Kata Markon

[JFAlward AT aol.com]

In a message dated 3/14/01 12:18:15 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
weedent AT atw.earthreach.com writes:


<snip 3674 words>
<< In a subsequent post(s?), I plan to suggest the sources from which Mark 
drew the sword motif and the cutting off of the ear of the high priest's 
slave, why I do not think, contra to your suggestion, that a member of the 
priesthood was among the arresting party in Gethsemane, why it was important 
for Mark to disassociate Jesus from banditry (Mk. 14:48f.), as well as to 
suggest the scriptural sources for Mark's "forsaking" motif (14:50). >>
==============

Ted Weeden's 3700 word response to my comment about Absalom's kisses 
illustrates a point I've tried to make before:  The more complicated an 
explanation, the less likely it is to be the correct one.  Ted has to work 
far too hard to make his case the Judas kiss was modeled after Absalom's 
kisses.  How likely is it that Mark's readers believed that his readers would 
analyze and understand 2 Samuel the way Ted does?

I believe that the more likely reason for Mark's having a Judas kiss Jesus is 
that he wanted to remind his readers of Proverbs and Isaiah:

The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me 
with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."  (Isaiah 29:13)

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. 
(Proverbs 27:6)

These verses are short, and easy to remember, and they're far more likely 
than Ted's 2 Samuel stories to be the ones Mark thought his readers would 
recall.

Other than this disagreement, there is much in Ted's analysis with which I 
agree.  We both agree that Mark's betrayal and arrest story is probably 
fictional, and that's the most important thing, by far, in my opinion.

My analysis of the betrayal and arrest are at 
http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/David_and_Jesus.htm


Now, on another matter.  Ted says he's going to explain the ear being cut 
off.  I tried to do the same thing, but decided my idea was too flaky.  I 
hope it's not the one Ted has in mind:  David snipped off a bit of Saul's 
robe, just as Jesus' disciple took off the servant's ear?


Regards, 

Joe Alward