Why is Jesus' death the most important event in Mark's Gospel?

Answer 1

AnswerFrom a theological point of view, the transfiguration of Jesus was the most important event in Mark's Gospel. The original version of Mark had no resurrection appearances of the risen Jesus, the 'Long ending' (verses 16:9-20) not appearing in the early manuscripts. Without any proof of the resurrection of Jesus, the best evidence that the author of Mark could provide for the special mission of Jesus was the transfiguration.

However, Mark's Gospel has been described as a story of the crucifixion of Jesus, with a long introduction. The literary importance of the last twenty four hours in the life of Jesus can be seen from the sophisticated chiastic structure Mark uses in describing it. The Gospel as a whole consists of a chiastic structure, a circular sequence in which an opening set of events is contrasted with another set of events that mirrors the first, and then contains a smaller chiastic structure around the last day and the crucifixion.

The last 24 hours of the life of Jesus is broken up into eight segments, each of exactly three hours, with the opening set beginning on the evening of the Last Supper and ending with the trial before the high priest and other senior priests and elders. The second set begins with the trial before Pontius Pilate and ends on the evening of the crucifixion.

• Mark begins the story "when it was evening" (14:17). In this ancient world without electricity, that would mean when the sun went down, or approximately 6 pm.
• Mark knew that the duration of the Passover meal was three hours and that it concluded with the singing of a hymn. So at the end of his segment he noted, "And when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives". It was obviously about 9 p.m.
• Mark then has Jesus and the disciples go to the Garden of Gethsemane, where his closest disciples, Peter, James and John, were not able to remain awake. "Could you not watch one hour?" Jesus asked. The process was repeated two more times. The disciples could not watch one, two or three hours. It was now midnight.
• The act of betrayal, the darkest deed in human history, came next, occurring at the stroke of midnight.
• Jesus was led away for a trial before the high priest and other senior priests and elders. This governing body then judged him, on the basis of his messianic claim, to be worthy of death. It was 3:00 a.m.
• The watch of the night between 3 am and 6 am was called cockcrow. Mark now inserted his account of Peter's threefold denial of Jesus, once each hour until the cock crowed, marking the end of that phase of the night. That makes it 6 am.
• "As soon as it was morning", which would be 6 am, Jesus was led by the chief priests, scribes and elders to Pontius Pilate for judgement.
• Mark told his readers once again that this drama has been shaped liturgically, saying, " It was the third hour," or 9 am "when they crucified him".
• When "the sixth hour had come" (12 noon), darkness covered the whole earth, reflecting the betrayal at 12 midnight.
• After three hours of darkness, Jesus said "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" At 3 pm, Jesus gave up the ghost. Jesus was buried in the final period from 3 to 6 pm, before the sun went down. That brings us to 6 pm on Friday evening, reflecting the beginning of the passion on 6 pm on Thursday evening.