354 - Conflict in Mark: Jesus, Authorities, Disciples

Conflict in Mark: Jesus, Authorities, Disciples
By Jack Dean Kingsbury
Minneapolis, Augsburg Fortress, 1989. 150 pp. $8.95.

One must see this book for what it is-a literary critical study of Mark for non-specialists. The dialogue with scholars is in the footnotes. More appropriate for an inquiring laity than pastors and students, Kingsbury patiently walks the reader through texts of conflict in Mark. Chapter 2 offers a sketch of Jesus the protagonist focusing on his status as Son of God. (An excursus on the title Son of Man is appended to the conclusion!) Chapters 3 and 4 introduce the antagoniststhe authorities and the disciples. Acknowledging his debt to Rhoads and Michie for their discussion of the authorities and to Tannehill for his work on the disciples, Kingsbury leaves unexplored the cosmic dimensions of the cosmic war of worlds in Mark and, somewhat anachronistically, suggests that this story is a narrative of Jesus' conflict with Israel rather than within Israel. Also missing from the introductory methodological chapter is an appreciation of the ferment within literary critical circles. An encounter or even collision with Foucault and Derrida might have given the book a vitality that it lacks.

The strength of the works of such persons as Wilder, Kermode, Crossan, is that they give us sweeping views of breathtaking vistas, a sense of the text's vibrancy and power, and an appreciation for the gravity of the struggle before us. By helping us hear the palpable groan of the combatants and the delirious cries of evil's hostages, they give us a fresh appreciation for the awesome liberating power of Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom. While Kingsbury's book lacks those qualities, it is valuable, nevertheless. For in a patient and academically responsible way, it teaches the nonspecialist an appreciation for the way Mark's central emphasis on the cross weaves its way through the whole fabric of the Gospel. While this task may not be glamorous, it is absolutely necessary, and for that reason the book is worth buying.

Calvin J. Roetzel
Macalester College
St. Paul, Minn.