Kata Markon

[Peter Head <pmh15 AT cam.ac.uk>]

Thanks John,


> My name is John and I teach gospels, if I had 10-12 lectures I would cover 
> the
> following:

Firstly, I should say that the lecture part of the particular course I am 
doing is complemented by a long series of reading classes which are meant 
to be more on Greek and exegesis. In the past, after the 10-12 lectures 
there have also been 4-6 additional exegetical sessions based around 
student presentations. So the lectures are meant to be less exegetical and 
more introductory and thematic. It would be worth a complete re-think, but 
not for this year.

> 1. Reading strategies in gospel narratives.

I'm not too sure what you are meaning here.

> 2. Mark 1:1-3 and the narrator's reading of Israel's Scripture. My work 
> here has led me
> to believe that this opening paragraph is the "hermeneutical key" to 
> Mark's gospel - you
> may want to consider it in conjunction with chapters 4 and 12 (see 
> Tolbert, "Sowing the
> Gospel")
> 3. John the Baptist as foreshadowing Jesus Messiah both his message and 
> his fate.
> 4. The temptation narrative and its function in Mark's story (I have found 
> that the entire
> gospel of Mark can be taught through the lens of 1:1-15).

I had been tossing up about smuggling a treatment of 1.1-15 into the Genre 
lecture. But probably that would be trying to do too much. Perhaps I could 
tackle these three in a lecture on Mark's Introduction (1.1-15) and use 
that as a bridge between some of the more 'Introduction' type of lectures 
and the other more thematic and theological content ones. I'm going to add 
that one to my list.


> 5. Demons and the stronger One (reading Mark 1, 3 and 5 in concert) - it 
> may be that
> Mark is retelling the Joshua story - wild beast = demons (see LXX Isaiah 
> 12-13; 34-35)
> 6. The Second Exodus motif (you might consider reviewing Rikki Watts here and
> Mauser "Christ in the Wilderness").
> 7. Wilderness themes - the feeding narratives (D. Juel's commentary is 
> good on this
> subject as well as M. Hooker's)
> 8. The echoes of Isaiah 6 and 34-35 in the gospel of Mark - The two stage 
> healing of
> the blind in chapter 8 and Bartimaeus in chapter 10 as paradigmatic for 
> true "seeing"
> and "hearing" in the gospel.

These are good ideas.
Perhaps within the framework I'm working with it might be possible to cover 
these issues in a lecture on the Miracles and Parables in Mark (does this 
need two lectures or, following Hooker, would it be better to treat them 
together to show their connectedness to Mark)? Hmm?


So far I think I've suggested eleven topics: (re-arranged into a better order)
1. Intro: Outline of Mark and Overview of Reception
2. The Greek of Mark
3. The Text of Mark
4. The Setting/Occasion of Mark
5. The Genre of Mark
6. The Introduction to Mark.
7. The Narrative of Mark
8. The God of Mark
9. The Christology of Mark
10. The Parables and Miracles of Mark
11. The Disciples in Mark

Lots to think about and (at least) one more spot up for grabs. Any more 
ideas? Perhaps I should have just asked the previous lecturer what he did!!!

Cheers

Pete


Peter M. Head, PhD
Sir Kirby Laing Senior Lecturer in New Testament
Tyndale House
36 Selwyn Gardens                                       Phone: (UK) 01223 
566607
Cambridge, CB3 9BA                                      Fax: (UK) 01223 566608
http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Tyndale/staff/Head/Staff.htm