Ben Witherington III. The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Kindle Locations 929-938).

Kindle Edition.

Mark on Discipleship
There are basically two camps of scholars when it comes to analyzing the portrayal of the disciples in
Mark. The first says that in the early part of the Gospel the portrait is largely favorable, but in the second
half they are increasingly portrayed trayed as not comprehending and, in the end, as deserters. The
second school of thought suggests that the portrait is, almost from the outset, unrelentingly negative
and polemical. Much, however, depends on whether one insists that only the Twelve are portrayed as
disciples in Mark. The response to this last suggestion must be no for three reasons: (1) The women are
portrayed as disciples, particularly in Mark 14 (the anonymous anointer), 15:40-43 (they followed him in
Galilee), and Mark 16 (having been last at the cross) they are first at the tomb). The only negative thing
said about their discipleship is at 16:7-8, and as we have suggested, this is unlikely to be the end of
Mark's tale. Basically, as the men become worse and worse examples of following Jesus, the women
replace them as images of what disciples ought to do and be. (2) There are also isolated figures, such as
Bar-Timaeus, who are likewise portrayed as being prepared to follow Jesus even to Jerusalem (10:46-
52). (3) To be sure, the crowd is not portrayed trayed as disciples or followers of Jesus, but a careful
analysis of texts such as 4:10 suggests that Mark has in mind more than the Twelve when he uses the
term mathetes. Let us now consider several of the more influential treatments of this matter.

There is firstly the approach of T.J.Weeden that sees Mark as offering a deliberate polemic against the
earliest disciples. This view has been echoed by a variety of other scholars with some variation. Yet the
majority of scholars reject this severe assessment, and most suggest some variation on the theme that
the "misunderstanding" motif has some pedagogical purpose. E.Best suggests, I think rightly, that the
disciples to some extent act as a contrast to show the qualities of Jesus. But are we then to think of
Jesus' family as also a contrast to the portrayal of Jesus? They also get rough treatment, especially in
Mark 3. Some would take Mark's point to be a more pastoral one. His community is facing persecution.
He wishes to warn of the dangers to faith that await and to make the strong point that Jesus, and not
the early disciples as they behaved at the end of Jesus' life, is the model of the way of the cross, the way
of faithfulness to the end. This is a plausible conclusion.

Perhaps the clearest attempt to do damage control on Mark's portrayal of the disciples is by J.
Kingsbury. He stresses that there are two sides to the portrayal of the disciples - commitment on the
one hand and incomprehension on the other. Eventually, by the end of the story the latter leads to the
abandonment of the former, but this does not vitiate the fact that the disciples are portrayed as having
initially responded properly to the call to discipleship, and indeed are portrayed as successfully
emulating Jesus' acts of healing and teaching to some degree. This is true enough, and to this point one
may add the portrayal of people like Bar-Timaeus and, to some degree, the women, which serves as
something of a counterbalance to the failure of the disciples known as the Twelve.
Thus, it is unlikely that we should see a polemic here against the disciples, but there is indeed a sharp
criticism of their failures and incomprehension. Mark does not cover up their weaknesses, and the
Twelve do, especially in the passion narrative, serve as a contrast to Jesus and his faithfulness to the
end. Even the three could not watch with him in the garden for one hour. He must hang alone,
abandoned on the cross at the end. Thus, it is important to do justice to the various nuances of the
portrayal of the disciples in Mark. Since this work is a biography, however, it is a mistake to think it is
chiefly about the disciples, whether in Jesus' day or in Mark's. To the contrary, the focus is christological,
even to the extent that Jesus ends up being the model of following the way of the cross. Nevertheless,
since this matter is exceedingly complex, a full discussion will be given to Mark's discipleship language at
the end of this commentary.