162 GEERT VAN OYEN I. The paradoxes 8,35; 9,35b; 10,43-44 in their context The rise of new literary criticism explains the growing consensus to approach the gospel of Mark as a whole as one great paradox. This is certainly one of the reasons why in recent years the idea has been advanced to call Mark a “master of surprise” (D. Juel), to characterize his gospel as “an évangile étonnant” (C. Focant), or to typify his theological narrative with the oxymoronic expression “obscure clarté” (Y. Bourquin) 3. Mark’s gospel is indeed a surprising text that grips the readers or audience in a never ending way. Paradox — not only verbal but also dramatic paradox — seems to be Mark’s preferred literary expression by which he communicates and wants to stimulate the readers’ thinking. This is certainly the case in three paradoxical sayings which through their place in the gospel, their similar construction and their content can be considered together as one set : 8,35; 9,35b; 10,43-44 4. It is amazing that the amount of literature on these related verses as a group is not extremely large, and the rise of narrative criticism has certainly stimulated the bringing together of them as a group of paradoxes 5. This small D.H. JUEL, A Master of Surprise. Mark Interpreted (Mifflintown 3 PA, 2002) ; C. FOCANT, Marc, un évangile étonnant (BETL 194; Leuven 2006); Y. BOURQUIN, Marc, une théologie de la fragilité. Obscure clarté d’une narration (Le monde de la Bible 55; Genève: 2005). Note that these descriptions of the gospel of Mark make use of literary categories, which might be seen as a shift from the more theological ones given in the twentieth century: “ b o o k of secret epiphanies” (M. D i b e l i u s ) , “mysterious revelation” (T.A. Burkill) or “Crucified Messiah” (N. Dahl), all three mentioned by FOWLER, Let the Reader Understand, 191. FOWLER, Let the Reader Understand, 189, is right when he states that 4 in the three paradoxes “ we hear echoes of [the] daunting challenge” of 8,34. For bibliographical references before 1990, see the index of gospel 5 passages in F. NEIRYNCK et AL., The Gospel of Mark. A Cumulative Bibliography 1950-1990 (BETL 102; Leuven 1992). More recently, see N.F. SANTOS, “The Paradox of Authority and Servanthood in the Gospel of Mark ”, Bibliotheca Sacra 154 (1997) 452-460; ID., “Jesus’ Paradoxical Teaching in Mark 8:35; 9:35 and 10:43-44”, Bibliotheca Sacra 157 (2000) 15-25 ; ID., Slave of All (2003); especially with regard to Mark 10,43-44: F. VOUGA , Po l i t i q u e du Nouveau Testament. Leçons contemporaines (Genève 2008) 73-87: ‘L’ambivalence du pouvoir et la force de la faiblesse: