Original Research

Embracing obscurity: The enigmatic walk of the Son of God in Mark

Stephan Joubert
In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi | Vol 51, No 3 | a2100 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v51i3.2100 | © 2017 Stephan Joubert | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 11 February 2016 | Published: 31 January 2017

About the author(s)

Stephan Joubert, Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, South Africa

Abstract

When Greco-Roman deities appeared among human beings in anthropomorphic shapes, their outward form and gait soon revealed their true identity. By contrast, the Markan Jesus has no ‘inescapably divine’ demeanour. His unassuming presence, his hurried walk and his interactions with people of low public standing and honour place a constant question markover his identity. Paradoxically, his purposeful walk in obscurity, which ends on the cross, reveals his true character as the suffering Son of God who ransoms his life for many. The risen Jesus, whose divine nature Mark does not express in terms of a glorified body, continues his enigmatic walk before his disciples en route to Galilee.


Keywords

Gait; Son of God; Walk; Body

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