In Mark what we may call the narrative designation of our Lord is uniformly the simple ‘ Jesus.¹ Mark employs no other designation in his entire narrative.1. On the other hand, he places this designation, in its simplicity, in the mouth of no one else.2 In the heading of his Gospel he sets, it is true, that ‘ solemn designation of the Messianic personality,” Jesus Christ.’ This is a designation not only which occurs nowhere else in this Gospel,3 but which occurs elsewhere in the four Gospels only rarely and only in similar formal connections. It seems already, here at least, to be ¹It occurs seventy-three times in Mark. In all these instances it has the article, except the first (1⁹), where the article is absent in accordance with the general rule that names of persons occur first without the article, and after that take it.
employed as a proper name.4 But in the narrative itself, as we have intimated, Mark uses only the simple ‘ Jesus,” which nevertheless he never represents as used by others either in speaking of or in speaking to Jesus.
The name by which Jesus was popularly known to His contemporaries, according to Mark, was apparently the fuller descriptive one of ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ (10⁴⁷ 16⁶ 14⁶⁷). On one occasion He is represented as addressed by this full name (1²⁴), and on two others by the name Jesus,’ enlarged by a Messianic title (‘ Jesus, Son of the Most High God 5⁷, Jesus, Son of David 106⁴⁷). The inference would seem to be that Jesus’ was too common a name5 to be sufficiently designatory until our Lord’s person had loomed so large, at least in the circles to which the Gospels were addressed, as to put all other Jesuses out of mind when this name was mentioned. The employment of the simple ‘ Jesus’ as the narrative name in this Gospel is, therefore, an outgrowth of, and a testimony to, the supreme position He occupied in the minds of Christians.
The formula by which Jesus is represented by Mark as ordinarily addressed is apparently the simple honorific title, ‘ Rabbi,” by which in that Homme age (Mt 23⁷) every professed teacher was courteously greeted.⁸! The actual
Aramaic form Rabbi occurs, however, but seldom in his narrative, and only on the lips of Jesus’ disciples (9⁵ 11²¹; 14⁴⁵, Judas in betraying Him); although the parallel form ‘ Rabboni occurs once on the lips of a petitioner for healing (10⁵¹). In its place stands customarily its simplest and most usual Greek rendering, ‘ Teacher (διδάσκαλε).6 The general synonomy of the forms of address, ‘ Teacher,” Master,’ ‘Tord’ (διδάσκαλε, ἐπιστάτα, κύρι), as all alike Greek representatives of ‘ Rabbi,’ is fully established by a comparison of the parallel passages in the Synoptics, as well as by such defining passages as Jno 18 06 10
What is to be noted here is that in his report of the forms of address employed by those conversing with Jesus, Mark confines himself among Greek formulas to Teacher (διδάσκαλε) as his standing representation of Rabbi.’ The use of Lord (κύριε) in 7²⁸ is not strictly an exception to this, since the speaker on that occasion was a heathen, and Lord (κύριε) may be best viewed as indicative of this fact. It is the common Greek honorific address, equivalent in significance to the Jewish Rabbi or Teacher.¹¹
The address Teacher’¹² is used by Mark broadly, and is put upon the lips both of our Lord’s disciples in their ordinary colloquy (4³⁸ 9³⁸ 10³⁵ 13¹), obviously as their customary form of addressing Him; and of others who approached Him for every variety of reason (5³⁵ 9¹⁷ 10¹⁷,²⁰ 12¹⁴,¹⁹,³²) There does not necessarily lie in this mode of address, therefore, anything more than a general polite recognition of our Lord’s claim to be a teacher and leader of men, although of course this recognition may rise on occasion above mere courtesy and become the expression of real reverence and dependence and a recognition of His authority and sovereignty. When something like this was insincerely or frivolously expressed, our Lord was offended by it, as in the case of the rich young ruler who addressed im flatteringly as Goed Teacher (10¹⁷).7 But when the expression was sincere it was received by Jesus in good part and the recognition of His authority involved in it welcomed and responded to, even when the authority suggested far exceeded that of an ordinary Rabbi and involved at least Messianic claims (10³⁵ 9³⁸ 4³⁸). Not only does He accept this designation; He even adopts it, instructing His disciples to speak of Him to others as the Teacher (14¹⁴),— and there is involved perhaps in this adoption of the title all that is expressed in the declarations of Mt 23¹⁻¹2, Although not necessarily recognized as all that He was by every one who approached Him saying ‘ Teacher,” yet under this designation He certainly is recognized as claiming and certainly does claim an authority above that of those who shared the title of ‘ Teacher with Him (1²²,²⁷ etc.).