Missing the Mark
Today, we look at the hidden history of the Book fo Mark. The foundation for the other Gospels. In this Gospel of Mark, Jesus is the personification of Divine salvation. The actual word Jesus/Joshua/Yehoshua actually means “God Saves” or “God is Saviour.” Jesus, actually represents the embodiment of salvation at any given point in time. Mark’s Jesus is a conglomerate of saviour figures and salvation events. Mark’s Jesus is a process, not a person. He stands for the process of salvation. Jesus is the Symbol. God is the Saviour. What Jesus is to Mark is the Saviour personified, not incarnate, and this is the secret of the Saviour.
This is about unveiling the hidden history beneath the layers of the Gospel story. Matthew and Luke are re-writes of Mark. John is esoteric and in many ways Gnostic. As were the original and authentic epistles of Paul. This story of Jesus is dependent on the Gospel of Mark. So then, what if there is a hidden history buried within Mark. A story of Truth masked as myth that has laid hidden for over 2,000 years.
Upon the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, people have been suspect that they had something to do with Christianity. The connections have not been fruitful. In fact, it actually fits the Gospel to the Scrolls rather that the other way around. The Dead Sea Scrolls were actually written by the Essenes. They were a sect of Judaism that lived within a communal lifestyle along the banks of the Dead Sea.
What makes this unique is that views the Gospel as a Hebrew myth about history. This Gospel of Mark, is but an allegory of the history of Israel from an Essene point of view. Remember also, the Theraputae of Alexandria were linked to the Essenes. Among the Essenes, Jesus is a composite character. He is the personification of of salvation, and not just one Saviour figure. Jesus, is first Joshua (Yehoshua), then David, then the Teacher of Righteousness - the founder of the Essenes. There is no merely one historical Jesus, but in this scenario there are many Jesus’s.
The story of Mark takes us on a ride through history … the Exodus, all the wy to the war with Rome. He in essence is building a history that will fit the Messiah motif and mythology. The plot includes the martyred and suffering servant though the rise and fall of Jesus. A rise from obscurity, unknown until he becomes baptized by John, assembles his followers, and performs miracles. Jesus eventually journeys to Jerusalem where he is betrayed, indicted, put to death and deserted by his followers.
Today, the literal-historical view of the Gospel is what has been accepted as having really happened. The Truth is that it is a concoction of myth, slight history, and a long succession of everything in between. The hidden stories are the true intended message of the Gospel, not the layers of manufactured history, names, and geography. Mark’s Jesus is deeper hidden mysteries mixing fables and history into what was to become the basis for the other Synoptic Gospels.
Just a thought …
~Justin Taylor, ORDM., OCP., DM.
