Day 51: Mark 13-16

Summary

The Bible Dept. Podcast: Day 51 – Mark 13-16 Summary

Release Date: February 20, 2025

Introduction

In Day 51 of "The Bible Dept." podcast, hosted by Dr. Manny Arango of ARMA Courses, the discussion delves into the nuanced portrayal of Jesus' crucifixion in the Gospel of Mark, specifically chapters 13-16. Dr. Arango presents a thought-provoking analysis that reinterprets the crucifixion narrative as a coronation event, paralleling the traditional Roman emperor coronation rituals.

Overview of the Episode

Dr. Arango begins by introducing the central thesis: the Gospel of Mark uniquely frames Jesus' crucifixion in the context of a Roman coronation. He posits that this portrayal serves as a profound statement about the nature of Jesus' kingship and the Kingdom of God, contrasting sharply with contemporary Roman values.

Context Clues: Hellenistic Influence and Roman Coronation

To build his argument, Dr. Arango outlines the four pillars of Hellenism influenced by Alexander the Great's conquests. These pillars—gymnasium (education), Asclepian (healing), theater (entertainment), and coliseum (competition)—are foundational to understanding the cultural backdrop of the New Testament era.

He explains:

“Greek becomes the lingua franca of the day because of Alexander the Great's military conquest. There's four things that Alexander's going to incorporate as a part of his gospel.”
[02:29]

Dr. Arango further elaborates on the nine steps of a Roman emperor's coronation, using Nero's coronation as a historical reference. These steps include the gathering of the Praetorian Guard, the donning of royal robes and crowns, processions, sacrificial rituals, and public acclaim.

Nerdy Nuggets: Mapping Mark’s Narrative to a Coronation

Dr. Arango meticulously maps each step of the Roman coronation to events in Mark's account of Jesus' crucifixion:

1. Praetorian Guard Gathers
   Mark 15:16 – "The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace that is the praetorium."

2. Royal Robes and Crown
   Mark 15:17 – "They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him."

3. Procession
   Mark 15:20 – "They took off the purple robe and put on his clothes and led him out to crucify him."

4. Instrument of Death
   Mark 15:21 – "They forced him to carry the cross."

5. Head Hill (Capitoline Hill)
   Mark 15:22-23 – "They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it."

6. Sacrificial Bull and Pronouncement of Life or Death
   Mark 15:24 – "They crucified him, dividing up his clothes. They cast lots to see what each would get."

7. Ascension to the Temple
   Mark 15:27 – "They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left."

8. Public Acclaim as Lord and God
   Mark 15:29-32 – Although the soldiers and bystanders insult Jesus, this contrasts with the expected acclaim in a coronation, highlighting the subversive nature of Jesus' kingship.

9. Awaiting a Sign
   Mark 15:33 – "At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon." This eclipse-like darkness acted as Nero's sign to confirm his divine authority, paralleled here as a divine sign affirming Jesus' kingship amidst suffering.

Dr. Arango emphasizes the irony and countercultural message of this portrayal:

“Mark is portraying Jesus as a coronated king. Mark is communicating to a Roman audience that the way Jesus is coronated as king is to suffer and die. This is the most antithetical, countercultural swim upstream.”
[12:06]

Timeless Truths: Theology and Contemporary Application

The episode underscores the transformative message of Christ's kingship through humility and sacrifice, challenging worldly perceptions of power and authority. Dr. Arango reflects on the implications for believers:

“For the Roman audience that values power and authority and immediacy and popularity, Mark says, yeah, there's a coronation... but the spirit that infuses this structure is totally like foolishness to the world. The wisdom of God.”
[12:12]

He encourages listeners to embrace this upside-down kingdom model, where greatness is defined by servanthood and true life through sacrifice.

Conclusion

Dr. Arango concludes by praising Mark's brilliant theological strategy in recontextualizing Jesus' crucifixion, making it resonate deeply with both contemporary and ancient audiences. He invites listeners to continue their biblical journey, highlighting upcoming topics on the Epistles of Peter.

