Understanding Mark’s Gospel: Tyrannus Textbook Series

Understanding Mark’s Gospel

Tyrannus Textbook Series

Mark J. Keown

Understanding Mark’s Gospel

Tyrannus Textbook Series

Copyright ©

2021

Mark J. Keown. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers,

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paperback isbn: 978-1-7252-8551-4

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©

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by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

12/10/21

Table of Contents

Understanding Mark’s Gospel

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

Lesson One: An Introduction to Mark’s Gospel

The Synoptic Gospels and Their Relationship

Authorship

Who Was John Mark?

Date

Provenance

Setting

Audience

Textual Issues

Context

Arrangement and Structure

Other Key Features

Questions

Lesson Two: John’s Ministry, Jesus’s Anointing, Disciples Called, Power and Controversy (1:1—2:17)

The Title (1:1)

The Ministry of John the Baptist (1:1–8)

Jesus’s Baptism and Anointing (1:9–11)

The Temptation (1:12–13)

The Kingdom of God and the Required Response (1:14–15)

The Ministry of Jesus (1:16—8:26)

Questions

Lesson Three: More Controversy, Power Encounters, and Parables (2:18—4:34)

Fasting (2:18–20)

The Parables of the Wineskin and Cloth (2:21–22)

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath (2:23–27)

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath (3:1–6)

The Healing of Crowds (3:7–12)

The Appointing of the Twelve (3:13–19)

Is He Mad or Demonized? (3:20–34)

The Parable of the Sower, Soil, and Seeds (4:1–20)

The Parable of the Lamp (4:21–23)

The Parable of the Measure (4:24–25)

The Parable of the Growing Seed (4:26–29)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed (4:30–32)

Parables Summary (4:33–34)

Questions

Lesson Four: More Miracles, the Sending of the Twelve, and John’s Death (4:35—6:29)

The Calming of the Storm (4:35–41)

The Exorcism and Sending of the Demoniac (5:1–20)

The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter and Healing of the Bleeding Woman (5:21–43)

A Prophet without Honor (6:1–6a)

The Sending of the Twelve (6:6b–13)

The Identity of Jesus and the Death of John the Baptist (6:14–29)

Questions

Lesson Five: Two Feedings, More Miracles, and More Controversies (6:30—8:13)

The Feeding of the Five Thousand (6:30–44)

Jesus Walks on the Sea of Galilee (6:45–52)

Jesus Heals Many (6:53–56)

Clashes over Purity (7:21–23)

The Healing of the Syrophoenician Woman’s Daughter (7:24–30)

The Healing of a Deaf and Mute Man (7:31–32)

The Feeding of the Four Thousand (8:1–9)

Jesus Refuses to Give a Sign (8:10–13)

Questions

Lesson Six: Jesus Warns, Peter’s Confession, and Jesus’s Discipleship Training Program Begins (8:14—9:32)

Warnings Against the Pharisees and Herodians (8:14–21)

The Healing of a Blind Man (8:22–26)

Peter’s Confession (8:27–30)

The First Passion Prediction (8:31–33)

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me! (8:34—9:1)

The Transfiguration (9:2–13)

The Exorcism of a Boy with an Evil Spirit (9:14–29)

The Second Passion Prediction (9:30–32)

Questions

Lesson Seven: Jesus’s Discipleship Training Program Continues (9:33—10:16)

Greatness Is Found in Service (9:33–35)

The Importance of Children (9:36–37)

A Permissive Attitude (9:38–41)

Avoid Sinning and Causing Others to Sin (9:42–48)

Be Salty (9:49–50)

Divorce, Marriage, and Adultery (10:1–12)

The Blessing of the Children (10:13–16)

Questions

Lesson Eight: Discipleship Training Continues, and Jesus Enters Jerusalem (10:17—11:11)

The Rich Young Man (10:17–31)

The Third Passion Prediction (10:32–34)

Christian Leadership Is Service (10:35–45)

The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus (10:46–52)

