experience forgiveness and restoration. In a first-century setting, where opposition from relatives and neighbors or intimidation from Jewish and Roman authorities might have led some Christians to compromise their witness, this hope would have been very meaningful. As John Donahue has said, “The story of Jesus is also to be the story of his followers” (“Jesus as the Parable of God” 377–78). In Mark’s account, Jesus is both the basis for and the pattern of discipleship.