Gospel of Mark

Recap

Mark: This disciple is given credit by the early church as the author of the Gospel of Mark. Mark was the Latin surname given to this young man who's Jewish name was John.

Appears to be a very wealthy family. Read Acts 12:12 “So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.”

Early Church met in his parents home. This is where Peter fled to after his miraculous release from prison.

May have been the young man who followed Jesus to the Garden and then fled naked. Mark 14:51–52 “Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.”

Mark is the cousin of Barnabas. Colossians 4:10 “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),”

Goes on a missionary journey with Barnabas & Paul. Acts 12:25 “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.”

Mark has a falling out with Barnabas and Paul and returns to Jerusalem. Acts 13:13 “Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.”

Paul wants nothing to do with John Mark after this but relents years later and sees Mark as an asset. 2 Timothy 4:11 “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.”

Lastly, Mark is a part of the early Leadership of the church. 1 Peter 5:13 “She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.”

The Writings

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John Mark as a human being leads a really interesting life with ups and downs and redemption. He saw history taking place directly in front of him. Sometimes he experienced it like a spectator or a fly on the wall and at other times he was directly involved with the history being made. This is one of the reasons that the Gospel of Mark is so interesting to read because it shows both of these perspectives. Mark could see the accounts as a spectator from the outside looking in and He could write it from the inside look out. I think this is why Mark wrote this gospel specifically for Gentiles. Gentiles didn’t know all the ins and outs of being a Jew and Mark does a pretty good job of explaining the customs and traditions of the Jewish life to those of us who don’t know it as well. This is one reason why Mark does not include a geology of Jesus because that wouldn’t matter to a gentile believer.

The Date

When a book, claiming to be written about a person or event, is written is important because the closer it is written to the time of the person or event the easier it is to believe in its authenticity. According to the Ryrie Study Bible the authenticity of Mark has never been questioned and it was never any challenge made deny its inclusion in the canon of Scripture.

How do we date a book of the Bible? We look in it’s pages to find accounts of things we can date. In this case we know the book has to be written after Jesus’ death in AD 33 and due to life spans it would be unlikely for Mark to live much past the ages of 60 to 70 putting his death sometime between AD 80 to 100.

Narrowing our focus let’s look at some events to help us narrow it down. Read Mark 13:2 “And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

If we discount Jesus’ ability to give prophecy then when does this place the writing after? The destruction of the Temple in AD 70. However, we believe that Jesus can truly prophesy so that doesn’t help.

Therefore we need another date to go by. Read Acts 28:30 “Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him,” Acts which is written after the accounts of the Gospels has this as its very abrupt ending. We don’t here about the death of Paul and we don’t know how any of his appeals turn out. History and Church tradition tells us that Paul died in Rome sometime around AD 61-63. As Acts does not record Paul’s death that makes it’s completion likely between AD 59 to 61. Because much of Acts relies on the accounts of the Gospels they must be written prior to those dates. Most scholars place the date of Mark in either the 50’s or early 60’s.

I favor an early 50’s date because of how Mark is used by the rest of the Gospels.

The Message of Mark

It is believed that Mark is the first of the Gospels and sets the tone if not the script of all the others. Read Stott pg 12 Read Blue

Let’s Look at some of these differences.

Read Mark 1:1.

What does Mark say about Jesus? There is no ambiguity Jesus is the SON OF GOD.

What does this do for the reader right from the start? We are not left with any questions. Mark gives us the secret of Jesus’ identity right from the start and we are not left wonder if Jesus is whom He seems to be.

What does Mark Title his work? The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Look at Matthew 1:1, Luke 1:3-4, John 1:1. Mark is a GOSPEL a letter of Good news, and it is written to proclaim the Messiah Jesus is Lord.

As we continue through the start of chapter 1 we seek Mark declare Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, then we are introduced to John the Baptist briefly and then we jump right into the earthly ministry of Jesus at His baptism.

Why do you think Mark left out all the birth and growing up years?

Marks Gospel records very little of Jesus’ teachings. None of the Sermon on the mount is recorded. Few of the parables are recorded. Instead Mark places a priority on the Acts of Jesus and the Disciples.

Why do you think this may have been the case? Mark observed some of the ministry of Jesus but he was a young man during the 3 years of Jesus’ ministry. Much of what Mark wrote about may have been told to him second through Peter. Read Stott pg 19-20 bullet points.

Mark Told a better account. Read Mark 5:21-43.

John Stott calls Mark a gifted Stylist in his writings and these are his reasons. Read Bullet points from Stott page 21

Structure (The Bible Project)

Mark is divided into four parts. Mark 1:1-8:26 show the mixed reactions to Jesus’ message. Mark 8:27-10 present Jesus as the Messiah. Mark 11-16 detail Jesus’ persecution, crucifixion, and resurrection.

Interesting thing we will end on tonight. The ending of Mark.

16:9-20 is a longer ending found in later manuscripts.

This is the note found in the Ryrie Study Bible. “16:9-20 These verses do not appear in two of the most trustworthy manuscripts of the New Testament, though they are part of many other manuscripts and versions. If they are not a part of the genuine test of Mark, the abrupt ending at verse 8 is probably because the original closing verses were lost. The doubtful genuineness of verse 9-20 makes it unwise to build a doctrine or base an experience on them especially verses 16-18.”