In a previous post, I dealt primarily with two titles found in Mark to describe Jesus – Christ and Son of God. They are introduced to us in the first verse of the Gospel and are of paramount importance if one wants to understand Mark’s Christology. In this post, the last two are discussed – Son of Man and Teacher.
It is well known that Son of Man is Jesus’s favorite self-description. He calls Himself Son of Man fourteen times in Mark. The title has two emphases. First is authority. The Son of Man has authority to both forgive sins and heal (2:10); He is Lord of the Sabbath (2:28), and He is coming back again in glory with the authority to judge (8:38; 13:26; 14:62). This emphasis is tied to Daniel 7:13-14 where the Son of Man is given dominion, glory, and an everlasting kingdom.[1]
Second, and surprisingly given the Daniel 7 prophecy, the Son of Man will be rejected, suffer, die and rise again (8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:33-34). Whatever else Son of Man might mean, the title is tied to His mission as both a servant and vicarious sufferer (10:45). The Son of Man sayings in this category show that suffering is the pathway to glory and dominion.
There are four uses of the title in the Passion Narrative. Two of them are mentioned above (13:26; 14:62) — a woe is pronounced on the one who betrays the Son of Man (14:21), and at Gethsemane, after a third time catching Peter, James, and John asleep while He prayed, Jesus proclaimed, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into he hands of sinners” (14:41). These two uses emphasize suffering as well by means of betrayal. That betrayal is not arbitrary, but it is the will of God and the means by which that will is accomplished.[2]
Son of Man encapsulates what Mark wants his readers to know about Jesus.
Marshall emphasizes that the title is the vehicle through which Jesus teaches about His mission and fate. He is a figure of authority who is rejected, betrayed, suffers, and dies, but He is resurrected from the dead. In the future He comes again, bringing salvation and judgement.[3] By using Son of Man, Jesus is indicating He is a unique human being with unique authority and a unique mission – both on earth and in heaven.
While Son of Man is Jesus’s favorite self-designation, Teacher is the favorite address of others for Him; thus authoritative teacher is an important theme in Mark, as well as the other Gospels. He is called Teacher by His disciples (4:38; 9:38; 10:35; 13:1; 14:14), the crowd following Him or one person from that crowd (5:35; 9:17; 10:17, 20), and by religious leaders (12:14, 19, 32). Jesus is addressed as Rabbi in 9:5; 10:51; 11:21; 14:45.
The verb is also prominent. Jesus teaching is found in 1:21- 22; 2:13; 4:1-2; 6:2, 6, 34; 8:31; 9:31; 10:1; 11:17; 12:35; 14:49. His teaching was with authority unlike the scribes (1:22). Often, He taught using parables (4:1-2). We can assume the subject of His teaching was the Kingdom of God, since that was the topic of His proclamation (1:15). From 8:31 forward, Jesus taught His disciples about His impending Passion and resurrection (8:31).
No matter where He was, Mark tells us that Jesus’s habit was to teach those following Him (2:13; 6:1, 6, 34; 10:1; 12:35). He continued teaching until His arrest in Jerusalem (14:49).
The title is associated with Jesus’s authority to cast out demons (1:21-28; 9:17-29) still storms (4:35-41); and feeding the 5,000 (6:33-44). I think Stein is on target; “Teacher” carries with it the kind of authority usually associated with the title ‘Lord.’”[4]
Mark uses the verb (to teach) and the noun (teacher) more than the other Gospels. Thus, he wants his readers to see teaching as essential to Jesus’s messianic mission and one uniquely appropriate to Him.[5] His teaching is not like those who came before Him – it was infused with divine authority.[6]
[1] Daniel’s prophecy of a Son of Man is reinforced by 1, 4 Enoch. In Second Temple Judaism there was a strong tradition that centered upon a judge-deliverer – called among other things the Son of Man. The title was probably well known in Jesus’s time.
[2] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 112.
[3] “Son of Man,” s.v. DJG, by I. Howard Marshall.
[4] Robert Stein, Mark, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008), 243. On the other hand, R. Riesner argues that the title does not express an exalted status but describes the outward form of His ministry (“Teacher,” s.v. DJG, rev. ed.). Brooks agrees with Riesner, “ . . .it is doubtful that “Teacher” should be treated as a Christological title in the same way that ‘Son of God’ or ‘Son of Man are,” while admitting that Mark portrays Jesus as an authoritative teacher (James Brooks, Mark, NAC [Nashville: B&H, 1991], 87.
[5] R.T. France, The Gospel of Mark, NIGNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 102.
[6] “Various Jewish groups expected the messiah would teach in the fullness of God’s wisdom” (“Teacher,” s.v. DJG, rev. ed., by R. Riesner). It is no wonder that Jesus’s teaching brought great excitement and wonder.
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