparedto suffer the same
fate (Mark8:34-9:1). Then Jesus takesPeter,James,and Johnto a high mountain
where they can be alone. In their presence he is transformedand his clothes be-
come very white and shining (Mark9:2-3). The motif of white, shining clothing
recalls the depiction of heavenly beings in Jewish and early Christiantexts.43At
thatmoment,the threedisciples saw Elijahand Moses conversing with Jesus. Pe-
ter suggests thathe andthe othertwo disciples makethreetents, one for Jesus, one
for Moses, and one for Elijah, but the narratorhints that this is an inappropriate
suggestion.Then a cloud covers them,presumablyJesus,Moses, andElijah,and a
voice speaks from the cloud, "Thisis my beloved son; listen to him" (Mark9:7).

43Theancientof daysin Dan7:9andtheangelin Matt28:3haveclothingwhiteas snow

(compareMark16:5;John20:12;Acts1:10;Rev4:4);angelsareclothedin cleanorpurewhite
linenaccording
to Rev15:6;19:14;thetwomen (angels)in Luke24:4haveshiningapparel.

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 Yarbro Collins 401

The firstpartof the heavenly statement,"Thisis my beloved son," repeatsthe first

partof whatthe heavenlyvoice had said at Jesus'baptism.At thattime, as we have
noted, only Jesus heardthe voice. The second partof the statementat the trans-
figurationconnects with the new context: "listento him." On this occasion, both
the vision and the heavenly voice are experiencedby the three disciples and are
intended for them. The presence of Moses, together with the second part of the
statement,evokes the wordsof Moses to the people in Deut 18:15, "TheLordyour
God will raise up for you a prophetlike me from among you, from your brethren;
listento him."44This passagewas interpretedeschatologicallyin lateSecondTemple
Judaism.45The parallel statement in verse 18 inspired the expectation of an
eschatologicalprophetreflectedin the Dead Sea Scrolls.46This line of interpreta-
tion suggests thatElijah is presentin the vision because of the expectationthathe
would returnin the last days.47The rhetoricof the scene seems to make the point
that in Jesus all the expectations related to the prophetlike Moses and Elijah's
returnare to be fulfilled.
The motif of secrecy is implicit here, as in the summaryof Mark 3:7-12, be-
cause Jesus has allowed only three disciples to share in this experience. Once
again the idea that Jesus is the Son of God is shroudedin secrecy. The context
suggests a reasonfor that.The messiahshipof Jesus has just been affirmed,again
secretly,to the disciples only. This affirmationhas been followed by a prediction
of the suffering,death, and resurrectionof Jesus. The whole complex from Mark
8:27 to the end of the transfigurationsuggests thatthe heartof Jesus' teaching,the
message to which the disciples should listen, is thatthe messiah, the Son of God,
must suffer.
The teaching of Jesus in Mark 8:31-9:1 does not imply simply that he is a
righteouspoor man who is vulnerableto the persecutionof the wicked and who
will be vindicated,a patternthatoccurs in the Wisdomof Solomon 1-5. Rather,it
is the Son of Man who is to suffer.By this time, among some of the followers of
Jesus, the "one like a son of man"in Daniel 7 was interpretedas the messiah and
identified with Jesus. Furthermore,he does not just happento suffer,but he must
suffer.This motif suggests a divine plan thatmust be fulfilled, a plan revealed in
scripture,properlyinterpreted.
A numberof scholars have suggested that the narrativeof the transfiguration
was originally an account of an appearanceof the risen Jesus. This unprovable
hypothesis rests on the observationthat the portraitof the transfiguredJesus is
similarto those of exalted or resurrectedhumanbeings in Jewish and early Chris-

44Marcus, Way of the Lord, 81.

45See the literature cited in Marcus, Way of the Lord, 81-82,n. 4.
46Deut18:18-19is cited in the Testimonia or Messianic Anthology (4Q175)lines s-8;
compare CD 6:11. For discussion see Collins, Scepter and the Star, 1 12-14 1 16-17.
47See Mal 3:23-24(4:s-6 RSV).

