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Did the evangelist Mark write two versions of his gospel? According to a letter ascribed to Clement of Alexandria, Mark created a second, more spiritual edition of his gospel for theologically advanced Christians in Alexandria. Clement’s letter contains two excerpts from this lost gospel, including a remarkably different account of the raising of Lazarus.
Forty-five years of cursory investigation have yielded five mutually exclusive paradigms, abundant confusion, and rumours of forgery. Strangely, one of the few things upon which most investigators agree is that the letter’s own explanation of the origin and purpose of this longer gospel need not be taken seriously.
Mark’s Other Gospel: Rethinking Morton Smith’s Controversial Discovery calls this pervasive bias into question. After thoroughly critiquing the five main paradigms, Scott G. Brown demonstrates that the gospel excerpts not only sound like Mark, but also employ Mark’s distinctive literary techniques, deepening this gospels theology and elucidating puzzling aspects of its narrative. This mystic gospel represents Mark’s own response to the Alexandrian predilection to discover the essential truths of a philosophy beneath the literal level of revered texts.
Table of Contents for
Mark’s Other Gospel: Rethinking Morton Smith’s Controversial Discovery by Scott G. Brown
Acknowledgments
Preface
List of Abbreviations
The Letter to Theodore
Clement’s Citations from the Longer Gospel
Part One: Rethinking the Dominant Paradigm
Chapter 1: A Longer, Esoteric Version of Mark’s Gospel
Scholarly Assessments of the Longer Gospel
A Literary Thesis
Chapter 2: The Question of the Authenticity of the Letter to Theodore
The Manuscript
The Possibility of Modern Forgery
The Possibility of Ancient Forgery
Conclusions
Chapter 3: Longer Mark’s Relation to Other Gospels
Longer Mark’s Basis in Oral Tradition
Longer Mark’s Relation to John
Longer Mark’s Relation to Matthew and Luke
Longer Mark’s Relation to Non-Canonical Gospels
Longer Mark’s Relation to Canonical Mark
Chapter 4: The Nature of the Longer Gospel
Clement’s Conception of the Genre of the Longer Gospel
The Reason for the Discretion Surrounding the Use of the Longer Gospel
Conclusions
Chapter 5: The Original Purpose and Later Use of the Longer Gospel
The Baptismal Reading of LGM 1b
The Baptismal Reading of the Letter to Theodore
Alternative Cultic Interpretations
The Need for a Literary Perspective on LGM 1 and 2
The Original Purpose and Later Use of LGM 1 and 2
Conclusions
Part Two: Analysis of Markan Literary Techniques
Chapter 6: Longer Mark’s Use of Intercalation
The Formal Characteristics of Intercalation
The Hermeneutical Significance of Intercalation
Excursus on the Relevance of Intercalation to the Question of the Authenticity of the Letter to Theodore
Chapter 7: Longer Mark’s Use of Framing Stories
What Constitutes an Inclusio?
Do Mark 10:32 and 16:7-8 Create an Inclusio?
LGM 1 and 2 and Mark 16:18 as a Frame for the Passion
Chapter 8: Longer Mark’s Use of Verbal Echoes
Reminiscences of the Man with Many Possessions
“And After Six Days”
The “Great Cry” from the Tomb
“The Mystery of the Kingdom of God”
LGM 1:12 as an Elaboration of Themes Introduced in Mark 4:11-12
The Mystery of the Kingdom of God and the Markan Gospel’s Imperative of Spiritual Understanding
Deeper Understanding as a Literary Agenda Shared by the Longer and Shorter Gospels
Chapter 9: Conclusions
The Nature and Original Purpose of the Longer Gospel
Who Wrote the Longer Gospel?
How and When Was the Longer Gospel Composed?
Longer Mark's Relevance to Scholarship
Notes
Bibliography
Modern Authors Index
Ancient Sources Index
Subject Index