The New Gospel

By ingeniously creating a prophetic synonymity between circa 30 and events circa 70, between the fate of the Son of Man and the fate of the Temple, Mark preserved the authority of the threatened tradition [the imminent apocalypse] by deploying it … His gospel closes … with the empty tomb.  Here Mark’s twin perspectives merge completely: the resurrection becomes the Parousia 

The evangelists quarry the descriptive details of Jesus’ death from Isaiah, Psalms, Zechariah.  Thus Jesus submits to calumny in silence (Isaiah (53:7)) and abuse (Isaiah (50:6)).  He refuses wine and myrrh (Proverbs (31:6)) or wine and gall (Psalms (69:21)).  His garments are divided (Psalms (22:18)); he cries from the cross (variously Psalms (22:1) or (31:5)).  Once he is dead, the soldiers do not break his bones (Psalms (34:20)) though one does pierce his side (Zechariah (12:10)).  These narratives serve a theological rather than historical purpose.  They demonstrate that Jesus, quite literally, died “according to the Scriptures.”