Overview

The Secret of the Kingdom of God argues that the Evangelist Mark should be recognized as much a creative author as any of the other gospel writers. This new approach examines Mark’s text against the available evidence of the literary heritage of first century authors, their education, and the writing practices in the Greco-Roman world. It is also focused on the text of Mark’s gospel as an intelligible whole, created by Mark using literary models well known to him and to his audience. This “new paradigm” accordingly shows another moment in the developing theology of the early Church, i.e. how a story of the life of Jesus can be used to present the significance of the death of Jesus for his later disciples. Mark is clear about his purpose: His first verse indicates that he will narrate the “beginning” of the “gospel” / “good news” (1:1) of Jesus’ resurrection and he announces the imminent “Kingdom of God” in Jesus’ first words (1:15); the “secret” / “mystery” of the Kingdom of God is then said to be disclosed to those who were his disciples (4:11) and to those who would later be his disciples (8:34 – 9:1). That purpose is clear from the very structure of Mark’s composition, where he discloses the secret of the Kingdom of God in his central section (8:27 – 10:45) and frequently shifts from the narration of Jesus’ story to episodes depicting discipleship. Mark’s gospel, then, is written for Christians to emphasize that they are essentially modelling their lives after Jesus’ life and death and that Jesus’ surrendering of himself to God’s will for him led to Jesus’ resurrection and is the “good news” for us, bringing the hope of our own continuance after death. The Kingdom of God is the reality of all those who live this way in every generation and era. To those “outside” it remains a “secret” or a “mystery” they cannot fathom. To those “inside” it is a place where the love one extends to others brings an intimacy with the Risen Jesus and with the One who sent him (9:37).

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9781978702646

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For too long Synoptic Gospels scholarship has regarded Mark as less artful, sophisticated, and narratively effective than its canonical successors Matthew and Luke. In The Secret of the Kingdom of God, Hugh Humphrey makes a compelling case that this assumption ought not stand any longer. He suggests that, more than simply a source for subsequent writers, the Gospel of Mark is an astutely structured literary work that creatively re-employs a variety of traditions, both Jewish and Greco-Roman, in order to disclose the secret of the Kingdom of God. This book productively contributes to a new understanding of the Gospel of Mark as a text that is both literarily and rhetorically effective. -- Nicholas A. Elder, Marquette University Humphrey invites us to look at the literary creativity of Mark in an entirely new way. In what reads at times like a mystery novel, Humphrey sets about to answer the question: What was the secret of the Kingdom of God that Jesus told the disciples in 4:11 had been given to them? This thought-provoking book argues that Mark was a well educated first century author who composed his gospel using literary models well known to him and to his audience. Humphrey makes a compelling argument that Mark's text should be examined against the literary heritage of the first century. Well-researched, Humphrey skillfully reveals how references to the chreia, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Elijah/Elisha cycle of stories, the Homeric epics, and Plato's Timaeus, are reflected in Mark's Gospel. He explains that the text of the Gospel of Mark went through several stages of composition and that the employment of these other literary sources is found at all stages of the composition. Not only concerned with where Mark obtained the materials which he used in compiling the major sections of his gospel, Humphrey gives insightful answers as to why the evangelist first composed each of those clearly distinct sections. In composing his story of Jesus, Mark arranged this material into a concentric structure, a point Humphrey has made in his earlier books. Mark's use of a concentric structure and his employment of first century sources leads to the conclusion that the secret of the Kingdom of God centers on authentic discipleship. Mark has merged originally separate sections with passages about discipleship and arranged the whole into a concentric structure. That structure brings the material in Mark 8:27-10:45 into a central position. At the conclusion of this section in which the secret of the Kingdom of God is disclosed, Jesus declares that the entire purpose of the Son of Man was to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (10:45). This leads to the conclusion that the disciples should deny themselves completely (8:34) and should love the Lord your God with all your heart...and your neighbor like yourself (12:29, 31). Extremely helpful is the Appendix which contains the final text of the Gospel of Mark with Markan editing italicized and materials that Mark has drawn from other sources clearly identified. Humphrey makes a compelling case in this well-conceived, well-researched, and well-written book. -- Dennis Sweetland, Professor Emeritus of Theology, Saint Anselm College Building on recent studies that suggest Mark's use of the Elijah-Elisha narrative, the Homeric epics, and even traditions from Plato, Humphrey not only draws all of these possible sources together, but offers compelling arguments for additional possible source material. Using evidence of both ancient compositional practices and those of the Markan evangelist himself, Humphrey deftly pulls all of these strands of source material together. What emerges is a unique and insightful study not only on the possible source material for the Gospel of Mark, but also on the significance of such source material for understanding the message of the Gospel itself. No doubt serious students of Mark's Gospel want to engage Humphrey's findings. -- Adam Winn, Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Mark's Gospel has confounded exegetes for years. While early on, scholars thought it to be primitive and inchoate, current research shows how complex and even sophisticated Mark is. In The Secret of the Kingdom of God, Hugh Humphrey demonstrates with great clarity and mastery how Mark the Evangelist, in constructing his gospel, has taken the prophetic and sapiential literature of the Jewish Tradition and has used it to reinterpret Homeric literature for the sake of sharing the Messianic secret in the proclamation of the Good News. -- Michael Patella, OSB, Professor of New Testament, Saint John's University School of Theology and Seminary, Collegeville, Minnesota

Author Information

Hugh M. Humphrey taught New Testament for fifty years at Fairfield University.

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