Editing Gospel of Mark (section)

===Christ's death, resurrection and return===
[[Eschatology]] means the study of the end-times, and the Jews expected the [[messiah]] to be an [[eschatology|eschatological]] figure, a deliverer who would appear at the end of the age to usher in an earthly kingdom.{{sfn|Burkett|2002|p=69}} The earliest Jewish Christian community saw Jesus as a messiah in this Jewish sense, a human figure appointed by God as his earthly regent; but they also believed in Jesus' resurrection and exaltation to heaven, and for this reason they also viewed him as God's agent (the "son of God") who would return in glory ushering in the [[Kingdom of God]].{{sfn|Telford|1999|p=155}}

The term "[[Son of God]]" likewise had a specific Jewish meaning, or range of meanings,{{sfn|Dunn|2003|pp=709–10}} including referring to an angel, the nation of Israel, or simply a man.{{sfn|Grossman|2011|p=698}}{{sfn|Levine|Brettler|2011|p=544}} One of the most significant Jewish meanings of this epithet is a reference to an earthly king adopted by God as his son at his enthronement, legitimizing his rule over Israel.{{sfn|Strecker|2000|pp=81–82}} In Hellenistic culture, in contrast, the phrase meant a "divine man", covering legendary heroes like [[Hercules]], god-kings like the Egyptian [[pharaoh]]s, or famous philosophers like [[Plato]].{{sfn|Dunn|2003|p=69}} When the gospels call Jesus "Son of God" the intention is to place him in the class of Hellenistic and Greek divine men, the "sons of God" who were endowed with supernatural power to perform healings, exorcisms and other wonderful deeds.{{sfn|Strecker|2000|pp=81–82}} Mark's "Son of David" is Hellenistic, his Jesus predicting that his mission involves suffering, death and resurrection, and, by implication, not military glory and conquest.{{sfn|Telford|1999|p=52}} This reflects a move away from the Jewish-Christian apocalyptic tradition and towards the Hellenistic message preached by Paul, for whom Christ's death and resurrection, rather than the establishment of the apocalyptic Jewish kingdom, is the meaning of salvation, the "gospel".{{sfn|Telford|1999|p=155}}