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402 HARVARD THEOLOG ICAL REVIEW

tian literature.48
In this regardit is noteworthythat,accordingto Josephus,neither
Moses nor Elijah had died but had been taken to heaven alive and made immor-
tal.49For those in the audiencefamiliarwith this tradition,the transfigurationis a
kind of preview of the resurrectionand exaltationof Jesus.50This readingis con-
firmedby Jesus' instructionto the threedisciples on the way down from the moun-
tain thatthey shouldtell no one whatthey had seen until the Son of Man had risen
from the dead.
In the context of the controversies between Jesus and the chief priests,
together with the elders and the scribes, Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard
(Mark 12:1-12). The story of a man planting a vineyard, setting a hedge around
it and so forth, recalls the poem about God and his vineyard in Isa 5:1-7.
According to Isaiah, "the vineyard is the house of Israel" (v. 7). In the alle-
gory attributedto Jesus, the owner, who represents God, lets the vineyard out
to tenants and then sends servants to collect the fruit. Finally, he sends his
beloved son. The expression "beloved son" calls to mind the words of the
heavenly voice in the scenes of baptism and transfiguration. According to
Isaiah, God looked for justice and righteousness from his vineyard, but found
only bloodshed and a cry (Isa 5:7). In the allegory of Jesus, the servants are
analogous to the prophets who called for justice. The beloved son clearly has
a status higher and greater than that of the prophets. The trope in which the
vineyard is the "house of Israel" suggests that Jesus, like Solomon, the son of
David, beloved by God, is a king of the line of David, whose patrimony is the
house of Israel. The oddity of the story is due to the reinterpretationof king-
ship in Mark, so that the king does not go to collect his property by force but
allows himself to be killed.
The subordinationof the Son to the Fatheris thematizedin the eschatological
discourse of chapter 13. Although Jesus, like any true prophet, is able to speak
authoritatively about the future, he speaks in veiled, ambiguous terms and is
not able to reveal the day and the hour of any of the events of the last days,
including the arrival of the Son of Man. That is because this knowledge is
possessed by the Father alone; not even his beloved Son shares all of the
divine knowledge (Mark 13:32). Like the true prophet, Jesus instructs his dis-
ciples on how to live rightly in the present in light of the impending future.
They are to be truthful and loyal in persecution (vv. 9-13) and to busy them-
selves with the work to which they have been assigned (vv. 34-36).

48According to Rev 3:4, those who conquer will walk, wearing white garments, with the
risen Jesus; see also 6:11; 7:9, 13. According to Dan 12:3, when the righteous rise from the
dead, they will shine like the brightness of the firmament; compare Matt 13:43.
49JosephusAnt. 9.28; see also Adela Yarbro Collins, The Beginning of the Gospel: Probings
of Mark in Context (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992) 142-43.
50See also Marcus, Way of the Lord, 87-90.

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 Yarbro Collins 403

Not long afterward,the MarkanJesus is arrestedand interrogatedby the high

priest. The climax of this scene is the high priest's question and Jesus' answer.
The high priest asks Jesus whetherhe is the messiah, the son of the Blessed. In
this question"messiah"most likely refersto the eschatologicalking who is called
the son of David in the Psalms of Solomon and the messiah of Israel in the Dead
Sea Scrolls.5lThe messiah, like the Israeliteking, is assumedto be "the son of the
Blessed," thatis, the Son of God. When Jesus answersthe question affirmatively,
the high priestaccuses him of blasphemy.A likely explanationfor the accusation
is thatsome Jews in the early Roman periodavoided the expression "son of God"
for rulers,includingthe messiah,becauseof the connotationof divinity.Alexander
the Great and his successors, the Seleucids and the Ptolemies, claimed to be di-
vine and were so honoredby many of theirsubjects.Alexanderwas said to be the
son of Zeus, and this claim seemed to many to have physical and metaphysical
implications. It is noteworthythat the Psalms of Solomon avoid referringto the
messiah as Son of God. Insteadthe text says that "He will gathera holy people
whom he will lead in righteousness.... For he shall know them that they are all
children of their God."52
The QumranCommunity,however, does not seem to have avoided language
describingthe messiah of Israelas the Son of God. In the Florilegium, the words
of God from 2 Sam 7:14 are cited, "[I will be] his fatherand he shall be my son."
The text goes on to say, "He is the Branchof David who will arise with the Inter-
preterof the Law [to rule] in Zion [at the end] of time.''S3It is true that the title
"Son of God"is not used here, but thereis no indicationthatthe Communitywas
avoiding the title or the idea associatedwith it.S4
The expression"Sonof God"also occurs in a fragmentaryAramaicapocalypse
fromQumran(4Q246).The firstsurvivingcolumnlacksone thirdto one half of each
line, but certainaspectsof the settingare clear.Someone falls before a ffironeand
seems to be interpretingthe king's dream.Thus, the scene is similarto the stories
aboutDanielandforeignkings.The firstcolumnalso describesafflictionon earthand
carnageamongcities. Column2 opens with the statement"'Son of God' he shallbe
called,andtheywill namehim 'Sonof theMostHigh."'55 The textgoes on to describe
an oppressivekingdomthat will rule until the people of God arises. Because the
descriptionof the oppressivekingdomfollows immediatelyafterthe statementcon-
ceming the Son of God,some scholarshaveconcludedthatthis titleis claimedby the
rulerof the oppressivekingdom,but not recognizedby the authorof the text. These

