Introduction

In the light of the results of the explorations of the imperial elements in Mark and of the possibility of using postcolonial hermeneutics for interpreting Mark presented in the previous chapter, it is relevant to look at some issues related to the poor in Mark and their representation in the Gospel and consequent interpretations of the Gospel of Mark. The issues of the poor, representation, economics, labour, tax, liberation and Jubilee are visible in several passages of Mark. Needless to say, many concerns visible in Mark seem to be postcolonial as the Gospel of Mark was a product of the colonial era of Roman imperialism. This study considers Mark in the light of these issues and in the living context of today as the author hails from a postcolonial situation. This section will look at the theological position of Mark as well as the theological position of the Markan interpreters on these issues. This chapter will have three main parts, namely a discussion on the issue of the poor in Mark, an exegetical study of Mark 10:17–31 and a postcolonial reading of that passage. In addition to this, there will be an evaluation of the historical-critical interpreters of the text. In the light of their interpretations of the issues of the poor in Mark, a postcolonial reading might offer some possible guidelines for constructing a hermeneutical paradigm for the postcolonial context.