Notable Quotes

• Dr. Manny Arango on Coronation Parallel:
  “Mark is portraying Jesus as a coronated king. Mark is communicating to a Roman audience that the way Jesus is coronated as king is to suffer and die.”
  [12:06]

• On Hellenistic Pillars:
  “The gymnasium didn't mean, like, where you do sports. A gymnasium was education. It's where people got educated.”
  [02:30]

• On Mark’s Agenda:
  “Mark has an agenda. And I think that it's gonna be evident what Mark's agenda is as we continue through the content.”
  [00:59]

Final Thoughts

Day 51 of "The Bible Dept." offers a rich and engaging exploration of the Gospel of Mark, encouraging listeners to rethink traditional narratives and embrace deeper theological insights. Through meticulous analysis and historical context, Dr. Arango illuminates the profound symbolism of Jesus' crucifixion as the ultimate act of kingship, challenging and inspiring believers to connect with Scripture in a transformative way.

For more in-depth studies and a supportive community, join ARMA Courses at thebibledepartment.com.

Transcript

[Unknown Host]

Hey, Bible nerds.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

This is Dr. Manny Arango, and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast, powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year.

[Unknown Host]

You can head to the show notes.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the journey. And we are going to tackle the crucifixion of Jesus. There's going to be context clues, nerdy nuggets, and timeless truths all kind of mixed in. I'm probably not going to delineate between those three. I'm really just going to talk about the order of the coronation that would have happened for any emperor in the Roman world. And actually, just as a relic from history, like, as a. As an artifact in history, we. We actually have Nero's coronation from the. From the day that emperor became Caesar.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Of the Roman world. And I think that Mark is doing something really unique with the crucifixion of Jesus. I think Mark is framing the crucifixion of Jesus like a coronation, but I'll leave that up to you to decide. And that's what we're going to tackle today. I find this content remarkable and beautiful and compelling. There's a scholar who works on this. His name is Thomas Schmidt. And yeah, we. We're just gonna kind of, like, work through this together. I don't know, maybe. Maybe you'll be convinced of this, maybe not. We. We shall see. So let's dive in. Hey, if you haven't done the reading today, go ahead and pause this. Stop the recording. Stop. Stop the video. Stop the audio. Go read mark, chapter 13, 14, 15, and 16. And for those of us that have done the reading, let's jump in. All right, Two big things that I kind of want to do. A. I want to give you the four pillars of Hellenism. Now, on our introduction to the New Testament course, Introduction to the Gospels course, I talk about these a lot. That's a really, really strong course, by the way. Lot of context, a lot of history, culture that helps us to actually appreciate what's happening in the Gospels. So there are four pillars of Hellenism, okay? Hellenism really is a synonym for, like, Greek philosophy, Greek ideas.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay?

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Aristotle is the person who mentors and educates Alexander the Great. So Alexander the Great is going to conquer a fourth of the known world. He's going to spread Greek philosophy and language all over the Western world. And Greek becomes the lingua franca of the day because of Alexander the Great. It's the reason why the New Testament is written in Greek is because of Alexander the Great's military conquest. There's four things that Alexander's going to incorporate as a part of his gospel, okay? Four pillars of Hellenism. Number one, Every time that Alexander the Great would found or find or. Or incorporate or build a city, it would always have a gymnasium. The gymnasium didn't mean, like, where you do sports. A gymnasium was education. It's where people got educated. Two, there was always going to be an Asclepian, which is like, for healing, so medicine. Three, there's always going to be a theater in, like, your classic Greek town or city because the entertainment, entertainment was crucial. And then last, there was always gonna be a coliseum or sports. There's gonna be an arena where competition happened, okay? And I would contend that as Mark is portraying Jesus, Jesus is the. A great teacher, okay? So Jesus is. Would've excelled in the gymnasium. Two, Jesus can heal, okay? So Jesus is one. Upping the Asclepian number three. The crowds are consistently, in Mark's gospels, in Mark's gospel, amazed by Jesus. They're astonished by Jesus, which means that Mark is portraying Jesus as someone who's very, very entertaining. And then if you were to compete against Jesus in anything, you lose.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay?

