186 GEERT VAN OYEN the gospel as a whole and which joins together in one story the Crucified Jesus of Nazareth and the Resurrected Messiah Son of God. In the call to lose one’s life and in the hope and promise of being saved by God, the paradoxes combine both sides of this mystery of revelation. They offer an understandable synthesis of the gospel story in common language, not in a theological formula but in an anthropological translation. In the story, the literary device of paradox is used by Jesus to criticize the incomprehension of the disciples, and it thus becomes a strong instrument in Mark’s communication with the reader. Again and again, these readers will keep struggling to understand how the two poles of Jesus’ paradoxes can be thought together. And although they will probably never find the final answer during their lifetime, two insights are essential stepping stones along the way of their quest: (a) the paradoxes are only significant within the religious perspective of Jesus’ teaching, and (b) only those people who will take the risk of losing their lives will come close to understanding the meaning of the paradoxes. The vulnerable author has done his work; his role is taken over by the vulnerable reader, who must continue it. Geert VAN OYEN Université catholique de Louvain Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium SUMMARY The article proceeds in three steps. The paradoxes in Mark 8,35; 9,35; 10,43-44 tell in their own way that the mystery of the passion and resurrection of Jesus is to be experienced by the followers of Jesus in daily life. They are not only anticipations but also actualizations of that mystery. These paradoxes cannot be understood without the Christological foundation that God has saved Jesus from the dead. The use of paradoxes is in agreement with Mark’s theology and Christology which as a whole is presented as a paradoxical story.