With a year left in my program here at Dallas Seminary, I have now embarked on the task of writing my thesis. The time has arrived. Along with a three-hour online course this summer and working up at the church, this will be how I am spending my summer. The library on campus was nice enough to rent me a doctoral desk for the summer, complete with a locking cabinet to keep my books! Looks like it’s going to be a great summer.

My thesis is titled: A Narrative Analysis of Mark’s Presentation of Jesus as the Son of God. It’s a long title (most are), so let me break down the three major sections of the paper:

1. The authenticity of the phrase “Son of God” in Mark 1:1 is heavily disputed. The textual evidence for its inclusion in the original Gospel of Mark is divided, with major players supporting both sides. Part one is an investigation into its authenticity.

2. If “Son of God” is original in Mark 1:1, then part two will investigate the meaning behind this statement. We want to interpret “Son of God” as an easy reference to the second person of the Trinity, but is that the full meaning (or the way a first-century reader would have understood it)?

3. Part three is the major section of the paper and it will analyze how Mark’s narrative contributes to his presentation of Jesus as the Son of God. It will deal with heavily with the discipline of “narrative criticism,” that is, an approaching the biblical text as a work of literature. Typically, narrative critics investigate aspects such as plot, characterization, setting, point of view, etc., similar areas of investigation if one was to study Shakespeare, Austen, or Twain. My main focus will be how does Mark use his story of Jesus to validate his claim that Jesus truly is the Son of God?

I’m likely a bit in over my head with this topic, but hopefully I’ll have a halfway-decent product come the end of August. I’ll try and report my progress throughout the summer in an effort to keep myself accountable in making progress. The thesis process is really a one-year commitment, but I’m going to try and get my rough draft cranked out all in one summer. Wish me luck!