Allusion to Isa 11.10 LXX in Mark 10.42b

Abstract

Mark 10.42b, οι δοκουντες αρχειν των εθνων, seems an allusion to Isa 11.10 LXX comparing those seeming to rule the Gentiles now to the prophesied messiah in Isaiah who will rule them in the eschaton. The messianic eschatological significance of Isa 11.10 LXX, evident in its development and prior use, seems continued in Mark 10.42–5, particularly as context for the preparatory, sacrificial Son of Man Christology of Mark 10.45. The allusion also suggests the prophetic applicability of all Isaiah 11 to Mark 10.42–5. The allusion's implied progression between Jesus’ self-sacrifice and his messiahship permits Mark 10.42–5 to function as an independent rhetorical unit applicable to church leadership in the interregnum and as a theologically climactic unit within Mark. Undeveloped by later readers of Mark, this allusion should be highlighted to preserve the passage's eschatological expectation.