Personally, I don't think Marcion gave much thought to Mark's literary allusions. But I still find the antithesis extremely interesting because it tells us something about Marcion's approach.Tertullian says that Marcion gave an interpretation of the scene in his Antithesis that is as follows: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/03124.htmFor (here is one of Marcion's Antitheses): whereas David in old time, in the capture of Sion, was offended by the blind who opposed his admission (into the stronghold) so, on the contrary, Christ succored the blind man, to show by this act that He was not David's son, and how different in disposition He was, kind to the blind, while David ordered them to be slain.
This is very interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, it shows that Marcion may have understood some of the literary allusions in Mark. Indeed this scene is likely based on 2 Samuel:
This pericope is obviously a big problem for Marcion in the Luke/Marcion version because the title "son of David" is not rejected by Jesus. Everything initially suggests that the title "son of David" is apt and appropriate. Marcion's opponents all recognized this immediately and made fun of Marcion.
Tertullian: „He (Jesus) thus honoured the blind man's faith which had acknowledged His Sonship to David …“
Epiphanius: There can be no lie in faith; if there is a lie, it is not faith. Now he says, 'Son of David,' and the man who confessed the name is commended and granted his request. He has not been reproved as a liar, but congratulated as a believer.
Adamantius: But since Megetius is still here defending Marcion's dogma, I'll read from their gospel:
Epiphanius: There can be no lie in faith; if there is a lie, it is not faith. Now he says, 'Son of David,' and the man who confessed the name is commended and granted his request. He has not been reproved as a liar, but congratulated as a believer.
Adamantius: But since Megetius is still here defending Marcion's dogma, I'll read from their gospel:
Interpreters of Mark and Luke have it much easier. They have the option of interpreting the pericope in such a way that Mark’s Bartimaeus (or Luke’s nameless blind) says the words "son of David" in a state of spiritual blindness and that Bartimaeus makes a spiritual development in this story. Marcion cannot, of course, follow this spiritual interpretation because the blind man in Marcion's understanding is a physically blind man.
It follows that Marcion in his antithesis simply claims that Jesus is not the son of David and justifies this by referring to Jesus’ different attitude towards blind people. However, this approach does not constitute an interpretation of the text itself, but a comparison with another text.
Marcion probably assumed that the historical Jesus was triggered by the words of the blind man and that he responded like a sign prophet by behaving completely differently than David. However, an interpretation of Jesus' statement about the blind man's "faith" is missing. Why does Jesus in Marcion's text say: Your faith has saved you? This remains completely unexplained in Marcion's antithesis and is the weak point that Marcion's opponents immediately recognized.
Statistics: Posted by Kunigunde Kreuzerin — Mon Dec 16, 2024 8:03 am