The Temple in the Gospel of Mark: A Study in Its Narrative Role

Timothy C. Gray analyzes one of the most striking elements of Mark's story: the vital role the temple plays from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem to the moment of his death. Mark brings a dramatic tension into his narrative by juxtaposing Jesus and the temple. The author's narrative analysis of Mark's use of the temple sheds light on the theological portrait Mark paints of Jesus' mission, teaching, and identity. This focus upon the temple serves to show how Jesus and his community will replace the temple. Mark also employs the temple as the backdrop for much of the passion narrative in order to portray the death of Jesus in an eschatological vision that is deeply linked to the temple. A careful examination of Mark's use of intertextuality, especially in the eschatological discourse (Mark 13), discloses a pattern of OT texts that cluster around prophetic oracles that relate to the destruction of the first temple and other prophetic texts that point to the restoration of Israel that would follow such a tribulation. Noting Mark's reliance on the prophetic eschatology of Israel opens up a new perspective on Mark's eschatology. The fate of the temple and Jesus are intertwined for Mark.