A THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WORD CROWD IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK

BY: OBOH ALEXANDER SSPP/THEO/11/0206

BEING A TERM PAPER TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY SEMINARY OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL BODIJA IBADAN IN AFFILIATION TO THE PONTIFICAL URBANIA UNIVERSITY ROME IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF THIS COURSE COURSE: LITERATURE AND THEOLOGY OF MARK LECTURER: REV. FR. DR. FRANCIS ADESINA

DATE: 31ST MAY, 2012

INTRODUCTION

The gospel of Mark is recorded as the first gospel in the New Testament. However, for the bulk of church history the Gospel according to Mark is often referred to as the Second Gospel. This is evidently due to its frequent listing after the Gospel of Matthew. For St. Augustine says that Mark was a primary follower, lackey, and digester of Matthew (De consensus evangelistarum 1.2.4).1The Gospel of Mark is attributed to John Mark.2 My basic concern in this work is to embark on the parsing, occurrences in the gospel, give a theological exploration and analysis of the word which means Crowd in the gospel of Mark and its relation with the other synoptic gospels. CROWD IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK PARSING OF THE WORD (CROWD) IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK In The New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible (Catholic Edition) the word CROWD occurs THIRTY SEVEN (37) TIMES. PART OF SPEECH- (NOUN SECOND DECLENSION), NUMBER- (SINGULAR), GENDER- (MASCULINE), CASE- (NOMINATIVE) As it occurs 14 times in the following chapters and verses of Marks gospel 2:13; 3:20; 3:32; 4:1
a&b

; 5:21; 9:15; 9:25; 11:18; 12:27; 12:41; 14:43 and 15:8. AS

(A CROWD) occurs 13 times in the following chapters and verses of Marks gospel 2:4; 3:9; 4:36; 5:31; 6:34; 6:45; 7:14; 8:2; 8:34; 9:14; 11:32; 12:12 and 15:11. As (OF A CROWD) it occurs 4 times in the following chapters and verses of Marks gospel 7:33; 8:1; 9:17 and 10:46. AS (IN OR TO A CROWD) it appears 5 times in the following chapters and verses 5:27; 5:30; 8:6 plural form and it is found in Mark 10:1. THEOLOGICAL STATEMENTS ABOUT THE USE OF THE WORD CROWD IN MARKS GOSPEL AND THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS In the gospel according to Mark and in the other synoptic gospels, the crowds are seen a hindrance to Jesus ministry. On the other hand is seems to mean that Mark is saying in a subtle way that Israel has lost its form. This he does by the act of collapsing the term People into being a Crowd.
1 Daniel Harrington, S.J Sacra Pagina The Gospel of Mark (Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2002) p.3 2 Acts 12:12; 15:37)
a&b

and 15:15. AS

(CROWDS) it occurs only once. This is the only position were the word is used in the

The crowd becomes a chaos which interferes with the mission of Christ. It is the crowd which presents the four men bringing the paralysed man to him, so that they have to lower him through a hold in the roof3. The crowd forced Jesus out into a boat, to avoid being crushed4. Hence the need for the boat and press of the crowd magnify the power of Jesus.5 Jesus leaves one area because of so many sick persons are coming for healing, due to this he was impaired from preaching his message. Jesus and his disciples cannot even eat because of the gathering of the crowd at their house6. The woman with the issue of blood, touches the hem of his garment in the crowd, suddenly Jesus became aware of this, even in the crowd7. Then his disciples retorted You see the crowd pressing round you and you are saying who touched me? The crowd thereafter began to increase more and more, Jesus became very popular, and the crowds began to mob him. The crowd are sheep without a shepherd8. It is the crowd whom Jesus feeds at the two miracles of the loaves and fishes9. The chief priests and the scribes are afraid of the crowd10. The chief priest stirs up the crowd11, so that Pontius Pilate is described as doing what the crowd wanted when he sentences Jesus to death. Suddenly in chapters 14 and 15, the identity of the crowd changed dramatically. The crowd turns on Jesus, the crowds comes to arrest him, the crowd demands his crucifixion for Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate agrees to crucify Jesus. The apparently friendly crowds and the latter hateful crowds caused a great deal of problems for Jesus. The word is used in the same manner just as it applies in the gospel according to Mark. It occurs 14 times in the gospel according to Matthew, 15 times in the gospel of Luke and 9 times in the gospel of John. SYNOPTIC COMPARISM The reality of the crowd posing a seeming obstruction to the ministry of Jesus, their docility to listening to Jesus whenever he speaks, their not giving Jesus and his disciples the opportunity to eat and Jesus as their shepherd when they were hungry suggest or gives us a holistic insight to why the word is used in the same manner in the other synoptic gospels. CONCLUSION In the gospel of Mark and in the other synoptic gospels the crowd appears to be a shapeless entity. They are eager to hear Jesus but were also easily persuaded to call for his death. They are faceless because they connote varied faces in the gospel. In the concluding chapters of
3 Mark 2:4 4 Mark 3:9 5 Daniel Harrington, S.J Sacra Pagina The Gospel of Mark (Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2002) p. 120 6 Mark 3:20 7 Mark 5:26-33 8 Mark 6:34 9 Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-10 10 Mark 11:32; 12:12 11 Mark 15:11

Marks gospel, the crowd does not call directly for the death of Christ and it is not present at his crucifixion on the cross, for Mark says that people who pass by began to mock him without the exemption of the Chief priests and the Scribes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Daniel J. Harrington, S.J Sacra Pagina The Gospel of Mark, The Liturgical Press Collegeville, Minnesota; 2002 Pheme Perkins; New Testament Introduction St. Paul Press Training School, Bangalore 2008 Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament Theological Publications, Bangalore; 2007 The Holy Bible, The New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition for India Theological Publications, India
Wilfrid J. Harrington, O.P, Key to the Bible Vol. 1 Alba House, New York; 1975

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