Sowing the Passion at Olivet: Mark 13-15 in a Narrative Frame

Against a longstanding tendency to read Mark 13:1-37 as a prophetic dis- course concerning a future eschaton beyond Mark’s story, this essay argues that the so-called “Apocalyptic Discourse” functions narratively in Mark to fore- shadow particular events in the Markan passion. Building on the exegetical insights of Mary Ann Tolbert and the narratological theory of Mieke Bal, four parallels between chapter 13 and the Markan passion are explored: Mark’s use of paradidómi; darkness; named hours; and Jesus’ imperative to “keep awake.”