The Entry to Jerusalem (11:1–11)

Questions

Lesson Nine: Jesus Curses a Tree and Clears the Temple, and Controversies Intensify (11:12—12:40)

The Cursing of the Fig Tree (11:12–14)

The Clearing of the Temple (11:15–19)

The Withered Fig Tree and the Importance of Faith and Prayer (11:20–25)

Jesus’s Authority is Challenged (11:27–33)

The Parable of the Tenants (12:1–12)

Paying Taxes to Caesar (12:13–17)

Marriage at the Resurrection (12:18–27)

The Great Commandments (12:28–34)

Jesus Is Adonai (12:35–37)

Beware the Teachers of the Law (12:38–40)

Questions

Lesson Ten: The Widow, the Olivet Discourse, and the Lead-Up to Jesus’s Death Begins (12:41—14:42)

The Widow’s Offering (12:41–44)

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End of the Age (13:1–13)

The Tribulation and the Return of Christ (13:14–37)

Anointing at Bethany (14:1–9)

Judas Betrays Jesus (14:10–11)

The Last Supper (14:12–25)

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial (14:26–31)

Anguish in Gethsemane (14:32–42)

Questions

Lesson Eleven: Jesus’s Arrest, Trial, Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection (14:43—16:8, 20)

Betrayal and Arrest (14:43–52)

Before the Sanhedrin (14:53–65)

Peter Denies Jesus (14:66–72)

Before Pilate (15:1–15)

Mocked and Beaten by the Soldiers (15:16–20)

Crucified (15:21–32)

The Death of Jesus (15:33–41)

Jesus Is Buried by Joseph of Arimathea (15:42–47)

Jesus Is Risen (16:1–8)

Jesus Appears and Commissions the Disciples (16:9–20, disputed)649

Questions

How Then Are We to Live?

Final Questions

Bibliography

"Keown brings alive both Mark’s Gospel and its first-century world in Understanding Mark’s Gospel. His easy-to-read, engaging style draws the reader into each passage of Mark’s narrative, producing a well-rounded, thorough introduction to Mark’s Gospel. Throughout, Keown explains how the events in Mark should shape the lives of Christians today, creating an informative, thought-provoking, and practical book."

—Julia van den Brink, Laidlaw College

Keown has put together a detailed yet wonderfully approachable study on the Gospel of Mark, offering his readers insight and inspiration in equal measure. Assessable and challenging, this is a fantastic companion for the working preacher, pastor, and congregation member alike. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

—Andrew Gardener, The Vine Church, Hong Kong

"I often suggest to students who want to study the New Testament in more depth that they start with Mark’s Gospel. Keown’s new book Understanding Mark’s Gospel is a great way to be guided to that greater depth of understanding and that richer level of insight. This easy-to-read book will open up Mark’s Gospel in fresh and exciting ways, both for new readers of Mark’s Gospel and for those who have read the gospel many times. Understanding Mark’s Gospel will also assist its readers in reaching the goal that Mark the evangelist had in mind when he wrote his gospel—that we as readers might encounter Jesus and grow in faith in him."

—Paul Trebilco, University of Otago, New Zealand

This is an excellent guide to the Second Gospel. Keown writes in simple and accessible English—but covers all the key issues and is engaged with the latest scholarship, so that he offers an impressive breadth of learning. The great strength of his approach is setting out clearly all the options for contentious issues and giving supporting reasons for each before offering his own view. This will be a useful guide to all students of this dynamic gospel.

—Ian Paul, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Dr. Mark Keown was my thesis supervisor at Laidlaw College, New Zealand, and I am delighted to endorse Understanding Mark’s Gospel, the first publication of our Tyrannus Textbook series."

—Paul Cheng, Tyrannus Online Seminary

Those who have known of Mark Keown for a while and read some of his earlier books will be eagerly anticipating this one. While it is written in the same easily readable style, it should not be mistaken for a superficial book. It is the fruit of many years of working with Mark’s Gospel both in the classroom and in the pulpit. Readers will not only find valuable insights into this, the first gospel to be written, but also food for their souls and challenges for their way of life.

