Socio-Rhetorical Examples

Progressive Texture in Mark 15:1-16:8

Definition of progressive texture.

Another aspect of progressive texture in Mark 15:1-16:8 occurs around seeing:

Progression of seeing in Mark 15:1-16:8

When Jesus is handed over to Pilate, the chief priests accuse Jesus of many things (15:3). When Jesus does not reply to their charges, Pilate says to him, "See how many charges they bring against you" (15:4). When Pilate sees the insistence of the chief priests and the crowd, he finally gives in to their wish for Jesus to be crucified. When Jesus is on the cross, chief priests and scribes raise the issue of what they are able to "see." If Jesus will only come down from the cross, they say, they will be able to see and believe that he is the Messiah. The topic of seeing continues when the centurion standing opposite Jesus sees Jesus die and asserts that Jesus truly is son of God. The emphasis on seeing progresses to a sequence of observing by the women. Standing afar, they observe both the death of Jesus and the tomb where Joseph lays him for burial. When they go to the tomb on the morning after the sabbath, they observe the stone rolled back and they see a young man who speaks to them. In turn, the man tells them the disciples will see Jesus in Galilee. Seeing, then, is a topic that moves the narrative forward from the accusations against Jesus to the taunting of him on the cross to his death, burial, and resurrection. Seeing in Mark is such an extensive topic that it cannot be pursued in detail here. One of the key questions is whether the disciples are to see the resurrected Jesus or Jesus as the returned son of Man in Galilee (16:7). Another issue is the relation of sight to the other senses, like hearing, touching, tasting, etc. We will return briefly to sight in the section on sensory-aesthetic texture below. Seeing is an important part of the progressive texture of the account of Jesus' death and resurrection in Mark.

A still more detailed analysis of progressive texture in Mark 15:1-16:8 reveals a sequence of seven scenes. These scenes emerge from a reading of the text that is attentive to exceptionally brief patterns of repetition and progression. Embedded in the larger patterns that come into view with the initial analysis of repetitive and progressive texture, these brief patterns reveal an intricately configured environment of actions and responses that move the narrative forward from the delivery of Jesus to Pilate to Jesus' absence from a tomb.

Scenes based on repetitive and progressive texture

1. Mark 15:1-15: Selection of Jesus to be Humiliated and Crucified

2. Mark 15:16-24: Mockery of Jesus as Royalty

3. Mark 15:25-32: Jesus Hangs on the Cross

4. Mark 15:33-39: Jesus' Crying Out and Death

5. Mark 15:40-41: Women Observe the Crucifixion of Jesus

6. Mark 15:42-46: Permission for and Burial of Jesus' Corpse

7. Mark 15:47-16:8: Women Visit the Empty Tomb

This diagram was generated through highly detailed analysis of repetitive and progressive phenomena in the Greek text (Robbins 1992b). Some of the items are difficult to see in English translation, since the English words may not repeat the same words and word stems. Only this kind of close analysis, however, can produce a detailed outline of the scenes in the story. The major reason for presenting this diagram is to provide the opportunity to make observations about specific scenes throughout Mark 15:1-16:8 in the remainder of this book.

From V. K. Robbins, Exploring the Texture of Texts, (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1996), pp. 12-14.

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