The Gospel of the Son of God

James M. Neumann proposes that there is far more at work in Marks portrayal of Jesus as Son of God, and what it means for Mark to depict him as such, than past scholarship has recognized. He argues that Mark presents Jesuss life from beginning to end as the actualization of Psalm 2: a coronation hymn describing the Davidic king as Gods son, which was interpreted messianically in early Judaism and christologically in early Christianity. Rather than a simple title, the designation of Jesus as Gods Son in Mark contains and encapsulates an entire story of its own. Beginning with an analysis of why this most important identity of Jesus in the Gospel has been under-studied, Neumann retraces the interpretive traditions surrounding Psalm 2 in early Judaism and Christianity alike. Pointing to Mark's first introduction of Jesus as God's Son into the narrative via an allusion to Ps 2:7 and portraying his baptism as a royal anointing, he demonstrates how Jesus begins to realize the implications of his anointment through his disestablishment of Satans kingdom. Focusing on the repetition of the allusion to Ps 2:7 at Jesuss transfiguration and exploring how the Parable of the Vineyard uniquely encapsulates the Gospel as a whole, Neumann traces the use of the psalm throughout the Markan passion narrative, contending that, in Marks vision, the hope envisaged by the psalm has been realized: the Son begins to inherit (the worship of) the nations. He concludes that Mark paradoxically portrays the accomplishment of the Messiahs victory through Jesuss crucifixion.