Mark as Story: An Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel, Third Edition

David Rhoads’ book, Mark as Story: an Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel takes an unique approach to the Gospel of Mark through what the book calls “narrative analysis.” What Rhoads does in his book is to contextualize not only the historical and social context of the writing of Mark’s gospel account, but also the narrative writing of Mark’s author. Rhoads makes it plain that his approach analyses Mark as a story, rather than an historic accounting of Jesus’ life by Mark’s author. Rhoads examines storytelling culture in first century Mediterranean culture, which he notes was primarily done by oral composition. The Gospel of Mark, he argues, is not only intended to be read, but also performed. By this, Rhoads means that the story told in Mark was to be told in a “lively and meaningful” way. In this sense, Mark is filled with all the necessary attributes of storytelling such as tone, voice, volume, body language, etc, all designed to evoke a response from its intended audience. The meat of Rhoads’ book include sections on the narrator, the settings, the plot and the characters of Jesus, the disciples and other characters secondary to the story within Mark. In all these sections, Rhoads argues that there is a storytelling intent to everything about the Gospel of Mark; a narrator who tells the story as well as its first writer, settings designed to place the story in a time, place and culture, and a plot that twists and turns to climax in the death of Jesus of Nazareth, and dynamic characters existing with purpose within the story. Rhoads concludes with a section on the audience; how it was read two thousand years ago and to whom it was read and how it may be read by contemporary readers today. There are aspects of Rhoads’ book on which I whole-heartedly agree. His narrative analysis reinvigorates the text of Mark’s gospel account, giving it life that for myself and other readers of Mark may not have been there before. We tend to read the gospel accounts as mere history, which for bible believing Christians is true, but we also believe that the Holy Spirit used each author in a unique way, leaving marks of their personality, passions, and style all throughout the text of scripture.Rhoads points out that everything from the pace of the story, to the characters and their dimensionality is absolutely intentional on the part of the author. In this way, everything about Mark’s gospel can be understood as purposeful, not just by the author, but by the Holy Spirit himself. It is fascinating to look at Mark through that lense. There is nothing nonsensical about understanding all of Mark to be written with careful detail and purpose. In fact, backed with a biblical theology, the author’s intentional and purposed writing, coupled with God’s sovereignty truly attest to the beauty of not just Mark, but of all the gospel accounts and the rest of scripture.There are many things in which I disagree with in this book, however I will highlight only two of them. The first is that I’m not quite sold on the performance part where Rhoads suggest that the proper context of Mark was for the to reader perform and “act out all the characters.” I accept the purposefulness in the story writing of Mark and I also affirm that it necessarily was read out loud to illiterate Christians in the early church, but I find it a stretch to say that it was to be “performed.” Not only is there no early church evidence of this being the case, but the Christian tradition of preaching has been remarkably well preserved over two thousand years, taking direction from Jesus, the Apostles and early church fathers. It would make sense that if the “performing” of Mark’s gospel were to be truly intended and practiced in the early church, then it is likely that this would be preserved in some manner to this day. Thus, it is a bit too far to suggest that the writer of Mark intended his account to be performed like a dramatic story around a campfire or on a stage.The second issue I take with Rhoads is the imposition of his presupposed theological views onto Mark. At times it felt like Rhoads and I were not reading the same Mark. Rhoads states in his book that Jesus “becomes God’s son at his baptism,” and that he had no divine nature. He even seems to manipulate his translation of Mark to imply just that by changing Mark 1:11 from “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” to “You are my beloved son. I delighted choosing you.” Every honest Bible translation has translated Mark 1:11 in some manner of the former; Rhoads’ personal translation appears to be intentionally translated as the latter, most likely to accommodate his own theological views of Christ not being a divine member of the trinity. In another passage, Rhoads draws a conclusion that Jesus’ death as depicted in Mark is merely to show human faithfulness to God, when in reality Jesus’ death as detailed in Mark shows God’s faithfulness to a broken and sinful people. In many ways, Rhoads’ distorted theology plays into a misunderstanding of the fundamental nature of Mark’s gospel: to proclaim Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and the ushering in of God’s kingdom. Mark as Story is a good book for the seasoned Christian, firmly founded in biblical theology. Any new believer, or immature Christian should stay away from this book for they would be treading into waters too deep and rough for their stage in spiritual life. That being said and the bad theology aside, there is much that a mature and equipped follower of Christ can glean from Rhoads’ book. Namely a fresh way to look at the scriptures which can give some insight as to how Mark’s gospel was not only written, but masterfully crafted to tell the story of Jesus Christ and the good news he brought with him.

