Enoch Seminar – June 11, 2025 | Session Theme: Mark within Judaism - Day 2

Why This Conference Matters

The New Testament within Judaism conference, hosted by the Enoch Seminar, brings together leading scholars to reframe the New Testament within their original Jewish contexts. This approach challenges centuries of Christian supersessionist readings and opens up new pathways for Jewish-Christian understanding.

At Bridge Builders Forum, we see this work as essential. Recovering the Jewishness of the gospels is not only a matter of historical accuracy but a vital tool for dismantling antisemitic interpretations and advancing more faithful, respectful engagement between Christians and Jews. What follows is a summary of key insights from Day Two of the conference.

Response to Day One about Paul within Judaism from Paula Fredriksen

·      It is critical to remember the inseparable ancient connection between ethnicity and religion.

·      If a group self-identifies as “Jewish” or “Israel,” does that make them “within Judaism”? In that case, what about those Christians who claim to be “true Jews” or “spiritual Israel”? Should such groups or individuals be considered “within Judaism”? Most would say no.

·      That Paul received the 39 lashes (2 Cor 11) from the synagogue does not tell us anything specific about his Torah observance.

·      Torah observance varied in Paul’s day, as it does now.

·      Paula F expressed disagreement with those who identify in-Christ Gentiles as Israel (contra Jason Staples)

·      Paula F is inclined to see 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 (discussed on day one) as an interpolation. She noted that, although there is no manuscript evidence for this, the manuscripts we have are hundreds of years after Paul wrote them, which is ample time for interpolations to have appeared.

·      Judaism in Paul within Judaism is a rhetorical (utilitarian) device. But the danger of the term is that it suggests a universal uniformity that did not exist in Paul’s day.

Introduction to Day Two – Mark within Judaism – John Van Maaren

·      Mark has come “late to the party” regarding “within Judaism” studies.

·      Interest in the Jewishness of Mark is growing.

·      John has a new book on this topic: The Gospel of Mark's Judaism and the Death of Christ as Ransom for Many

·      Other recent works present Mark within Judaism

o   Thiessen’s Jesus and the Forces of Death

o   Sloan’s Jesus and the Jewish Law (released in August 2025)

·      Matthew is sometimes seen as an advocate for Judaism and writing, in part, as a reaction to Mark’s anti-Jewish statements.

·      Mark systematizes Torah purity laws, without abrogating them.

·      Mark anticipates a soon return of Jesus and God’s kingdom.

Helen Bond

·      She is working on a commentary on Mark.

·      Mark wrote post-70, after the destruction of the Temple. Christ-followers at this time would have felt the implications of this catastrophe as well and wondered, “What went wrong?”

·      Jewish responses to the destruction of the Temple generally agree that this was a result not of Roman strength, but of Jewish sin.

·      Mark attributes the Temple’s fall to God’s punishment for killing Jesus.

·      The boundaries between Jews and Christians were blurred. This is reflected in Mark.

·      There is nothing anti-Jewish or antisemitic in Mark by attributing the fall of Jerusalem to a group of Jews (namely, Jewish leaders in Judea). He does not express negativity towards ordinary Jews.

·      Mark sees 70 as the beginning of the end times.

Elizabeth Shively

·      Mark is deeply embedded in Jewish theology.

·      Mark is not doing anything new in his Jewish methods of interpretation. It is new to see Jesus as the fulfillment of the texts.

·      Mark incorporates lots of Isaiah. For example, Mark reworks Isaiah’s storyline about the Servant.

·      Mark’s use of Isaiah is not just about quoting verses but reworks the story to tell the story of Jesus. Ex - Mark 10:45 – Jesus came not to be served, but to serve…

·      What changes when we read Mark within Judaism? We see it’s not only the texts but also the methods that are Jewish in Mark.

·      Mark is a Jewish story of exile, hope, and restoration.

·      Mark doesn’t stand apart from Judaism but grows within it.

Sarah Emanuel

·      How does importing the “within Judaism” category, created for Pauline studies, help or hinder how we understand the Jewish nature of Mark?

·      Mark does not carry the same “anti-Judaism” history as John and Paul.

·      Framing Mark within Judaism is not required to legitimize Mark as a Jewish text.

Jacob Mortensen

·      What kind of education did Mark have?

·      Was Mark a Galilean scribe or priest?

·      His education, literary prowess, ancestral understanding, and social position make it plausible that Mark was a scribe or priest.

Discussion

·      How much was Mark influenced by Peter (per Papias)? How much did Paul influence Mark?

·      Could it be that both figures influenced Mark?

·      Does Mark’s association with Paul in the New Testament influence how Mark’s gospel is usually framed? In other words, since Paul is often viewed as outside of Judaism, is Mark similarly framed by this association?

·      Sarah Emmanuel has a new book coming out in November: Wrestling with Paul: The Apostle, His Readers, and the Fate of the Jews. A review panel will be held about this at SBL in November.