August 21st, 2021

This week, for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, the gospel text goes back to being somewhat normal. That text is Mark 7:1-13, and within that text, the prophet Isaiah is quoted, and it ‘fits’ that the words quoted are a part of the Old Testament text for this Sunday [Isaiah 29:11-19].

What does not ‘fit’, what does not seem normal, is this whole idea of an Old Testament quotation in the Gospel according to Mark. In the gospel text, at the start of the quotation, the prophet is named. And this mention of a prophet happens only in one other place, at the very beginning of the gospel account. Even though the words of Isaiah are used elsewhere by Jesus (see Mark 4:12 & 13:24-25), and even though the words of other prophets are quoted, Isaiah is the only prophet named in this account.

The first time this is done, at the very beginning of the account, is obviously an important position. Here is a somewhat-literal translation of those first words of this gospel account:

Beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, [Son of God,] as it has been written in Isaiah, the prophet, ‘Behold, I will send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way; a voice of one crying in the wilderness, “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of him.”’

Another thing that does not ‘fit’ is that the first part of this quotation comes from Malachi 3:1 and not from Isaiah. What is going on here?

There seems to be an extremely strong emphasis on Isaiah in the Gospel according to Mark. As was mentioned above, other prophets are quoted in this gospel account—Zechariah is quoted in Mark 14:27, for example—but none of them are mentioned by name.

The beginning of the gospel account seems to be a good time to emphasize prophets, since there was both John the Baptist and Jesus coming on the scene. But Jesus seems to be taking on more of a role than just a prophet.

The next time someone is specifically quoted is when Jesus is talking about Moses. This also happens in the text from Mark 7. One might also say that it also happens at the beginning of chapter ten. At other times the parts of the Pentateuch are quoted, but, here again, the name of the writer is not given.

After Moses, the next time someone is specifically quoted is when Jesus is referring to King David [Mark 12:35-36]. Here, again, is a somewhat-literal translation:

And answering, Jesus said, teaching in the temple: ‘How the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said in the Spirit, the Holy: Lord said to the Lord of me, “Sit at the right hand of me, until I put the enemies of you under the feet of you.”’

To what do these quotations point? They point to some of the most important people in the entire Old Testament. Isaiah is certainly a major prophet. And both Moses and David were very important. And although Jesus has roles similar to these three Old Testament figures, he is, by far, more important than all of those three put together. He stands out within the text in more ways than one.