The Kinship of Jesus

Christology and discipleship have largely remained separate categories in Markan scholarship. This study provides a commentary on the Gospel of Mark that underlines kinship as the nexus between Christology (Jesus and his kinship with God) and discipleship (Jesus and his kinship with disciples). Jesus, designated as the Son of God (1:1), establishes a kinship group of disciples and followers by providing them hospitality, welcoming them into his household, and addressing them in kinship terms as his family. The kinship between Jesus and God and that between Jesus and the disciples are imitative and contestive means for Mark to negotiate the Roman imperial context. In the church today, Christians still refer to their church family and to each other as brothers and sisters because of their relationship to Jesus. In a world that finds people increasingly separated from one another, this study demonstrates Jesus's formation of his own family and its continued impact on Christian identity and community.