This thesis argues that non-argumentational strategies of persuasion in the major-length speeches of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark account for a considerable part of the author's intended persuasive effect. Gospel criticism has typically read these speeches as deposits of possible authentic words of Jesus, as evidence of Christology or as links in the plot of Mark's narrative while rhetorical criticism of the Gospels has focused upon Jesus' shorter utterances as argumentation within episodes. However, the speeches are not consistently logical or argumentational and they stand out in the larger narrative as extended stretches of Jesus' voice. / Treating the four longest units of Jesus' speech as rhetorical units in their own right (Mk 4:11--32; 9:39--50; 12:1--11; 13:5--37), the thesis attempts to show how these texts might have worked to persuade Mark's audience towards change in action or attitude. Although neither argumentation at the rational-conceptual level nor the context of the narrative are denied, attention is focused on the rhetorical force of the speeches themselves and the features designed to affect the audience at the level of feeling or emotion. Persuasive goals are discernable in the speeches not only in what Jesus argues but also in the way he talks.

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