Paul Danove, «The Rhetoric of the Characterization of Jesus as the Son of Man and Christ in Mark», Vol. 84 (2003) 16-34

This article investigates the semantic and narrative rhetoric of Mark’s characterization of the Son of Man and the Christ and the contribution of the portrayal of the Son of Man to the portrayal of the Christ. An introductory discussion considers the role of repetition in characterization, the nature of semantic and narrative frames and their implications for describing the implied reader of Mark, and the rhetorical strategies apparent in characterization. The study of characterization investigates the manner in which the semantic and narrative rhetoric introduces and reinforces frequently discordant content concerning the Son of Man and Christ and then relates developments concerning the Son of Man to the Christ. The study concludes with a consideration of the narrative function of the characterizations of the Son of Man and Christ.

by Christ both the contradictory content about the Son of Man (8,31) and beliefs that recognize that one who rejects this contradictory content vilifies and is opposed to Jesus, is identified with Satan, and receives harshly negative evaluation (8,32b-33). Structural linkage of the first prediction and controversy to the first teaching and their subsequent repetition relates to the Christ the cultivated content discussed in the study of the former repeated structure. Subsequent occurrences of the second repeated structure then evoke its first occurrence and its precedent for insinuating the contradictory and sophisticated content about the Son of Man into the narrative frame evoked by Christ.

VII. The Narrative Function of the Characterizations
of the Son of Man and Christ

        Whereas pre-existing beliefs grant primacy to the designation, Christ, and a more peripheral status to the designation, Son of Man, the narrative rhetoric foregrounds the Son of Man’s characterization. The narrative audience’s extensive cultivated beliefs concerning the Son of Man incorporate and relate pre-existing beliefs about his present exercise of divine prerogatives, sophisticated beliefs about his parousaic identity and activity (verbal and contextual repetition), and contradictory beliefs about his near future experience and activity (verbal and contextual repetition). Deconstructive repetition of the former structure highlights, relates, and places under divine necessity the Son of Man’s near future suffering, being killed and rising and his parousaic coming, negatively evaluates those who are ashamed of Jesus and his words, and reserves positive evaluation for those who accept these newly cultivated beliefs. Thus, the characterization of the Son of Man functions to encourage the rejection of the authorial (and real) audience’s pre-existing beliefs about the Son of Man, which are deficient from the perspective of the narrative audience, and acceptance of the narrative audience’s cultivated beliefs, which alone offer the prospect of seeing the reign of God come in power, of not destroying one’s reward, and of being among the many for whom the Son of Man gives his life.

        The more circumscribed characterization of the Christ, in contrast, explicitly cultivates for the narrative audience beliefs that recognize Jesus’ identity as the Christ (verbal repetition) and the deficiency or error of the pre-existing beliefs on which this identification is based