51p5.Sol. 17.21; lQS 9:11; CD 12:23-13:1; 14:19; 19:10-11; 20:1.

52pS.Sol. 17.26-27; the translation is by Wright, "Psalms of Solomon" OTP667. See also
the discussion in Marcus, Wayof the Lord,77-79.
53Florilegium (4Q 174) 1:1>13; the translationis by Vermes, Complete
DeadSea Scrolls,494.
54Compare Marcus, Wayof the Lord,78.
55The translation is from Collins, Scepterand tSzeStar, 155.

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404 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

scholarsconcludethatthefigureis a foreignkingoreven theAntichrist.Incontempo-

raryJewishtexts, however,foreignkings who claim to be divine andeschatological
adversariesaredescribedwithnegativelanguage;theirown claimsto divinityarenot
repeatedwithoutcomment.56 Furthermore, apocalyptictexts do not necessarilyde-
scribeeventsin a simplechronologicalsequence.Thus,thedescriptionof the oppres-
sive kingdomin column2 maybe resuminga themeintroducedin the firstcolumn.57
Afterthe allusionto the peopleof God risingup, thereis a descriptionof a peaceful
kingdomeffectedby God. Scholarsdifferon the questionof whetherthe text speaks
aboutthepeopleof Godcollectivelyas theagentof Godon earthin exercisingruleor
aboutthe "Sonof God,"who wouldin thatcase be the messiahof Israel,since theuse
of the thirdpersonsingularcould representeither.One of the statements,however,
fits an individualbetterthana collective:"He [or it] will judge the earthwith truth,"
sincejudgmentis a royalfunction.58 It is truethatthe earlyChristiansimaginedthis
judicialrole collectively,but thereis no evidence thatany Jewish groupin the late
SecondTempleperioddid so. Thus,the "Sonof God"mentionedat the beginningof
column2 pointsaheadto thekingdomof peacethatis introducedlaterin the column.
Therewas no need to reintroducethe "Sonof God"figureexplicitlybecauseof the
traditionallyclose associationbetweenthe king and the people:the rule of the mes-
siah over the nationsalso involvesthe sovereigntyof the people over these nations.
AnotherimportantQumranpassage for our topic comes from the Rule of the
Congregationor the Messianic Rule. This text includes a descriptionof how the
Communityshould assemble for the common meal "when God begets the mes-
siah."59The readingis uncertain,but if the text does readyotid, it probablyalludes
to Ps 2:7, in which God says to the king, "Youare my son; today I have begotten
you." It is unlikely that the Communityinterpretedthis passage in a physical or
metaphysicalsense. It is also unlikely that,as Horburyargues, it means that God
will cause the messiah to be born in the sense that God will bring the preexistent
spiritof the messiah to birth.60
It is more likely thatthe text simply means thatGod
will choose or raise up the messiah of Israelin the last days.
The probableuse of the expression "Son of God"by the QumranCommunity
for the messiah of Israel suggests that such usage was not avoided by all Jews of
the late Second Temple period.6lThe reaction of the high priest in the text of

