180 GEERT VAN OYEN his protagonist Jesus 50 : although master of his work, in the end Mark does not have any other valid argumentation for his message than the story of Jesus himself, which is a paradox in itself. Because God has shown himself, through Jesus, to be a God who is on the side of the “last and the servant of all”, the readers should take the risk of experiencing the same paradoxes without any other “ certainty ” than the promise that Jesus will be with them (as he once was with the disciples). Mark’s authority is very fragile since he places himself in a precarious and vulnerable position. In proclaiming his good news (eu-aggelion) he faces the same danger of incomprehension by his audience as Jesus once faced. Through his story, Mark delivers himself to the readers. III. The paradoxes of 8,35; 9,35b and 10,43-44 and the modern reader Because of their connection with the daily reality of the readers on the one hand and with the role of Christ on the other hand, the paradoxes are a perfect synthesis of the double focus that is at the heart of Mark’s Gospel. The hermeneutical construction of the Gospel of Mark could indeed be compared to an ellipse with two foci, more specifically a Christological center and a reader oriented center. In these concluding remarks I want to add some (personal) reflections about the possible effect of the paradoxes on modern readers. How do these paradoxes create tensions even today? These reflections surpass mere considerations of exegesis, but we have just noticed in the paradoxes the narrator’s attempt to involve in a Many aspects of the way Mark shapes his story are meant to support this 50 authority. In the context of the theme of this article one can think especially of the characterization of the protagonist Jesus, who himself manifests authority as Son of God, Son of Man and Messiah. It is well known that the narrator and Jesus share the same perspective. Just as the idea of the authority of the author is linked to the idea of the authority of Jesus, the vulnerability of the author as well is linked to the vulnerability of Jesus, the main person in the story. Authority and fragility seem to be both sides of the picture, of which ‘the fragile side’ is seldom emphasized. I think this combination of authority and vulnerability is at the heart of the gospel message itself. Mark stood before an almost impossible task. He wanted to write a story about the powerful authority of Jesus as Son of God but this authoritative Jesus proclaimed that one should become the last and the servant of all. How could he reconcile both ideas?