—Philip Church, Laidlaw College

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my beloved friend Professor Dr Paul Cheng for his invitation and support in writing this material. It is an honor and a privilege to partner with you in this. I also extend my thanks to the whole team at Tyrannus Online Seminary in Kuala Lumpur. I thank Laidlaw College for employing me so I can do such writing. I love nothing more than exploring the Scriptures, and to be given the opportunity to do this and write about God and his Word professionally is a great privilege. My undying love goes to my beloved wife Emma. Of course, my greatest thanks go to God—Father, Son, and Spirit—for all you have done, are doing, and will do. Although I will have to wait until eternity to thank them in person, I also express gratitude to the apostle Peter whose message is contained in Mark’s Gospel, his scribe and interpreter John Mark of Jerusalem, and all those who helped in its writing back in those days. I honor them for their service, and all who lost their lives in the horrific period in which Mark was written.

Abbreviations

ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary

ANE Ancient Near East

AV Authorized Version

BDG Arndt, William F., and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: A Translation and Adaption of the Fourth Revised and Augmented Edition of Walter Bauer’s Griechisch-Deutsches Worterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der ubrigen urchristlichen Literatur. 2nd ed., revised and augmented by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker from Walter Bauer’s 5th ed., 1958. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

BDAG Danker, Frederick William, ed. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 6th ed., based on Walter Bauer’s Griechisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments, edited by Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichman, and on previous English editions by W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

COQG Christian Origins and the Question of God

DBL Greek Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament)

DJG Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.

DJG2 Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 2nd ed.

DNTB Dictionary of New Testament Background

EBD Eerdmans Bible Dictionary

EDB Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible

EDNT Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament

ESV English Standard Version

HIBD Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary

ISBE International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

KJV King James Version

LBD Lexham Bible Dictionary

LSJ Liddell, Henry George, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, and Roderick McKenzie. Greek-English Lexicon with a Revised Supplement. 9th ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.

NAC New American Commentary

NBD New Bible Dictionary

NIDNTTE New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis

NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary

NIVAC NIV Application Commentary

parr. parallels

PDBS Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies

PDSNTG Pocket Dictionary for the Study of New Testament Greek

PNTC Pillar New Testament Commentary

P. Oxy Oxyrhynchus Papyri

Q Quelle

SBT Studies in Biblical Theology

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum

SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series

Str-B Strack, H.L., and P. Billerbeck. Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch. 6 vols. Munich: 1922–61.

UBSHS United Bible Societies Handbook Series

WBC Word Biblical Commentary

Introduction

This is the first textbook written for the Tyrannus Online Seminary in Malaysia but published to be used elsewhere by those who want to learn more of God’s word. It is designed to be understandable, opening up deeper ways of engaging with the Bible. It involves eleven chapters in which students can read the passages and then consider the expository comments made about the text. Each lesson and chapter ends with questions that can be discussed by readers. There are also videos that accompany the book which can be accessed on the Tyrannus website. The whole purpose of this is to deepen faith and lead people to live more passionately and rightly for God.

The author of this volume is Mark J. Keown, who is honored to be given the opportunity to contribute. Mark is senior New Testament lecturer and biblical academic lead at Laidlaw College based at the Henderson campus in New Zealand. Prior to this, he published a number of works, including commentaries on Philippians, a two-volume discussion of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus in a World of Colliding Empires, and a Taster to the New Testament. If you like what you read here about Mark’s Gospel, you might consider reading his other more detailed book on Mark, which highlights Jesus against the backdrop of the kingdoms of the world at the time.

We do hope you enjoy this work and that it brings glory to God.

Lesson One: An Introduction to Mark’s Gospel

Mark’s Gospel is a fabulous, fast-moving account of the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.¹ Mark begins with John’s prophetic ministry, Jesus’s baptism, and then Jesus’s story until his resurrection. The key theme is the kingdom of God, with Jesus as the king who establishes God’s reign. The name Jesus is the Greek version of Joshua. The disciples who were called by Jesus believed that he was a new Joshua, who would lead the Twelve to overthrow the Romans and deliver the land. However, Jesus was a reframed Joshua, with a vastly different plan.

