A thought on the mystery of the passion of the Christ.

[Ben C. Smith]

Consider these three passages:

Wisdom of Solomon 2.1-24: 1 For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, “Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a man comes to his end, and no one has been known to return from Hades. 2 Because we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been; because the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts. 3 When it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes, and the spirit will dissolve like empty air. 4 Our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will remember our works; our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and be scattered like mist that is chased by the rays of the sun and overcome by its heat. 5 For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death, because it is sealed up and no one turns back. 6 Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist, and make use of the creation to the full as in youth. 7 Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes, and let no flower of spring pass by us. 8 Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither. 9 Let none of us fail to share in our revelry, everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment, because this is our portion, and this our lot. 10 Let us oppress the righteous poor man; let us not spare the widow nor regard the gray hairs of the aged. 11 But let our might be our law of right, for what is weak proves itself to be useless. 12 Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. 13 He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child/servant of the Lord. 14 He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; 15 the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange. 16 We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father. 17 Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; 18 for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. 19 Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance. 20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected.” 21 Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them, 22 and they did not know the mysteries [μυστήρια] of God, nor hope for the wages of holiness, nor discern the prize for blameless souls; 23 for God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, 24 but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.

1 Corinthians 2.6-9: 6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery [μυστηρίῳ], the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Ascension of Isaiah 9.12: 12 And he said unto me, “Crowns and thrones of glory they do not receive, till the Beloved will descend in the form in which you will see Him descend, into the world in the last days, the Lord, who will be called Christ. 13 Nevertheless they see and know whose will be the thrones, and whose the crowns, when He has descended and been made in your form, and they will think that He is flesh and is a man. 14 And the god of that world will stretch forth his hand against the Son, and they will crucify Him on a tree, and will slay Him not knowing who He is. 15 And thus His descent, as you will see, will be hidden even from the heavens, so that it will not be known who He is.”

In the Wisdom of Solomon, the ones responsible for killing the righteous man know that he is righteous, and there is nothing else about his identity which seems hidden from them. Yet they slay him, not knowing the mysteries of God.

In the Ascension of Isaiah, on the other hand, the ones responsible for killing the Beloved (= the Lord = the Christ) do not know his identity.

So what about 1 Corinthians? It is not immediately clear whether the "rulers of this age" know who the Lord of glory is or not. Do they know his identity, but not the divine plan that he should die, or do they lack knowledge even about his identity?

Most other Christian texts with this theme seem to assume that not even the Lord's identity is known to his killers or to the spiritual entities of the heavens (Justin Martyr, Dialogue With Trypho 36.4-6; Epistula Apostolorum 13; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.30.12-14; Irenaeus, Demonstration 84). Yet nothing about a concealed identity derives from what looks like one of the fountainheads of this entire motif in Wisdom of Solomon 2, and 1 Corinthians 2.6-9 is ambiguous on this score.

It occurs to me that this shift from the Wisdom of Solomon to the later Christian texts, the shift which makes clear that the killers of the Son of God did not even know his identity, may have been a practical necessity for Christians in general. Part of the whole Christian schtick was that the scriptures foretold the death of the Son of God in ways that left stubborn Jews (and others) without excuse. But, if the scriptures foretold such a death, then surely it could not be safely assumed that the spirit world would not know that the divine plan necessitated that the Son of God should be put to death. The safest route would be to assume that the spirits had no idea that they were killing the Son of God, rather than that they knew it was he but simply did not know the divine plan as laid out in scripture; hence this specific motif in some later Christian texts, a motif which blankly contradicts, of course, the demons in the synoptic gospels recognizing Jesus before he exorcises them. Cue William Wrede and the messianic secret and all of that. But, in the meantime, this observation makes me to suspect, unless someone can disabuse me of the notion, that the assumption behind the mystery of 1 Corinthians 2.6-9 is that the archontes did not know the identity of the Lord of glory.

What do you think?

Ben.

[Secret Alias]

When you think about it one can recognize goodness without recognizing identity

[Secret Alias]

Indeed if he was "the Good" (i.e. the Good god) NOT recognizing his goodness would be like missing the horseness of a horse.

[Ben C. Smith]

When you think about it one can recognize goodness without recognizing identity

This is true. The archontes could, at least hypothetically, be thought of as having killed the Son of God precisely because they recognized him to be righteous, as in the Wisdom of Solomon, despite their lack of recognition that he was also, in fact, the Son of God.

