Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 180:719 (Jul 2023)
Article: Mark 14:58 And The “Handmade–Not Handmade” Parallel
Author: Elton L. Hollon

BSac 180:719 (July-September 2023) p. 325

Mark 14:58 And The “Handmade–Not Handmade” Parallel

Elton L. Hollon

Elton L. Hollon is a philosophy professor at Ventura College in Ventura, California.

Abstract

Some scholars retain the neat “handmade–not handmade” adjectival parallel in their reconstructions of Jesus’s prophecy against the temple reported in Mark 14:58, suggesting the parallel refers to the eschatological temple common to Jewish apocalyptic literature. While the suggestion is plausible, the parallel is more likely the result of Markan redaction and symbolism. A reconstruction of the parallel’s tradition history in early Christianity shows that the addition follows a pattern of connecting Jesus’s prophecy with his resurrection and the growth of the Christian movement.

In a traditional reconstruction of Mark 14:58, Pesch retained the ἀ/χειροποίητος parallel: ἐγὼ καταλύσω τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον τὸν χειροποίητον καὶ διὰ τριῶν ἡμερῶν ἄλλον ἀχειροποίητον οἰκοδομήσω.1 He argued that the saying is connected with the concern of false testimony. How could it soften an embarrassment if the saying is supposed to erroneously predict the destruction/replacement of the temple and constitute a charge of false testimony? Hence, the adjectives are likely part of the original formulation.2 However, according to Pesch, this only shows that the whole saying originated as a “Jewish polemic” against Jesus in the pre-Markan narrative of the trial.3 Pesch likely misunderstands

BSac 180:719 (July-September 2023) p. 326

the relationship between the parallel and “false testimony” because he does not adequately account for the role of irony in the narrative.4

In contrast, some scholars use the criteria of authenticity to support the historicity of the adjectival parallel.5 Regarding the criteria, some support the saying’s historicity (e.g., it is multiply attested by Mark 14:58 and John 2:19), but most do not extend to the adjectives. Only the criterion of embarrassment extends to the adjectives, supposing they refer to the eschatol...