Mark describes Jesus’s entry into the land, his utterly shocking demise, and his resurrection. In 1:1—8:29, Jesus is revealed as the Messiah, the Christ, God’s anointed. After the confession by Peter, Jesus revealed that he is not a military messiah to smite the Romans, as expected; instead, he is a Servant King. The disciples are taught how to live as his disciples. They struggle to understand Jesus. They are devastated when he dies. They are hiding or fearful and bewildered when he rises. We are left at the end (16:8) with questions: What has happened? Who is this man? Mark himself clearly knows: he is the Messiah, the Son of God. He writes in the hope that his Roman readers and we who read Mark’s Gospel today will come to the same conclusion.

The Synoptic Gospels and Their Relationship

Before considering Mark’s Gospel, we must understand the relationship of the Gospels to each other. The word gospel is derived from the euangelion, which means good news. In the early to mid-second century, the four Gospels as we have them were grouped as a unit. Three of the Gospels are called Synoptic Gospels. Synoptic comes from two Greek words, syn (with) and opsis (seeing), producing the idea seeing together. The Gospels can be viewed together in a synopsis and compared; hence, their designation. They have much common material. Scholars consider why.

Several possible ways of explaining the relationship can be rejected. First, some have suggested there is no relationship at all and that they were written independently. This is very unlikely. For example, if we consider the blessings of the children in Matt 19:13–15, Mark 10:13–16, and Luke 18:15–18, we see that there are twenty–eight common Greek words out of the thirty–seven in Mark, the thirty–eight in Matthew, and the thirty–nine in Luke.² It is clear from this and many other examples, similarities in the framing material in the Gospels, and similar OT quotations that, in some way, the different Synoptic writers used material found in the other Gospels. So how do we explain the similarities? Which Gospel writer used the material from other Gospels?

There is a range of possibilities that are usually ruled out today. Some consider that there was an original now-lost well established and circulated oral Gospel (Urevangelium) that was used by the three writers. Another idea is that there was an earlier Aramaic Gospel that was used by the writers. These ideas and a range of others are not taken seriously today.³

A minority of scholars consider that Matthew’s Gospel was written first, Luke used Matthew, and Mark used both Matthew and Luke. This theory is sometimes called the Griesbach hypothesis, named after an eighteenth-century writer who argued for it. Others call it the Augustinian hypothesis, as Augustine held to it in the fourth to fifth century. This diagram shows how it works:⁴

Figure

1

: The Griesbach or Augustinian Hypothesis

Since the nineteenth century, New Testament scholars have increasingly supported the view that Mark’s Gospel was written first and that Matthew and Luke both used Mark as a source for their Gospels. There is also a lot of material found in both Matthew and Luke (but not Mark). A good example is the account of the Roman soldier (Matt 8:5–13; Luke 7:1–10). The ethical material in Matt 5—7 and Luke 6 may also be derived from a common source.

The majority of scholars believe Matthew and Luke had access to another document that is now lost, nicknamed Q, short for Quelle, the German for source. This remains the majority view, although there is considerable debate over whether Q is a written source or a blend of written and oral tradition. It is also agreed that Matthew and Luke had access to other material of their own. An example in Matthew is the sheep and goats judgment scene (Matt 25:31–46). In Luke, a good example is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). Matthew and Luke then used Mark, Q material, and their own material. Scholars label Matthew’s unique material M and Luke’s material L. Scholars then call this the four-source hypothesis. Here is how it looks in diagrammatic form:⁵

Figure

2

: The Four-Source Hypothesis

Others remain skeptical concerning the existence of Q, and so two other possibilities, in particular, are posited. First, some consider that Matthew used Mark and that Luke then used both Mark and Luke, dispensing with the need for Q. This is sometimes called the Farrer-Goulder hypothesis, named after two of its significant proponents. It looks like this:

