Question Mark: Episode 8 – The Rulers of the Age

As mentioned last time, Christianity was one of several apocalyptic sectarian traditions that had emerged within Judaism in the late Second Temple period.

These apocalyptic communities relied upon the personal revelations of certain inspired individuals to interpret new prophecies for the people: typically about the eventual end of their collective suffering at the hands of cruel imperial powers, the coming punishment of the wicked and the weak-willed, and the fated rise of the chosen ones to their glory in the kingdom of heaven.

The scriptures written by apocalyptic communities were full of cryptic imagery and symbolism. This was partially due to their reliance on the experiences of divine revelation, but also because it allowed them to spread radical theological messages across hostile lands with little risk of incrimination. The biblical book of Daniel is a formative work of literary apocalypse, and the books of Mark and Revelation are two examples of Christian works that were heavily informed by the esoteric tradition established by the Daniel narrative.

The earliest Christian writings we have available are not formal apocalyptic narratives, however, but letters written by the apostle Paul to various communities he had helped to establish. Paul was a latecomer to the early movement, but he soon eclipsed other apostles in his efforts to convert sinners to Christ. 

Wrapped up in Paul’s highly effective evangelizing was his permissive attitude toward Jewish laws on diet and other practices for purity (such as male circumcision). It seems that followers of the elder apostle James followed stricter rules—and so circumcised Christians would not eat among the uncircumcised. 

In contrast, Paul felt that concerns about such laws were misguided earthly concerns, and they got in the way of the more important heavenly concerns of Jesus Christ. Paul was so vehemently against the pressures of more legalistic Christian leaders that he even wrote this in his letter to the Galatians: 

As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

(Galatians 5:12)

Some years after the death of Paul, a Christian sympathetic to his arguments wrote the gospel of Mark to attack strict adherence to Jewish traditions as foolish obstinance that invited Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem. A bit later, another Christian took that written gospel and refashioned it to advocate for strict adherence to Jewish laws, while depicting permissive Christians as well as non-Christian Jewish communities as inviting their own destruction. Additionally, while the Mark gospel bears the markings of apocalyptic esotericism, Matthew’s reworking pretty much spells everything out for readers.

We know that Christianity spread rapidly over subsequent decades, and eventually dominated the Western world. So who won out?

Certainly, esoteric elitists like the Mark gospel did not really overtake the movement. Maybe that was by design (after all, only the seeds scattered onto fertile soil will grow and bloom), but the later refashioning of his gospel into a straightforward narrative of the life and times of Jesus made the cryptic symbolism of his story much less noticeable, more like quirks of a hasty first draft rather than crucial elements of a complete story.

And yet, as Gentile converts overwhelmed the movement, there was a trend away from Jewish traditions in Christianity. This of course included a freedom from adherence to Jewish laws, and in this sense the apostle Paul and the Mark author proved victorious. But there was also a trend away from converts knowing and understanding the Hebrew Scriptures—indeed a trend away from literacy in general as more poor communities and slaves were converted. 

One result of this is that the active weaving of older prophecies into narrative works was came to be seen less as inspired engagement with sacred works for a new message, and more as a simple prediction come true: Hebrew Prophecy X says ABC, and Jesus did ABC according to the gospels, so that’s evidence of a prophecy being fulfilled. This was a thoroughly convincing metric for many new converts, though I myself lament the demise of a far richer scriptural tradition.

Of course, the spread of the gospels across the lands eventually led to the formal conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine, the foundation of the Roman Catholic Church, and the later establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the empire. That a tradition of apocalyptic Judaism would eventually be adopted by the very ruling powers that had originally compelled certain Jews to pine for cosmic judgment at the End of Days was an irony that the earliest Christians never would have imagined. Tragically, the Jewish tradition of internal criticism that fueled early Christian writings was eventually used as a weapon by those ruling powers to justify even more oppression and carnage. Even though Matthew was written by a Jew to advance a Jewish brand of Christianity, the quote “his blood be on us and on our children” was used by later churches to establish a blood libel upon all Jews for the murder of the Christ, which was used to justify anti-semitic violence and terror for centuries to come. What a horribly tragic irony; a translational breakdown over the ages that led to utter ruin.

