Grace Institute: The Gospels & Acts: Mark: Introduction

Mark Survey of the New Testament: The Gospels & Acts Winter 2005

[Next: Who Is This Man?]

Introduction

Author

This gospel is technically anonymous. However, the earliest church fathers have unanimously ascribed the book to the authorship of Mark. The oldest reference comes from Papias, the bishop of Hierapolis who wrote in AD 140 that Mark himself was not an eyewitness to the life of Jesus, but Mark interpreted what he remembered from Peter's testimony to the life of Jesus. While the gospel is not a chronological outline of the life of Christ, it is nonetheless an accurate record [1]. The early church historian Eusebius agrees with Papias, indicating that Mark's gospel is a compilation of the gospel preached by the apostle Peter, written down at the insistence of Peter's followers [2].

In addition to this external evidence, there is some internal evidence that Mark's gospel was influenced greatly by Peter. The outline of Peter's sermon in Acts 10:34-43 has much in common with Mark's gospel.

Mark, also known as John Mark, is a minor character in the New Testament narrative. The early church in Jerusalem met in house of Mark's mother (Acts 12:12). He was a cousin to Barnabas, accompanying Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. However, because Mark leaves the journey early and heads home, Paul is reluctant to take Mark on his second missionary journey, causing Paul and Barnabas to part company (Acts 15:36-41). Nonetheless, Mark was later reconciled to Paul, as Paul asks Timothy to send Mark because of his helpfulness to his ministry (2 Timothy 4:11).

Date

In one of our earliest manuscripts of the book of Mark, dated AD 160-180, the prologue to the gospel states that Mark authored this book in Italy after the death of Peter [3]. Peter's death was around AD 64. Given that there is no reference to the destruction of the temple in AD70, the best dating of the gospel is probably between AD 64 and AD 70. However, who believe that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source, place the writing in the AD 50s.

Audience

In addition to this ancient prologue, in 1 Peter 5:13, Peter states that Mark is with him in Rome, and in Colossians 4:10 Paul says that Mark is with him in prison in Rome. This is all strong external evidence that Mark wrote to the Christians in Rome. Internal evidence supports this contention, as Mark uses many Latin phrases in his text.

At the time of this writing, the church in Rome was first being persecuted by the Roman officials. The city of Rome had faced a disastrous fire which destroyed much of the city. Rumors circulated that the Roman emperor, Nero, had purposely started the fire so to clear land for a large urban renewal project he wanted. To combat these rumors, Nero placed the blame for starting the fire on a group of people from a new religion called Christianity. While the persecution from this was short-lived, it was intense, with stories told of Nero lighting his evening garden parties with Christians tied to poles and set ablaze. From this time forward, the Romans no longer considered Christianity as a sub-set of Judaism, and therefore were no longer a “legal” religion in the eyes of the law.

Style

Of all the four gospels, Mark's writing style is the least sophisticated in its use of the Greek language, showing strong Aramaic and Latin influences. However, Mark seems to give us a better picture of what day to day life was like around Jesus. Mark emphasizes how the multitudes were always around, and how it was difficult to get away (Mark 1:45). Little details about color and feelings give Mark a very descriptive tone. Mark also records much of the interaction between Christ and His disciples, focusing on his relationship with the disciples and how He trained them (see Mark 6:30-39).

Purpose

• To draw the audience to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God.
• To demonstrate that the purpose of the coming of the Son of God was to suffer and die.
• To encourage the Roman church that persecution was normal and part of God's plan, for Jesus himself suffered and died.

Structure

Mark does not have the same clear structure that some of the other gospels do. Papias tells us that the structure is not chronological. Instead the structure is designed to draw the audience into answering the question “who is this man, Jesus?”

Theme

Jesus, the Son of God and the suffering servant.

Footnotes

1. Eusebius Pamphilius . “Church History.” From A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Rev. Arthur Cushman McGiffert, translator. (Grand Rapids MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1890), 173. Available on-line at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.i.html.
2. Eusebius, 116.
3. Walter W. Wessel. “Mark.” Expositor's Bible Commentary.

[Next: Who Is This Man?]