Figure

3

: The Farrar or Farrar-Goulder Hypothesis

The final view of note that originates from the nineteenth century is the Wilke hypothesis (after its originator), which reverses the order of the Farrer-Goulder hypothesis. This perspective considers that Mark wrote first, Luke used Mark, and Matthew relied on both Mark and Luke.⁶

Figure

4

: The Wilke Hypothesis

Conclusion

The vast majority of scholars accept that Mark was written first. It is surmised that rather than shorten an acknowledged sacred text like Mark’s Gospel, an early Christian writer would be more likely to add to it. There are many points of verbal agreement and order between Matthew, Luke, and Mark. Mark’s Greek is less polished than Matthew and Luke’s. The different Greek suggests that it is more likely that the two others tidied up Mark’s Greek, rather than that Mark replaced their more polished work with his less elegant Greek. Hence, it is very likely that Matthew and Luke both used Mark’s material. Then, Matthew also used Luke, or Luke also used Matthew, or there was another document or documents on which they drew—Q. Luke mentions in Luke 1:1 that many had written about Jesus when he wrote, raising the possibility of such a document or documents. In addition, some of the passages in Matthew and Luke are very similar, as is the order of their material, suggesting a common source. The order is also similar. Hence, while both the Wilke and Farrar-Goulder views are possible, it is more likely that the four-source hypothesis is the best option.

This discussion raises the question of whether it matters much. At one level, it does not, as each Gospel must be interpreted as it is and in its own right. However, the matter is important historically as we seek to defend the Gospels against charges that they are fictional. Understanding the way they were constructed helps us argue against skeptics. It is also important when we read Matthew and Luke. Where Matthew and Luke use Mark, we can compare them with Mark and see how they have adapted Mark’s material. Such comparisons help us understand their purpose in writing it. For example, Luke often adds to Mark’s Gospel the detail that Jesus was praying as an event occurred (e.g., compare Luke 3:21 with Mark 1:10; Luke 6:12 with Mark 3:13). These additions confirm that one of his purposes in the Gospel was to call readers to lives of committed prayer. We can also compare Matthew and Luke’s use of Q material and see the differences. However, as we are not sure what the original Q looked like, we cannot discern quite as much as we can from the places they work with Mark’s material.

Nevertheless, it helps us understand their writings better as we examine similarities and differences. So, we need to consider the question of how the Gospels came to be formed and make up our own minds. We then interpret the Gospels with this in mind.

Authorship

Tradition holds that the writer of the second Gospel is John Mark of Jerusalem. While many scholars have questioned this assumption,⁷ there are sound reasons to accept that this is correct. We will now consider the main arguments for accepting this view.

Papias (ca. AD 60–130) was the bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor (Turkey). Irenaeus (ca. 120–203) states that Papias heard John teach, and this indicates that he was well connected with the early Christian community.⁸ Papias records that Mark was the interpreter of Peter and that he "wrote down accurately whatever he remembered of the things said and done by the Lord, but not however in order." He adds that Mark made no mistakes in recording Peter’s material.⁹ Papias’s testimony indicates from a trustworthy early church source that Mark’s Gospel represents the essence of Peter’s teaching on Jesus in Mark’s words. The only Mark in the Bible is John Mark, and so it is fair to think that he is the author.

Other arguments support that Mark is the author and that he was linked to Peter. Later Christian writers, without exception, confirm that Mark wrote the second Gospel in the NT.¹⁰ The superscription according to Mark (KATA MARKAN) was added in the early second century and also supports that Mark is the author.¹¹ First Peter 5:13 confirms a very close relationship between Peter and Mark (my son) and places Mark in Rome (Babylon) at the time of Peter’s death. Paul’s letters also substantiate that Mark was in Rome in the 60s (Col 4:10; Phlm 24). Besides, his Greek style is simple and unsophisticated.¹² Mark also has many translated Semitisms (Hebrew and Aramaic), which would align with someone who is a first-century, Greek-speaking Jew from Jerusalem.¹³ He regularly references Aramaic and Hebrew and gives the Greek translation. Martin Hengel writes: I do not know any other work in Greek which has so many Aramaic or Hebrew words and formulae in so narrow a space as does the second gospel.¹⁴ As discussed in the previous section, Matthew and Luke both used Mark’s Gospel as a basis for their accounts of Jesus. Their doing so suggests that they recognized the importance and historicity of Mark and supports that it had Peter as its source.

