There is one group, aside from the apostles, for whom the above passage would have been important: Christians familiar with or who were once part of mystery religions. Whatever larger religious context it occurs in, a common feature of mystery religions is an emphasis on the presence of ?mysteries? in religious teachings. These mysteries are contained in metaphors and parables which seem to be literal truths to the average believer and to most people who hear about them, but secret truths contained within these messages are gradually revealed to those who rise up within the ranks.
This is not to say that the author of Mark was necessarily a devotee of mystery religions, but it certainly could be used by such people to support their perspective on Christianity. Moreover, it should cause us to take another look at the nature of early Christianity. Why else would Jesus be portrayed as not wanting people to have their sins forgiven?
Perhaps one could argue that this was not supposed to occur until he died on the cross, but there is no evidence that this complex soteriology had yet been developed. This is especially true in light of the fact that Jesus had already forgiven the sins of people on at least one occasion (Mark 2:5) and John the Baptist had been doing it before Jesus even arrived on the scene (Mark 1:4).
Of course, maybe the Jesus being described at this point isn?t the Jesus of popular Christianity today. Most Christians regard Jesus as someone who came to save the entire world, but we haven?t seen such a Jesus yet. So far, the Jesus described by Mark has only been interested in healing a few of those who were sick and forgiving a few of those who were sinful.
This is a Jesus who is only helping a few ? those who, based upon the accounts so far, have the strongest faith. The rest are either ignored or distracted by metaphors designed to be obscure.
This is consistent with Jesus being an apocalyptic prophet focused on his own cultural and religious context. The apocalyptic worldview is highly deterministic because it envisions a final battle between good and evil in which evil will be defeated by God; this, however, requires the existence of great evil that must first persecute believers.
Apocalyptic ideologies not only require the presence of evil and persecution, but in fact require that they be willed far in advance by God. Just as God hardened the heart of Pharaoh in order to make a grander show when he finally released the Hebrews, perhaps he is hardening the hearts of those listening to Jesus in order to make a grander show when he is crucified and raised from the dead. God?s purpose and apocalypse won?t be accomplished if too many people believe; he must thus ensure that enough remain ?blind? to the message to provide a basis for evil and opposition.
This is not to say that the author of Mark was necessarily a devotee of mystery religions, but it certainly could be used by such people to support their perspective on Christianity. Moreover, it should cause us to take another look at the nature of early Christianity. Why else would Jesus be portrayed as not wanting people to have their sins forgiven?
Perhaps one could argue that this was not supposed to occur until he died on the cross, but there is no evidence that this complex soteriology had yet been developed. This is especially true in light of the fact that Jesus had already forgiven the sins of people on at least one occasion (Mark 2:5) and John the Baptist had been doing it before Jesus even arrived on the scene (Mark 1:4).
Of course, maybe the Jesus being described at this point isn?t the Jesus of popular Christianity today. Most Christians regard Jesus as someone who came to save the entire world, but we haven?t seen such a Jesus yet. So far, the Jesus described by Mark has only been interested in healing a few of those who were sick and forgiving a few of those who were sinful.
This is a Jesus who is only helping a few ? those who, based upon the accounts so far, have the strongest faith. The rest are either ignored or distracted by metaphors designed to be obscure.
This is consistent with Jesus being an apocalyptic prophet focused on his own cultural and religious context. The apocalyptic worldview is highly deterministic because it envisions a final battle between good and evil in which evil will be defeated by God; this, however, requires the existence of great evil that must first persecute believers.
Apocalyptic ideologies not only require the presence of evil and persecution, but in fact require that they be willed far in advance by God. Just as God hardened the heart of Pharaoh in order to make a grander show when he finally released the Hebrews, perhaps he is hardening the hearts of those listening to Jesus in order to make a grander show when he is crucified and raised from the dead. God?s purpose and apocalypse won?t be accomplished if too many people believe; he must thus ensure that enough remain ?blind? to the message to provide a basis for evil and opposition.