What Is Narrative Criticism? (Guides to Biblical Scholarship New Testament Series) by Mark Allan Powell

Author:Mark Allan Powell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2008-09-06T19:19:00+00:00

Empathy, Sympathy, and Antipathy Regarding the Religious Leaders

The implied reader does not empathize with the religious leaders in any of these three Gospels, because in all three they are portrayed as espousing a false evaluative point of view. But will the reader regard them with sympathy or antipathy?

With Mark's Gospel, the situation is somewhat ambiguous since Jesus' feelings for them surface only occasionally. Once, he is said to be angry at them, grieved at their "hardness of heart" (3:5). Another time, they cause him to "sigh deeply in his spirit," that is, to feel exasperation. These brief negative expressions are not enough to provoke antipathy, however, for Jesus expresses some of the same feelings for his own disciples (e.g., 8:17-21) and yet he obviously cares for them. What is different about Jesus' attitude toward the religious leaders is that he regards them as characters who will ultimately be condemned in the judgment (12:9, 40; 14:62). The implied reader regards such impending judgment as "the Lord's doing" and as "marvelous" (12:10). This delight in the eventual downfall of the leaders assumes complete lack of sympathy for them and their cause. Still, this is mitigated by the fact that Mark also introduces a few "exceptions" into his narrative, characters such as the wise scribe who is "not far from the Kingdom of God" (12:34) and Joseph of Arimathea, "a respected member of the council who was also looking for the kingdom of God" (15:43). These characters indicate that it might be possible for individual religious leaders to escape the judgment that is promised to come upon the group as a whole. Thus, the reader of Mark's story feels some antipathy toward the religious leaders as a character group, but some sympathy for individual characters who may be distinguished from the group as a whole.

In Matthew's story, antipathy for the leaders is the rule. There are no exceptions in his story-no wise scribe, no ruler of the synagogue whom Jesus helps, no member of the council who comes to bury Jesus. Matthew's characterization of the leaders is consistent: they are evil, they are aligned with Satan, and everything they do, say, think, and believe is wrong.2' Jesus' attitude toward them is likewise consistent. He does not attempt to minister to them any more than he would to the demons he exorcises. He does not try to teach them the truth because he knows they are incapable of receiving revelation from God. They are "blind guides" and, as such, should be simply left alone (15:14). He does not even call them to repentance, but rather regards them as completely ineligible for admission to the kingdom of heaven from the very start (5:20). They are, in fact, a plant that God did not plant, destined to be rooted up (15:13; cf. 13:24-30, 36-43). The kingdom of God will be taken away from them and given to others (21:43). Jesus, with whom the implied reader idealistically empathizes, shows absolutely no concern or sympathy for any of the religious leaders, individually or as a group.

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