The Temple in the Gospel of Mark

THE TEMPLE IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK: A STUDY IN ITS NARRATIVE ROLE . By Timothy C. Gray . Grand Rapids, MI : Baker Academic , 2010 . Pp . xi + 226 . $42.99 . Gray describes his analysis as intratextual and intertextual. The former indicates his narrative critical approach (with extensive interactions with historical criticism); the latter refers to the (OT) texts that might constitute the author's allusions. Gray does not interact with more recent literary or political critics. In Mark 11, the Lord comes in judgment to his temple (Malachi 3) because it is a den of thieves, not a house of prayer for the nations (Isaiah 56). In Mark 11-12, the leaders challenge Jesus's authority while Jesus becomes the new temple's rejected cornerstone (Psalm 118). Leaving the temple, the Son of Man sits in judgment, describing the eschatological woes that will end the corrupt temple and draw the nations to a new temple. Using parallels between the “watches” of Mark 13:35 and the passion narrative (Lightfoot) and between the disrupted temple tables and the new table of Jesus's suffering and sacrifice (Neusner), Gray connects the “end” of the temple and of Jesus. Matters then become more symbolic: the torn veil equals the destroyed temple; the destroyed temple equals the eschatological turn; the centurion equals the nations come to the new temple—Jesus and his prayerful community. The book will help those interested in a narrative critical approach to a coherent Mark

Ancient history · Art · Gospel · Literature · Narrative · Parallels · Passion · Politics · Temple · Theology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology