A Brief Gospel in a Fresh Style

The Gospel of Mark
 Audio MP3

"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1).

Michael Nekora

These few words introduce the Gospel of Mark and they may have been the book’s original title. Jesus never wrote a book nor did he ask his followers to do so. He asked them to preach (Mark 16:15), and preach they did, not only in Judea, but in far-off places such as Rome. During Jesus’ ministry his followers expected his kingdom to be established within their lifetimes. James and John asked to be seated closest to their leader in his kingdom glory (Mark 10:37) and they undoubtedly thought it would be soon. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, one of the first questions asked by the apostles was whether he would, at that time, "restore again the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6).

Thus it was that some unnamed individual decided to write about the experiences of our Lord. This is the shortest of the four gospels and the lack of an author’s name on a history book was common at that time. Although no author’s name is found within this book, early Christian church leaders with virtually one voice credit it to Mark (the surname of one named John-see Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37).

John Mark would have been too young to have been an associate of Jesus, but he eventually became the "adopted" son of Peter (1 Peter 5:13), much as Timothy became the "adopted" son of Paul (1 Timothy 1:2). Peter would have told him everything and Mark would have likely hung on his every word. Memories were exceptional in those days since books were rare and costly. It is generally believed that Matthew wrote his gospel first — suited as an apostle and an eyewitness, and by his trade gifted at recording. Mark, as the amanuensis of Peter, operated not by memory of Peter’s previous recitations, but with Peter at hand. Mark may have had access to Matthew’s gospel, abbreviating and clarifying it for a wider audience. This would explain the closeness of the Matthew and Mark accounts. The gospels of Luke and John were different as they were fresh compositions.

It is interesting to note that Mark does nothing to make Peter appear better than the other disciples. Although he mentions the miracle of Jesus walking on the water, he says nothing of Peter doing so (Matthew 14:28-31).

The way Peter used his fishing skills to obtain the tribute money (Matthew 17:24-27) was omitted too. After Peter correctly identified who Jesus really was, a special blessing was given to him by Jesus (Matthew 16:17-19), that fact was omitted as well. These evidences support the thought that the primary source of Mark’s account was Peter. It reflects the humble heart of the apostle, a heart that would not seek to honor self.

Peter’s words to Cornelius about Jesus, recorded in the book of Acts, provide a perfect summary of the Gospel of Mark. This is what Peter said:

"You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached — how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

"They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen — by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:36-42, NIV).

The Audience

Unlike the earlier account of Matthew, Mark sought to expand the appeal of his gospel to a wider Gentile believing audience. Matthew, on the other hand, targeted his writing specifically for a Jewish audience, those who had to be convinced that Jesus was their Messiah. More than ten times Matthew references Jesus’ fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy. Mark did that only once (Mark 15:28 where he said Jesus was numbered with the transgressors, prophesied in Isaiah 53:12).

Mark never refers to the Law of Moses, the word "law" does not appear in his gospel. He translates (into Greek) Aramaic words, and explains other things that any Jew would know. Here are some examples:

Explanations for a Gentile Audience

"James ... and John ... he surnamed ... Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17).

"He took the damsel [Jairus’ daughter] by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise" (Mark 5:41).

"If a man shall say ... It is Corban, that is to say, a gift" (Mark 7:11).

"And he said, Abba, [which means] Father" (Mark 14:36).

"At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34).

"Two mites ... make a farthing" (Mark 12:42).

"All the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not" (Mark 7:3).

"He sat upon the Mount of Olives over against [directly opposite] the temple" (Mark 13:3).

"The Sadducees ... say there is no resurrection" Mark 12:18

 

After the opening verses of Mark 1:2, 3 where Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 are quoted, Mark never again quotes the Old Testament unless it was done by Jesus or those who spoke to him. (Mark 15:28 is spurious.)

When Jesus cleansed the temple, he quoted these words from Isaiah: "Mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people" (Isaiah 56:7). Mark changed it slightly: "My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer" (Mark 11:17, compare Matthew 21:13 and Luke 19:46). This emphasis would especially encourage a Gentile audience.

The similarities in the order of narrative of Matthew and Mark are striking. However, Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah king and many of the events he describes support the idea of royalty. On the other hand, Mark presents Jesus in the opposite light: he is a suffering servant. Jesus told his followers they had to be servants as well: "Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:43-45).

Most of what we find in Mark is included in one or more of the other three Gospels, but two miracles are unique to Mark. As Jesus passed through the region of the Decapolis, he healed a deaf man with a speech impediment (Mark 7:31-35). On another occasion Jesus restored sight to a blind man of Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26), though unexpectedly on that occasion it took two tries before Jesus had complete success. Mark tells us it was Bartimaeus (he explains the name means "son of Timaeus," Mark 10:46) who was healed of his blindness in Jericho; Matthew says Jesus healed two blind men at that time, but he names neither (Matthew 20:30).

He also associates Jesus’ command to "watch" with a parable of a doorkeeper who remains behind when the master of the house leaves on a long journey (Mark 13:33-37).

As a good servant, Jesus does things quickly. Mark uses the Greek word meaning "immediately," "soon," or "at once" about forty times!

The events in Jesus’ life unfold as a story told by John Mark based on information shared with him by Peter. In all of the varied perspectives we see that Mark wrote to a different audience, a Gentile one. He customized his words and descriptions to help them see the relevancy of Jesus to their own lives. Recently the book of

Mark became the script for a one-man modern play entitled "St. Mark’s Gospel." Using few props, Alec McCowen simply told the story of Jesus over a span of two hours and from memory as John Mark recorded it. His performance won a Tony Award in 1979.[1]

The Enigmatic Young Man

"A young man was following him [Jesus], wearing only a linen cloth. They [those sent to seize Jesus] tried to arrest him, but he ran off naked, leaving his linen cloth behind" (Mark 14:51, 52, Net Bible). We know nothing more about this young man in Gethsemane.

This young man indeed could not be one of the twelve since the preceding verse says: "All the disciples left him and fled" (Mark 14:50, Net Bible). Others think this young man followed Jesus from the place where the last supper had been eaten. That is unlikely as well. It was cold at night in Jerusalem’s higher elevation. Later that night Peter was all too happy to warm his hands at a fire. Even an impulsive young man would wear more than a linen cloth when he left his house within the city.

Another theory is that this young man had been sleeping in a house in or near the garden, the noisy crowd aroused his curiosity, and he came out to see what was happening.

Lazarus has also been suggested. Not only did the Jewish religious leadership want Jesus dead, they wanted Lazarus dead as well (John 12:10). If those who came to arrest Jesus recognized Lazarus, they would certainly arrest him and bring him back to the chief priests. Arguing against this idea is that the arresting officers could not recognize Jesus until Judas delivered his identifying kiss. If they could not recognize Jesus, surely they could not recognize Lazarus. Besides, Lazarus lived in Bethany some distance away and Jesus had been returning to Bethany each night during his last week.

An oft-expressed opinion is that this young man was John Mark, who introduced himself into the narrative as someone who was there and had seen all the disciples flee, those who said they were willing to die for their Lord, or so they thought. The apostle John was similarly oblique when he spoke of himself in his gos

pel (John 19:26 is one example). Being naked was an embarrassment for Jews, and thus one might expect Mark to leave this out. Yet including it gave Mark credibility that the events he described really happened. He wrote an honest history of events, not a book where people were made to appear different than they were in reality. The other Gospel writers never mention this young man.

The Messianic Secret

The first nine chapters of the Gospel of Mark describe Jesus’ ministry in Galilee; the last six chapters describe his final week in Jerusalem ending with his crucifixion. Generally, Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah is not recognized by the crowds or even his own disciples. Even John the Baptist sent two people to inquire if he was the Messiah. However, the unclean spirits whom he cast out certainly knew that he was the Messiah (Mark 1:24, 34 and 3:11, 12). He told them to not reveal his identity. Near the end of his ministry Peter accurately identified Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 8:30) and he too was told to keep it a secret. When Jesus brought Jairus’ daughter back to life, Jesus asked for secrecy from those who saw the miracle (Mark 5:43).

There are some deeper meanings in Jesus’ words that were not perceived by the crowds. As the fourth chapter opens, Jesus is in a boat preaching to a multitude on the shore. He is using parables, and it is probable that neither the multitude nor the disciples understood what he was really saying. So the disciples came to him privately and asked a question: "When he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable [of the sower]. ... Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them" (Mark 4:10-12).

The disciples must have found this request for secrecy hard to comprehend. So too many Christians today feel that one must be converted now or be forever alienated from God, or suffer an even worse fate. Jesus was not there to convert the world, he had come to serve, to suffer, and to die and thus pay the ransom not just for "many," but for all (1 Timothy 2:6). A Messiah who suffers and dies? Yes: "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31).

One might believe Jesus was the Messiah because of his miracles. Although that was not enough to turn the hearts of the Jewish leadership, Nicodemus was an exception: "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him" (John 3:2). Although Mark does describe Jesus as a miracle worker, his account takes a dramatic turn after Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah: "Thou art the Christ. And he [Jesus] charged them that they should tell no man of him" (Mark 8:29, 30). Then Jesus told them he would suffer and die, but Peter objected to that idea. Jesus then rebuked Peter, calling him Satan, since Peter clearly did not understand Jesus’ full ministry. Jesus correctly saw that Satan, the great adversary, was at that moment using Peter as an instrument to influence Jesus away from doing the will of his heavenly Father.

This is the "Messianic Secret": Jesus had come to die, not be some miracle worker who would overthrow the Roman oppressor. From this exchange with Peter to the end of the book the story of Jesus becomes one of suffering and then death. Ironically, when Jesus died, the one who recognized his true identity was a Roman centurion who exclaimed: "Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39).

How indebted we are to Mark for the various perspectives he offers in this marvelous historical record of Jesus and his ministry.

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 (1) A similar performance by the actor Max McLean is available from many distributors of Christian videos.