The Composition of Mark ix I

Abstract

ERNST HAENCHEN'S brilliant essay Die Komposition von Mk viii 27-ix in this Journal (Vol. VI [1963], 8I-IO9) raises afresh the question of the origin of Mark ix I. HAENCHEN himself hints that he would regard it as a Markan composition, but does not go into the question of its origin in any detail. There have been a number of different viewpoints expressed recently in connection with the saying. W. G. KtUMMEL has argued that it is an authentic saying of Jesus 1), A. V6GTLE sees it as having been formed in the pre-Markan tradition from a genuine saying of Jesus referring to the destruction of the Temple, now found at Mark xiii 30 2), and a number of scholars regard it as a prophetic Trostwort in the face of the delay of the Parousia3). The present writer previously regarded it as an authentic Jesuswort 4) but further research has led him to a change of view. A study of the pericope Mark viii 27-ix I, under the tutelage of the Haenchen article, helps us to see that ix I serves a clear and definite purpose in terms of the pericope as a whole. The church for which Mark is writing has been warned that, as the way of the Master led to the cross, so may that of the disciple. Specifically, the church faces the threat of persecution, and the individual member must be prepared for the very real possibility of martyrdom.