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Jesus is a winner in Mark's gospel. So Mark is portraying Jesus a particular way. Then we get to the crucifixion of Jesus. This really comes to. To a head. So there are nine steps that would make up an emperor's coronation. Okay, nine steps. And we're gonna kind of go through those nine steps, and then we'll read Mark chapter 15, and we'll see if you're convinced that Mark is doing something here. There's a temptation sometimes in biblical studies to harmonize the Gospels. So if there. If Matthew says one thing and Mark says one thing, you try to find a way to harmonize the gospel. So like in. In Matthew and Luke, Jesus isn't given wine mixed with myrrh. He's actually given vinegar, okay? And he's offered vinegar on like, a Hisa branch, which in the ancient world would have been toilet paper. So I mean, he's given, like, cheap wine on a stick with toilet, you know, old, old toilet paper. And it's. It's the most disgusting, grossest thing ever. However, wine mixed with myrrh was like, super, super expensive. And in Mark's gospel, he's given wine before he goes to the cross. And a harmonization of the gospels to try to say, well, both are true. Really? That's the Western inclination in us to want things to be factual. For the Westerner, we equate facts with truth. But in an Eastern world, factual doesn't mean true. True means that it points to the truth, universal truth. Truth that can save, truth that can deliver, set free. We're not going to try to harmonize. What we are going to say is that Mark has an agenda. And I think that it's gonna be evident what Mark's agenda is as we continue through the content. So let's, let's go through the nine steps of a Roman coronation for an emperor. Okay, this, all Caesars would have gone through this. And we have Nero's essentially like program, like his schedule from his coronation in, in good detail. And so let's, let's do this. Number one, the first thing that would have happened at a coronation for an emperor is that the Praetorian guard gathers. Okay, the Praetorian guard gathers to hail Caesar as lord and God. Number two, three things happen. Royal robes will be placed on the new Caesar that's being coordinated. A wreath crown in a sept, A wreath crown is placed on the Caesar's head. And a scepter is placed in Caesar's hand. Number three, there's a procession. They lead Caesar through a procession lined with incense altars. So there's a, there's a procession. Number five, Caesar is followed by a bull that's gonna be sacrificed and Caesar carries the instrument of death. That's number four. Okay, Number five. Rome was founded on seven hills. You may be aware of this. And the, there's one hill called Capitoline Hill. Now we may read that and think, oh, it's like Capitol Hill. No, Capitoline Hill. Because the, the root word there is Capitae Capite, which actually means head. They believe that Romulus's skull was actually the foundation of one of these hills, but that it wasn't a skull, it was actually like a severed head. It's a full head and it's like distinctively not skull. It is. Head is like hair and like full face. It's not just the bone, but it's like the head severed head. So capital line hill, which kind of. Which would get translated in English as head hill.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay, Head hill.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

So number five is the Caesar goes to head Hill. Capital hill is offered wine mixed with myrrh, but refuses it, pouring it out essentially kind of a boss move, saying like, like I'm self sufficient.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Number six is the bull is killed. And Caesar pronounces death or life. On a host of prisoners. Okay, so for one person, you get life.

[Unknown Participant]

You get life. You get life, you get death. You get death. You get death.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

And this is to signify that Caesar has the power of life and death in his tongue. Okay, Whatever he says goes. Number seven, the emperor ascends the steps of the temple with the high priest on his right and his commander was army on his left. Number eight, Caesar is acclaimed lord and God as people sing his praises. And then number nine, everyone waits for a sign. Now, during Nero's coronation, there was a full eclipse, like a solar eclipse. And if you read accounts from Nero's coronation, you know, the sign was almost like a confirmation that this is our guy.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay?

[Dr. Manny Arango]

The gods are behind this earthly leader. So with that, we are now gonna go to Mark's gospel. Okay, let me just kind of recap those really quick. Number one is the praetorian guard gathers. Number two is royal robes, number in a wreath crown.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Number three is a procession. Number four, Caesar's followed by the bull and he's holding the instrument of death. Number five, they take him to head hill where he's offered wine mixed with myrrh, but refuses. Number six, a bull is killed and Caesar pronounces death and life on a host of prisoners. Number seven, he ascends the temple with the high priest on his right in the commander of his army on his left.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Eight, Caesar is acclaimed lord and God as people sing his praises. And then number nine, everyone waits for a sign. That's the nine parts of a Roman emperor's coronation.

[Unknown Host]

What if I told you that what you're learning in this video was just.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

The tip of the iceberg?

[Unknown Host]

The Bible department is actually powered by arma. What is arma? I'm so glad you asked. ARMA is an online subscription based platform that we designed to help people, everyday people, learn the Bible for themselves. We started ARMA so that anybody, anywhere could have access to trustworthy and entertaining Bible and theology content. In addition to this podcast, we have over 60 courses on individual books of the Bible, on theology topics, and on some hot topics like homosexuality, tithing, and women in ministry. But really, ARMA is a community. A community of people that I've gotten to know. A community where thousands of people are currently finding family, asking questions and nerding.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Out on the Bible together.