Overall, it seems that Mark’s Gospel was written around Peter’s death by crucifixion by Nero sometime around AD 64–65.¹⁵ Mark wrote down in Greek the essence of the gospel Peter shared. As such, Mark is based on the testimony of Peter, who walked with Jesus from his baptism until his resurrection. Support for the idea that Peter is behind the Gospel also comes from Richard Bauckham, who persuasively argues that there are indications in the Gospel that Peter is the primary source for the Gospel.¹⁶ For example, Peter is named first and last of the apostles (1:16; 16:7), indicating he is probably Mark’s primary source.¹⁷ Peter is also very prominent in the Gospel, and at points, Mark writes that Peter remembered events, suggesting his hand in the Gospel (e.g., 11:21; 14:72). Some have also noted that the pattern of Mark’s Gospel follows reasonably closely the arrangements of Peter’s preaching in Acts (the Kerygma).¹⁸

So, it seems decisive that the second Gospel is the work of John Mark from around the time of Peter’s death in the mid-60s AD. The primary source for his Gospel was Peter.

Who Was John Mark?

John Mark may be mentioned in the Gospel. Some scholars consider that the young man who flees naked at Jesus’s arrest is a reference to the author of the Gospel (14:51–52). If so, it would make Mark an eyewitness to the final portion of Jesus’s life. Furthermore, if Mark is in the garden during Jesus’s arrest, his home may have been the place where the Last Supper was experienced and where the Spirit came upon the church at Pentecost. However, such things are not certain.¹⁹

The name Mark is mentioned eight times in the NT, and all likely refer to the same person. These tell us that he was also called John (Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37). Hence, John in Acts 13:5 and 13 is the same person, so he is also named John Mark. He was Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).²⁰ His mother was called Mary and was possibly a sister or sister-in-law of one of Barnabas’s parents; she lived in her own home in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12). This likely means that Mark’s father was deceased. His home was a meeting place for the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:12). His mother was very hospitable, hosting Barnabas and Saul when they brought a monetary collection from Syrian Antioch to help the poor during famines in the forties during the reign of Claudius (Acts 11:27–30). When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, they took John Mark along with them (Acts 12:25).

John Mark then became an early church missionary. He went with Paul and Barnabas on their first Antiochian missionary journey as their assistant (Acts 13:5).²¹ However, for some reason, John Mark returned to Jerusalem, deserting Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:13). When they returned and prepared for their next mission, Paul and Barnabas had a severe dispute over him. Paul refused to take him on the next journey, clearly upset over his departure on the previous trip. Barnabas wanted to take him. Barnabas’s support may suggest that the reason Mark had returned was a family reason, such as his mother dying.²²

When the time came for the second Antiochian missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them again. However, Paul did not agree because of Mark’s earlier desertion. Barnabas supported Mark, there was a sharp disagreement between the two mission leaders, and they split up the mission (Acts 15:36–41). Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus to evangelize and strengthen believers. Paul took a new assistant, Silas, and went to visit the churches planted on the first Antiochian missionary journey.

We know nothing of Mark again until the early 60s, where he is mentioned again as one of Paul’s coworkers in Col 4:10 and Phlm 24. In a letter written around the time of Paul’s death (at the same time as Peter’s), Paul describes him as very useful to me for ministry (2 Tim 4:11). We can see then that Paul and Mark were at some point reconciled and worked together for the gospel. As noted previously, Peter also mentions Mark from Rome in 1 Pet 5:13, describing him as his son. As such, Mark was a significant missionary in the early church, closely connected with Paul, Peter, and Barnabas. He was well-positioned to write the Gospel. His role in mission also means that his Gospel is not just a plain presentation of Jesus. It is a summary of the gospel by one of the great early missionaries and a co-worker of Paul, Peter, and Barnabas. It is the first written Gospel and so Christianity’s first missional tract. It became the basis for Matthew and Luke, and so we can see that John Mark is one of the most influential people in the history of the church and world.

