5 - Faith and discipleship

Summary

We have seen how the initial call to repentance and faith (1:14f), which reverberates throughout the narrative, finds concrete fulfilment in the response of minor characters in situations of dire need. We have also observed how at points Mark implicitly contrasts the childlike trust and spiritual insight of these figures with the want of such qualities in Jesus' closest followers. This in itself suggests that faith is a disposition which Mark thinks should typify the disciples as well. Given that Mark's Christian readers would naturally identify themselves with the disciples in the drama, this may seem self-evident, though it also makes it somewhat surprising that there are so few explicit references to their faith. F. Hahn takes this to mean that Mark does not consider faith to be the leading characteristic of discipleship, but as only one feature of it, which he orients and subordinates to the theme of following. From the perspective of narrative criticism however, it is not only a matter of how much the author says on the subject that counts, but also of how and where he says it. Alertness to the use of framing devices and to the strategic juxtaposition of episodes and elements within episodes to create comparisons and contrasts, and attention to the way key words or concepts brought into association with faith in certain pericopae subsequently ‘fan out’ in the rest of the narrative, adds much to our appreciation of Mark's views on the place of faith in discipleship.