Mark Jennings, «The Fourth Gospel’s Reversal of Mark in John 13,31‒14,3», Vol. 94 (2013) 210-236
I argue that the author/s of the Fourth Gospel knew Mark, based on the reversal of certain Markan themes found in John. No attempt is made here to suggest the kind of literary dependence which is the basis of the Synoptic problem. Rather, my thesis is that the author/s of John may have used Mark from memory, writing deliberately to reverse the apocalyptic tendencies found in the Second Gospel. Isolated incidents of this possible reversal demonstrate little, but this paper proposes that the cumulative force of many such reversals supports the thesis of John's possible knowledge of Mark.
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THE FOURTH GOSPEL’S REVERSAL OF MARK IN JOHN 13,31‒14,3
the Kingdom of God, which the majestic Son of Man will rule 84.
There is no mention of the elect returning to heaven with Jesus to
dwell with him and the Father forever. Rather, the opposite occurs
— Jesus comes to where his people are and dwells with them as
ruler of the earth, the location of the Kingdom of God.
2. Mark 13,1-2: The destruction of the temple
The other Markan parallel to be drawn to John 14,1-3 relates to
the phrase “My Father’s House†in 14,2. As we have noted, John
connects this phrase with the temple in his Gospel, and may be al-
luding to this meaning in 14,2. The theme of the temple’s destruc-
tion is critical to Mark’s Olivet Discourse.
Mark 13,1-2 immediately follows the pericope of the widow’s of-
fering (12,41-44), which reflects a negative view of the temple and the
cult which force every last cent out of the poor widow. This negative
tone is carried into the beginning of chapter 13, wherein Jesus predicts
the destruction of the temple. The destruction of the temple occurred
in 70 CE, probably before the composition of Mark’s gospel 85. Jesus’
prediction functions in Mark as a judgment on the temple establishment
and an announcement of the punishment 86.
The massive Herodian temple covered one-sixth of the space of
the city 87. Certainly it must have seemed magnificent to the group
of disciples from Galilee. The unknown disciple’s observation may
have been simply that of an awestruck tourist, or perhaps the remark
was made in eager anticipation of taking possession of these build-
ings once the Kingdom of God arrived in fullness 88. In the discourse
that follows, Jesus expounds the true coming of the Kingdom of God,
the judgments on the institutions that oppose it, and the suffering the
disciples must endure before the consummation of the plan of God.
The Markan Jesus presents a new hope, in which suffering and per-
secutions by temporal powers will be ended by the Parousia.
G.R. BEASLEY-MURRAY, Jesus and the Last Days. The Interpretation of
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the Olivet Discourse (Peabody MA 1993) 432.
Cf. DONAHUE – HARRINGTON, Mark, 368; EVANS, Mark, 298-299.
85
LOADER, Fundamentalism, 46, 48-49; EVANS, Mark, 285.
86
WITHERINGTON, Mark, 342-343.
87
EVANS, Mark, 298.
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