Reading Mark in Context Quotes

“This Son of Man continues to have a significant role in the Parables of Enoch: he is named by God (1 En. 48:2–8), sits on a “throne of glory” (45:3; 61:8; 62–63; 69:26–29), and judges the unrighteous and sinners while saving the righteous (51:5; 62–63; 69:26–29). One of the more descriptive judicial scenes is in 1 Enoch 62–63, where the kings and mighty of the earth fall down on their faces, helplessly hoping to receive mercy from the Son of Man at the final eschatological assize.”
― Ben C. Blackwell, Reading Mark in Context: Jesus and Second Temple Judaism

“in this passage we find the first time in Mark that the term “Son of Man” is applied to Jesus (2:10).1 What, then, do Jesus’s actions, together with this title, tell us about his identity? In this essay we will compare Mark’s Son of Man with the figure known as the Son of Man in the Parables of Enoch (1 En. 37–71) in order to demonstrate that Mark portrays Jesus having a divine identity and exercising divine authority as he teaches, heals, and forgives sins.”
― Ben C. Blackwell, Reading Mark in Context: Jesus and Second Temple Judaism

“We call this an apocalyptic worldview because it reflects a system of beliefs that includes the idea that what humans see and perceive as their earthly experience is in fact not the whole story. There is the deeper and invisible reality of a divine and heavenly realm. Moreover, the God of this heavenly realm reveals himself (hence “apocalyptic,” from the Greek word meaning “to reveal”) to his chosen people, his “elect,” and he tells them how the world really is—how it is structured, what the angelic realm is like, etc. (e.g., 1 En. 59:1–3; 60:11–23; 69:17–25). This enables the elect to live rightly and with hope that despite the way things appear now, God is at work and in control.”
― Ben C. Blackwell, Reading Mark in Context: Jesus and Second Temple Judaism

“In this introduction, we see motifs and ideas that are classic elements of an apocalyptic worldview: a human who receives a divine vision (in this case, Enoch); this vision is a mystery of heavenly wisdom that has not been revealed before; and the seer who receives the vision recounts it to others on earth so that they might understand the true nature of things.”
― Ben C. Blackwell, Reading Mark in Context: Jesus and Second Temple Judaism