56See, for example, Dan 11:36; for discussion and references to further literature, see
Collins, Scepterand the Star, 156-57; see also Fitzmyer, "4Q246: The 'Son of God' Docu-
ment from Qumran," 167-69.
57Collins, Scepterand the Star, 158.
58The translation is by Collins, Scepterand the Star, 155; see the argument for an indi-
vidual judge on 158-59.
591QSa ( 1Q28a) 2: 1 1-12.
60Horbury,JewishMessianismand the Cult of Christ,98.
6lHans-Jorg Steichele has suggested that Jews of the late Second Temple period avoided
the title "Son of God" out of concern that it would be misunderstood in a physical sense; idem,

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 Yarbro Col lins 405

Markcould be due to the fact that it was offensive to some Jews at the time that
the Gospel was written.Or the high priest may not be objecting to the idea of the
messiah as the Son of God, but only to the claim thatJesus is this figure. In other
words, it could be thatthe high priest'squestionalreadyreflects conflict between
followers of Jesus and otherJews regardingthe divinity of Jesus, or even contro-
versies regarding"two powers in heaven."62Finally, the use of the term "blas-
phemy"by Markmay be ironic.The text may suggest thatthe high priest was not
concerned about the worship of God alone or about the unity of God, but about
the stability of Roman rule throughthe priestly establishment.
The description of Jesus as the messiah and as the Son of God implies, as
we have seen, that he is a king. The kingship of Jesus, however, is not
thematized until chapter 15, when Pilate asks him, "Are you the king of the
Jews?" Jesus answers at first ambiguously and then not at all. Pilate is pre-
sented both sympathetically and ironically in the scene in which he tries to
release Jesus.63The narratorremarksthatPilate perceived that the chief priests
had handed him over out of envy. Nevertheless, his questions, "Do you want
me to release for you the king of the Jews?" and "What then do you want me
to do with the king of the Jews?" are somewhat mocking.64The irony is un-
mistakable in the scene in which the soldiers dress Jesus in a purple, that is, a
royal, cloak; crown him with a thorny crown; greet him saying "Welcome,
king of the Jews;" hit him on the head with a reed, spit on him, and kneel to
him in mock reverence.65The irony becomes vivid and visual once again when
it is reported that the inscription of the charge against him was posted: "the
king of the Jews."66As Jesus hangs on the cross, the chief priests and the
scribes are mocking him among themselves as the messiah, the king of Israel.
They say, "Let the messiah, the king of Israel, come down now from the cross,
in order that we may see and believe."67

Der LeidendeSohn Gottes (Munchener Universitats-Schriften; Regensburg: Pustet, 1980)

14344. Wilhelm Bousset gave Gustaf Dalman (Die WorteJesu mit Berucksichtigungdes
nachkanonischenjudischen Schrifttumsund der aramaischenSprache [Leipzig: Hinrichs,
1898] 219) credit for making the observation that the title vi os oEO^Ufor the messiah is hardly
attested in the "later Jewish literature;" Wilhelm Bousset, KyriosChristos:Geschichtedes
Christusglaubensvon den Anfangendes Christentumsbis lrenaeus (4th ed. [= reprint of 2d
rev. ed.]; FRLANT n.f. 4; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1921 [= 1935]) 53.
62See Alan P. Segal, TwoPowers in Heaven:Early RabbinicReportsabout Christianity
and Gnosticism(Leiden: Brill, 1977).
63Mark 15:6-15-
64Mark 15:9, 12.
65Mark 15:16-20-
66Mark 15:26-
67Mark 15:32.
68Mark15:39; although the expression uioS 0so^u("the son of God") is anarthrous, it may
still be taken as definite, because definite predicate nouns that precede the verb usually lack

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406 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