Still, some messages are impervious to misunderstanding: we have the Matthew gospel to thank for spreading the Sermon on the Mount all around the world. No matter the time or the region, when congregations focus on the Beatitudes (“Blessed are the meek; blessed are the poor in spirit”), I believe those communities are a little better off. Even the Mark gospel, the darkest of the four, has some beautiful words of wisdom peppered throughout: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

The Christian world in the first century was just as messy, contentious, and seemingly contradictory as any human society. The power of their scriptures lies in their ability to illuminate and lay bare all of the intricacies of the human condition. And it’s not all pretty, or easy to contemplate.

But serious contemplation and critical engagement with these scriptures can unlock truths that a simple straightforward story or sermon can rarely touch. My wrestling with them has definitely brought me closer to them, and has helped to give voice to some of my own lived experiences. For me that is a power that’s far more valuable than a simple prophetic prediction.

Hopefully in these posts I’ve stimulated more of an appreciation of the gospel of Mark, and of apocalyptic scriptures more generally. But for now, we’ve reached the End Time.

…I mean, the end of the series. Not the world.

…Or do I?????

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Epilogue … Let it Shine

In my mini-series about the gospel of Mark, I painted a portrait of early Christian communities that was all in all…rather dark.

There were good reasons to do so! As I argued, Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. was a major framing conceit of that first gospel story, without which it reads like an inscrutable mystery or inadequate first draft–which it is not!

More importantly, such severity goes beyond any gospel. Jewish apocalyptic communities like the early Christians tended to ruminate quite a lot on themes of suffering and harsh judgment. It’s baked into the larger tradition. What’s more, that severe worldview informed which ancient scriptures they gravitated to, and how they imbued their lives with meaning.

How else could a psalm attributed to King David evoke clear images of a later faith’s central figure?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish? 

Psalm 22:1

Or how could a passage about suffering for atonement start to sound like a prophecy of a messiah?

He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Isaiah 53:3

(If you haven’t read Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53, please read the full passages and appreciate just how pivotal they are to the development of Christian theology. They are by far the most sampled scriptures in Mark, by the way)

I fully believe that we need to reckon with the darker elements of religious scripture in order to understand how socio-political realities may have colored the communities’ beliefs and theological worldview. We should understand the facts as we encounter them, simple as that.

And yet, it felt wrong to conclude the series without focusing a bit more on some inspiring and uplifting passages, as they too do abound, and are also important components of the beliefs and worldviews of the time.

Here are some choice quotes from various scriptures, some of them non-canonical, to give a flavor of various apocalyptic/Christian communities, and the more edifying ideals they aspire to.

Take those ears to hear and listen well!

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

Matthew 5:14

Jesus said, “It is I who am the light which is above them all. It is I who am the all. From me did the all come forth, and unto me did the all extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.

Thomas 77

Behold, the Lord is our mirror. Open your eyes and see them in Him. And learn the manner of your face, then declare praises to His Spirit. And wipe the paint from your face, and love His holiness and put it on.

Then you will be unblemished at all times with Him. Hallelujah.

And learn the manner of your face, then declare praises to His Spirit.

And wipe the paint from your face, and love His holiness and put it on.

Then you will be unblemished at all times with Him. Hallelujah.” 

Odes of Solomon 13

For he is total perfection. He did not lack anything, that he might be completed by it; rather he is always completely perfect in light. He is illimitable, since there is no one prior to him to set limits to him. He is unsearchable, since there exists no one prior to him to examine him. He is immeasurable, since there was no one prior to him to measure him. He is invisible, since no one saw him. He is eternal, since he exists eternally. He is ineffable, since no one was able to comprehend him to speak about him. He is unnameable, since there is no one prior to him to give him a name. 

The Apocryphon of John

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you. For what reward is there for loving those who love you? Do not the Gentiles do the same? But love those who hate you, and you shall not have an enemy. 

Didache 1

Yes, there is plenty of inspiration to be found here.

Despite the darkness and severity, there is an idealization of human goodness in these scriptures that simply knows no bounds. 

Of course, Ideals rarely reflect the reality of human life on the ground, but they do provide us with something to lift us up, to edify us, to help us march forward and make the world a better place than it was before we came into it. 

I’ll leave you with one more quote from Matthew, which we desperately need to look to more than ever:

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Matthew 25:34-40

Hallelujah.

Thanks for reading, everybody!

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