Il significato di “mandare” (ἀποστέλλω) il discepolo da parte di Gesù nel Vangelo di Marco. Parte I: Diverse sfumature semantiche del verbo ἀποστέλλω

Abstract

The Gospel of St Mark discusses two issues central to our understanding of Christian discipleship. On the one hand the Gospel tries to address the question of the identity of Jesus asking “who actually is he” (cf. Mk 8:27-30)? On the other hand the author strives to answer the dilemma of who is, or rather who should become, the disciple of Jesus? The aforementioned verb ἀποστέλλω that can be translated “to send” is used in evangelist’s pursuit to characterize the ideal disciple. This study is the first in the tetralogy of articles on the meaning of verb ἀποστέλλω in the Gospel of Mark, in the context of Jesus’ disciples. This first article in the series analyses the meaning of this verb in Greek and Hebrew world in the New Testament and in the writings of the Church Fathers. The second text will provide the analysis of the pericopes which employ the verb ἀποστέλλω when referring to the disciples of Jesus (Mk 3:13-19, 6:7-13, 11:1-11, 14:12-16). The third study will investigate the circumstances of sending them out by Jesus on missions. Finally, the last article in the series will focus on the goals and the achievements of the disciples’ missions. It will also contain analytical summary that will reconstruct the meaning of the verb ἀποστέλλω in the context of the entire Gospel of Mark.