[Unknown Host]

If you want a community to read the Bible with you this year, or if you want to dive into some deeper theological content, or if you want more exclusive access to me and the entire armor team, how about you go to thebibledepartment.com I'll be sure to post.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

The link in the description of this video.

[Unknown Host]

Let's make this your year to become a Bible nerd.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

I believe that what Mark is communicating, what he's showing us, not telling us, is that the moment of crucifixion is Jesus coronation, which would be countercultural and would be a massive turnoff to any Roman. They would understand it, but they would understand this as so countercultural.

[Unknown Participant]

They would.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

This would be the radical introduction into the upside down kingdom that is the kingdom of God. And so let's actually now get into the text. Mark, chapter 15.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Mark, chapter 15, verse 16 says this. The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace that is the praetorium, AKA Praetorian guard.

[Unknown Participant]

Okay.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

And called together the whole company of soldiers. Really? A whole company of soldiers for a Jewish peasant from the backside of Galilee. Interesting. Okay, next verse 17. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. This is eerily similar to the steps of a coronation so far, with two for two. Next, verse 18 would be a procession. And here's what we get in chapter 15, verse 20. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put on his clothes and led him out to crucify him. So sounds like a procession to me. Number four. Caesar's followed by a bull and he's carrying the instrument of death. We are going to go to Mark, chapter 15, verse 21. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way to the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. What is the cross? It's the instrument of death. Then they go to Head Hill, where? Well, Caesar would have gone to Head Hill, Capitoline Hill, and would have been offered wine mixed with myrrh, but refuses. So let's see if that one lines up. Chapter 15, verse 22 and 23, it says this. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Guys, this is. This is Wild number six. A bull is killed, and Caesar pronounces death and life on a host of different prisoners. Let's go to Mark, chapter 15, verse 24 says this. And they crucified him, dividing up his clothes. They cast lots to see what each would get. Let's go to number seven. Caesar would ascend the temple with leaders on his right and his Left says this in Mark, chapter 15, verse 27, they crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. The eighth thing that would happen in. In Caesar's coronation, or at least in Rome, in Nero's coordination, is Caesar is acclaimed Lord in God, okay? As people sing his praises, this is what happens in Mark, chapter 15, verse 29 to 32. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, so you who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself. In the same way, the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. He saved others, they said, but he can't save himself. Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those crucified with him also heaped insults at him. So this moment where Caesar is supposed to be praised and hailed as Lord and God, Jesus is insulted. So that's a massive curveball. And then lastly, everybody's supposed to wait for a sign. What do we have in Mark? Chapter 15, verse 33 says this. @ noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, Mark is portraying Jesus as a coronated king. Mark is communicating to a Roman audience that the way Jesus is coronated as king is to suffer and die. This is the most antithetical, countercultural swim upstream. Like, just odd thing like this. The power of this, that for a Roman audience that values power and authority and immediacy and popularity and in so many things, Mark says, yeah, there's a coronation. Like, I'm gonna put it in the. In a format, in a language that you understand, but the structure's there. But the spirit that infuses this structure is totally like foolishness to the world. The wisest human would think this is foolishness, but it is the wisdom of God. And it is totally counterintuitive that if you want to be first, you become last. If you want to be great, you become the servant. If you want to live, you die. If you want to be coronated, you go to the cross. For a Roman audience, this is difficult. This is very difficult. This is difficult to read. This is difficult to accept. I am convinced that this is what Mark is doing. So I'll leave it to you to see if you are convinced that this is what Mark is doing. But that. And that is the entire Gospel according to Mark. We covered it in four days. And because Mark gets his gospel from our man Peter, tomorrow we'll be diving into the Gospel of Peter. We'll be in one Peter for two days, two Peter for one day. Next three days, we've got the Epistles of Peter. I can't wait to see you right here, man. Beautiful gospel. Beautiful gospel. I think what Mark is doing is absolutely brilliant. And I think that his ability to translate truth to a culture that he really wants to reach is my timeless truth. That that's what we should be doing. We should be taking the story of Jesus, not compromising on the message of Jesus, but translating that message into a format that the cultures that we love and the people that we want to see evangelized can actually begin to comprehend what's going on in the story based on the format that we put it in. So, with no further ado, I love you so much. I'll see you right here tomorrow. Proud of you. I love you. See you tomorrow. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast.

[Unknown Host]

You can find us online and learn.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

More about the show at thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram hebibledepartment. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of [e-mail] we'll see you back here tomorrow.