Jesus does not come down from the cross, but a greatdarknesscomes over the
land from noon until mid-afternoon.When Jesus breatheshis last, the curtainof
the temple is torn from top to bottom. These signs lead the centurion standing
opposite Jesus to say, "This man really was the Son of God."68In contrastto the
chief priests and the scribes who reject Jesus as the messiah, this Gentile soldier
expresses his belief thatJesus is the Son of God. The shift from "kingof Israel"to
"Son of God"is noteworthy.Since the centurionis not a memberof the people of
Israel,it makes betternarrativesense for him to acclaim Jesus as the Son of God,
ratherthan as king of Israel or messiah. The epithet "Son of God" has another
rangeof connotationsfrom a Greekand Romanperspective,which I will explore
in anotherarticle.69In Jewish tradition,especially in Psalm 2 and the fragmentary
Aramaicapocalypse from Qumrandiscussed above, the two ideas, king of Israel
andSon of God, areequivalent.So a Jewishreaderof Markmay have inferredthat
the centurionis acclaimingJesus as the messiah,the king of Israel,in termsappro-
priateto his own culture.Such a reader,however, would also recognize that this
role has been reinterpretedby the narrativeof Mark.
The themeof Jesusas the Son of God reachesits climax in the centurion'saccla-
mation.This scene is oftentakentogetherwiththe baptismandthe transfiguration as
the thirdgreatrevelatoryscene relatingto the identityof Jesus.70In the first two
scenes, as we have noted,it is the heavenlyvoice thatidentifiesJesus as the Son of
God. Here the voice is humanand Gentile.The combinationof the tearingof the
curtainof the templeandthe Gentilevoice takesup themesintroducedearlierin the
narrative.The parableof the wickedtenantsends withthe prediction,"Hewill come
and destroythe tenants,and give the vineyardto others.''7lThe destructionof the
templeis predictedin chapter13. The tearingof the veil foreshadowsthe destruction
of the temple,andthe centurionis an emblemof the "others"to whom the vineyard
will be given. The leaderswho rejectedJesus will be rejectedthemselves,and the
eschatologicalpeople of Israelwill includeGentiles.
I raised the questionearlierwhetherMarkpresentsJesus as a royal messiah, a
warrior-kingdesignate.Anotherway of puttingthis questionis to ask how deeply
Markhas reinterpretedthe type of expectationof the messiah of Israelattestedby
the Psalms of Solomonandthe Dead Sea Scrolls.72AlthoughMarkemphasizesthe

the article; see Nigel Turner, Syntax (A Grammar of New Testament Greek, vol. 3, ed. John
H. Moulten; 1908; reprinted Edinburgh: T.& T. Clark, 1963) 183, who cite E. C. Colwell.
69See n. * above.
70Marcus, Way of the Lord, 54-55, n. 31, citing Ambrozic.
7lMark 12:9.
72DonaldJuel (MessiaStand Temple: T7teTrial of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark [SBLDS 31;
Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1973]) and FrankMatera(The Kingship of Jesus: Composition and
Theology in Mark 15 [SBLDS 66; Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1982]) interpret the title "Son of
God" in Markin terms of "royalmessianism." See the discussion in Marcus, Wayof the Lord, 142.

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 Yarbro Col lins 407

shocking new revelationthat the messiah must suffer and die, it is clear that the
work of Jesus does not end with his crucifixion. Jesus' messiahship includes a
death for others,but it is not limited to that.73Markhas Jesus predictnot only his
resurrection,but his returnas Son of Man.74It is striking, however, that the por-
trayalsof the coming of the Son of Man do not emphasizethe motif of battlewith
foreign powers and eschatologicaladversariesor the motif of cosmic transforma-
tion. The destructionof Jerusalemdoes play an importantrole in the eschatological
discourseof chapter13, but Markattributesthatevent to divine intervention,and
it occurs before the Son of Man arrives.75 In Jesus' responseto the high priest,the
remark"Youwill see the Son of Man . . ." suggests that the arrivalof the Son of
Man will vindicate Jesus in some way, but the punishmentof those who have
rejectedhim is not thematizedin this context.
Rather,the arrivalof the Son of Man is linked with the judgment of the indi-
vidual followers of Jesus in Mark8:38 and with the gatheringof the elect in Mark
13:27.76This second text leaves open the issue of whetherthey will be gatheredto
the Son of Man on earthor in heaven. In any case, the emphasis is on their union
and fellowship with him. This motif recalls the Similitudesof Enoch, which look
forwardto the day when the righteouswill dwell with that Son of Man and have
fellowship with him for ever and ever.77
Thelinkbetweentheultimatestateof blessednessandthereturnof the Son of Man
suggests thatMark'sportrayalof Jesus'messiahshipis a more heavenly or cosmic
typethanthetraditionallyhumanroyalor warriortype.The Similitudesof Enochand
4 Ezra providegood analogiesto the role of the apocalypticSon of Man in Mark.
Although4 Ezra was clearly writtenlaterthanMark,the date of the Similitudesis
uncertain.It may be earlierthanMarkbecausethe prominentuse of the epithet"Son
of Man"by Jews becomes less likely the morefamouslyit is appliedto Jesus.Both
the Similitudesand4 Ezrainterpretthefigureof the "onelike a son of man"in Daniel
7 as the messiah.Markimpliesthe same identification.The Similitudesand4 Ezra,
however,imply thatthe Son of Man is a preexistentheavenlybeing. Markdoes not
seem to attributepreexistenceto Jesus.Further,the man-likefigurein the Similitudes
is portrayedasjudge of the kings,the mighty,the exalted,all the sinnersof the earth,
andthe fallenangels.In Markthereis littleindicationthatJesuswill act as judge.He
"will be ashamed"of those who have denied him when he returnsas Son of Man
(Mark8:38), butthis remarkimpliesonly thathe will refuseto be theiradvocate,or
even simplythatthey will not be gatheredto him at the End.

