I have two questions about the L.E. As a little introduction I will start with some observations of Richard Carrier.
Instead, the LE appears to be a coherent narrative unit inspired by the NT. It depicts three resurrection appearances, in agreement with John 21:14, which says Jesus appeared three times. And all three appearances have a related narrative structure: all three involve an appearance of Jesus (16:9, 16:12, 16:14), followed by a report or statement of that fact, always to the Disciples (16:10, 16:13, 16:14), which the first two times is met with unbelief (16:11, 16:13), while the third time the Disciples are berated for that unbelief, when Jesus finally appears to them all (16:14).
In the LE (a mere 12 verses), the demonstrative pronoun ekeinos is used five times as a simple substantive ("she," "they," "them"). But Mark never uses ekeinos that way (not once in 666 verses), he always uses it adjectively, or with a definite article, or as a simple demonstrative (altogether 22 times), always using autos as his simple substantive pronoun instead (hundreds of times)
As Joel Marcus observes, the LE looks like "a compressed digest of resurrection appearances narrated in other Gospels" (MNT, p. 1090), so compressed, in fact, it "would not make sense to readers who did not know" the other Gospels and Acts. Indeed.
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16:17a their powers will be a sign (Acts 2:43, 4:30, 5:12, 14:13)
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16:20b and Jesus confirms the word by the signs that followed (Acts 14:3; Heb. 2:2-4)
12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And those ones (Κἀκεῖνοι) went back and told the rest, but those ones (ἐκείνοις) did not believe them.
14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed them who saw him after he had risen.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And those ones (Ἐκεῖνοι) went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
I would like to know ...
- Does anyone know whether there are (besides the usual Johannine works) studies on such powerful-signs-theologies in early Christianity?
- Does anyone know Christian literature in which „ekeinos/kakeinos“ is massively used in that way of the L.E.?