Jesus as Philosopher in the Gospel of Mark

Abstract

The chapter discusses the following aspects of the question of Jesus as philosopher in the Gospel of Mark: ascetic appearance, abandoning one’s family, attitude towards material possessions and outward appearance, Jesus and the philosophers as messengers of God, the wisdom of Jesus, the philosopher’s emotions, and the philosopher’s suffering and death. It is concluded that, in many respects, the figure of Jesus is consistent with contemporary philosophical figures, especially the Stoics, as regards his reported words and deeds. To be sure, there are some minor differences, particularly as regards the feelings of Jesus and the philosopher. In this case, Jesus showed and expressed feelings, like grief and anger, that were not considered characteristic of philosophical figures in general. However, most other features dealt with suggest that Mark may have benefited from contemporary discussions of the philosophical sage.