230 MARK JENNINGS in the discourse. Greater emphasis is placed on following Jesus through death to glory, representing a more existential concern for the community. The interpretation of 14,3 remains a contentious issue in schol- arship on John’s Farewell Discourse. It is difficult to come to a firm conclusion, and in regard to the theme of this paper such firmness is not crucial. If John knows and is using Mark, either he has re- tained the Parousia tradition or he has reinterpreted it in line with his own eschatology. Beasley-Murray remarks that this saying represents a promise of the Parousia, but in more “homey” language than that contained in Mark 13,24-27 and 1 Thess 4,15-18 80. The first of these pas- sages, the Markan Parousia, offers further evidence for this study. 1. Mark 13,24-27: The elect gathered An overview of Mark 13,24-27 has already been presented in this paper. The key features of this text in comparison to John 14,1-3 are: – The Parousia, described in Mark with apocalyptic flourish and grandeur. – The gathering of the elect in Mark 13,27. In this passage, the apocalyptic coming of the glorified Jesus sig- nals the end of suffering for the elect, who are gathered by angels from the four winds, representing a reversal of Zech 2,6 (“for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven”). For Mark, the Parousia represents the fulfilment of the prophecy found in Deut 30,4. Jesus achieves a task assigned to God in the prophecy 81, indi- cating the scope of this vision — Jesus’ glory and authority is to be equated with that of God himself 82. Thus Jesus’ coming here truly establishes the Kingdom of God. The gathering of the elect in verse 27 is the climax of this de- scription. The elect are rescued from persecution as the present age draws to a close 83, and they are gathered together to participate in BEASLEY-MURRAY, John, 250. 80 DONAHUE – HARRINGTON, Mark, 375. 81 EVANS, Mark, 329. 82 MOLONEY, Mark, 267. 83 © Gregorian Biblical Press 2013 - Tutti i diritti riservati