Thaumaturgical response in Mark 15:1-16:8

Definition of thaumaturgical response.

In Mark 15-16, thaumaturgical discourse is present in references to darkness covering the whole land at the hour of Jesus' death (15:33-37), the curtain of the temple splitting from top to bottom (15:38), the stone that has mysteriously rolled back from the door of Jesus' tomb (16:4), and Jesus' rising up from death and exit from the tomb (16:6). The discourse introduces the possibility of a thaumaturgical response by God upon Jesus during the crucifixion (15:30, 32) only to delay it until the context of his death and burial in a tomb.

From V. K. Robbins, Exploring the Texture of Texts, (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1996), p. 75.

Back to social and cultural texture index

For other examples from the Gospel of Mark, click here.