A socio-rhetorical interpretation of the double commandment in Mark 12:28-34 as keystone for the ethics of the kingdom of God

M.A.The general thrust of this thesis is an attempt to determine whether Jesus' teaching was simply a repetition of what Judaism already knew and taught or it contained significantly new elements that need to be recognised. Despite voluminous productions on this subject that continue to flood publishing houses, no scholarly consensus has yet been reached. Many Jewish scholars have insisted that Jesus was a heretic whose teaching resulted in gross suffering to the Jewish nation and therefore have not seen any need to worry about his teaching. Geza Vermes, who is undoubtedly a competent historian and a prolific writer, has found a place for Jesus in the stream of first century charismatic Judaism. He apparently sees little difference between Jesus and such Jewish charismatic characters as Honi and Hanina Ben Dosa. Sanders is perhaps the most vocal non-Jewish scholar in favour of a view that sees Jesus' teaching as not being any different from the teachings of Orthodox Judaism. This thesis, rather than entering into debate with these authorities, uses the Gospel of Mark particularly the double love commandment as a yardstick to see if Jesus' teaching was in fact not unique. The socio-rhetorical method of interpretation developed by V.K. Robbins is applied to the text of Mark with the hope that it will give us fresh perspectives on the double love commandment pericope. This method has been chosen because it gives the interpreter an opportunity to look at the same text from multiple angles at the same time. This offers a deeper and richer understanding of the text