73ThatJesussdeathbenefitsothersis madeclearin Mark10:45 and14:24.

74Mark 8:38; 13:24-27; 14:62.
75compare Mark12:9 with13:14-20, anaccountreminiscentof Genesis19.
76Mark9:42-48 alsoalludesto theindividual
judgmentof thefollowersof Jesus.
771Enoch 62.14; see also71.16-17.

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408 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

Markinterpretsthe man-likefigure of Daniel 7 in two ways. First, the earthly

Jesus, who has received the Spiritof God, is the Son of Man who exercises God's
authorityon earthto forgive sins andwho has divine authorityin his interpretation
of the law. This idea is expressedin Mark2:10, 28. This earthlySon of Man must
suffer and die. Secondly, the risen and exalted Jesus is the heavenly Son of Man,
who sits at the righthandof God and who will come in a cosmic manifestationof
power to gatherthe elect.78The combinationof Ps 110:1 and Dan 7:13 in Mark
14:62 is emblematicfor the portrayalof Jesus as the messiah in Markas a whole.
When Jesus quotes Ps 110:1 in his teaching in the temple, he questions how the
messiahcan be the son of David, if David calls him "Lord."The implicationis that
the messiah shouldnot be envisionedas a mereearthlyking. His task is not simply
to restorethe kingdom of David to autonomyand glory. When Jesus quotes the
psalm again in Mark 14:62, in combinationwith Dan 7:13, the pictureof the mes-
siah that emerges is a cosmic ruler,a heavenly being who mediates the blessing
and rule of God to all creation.
This readingof Markin comparisonwith Jewish texts has implicationsfor our
understandingof how Jews of the late Second Templeperiodused the epithet"Son
of God" in relationto the messiah. Fitzmyer's assertionthat it had no messianic
nuancebefore it was appliedto Jesusis untenable.Severalpassagesfrom Qumran,
especially the fragmentaryAramaicapocalypse4Q246, make it highly likely that
the opposite was the case. The Communityof Qumranconceived of the messiah of
Israel as the "Son of God"and apparentlyused this epithet or title in speaking of
him. Horbury,however, goes too far in suggesting thatthe idea of the messiah as
the Son of God in this periodwas mythicaland associatedwith preexistence.The
evidence is lacking for such a conclusion. Rather,it seems likely that the ancient
mythicallanguagewas used in the Dead Sea Scrolls in a way similarto its force in
the prototypicalpassages, namely, to express the ideas that God will choose the
messiah, appointhim as God's agent, and endow him with divine power. It is in
these terms that some readersof Mark would have understoodhis portrayalof
Jesus as the Son of God, namely, those who were informed about these Jewish
traditionsand who preferredthese categoriesof interpretationto others that may
have been known to them.

78Mark12:36, with its citation of Ps 110:1, implies that Jesus will sit at the right hand of
God after his death and resurrection; 14:62 cites both Ps 110 1 and Dan 7:13.

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