[Giuseppe]

a motif which blankly contradicts, of course, the demons in the synoptic gospels recognizing Jesus before he exorcises them.

the question is: how much is sure this claim? The demons make it clear that Jesus is the Holy of God, i.e. the Jewish Messiah. But is this only a their assumption and not the real thought of the author about the true Father of Jesus?

[Giuseppe]

Justin says that the demons knew in advance the plan of God about the Son since they did make any Pagan mystery a parody of the death and resurrection of the Son.

[Paul the Uncertain]

Interesting point, Ben.

First, I don't see that the Wisdom of Solomon passage you quoted is all that inconsistent with what's on the page in Mark (it's easiest to have a single book to work with, rather than track all the variations within the canonical group). The Temple authorities plainly don't know or much believe that Jesus is the Messiah. In their mockery of Jesus on the cross, they propose what is exactly a test or trial, that Jesus should come off the cross now, while they are watching. Their complaint is that despite Jesus' possibly sincere, widely reputed self-assessed righteousness, he is also a troublemaker and pain in the behind. That seems to me a fair reading of what the WoS baddies are complaining about regarding their supposedly righteous man whom they wish to test and hope to destroy.

As to the demons, it is tempting to a Christian audience to see Mark's demons as telling the truth about Jesus, because this "testimony" comports with Christian belief. However, the same Christians are only too happy to characterize Satan as the father of lies in other contexts, and to view demons as his hired help. So why suddenly are they candid and reliable witnesses on this matter?

Another way to look at what's on the page is that before the transfiguation, the only human being who has any reason to think that Jesus is divinely special is Jesus himself. John didn't hear the first voice from on high and doesn't ever endorse Jesus. Jesus displays incomplete knowledge of the implications of his possible appointment by immediately leaving John and retreating to the desert. There he consults with, among others, Satan.

Within the story universe, then, it is reasonable to suppose based on that consultation that Satan knows that Jesus suspects that he may be chosen for some sort of mission from God. Whether Satan believes that to be true, or what else he may know about the divine plan is nowhere on the page. Readers might reasonably differ among themselves about how well Satan is informed. For example, he might know enough about the outlines of an upcoming messianic sacrifice to mislead pagans, without necessarily recognizing Jesus as the specific individual who's actually and finally going to pull that off.

Meanwhile, back on the page, Jesus believes that Team Devil work together and he expects his learned audience to believe that, too (the "house divided" speech). Whatever Satan knows, the demons may well know.

Given that Jesus believes he is in some sense chosen by God, and that the demons in Mark consistently act against the visible interests of their hosts and those around them, is it reasonable to exclude that the demons might be luring Jesus to his destruction, by exploiting what he believes about himself? This would not be because they believe that Jesus is an especially high-value target, but rather because he's an especially easy target. Because he believes that he might be somebody divinely special, he is thus ripe for being led down the garden path to the foot of a cross.

If Crossan can read the centurion's confession as ironic, then why is it any big deal to read the demons' confessions as diabolical?

But, at least in the view of some Christian readers, Team Devil scores an own goal. Jesus' belief, however statistically unlikely and poorly evidenced, turns out to be correct. By an amazing coincidence, the fate of a deluded messianic wannabe and the genuine article coincide. From the Christian readers' perspective, had Satan and his demons known more, they would have played better. Of course.

All in all, assuming that Wisdom of Solomon is pre-Christian as many do, then it seems to be an excellent candidate to have furnished a "writer's prompt" for portions of Mark's passion, especially as regards the roles of the Jewish official characters.

[Ben C. Smith]

Interesting point, Ben.

First, I don't see that the Wisdom of Solomon passage you quoted is all that inconsistent with what's on the page in Mark (it's easiest to have a single book to work with, rather than track all the variations within the canonical group).

To be clear, the OP does not actually compare or contrast the Wisdom of Solomon with Mark. It compares and contrasts the Wisdom of Solomon with 1 Corinthians and the Ascension of Isaiah. Mark is presented as something of a contradiction to this motif of spiritual unknowingness.

[Ben C. Smith]

a motif which blankly contradicts, of course, the demons in the synoptic gospels recognizing Jesus before he exorcises them.

the question is: how much is sure this claim? The demons make it clear that Jesus is the Holy of God, i.e. the Jewish Messiah. But is this only a their assumption and not the real thought of the author about the true Father of Jesus?

There is no doubt in my mind that the gospel of Mark as we have it points to Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.

[Ben C. Smith]

Justin says that the demons knew in advance the plan of God about the Son since they did make any Pagan mystery a parody of the death and resurrection of the Son.

This dovetails with part of the point of the OP. If knowledge of God's overall plan, including a messianic death, is known from a natural reading of scripture, then of course the demons can know it, as well.