Isaiah's new Exodus and Mark

TLDR: Watt as mentioned in this paper argues that the new exodus theme of Deutero-Isaiah is the hermeneutical key not only to the structure of the second Gospel but to Markan Christology and soteriology as well.

Abstract: Isaiah's New Exodus and Mark, by Rikki Watts. WUNT 2/88. Tubingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1997. Pp. xvi + 479. DM 128.00. Until recently, the tendency in Markan studies has been to agree with A. C. Sundberg's 1959 pronouncement that "Daniel is the most important book to Mark" and that Isaiah ranks only fifth in importance to the evangelist (NovT 3 [ 1959] 268-81; cf H. C. Kee's contribution to Jesus and Paulus, 1975). But Mary Ann Beavis (Mark's Audience, JSOT, 1989), Joel Marcus (The Way of the Lord, W/JKP, 1992), Richard Schneck (Isaiah in the Gospel of Mark 1-VIII, BIBAL, 1994) and I (Lexington Theological Quarterly 30 [ 1995] 133--43) have been among those who have argued for the importance of Isaiah as a major influence on the Gospel of Mark. Watts's revised Cambridge dissertation is more ambitious than previous attempts; he argues that the new exodus theme of Isaiah (particularly Deutero-Isaiah) is the hermeneutical key not only to the structure of the second Gospel but to Markan Christology and soteriology as well. In brief, Watts contends that "in keeping with ancient literary practice, Mark's introductory sentence (1:1-3) indicates his Gospel's conceptual framework" (p. 370). That framework is a combination of the promise of the long-awaited new exodus" of Isaiah 40-55 and the threat of Malachi 3 that the unprepared are vulnerable to judgment (chaps. 1-2). Noting that most commentators agree in finding two major breaks in the structure of Mark (roughly within chap. 8 and after chap. 10), Watts argues that the three resulting sections correspond to the three "stages" of "Isaiah's New Exodus schema" (in Watts and hereafter abbreviated NE) : (1) Yahweh delivers Israel from "the power of the nations and their idols"; (2) Yahweh leads the people along the "Way of the Lord"; (3) Yahweh and the people arrive in Jerusalem in triumph (chap. 5, esp. p. 135; cf. p. 371). Similarly, the Galilean ministry of the Markan Jesus represents the deliverance of God's people from bondage to the demonic (chaps. 6-7). Jesus as the Warrior-Shepherd heals the blind, deaf, and lame and provides food in the desert as he inaugurates the NE. Leading his "blind" and "deaf' disciples in the "way" section of the Gospel, the Markan Jesus takes them toward Jerusalem as he introduces them to God's way of thinking, which is so different from their own way (8:33). God's plan involves the "necessary (8:31) suf fering and death of the servant (Isaiah 53)-a plan as incomprehensible as Yahweh's use of Cyrus to redeem Israel (chap. 8). But just as the return from exile failed to live up to expectations, the entry of the Markan Jesus into Jerusalem as the Warrior-Shepherd of Deutero-Isaiah fails to follow the anticipated pattern of glorious enthronement. Instead of being welcomed by the religious leadership, he is rejected and executed in Jerusalem. But this death is "necessary," just as it was necessary for the servant of Isaiah 53 to suffer for others (chap. 9). Finally, despite Isaiah's constant admonitions to fearless proclamation of the good news, "it was `fear' that threatened the full realisation of Yahweh's promised deliverance. Perhaps Mark, recalling that these first witnesses of true Israel's `resurrection' were silenced by their fear, also has in mind the possibility that members of his audience might also be tempted, out of fear, to be silent . …