Fear, Anomaly, and Uncertainty in the Gospel of Mark

A study of the Gospel of Mark. The author delineates the religious and theological insights of Mark’s handling and organizing his material about fear, uncertainty and impurity, or the very themes implicated in the crucifixion of Jesus. This volume treats separately the several Anomalous Frightful scenes: the stilling of the storm, the Gerasene Demoniac, the woman with the flow of blood, Jairus’ daughter, the sending of the disciples, the beheading of John the Baptist, the feeding of the five thousand, and Jesus walking on the water. For the most part Jesus encounters these conflicts - the Anomalous Frightful - with a contextual, not a permanent solution. Indeed, the Gospel of Mark itself ends without a final resolution. The author clarifies the literary function of the Anomalous Frightful and then shows how it serves as the basis for those stories found in Mark.