The Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:2-8): Epiphany or Apotheosis?

The present essay examines the Christology and genre of the transfiguration narrative within the context of Mark's Gospel (Mark 9:2-8). With respect to Christology, I argue that Jesus's transformation was not an epiphany but a preview of his apotheosis or deification. That is, this transfo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Biblical literature
Main Author: Burkett, Delbert 1949- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Scholar's Press [2019]
In: Journal of Biblical literature
IxTheo Classification:HC New Testament
Further subjects:B Bible. Gospels
B Christology
B Epiphany
B Apotheosis
B TRANSFIGURATION of Jesus Christ
B Bible. Markusevangelium 9,2-8
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The present essay examines the Christology and genre of the transfiguration narrative within the context of Mark's Gospel (Mark 9:2-8). With respect to Christology, I argue that Jesus's transformation was not an epiphany but a preview of his apotheosis or deification. That is, this transformation reveals not a divine nature that Jesus already possessed but the divine nature that he would obtain in the future when he ascended to heaven. With respect to genre, I suggest that the transfiguration narrative is an apocalypse, a revelation of Jesus's future status in the heavenly world after his earthly life. This narrative presents Jesus as a human being who ascends to heaven to become a divine being. Thus, Mark's Jesus is not a god who becomes a man, but a man who becomes a god.
ISSN:1934-3876
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of Biblical literature
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/jbl.2019.0022