The Gospel of Mark Literary Structure

Edwards: Markan Sandwiches

The concept of Markan Sandwiches refers to the literary device featured prominently in the Gospel of Mark in which the author interpolates an anecdote within another anecdote. According to Edwards (1989), while a number of literary scholars have remarked upon this curious structure, few have agreed as to why Mark chooses to rely upon this technique. Edwards advances the thesis that the sandwiching technique is intentional and is used to reinforce the theological purpose of the author of the Gospel. Mark’s favoring of the sandwich technique far exceeds that of those of the authors of the other synoptic gospels Luke and Matthew.
One sandwich involves that of a woman with a hemorrhage who approaches Jesus mid-narrative in the story of the healing of Jairus’ daughter. If an interpolation can be described as having an A-B-A structure, the “A” narrative details a resurrection narrative which is less famous than that of the raising of Lazarus. In Mark’s narrative, Jesus is asked to come to the house of Jairus, the patron or head of the synagogue, because his daughter is sick. Once Jesus arrives, he is told that the girl is dead but Jesus responds that she is only sleeping and she rises when he tells her to wake. The story is more explicitly a resurrection narrative in Matthew and Luke. On the way to Jairus’ house, however, a bleeding woman approaches Jesus. She touches his cloak, secure in her belief that she will be healed. Jesus says to her that she is healed because of her faith but her healing precedes his words. The woman’s strength of faith is a contrast to the doubt expressed that Jesus can help Jairus’ daughter and highlights the larger point of the narrative of the need to surrender to faith before verbal reassurance.
Another sandwich is that of the mission of the Twelve Apostles and the Return of the Twelve Apostles, into which is interspersed the martyrdom of John the Baptist. John’s martyrdom prefigures Jesus’. By locating it within the coming together and the return of the Apostles, Mark affirms the complex nature of the relationship of Jesus to his Apostles and their attitude towards his crucifixion. Although the Apostles follow Jesus, there is much they do not understand about his mission and teaching. John understands the true nature of Jesus far better than the Apostles (particularly in Mark’s version) and their survival and lack of comprehension is contrasted with John’s immediate recognition of who Jesus is.
A third notable sandwich found in Mark is that of the denial of Peter. After Jesus is apprehended in Gethsemane, Peter is depicted standing in the courtyard before a fire. Jesus then reveals his identity for the first time as the Son of God. As predicted, Peter then betrays Jesus. Once again, the sandwich reinforces the powerful nature of Jesus willing to declare the truth, even if it means his death. This is in stark contrast to Peter, who denies Jesus in a desire to save his own skin. Peter’s public declamation is a stark contrast with Jesus’ equally public statement about who he is.
In all three narrative structures, the most important aspect of the sandwich is the meat or the middle, and the two slices of bread act as the delivery of that meaning. The frame narrative makes the central, inner narrative more powerful and acts as reinforcement to those expressed ideas. All three of the above-cited narratives share a common theme—a contrast between those who do understand Jesus (or Jesus himself) and those who mistrust him or who are unwilling to declare their devotion to him in a public fashion. All three narratives suggest a need for the believer to be unafraid in his or her advocacy of true faith.



Reference
Edwards, J. (1989). Markan sandwiches: The significance of interpolations in Markan narratives.
Novum Testamentum. XXXI (3), 193-216.