Why Christians Are Happy To Forget Mark's Gospel

Why Christians Are Happy To Forget Mark's Gospel | James Tabor PhD

Sign up for 👉 "Creating Jesus: Why Mark’s Gospel Was Forgotten?"


Gospel of Mark is the most influential piece of literature from the ancient world. Even though Paul’s letters are written earlier, they offer us no “Jesus Story.” Mark is our earliest narrative presentation of the figure of Jesus. However, it is purposely constructed as a “riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” And even though it is now embedded in the New Testament, it is essentially lost and forgotten.

Matthew and Luke are essentially “rewritten Mark.” These writers use Mark as their main source, but utterly deconstruct and, as a result, essentially “destroy” it. Even though they incorporate up to 80% of Mark as their core story—once edited and embedded in their narrative, Mark as Mark basically ceases to exist. In that sense it has remained “unread” for the past two millennia.

Mark is in fact a kind of anti-gospel or counter-gospel. It could even be seen as “anti-Christian.” It stands in opposition to the master narrative of the Jesus Story that becomes the heart and core of the Christian Gospel—cobbled together from Matthew, Luke, and John—and the early Christian Creeds, all of whom completely lose—and even reject—Mark’s presentation.

In this course Dr. Tabor pulls Mark out of the New Testament, strips it from later forms of orthodox and dogmatic Christianity, and places it in its original historical context—as a post-War apocalyptic treatise following the destruction of Jerusalem. Its view of God, of Israel, and of the Messiah, is utterly opposite to and opposed to what emerged as early Christianity.

The focus of the course is a detailed exposition of the Mark as Mark. Mark is a skillfully constructed as a three-part drama, with clear literary motifs that move the story along in very carefully worked out directions, ending with a dead messiah, forsaken by God, his contemporary Jewish culture, and even his closest followers and disciples. The reader is left alone at the end, to try and sort out what it all means, with no direction home. And yet, embedded in the narrative, is a certain “understanding” of the message, but only for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

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[MythVisionPodcast]

Sign up for 👉 "Creating Jesus: Why Mark’s Gospel Was Forgotten?"

[integrationalpolytheism]

I'm going to have to sign up for this Mark course. One thing that's been stopping me actually is the amount of top quality material from Dr Tabor and others available on YouTube for free, such as this very video!

[peterstanbridge]

This was such a brilliant presentation, thank you James Tabor and Derek. The little details that have come to light listening to this has really triggered my intrigue. I have now purchased the course so now committed to it :) .

[jeremygilbert]

So many Christians are missing the Mark? 😀

[danielladavis]

I am sure plenty of people are lusting after Derek. Thank you Dr. Tabor for this fascinating discussion!

[j_t_p]

Great podcast! Thanks Derek and professor J. Tabor for such an informative podcast. Great questions from those in the Super-chat group.

[conkergemini]

I always prefered Mark with the afraid ending. It just makes the human heart afraid of God existing.

[moesypittounikos]

David Bentley Hart's translation is free on audible. It's an amazing listen and I go there while listening to this!

[ethanpollard]

Love new intro! And of course Dr. Tabor is always illuminating!

[eternalgospels]

But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.
Mark 14:61‭-‬64 ESV

[dro]

Us Christians will never forget Mark McGwire. One of the greatest swatters in baseball.

[stephenthestoryteller]

This is great 👍🏽 I might have to sign up for the course. Thx 🙏

[byronumphress]

REVELATION, SON OF MAN, ONE TO COME ON THE CLOUDS, ONE TO COME IN THE ANCIENT OF DAYS, JOHN 14:26, SHALOM

[pjbrand]

Dr. James I really like your view on the theology of the early Christians and your presentation is very kind

[biblethumper]

Hello Gents~
I'm a Christian and I have read Mark's gospel through many times. I love all of the gospels.
*ANSWER* TO DocTabor's question @22:00
What kind of image of Jesus is that?
THE Jewish leaders rejected Jesus, as such, there really was little hope of the masses accepting him as their Messiah.
The answer is similar to why God hardened Pharaoh's heart in Egypt: Simple, for his glory! God is using the Gentiles to provoke his historically wayward children and at the same time offering salvation to people from every tribe and nation the world over to fullfil his promise to Abraham; namely that he would be the father of many nations (Genesis). He didn't say father of many tribes!
"Meantime: I have sheep that are not of this fold." (JesusofNazareth, SonofGod).

[integrationalpolytheism]

I'm about to sign up for the course. Just to say, the thing that brought me over is this promise of a live seminar event. When you take a course, you do want access to the tutor to some extent. I often seem to miss these live YouTube shows so hopefully there will be plenty of notice for when the online q&a session/s will be happening.

Also, it would be good if they could be videoed and included in the package that students can go back to in future. I am sure you have all of that in hand though.

[abiyah_]

I will get the course this weekend 🙌 I am really anxious to get it 😇💜📜

[FatherVampire]

As it happens, I also fully agree with Dr. Tabor on a third point: He's absolutely right; Morton Smith's "Secret Gospel of Mark" is indeed genuine. And whether we agree on this or not, no, it had nothing whatever to do with any hint of some practice of homosexuality by Jesus. But it most certainly did have something very critically important to do with the "Mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven" ... just as it states it does.

[QabilAGhor]

I am a Muslim, so I can be very biased, but I have read the Bible and my impression was that Jesus starts out as a man in Mark but evolves into fully God with John. And that is why John is the last of the four gospels. Christians don't dislike Mark. They just think that's not where the story develops or ends. John is the final confirmation that Jesus is God. That's where the plot thickens and the story ends.

[walternullifidian]

I discovered in the late 1990s that, without the last 12 verses of Mark (that were added later) the number of verses would be 666, "the number of the beast."
Not that it matters at all, I just find it interesting. 🤔