Three prominent Bible scholars place the Gospel of Mark in its First Century context, encouraging readers to view it from the vantage point of its initial audience, exploring what it means for Mark's Gospel message to be presented as an oral performance, in one sitting, by an experienced storyteller. Then, in somewhat the same manner as a literary or movie critic, the authors examine the kind of story Mark told, the storytelling conventions his audience would have been familiar with, including ones modern readers might easily misunderstand."Mark as Story" also includes topics traditionally incorporated in "Introductions", theological and literary insights, issues of translation, and of course a discussion of the "shorter ending of Mark" - the fact that some reliable early manuscripts end at Chapter 16, v. 8, leaving the story apparently unfinished and the listener in suspense. How and why this might have occurred, and why the early Church added a precis of the Matthew ending are issues that offer an interesting and scholarly "reading" of what Mark was trying to tell us. Other issues dealt with in some detail are the role and identity of the story's Narrator and the presumed Listener; explaining storytelling techniques like the "Markan sandwich" (beginning an episode, interpolating a different episode, then coming back to finish the first, leaving the hearer to see how the two complement each other); and a close look at how Mark quotes "scripture" and reveals fulfilled prophesies. A final benefit: the bibliography of this 3rd edition of a classic will point you toward the best of modern scholarship on the influence of oral presentation on the New Testament, contemporary interpretations of Mark, the origin and composition of the New Testament, and the relevance of its message to the theology and practice of modern Christianity."Mark as Story" is important reading for anyone who is interested in recovering the impact of this first Gospel on its Jewish and Greek hearers, or in listening to the question Mark asks, — "Just Who is this Jesus, and what is his relation to God's promises to Israel?" — and reaching for the answer he does not quite tell you.

This text is being used in a theology course I am taking through a local seminary. The text is excellent and thought provoking, of course. This is the third edition of the work and so it has been well received.The Kindle edition is a good adaption to an ebook. The hyperlinked footnotes are handled better than in some books I have used.On the CON side, page numbers are not given. This makes it difficult to coordinate with students using the paper version.

Using the method of “narrative criticism”, the authors make clear, in simple and direct language, what the “good news” meant for Mark and the communities he was writing for.As a non-Christian, this book really helped me get my head around the concept of “the rule (kingdom) of God” and how some people in the 1st century understood Jesus’ role (and those who followed his teachings) in the “kingdom’s” realization on Earth.As for the book as a whole, preeminent New Testament scholar Mark Allan Powell writes in the Afterword:“What Rhoads and Michie’s Mark as Story accomplished better than any other book of which I am aware is simply this: it explains what happens in the story (the plot, the characters, the settings) and how the story is told (the tone, the rhetoric, and the role of the narrator). It reveals the basic meaning of the Gospel of Mark in a manner that corresponds quite closely to what most people, most of the time, mean when they talk about “the meaning of a story.””I highly recommend this book.

Great price and quality for size!

I wish very much that I had come across this remarkable book years ago. It is a most profound and illuminating study of Mark's Gospel. The three authors David Rhoades, Joanna Dewey and Donald Mitchie are all experts in their theological fields Their book reflects well their ability to discern the many contrasting themes that characterize the first of the Gospels. Only comparatively recently have I come across narrative criticism in the development of the New Testament documents.Important in their appreciation of Mark's Gospel is the function of the narrator, settings,plot and characters.Jesus himself, the disciples, the Judaean authorities, the minor participants, and importantly, the implied audience, ourselves, are woven into a rich tapestry that energizes, inspires and challenges. This is probably the most insightful book I have encountered on the Gospels for some time.

One of the most helpful books available on a narrative critical approach to a Gospel. A must read.