OVERVIEW – GOSPEL OF MARK
Authorship - Unknown
Like the other three canonical
gospels, the author of Mark is anonymous. However, tradition, as transmitted by
bishop and apostolic father Papias who lived around 60-130 AD, holds that he
was “John Mark”, a companion of the apostle Peter. “John Mark” is mentioned in
Acts 12:12-14, which indicates John Mark’s mother’s house was a regular enough
stop for Peter that the servants recognized him by voice alone. There are other
mentions of John Mark in Acts 12:24 and 13:5 and at Colossians 4:10. If one
believes Peter was actually the author of I Peter, one can hypothesize further
that there was a close relationship between Peter and Mark, as at I Peter 5:13,
where the author refers to Mark as his son. Someone named Mark is also
mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:11, where the author, (either St. Paul himself or one
of his students; scholars aren’t sure), states, “Only Luke is with me. Bring
Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry.” There is no actual evidence, in scripture or
elsewhere, to definitively connect either of these individuals to the Gospel of
Mark. Like all of the rest of scripture, Mark was handed down from
generation to generation by oral tradition (word of mouth) and/or hand-copying
by monks and scribes. How much these transmitters embellished or omitted
through the years until the earliest known texts appeared traceable to the
Fifth Century, is unknown.
Date of Composition – Likely
about 65 AD
Scholars are almost unanimous in
concluding Mark was the first of the “synoptic gospels” (Matthew and Luke are
the other two) to be composed. The most common date mentioned is between 65 to
70 AD. 70 AD is a significant date, as that is when the army of the Roman
Empire destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem (and much of Jerusalem itself as well)
in response to one of several Jewish rebellions. The reader should compare
Jesus prophecy of the destruction of the Temple in Mark 13:1-24 with that in
Matthew 24:1-28 and Luke 21:5-24. Mark gives a basic outline, while Matthew and
Luke add more details. Scholars generally believe that Mark was the first of
the Gospels to be composed. Matthew and Luke were composed between 80-90 AD. Both
Luke and Matthew were dependent upon Mark for basic material but added
additional material from another source, commonly identified as “Q”. In their
apocalyptic material and elsewhere, much of what appears in Matthew also
appears in Luke. Peter, James, and Paul were all put to death by the Roman empire
sometime before the year 70. Perhaps their death stimulated the preservation by
way of the gospels of what was previously oral tradition.
Place of Composition –
Probably Rome
Tradition, as explicated by
Clement of Alexandria, holds that the Gospel of Mark was composed in Rome. If
one accepts that a Peter reigned as Rome’s first bishop, such an association
would seem logical. However, the original Greek text itself propels a similar
conclusion, given the presence of a considerable number of Greek loan words
(“Latinisms”).
Intended Audience – Probably
Gentile
Mark was addressed to a gentile
(non-Jewish) audience as evident from Mark’s need to explain Jewish
purification customs such as at 7:1-22. Further, Aramaic terms are translated
as if the receiving audience does not know that language. See 3:17; 5:41; 7:11,34; 15:22,34
(Aramaic was the local language in the area where Jesus lived). The Markan
author also seemed to have a special interest in persecutions and martyrdom,
subjects of concern to those in Rome. See 8:34-38 and 13:9-13. The early church
underwent extensive persecution in the time of the Roman emperor Nero around
64-67 AD. The fire of Rome in 64—probably set by Nero himself but blamed on
Christians—resulted in widespread persecution. One can reasonably conclude that
the author of Mark was addressing the concerns of his audience.
Characteristics of Mark – The
Action Gospel
Mark takes the form of a story. Mark
is the shortest of all the Gospels. Jesus travels quickly, conversations happen
abruptly, and the narrative is snappy. Mark does not record anything
about Jesus’ birth or childhood, as Matthew and Luke do, but instead dives
right into the ministry of John the Baptist and the meeting of Jesus and John
at the time of the Baptism of Jesus.
Mark is often known as “the
action Gospel”. It is more about what Jesus did, rather than what Jesus said.
Mark moves quickly from one episode in
Jesus’ life and ministry to another, often using the adverb “immediately,” the
Greek word ethus, over 40 times,
contrasted with its seldom usage in the other Gospels. Mark does not contain
the lengthy discourses of Jesus such as the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 or
the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6:17-49.
Throughout Mark, Jesus moves with
power and authority. The terms, power and authority, are used frequently in
Mark. Demons, death, disease, defilement, defective bodies, and
destructive storms all submit to Jesus.
An important theme in Mark is the
“messianic secret.” Jesus does not reveal, or admit to, his Messiahship
in the first half of Mark's Gospel. In the second half of the Gospel, however,
he acknowledges it to the disciples after Peter's confession, but commands them
not to tell anyone. See 8:27-30 The demons realized who he was,
but even they were commanded to stay silent). Some who were healed by Jesus
also knew who he was, yet Jesus also commanded them to keep it to themselves.
The messianic secret reaches its climax when the centurion said that Jesus
truly was the Son of God.
Application of Mark to Our
Lives – Evangelism and Service
Sometimes, we need to get down to
business and not get bogged down in details, particularly when we talk about
Jesus to non-Christians, of which there are many today. Fortunately, to
actualize our calling to be disciples making disciples, Mark is an ideal Gospel
to present to an unchurched person with little or no knowledge of Christianity.
What Jesus said does not make sense until we hear what Jesus did. What makes Mark
the perfect Gospel for that purpose is that it delays the question of the true
identity of Jesus hidden while evidence develops. Slowly but surely, the
identity of Jesus begins to emerge from the details. His demonstrated authority
slowly points to his identity as the Messiah.
Mark is sometimes presented as
the Gospel of the Servant Jesus. According to this theory, Jesus is the
antitype of the type identified as the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7;
49:5-7; 50:4-7; 52:13—53:12. Mark 10:45 tell us, "For even the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve…” In the context of this verse, James
and John came to Jesus with the request that they be given places of honor in
His eternal kingdom. Jesus responds to them by describing that the Son of
Man came to serve rather than be served, and that they should do likewise. Service
is the essence of ministry. Those of us
in leadership positions, lay or clergy, are essential servants. In liturgies,
the presider, and other ministers, are “servants of the assembly.” Jesus came
to us clothed in humility. He came prepared to give up his own life for ours
sake. His focus was on meeting our needs, not his own. He came with a
purposeful sense of knowing who he was and why he was here. His entire life was one of service. He came
into this world in the great humility of a stable despite his divine nature to
empathize with humanity. His activities…healing, driving out demons, teaching,
cleansing the Temple, and others…were not for his benefit, but for ours.
As you read through Mark, (which
can be done in about two hours or less), reflect on your role as a disciple. Again,
Mark is the action Gospel. We do our greatest evangelism by what we do, not just what we say.
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