Date

The earliest that Mark could have been written is the date of Jesus’s resurrection, which occurred in AD 30 or 33, depending on one’s chronology of Jesus’s life.²³ The latest it could have been written is in the mid-second century when Mark begins to be quoted outside of the NT in the writings of later Christians.

There are three main ideas on the date of Mark’s Gospel. The first is those who propose it was written in the 40s. If so, the abomination that causes desolation in 13:14 refers to Caligula attempting to set up his image in the Jerusalem temple.²⁴ Some argue that Peter left Jerusalem after escaping imprisonment and went to Rome in AD 42 to establish the church there.²⁵ However, few today accept this view.

The second is the 50s. There is evidence that Peter went to Corinth before AD 55, the latest date for 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 1:12; 9:5). Some consider he also went to Rome. Such a visit is supported by the fourth-century historian Eusebius, who states that Peter went to Rome during the reign of Claudius (AD 41–54).²⁶ However, a trip to Rome is challenged by the lack of any mention of Peter in Paul’s letter to the Romans written ca. 56–58.

A third option is the 70s and 80s. However, such a late date is unlikely due to the strong early church tradition associating Mark’s Gospel with Peter’s death, which occurred in the mid-60s. Further, if Luke-Acts is written in the 60s (as suggested by the end of Acts), Luke’s use of Acts indicates a date in the 60s rather than the following decades.

The fourth, traditional, and best option is a time around Peter’s death (AD 64–65). Aside from the early traditions that accept this date, further support comes from the emphasis on discipleship and suffering in the Gospel. Finally, the way the fall of Jerusalem is described in Mark 13 suggests that it was written before the city’s destruction in AD 70.

Provenance

Mark was likely written in Italy and probably in Rome. A range of early church traditions support this, including the Anti-Marcionite Prologue to Mark,²⁷ Irenaeus,²⁸ and Clement of Alexandria (AD 150–ca. 215).²⁹ Also supporting Rome are the Latinisms in the text. These are Greek words that are derived from Latin terms. Examples include centurion (Lat. centurio, 15:39, 44, 45), legion (Lat. Legio, 5:9, 15), and denarius (Lat. denarius, 6:37; 12:15; 14:5).³⁰ The writer has also translated Hebrew and Aramaic words (Semitisms) into Greek, suggesting that it is written among gentiles. Another interesting possibility linking Mark with Rome is the mention of a certain Rufus in Rom 16:13. The earlier references to Mark in Rome with Peter (1 Pet 5:13) and Paul (Col 4:10; Phlm 24) suggest Rome is the most likely place. References to taking up one’s cross could also link the Gospel to Peter’s death; he was crucified upside down.³¹

Setting

If it is right to place Mark’s Gospel in Rome in the mid-60s, the setting is vital for understanding the Gospel. Before the 60s, Christianity was seen as a sect of Judaism. In the 60s, it began to be recognized as something distinct from Judaism and came to the attention of the Roman rulers. Persecution began to increase. Then, after the great fire of Rome, Nero persecuted Christians severely, blaming them for the fire (AD 64). Some Christians were dressed in animal skins and torn apart by wild animals. Others were crucified and even set ablaze at night to light his garden.³² After this, Peter and Paul were killed by Nero. Mark was no doubt written not only to lay down the story of Jesus and record Peter’s account of Jesus but to encourage Christians suffering persecution.³³ Lurking behind the Gospel then is Nero, who, in the 60s, became a complete tyrant. Mark uses language used of the emperor, such as Son of God, and presents Jesus as a completely different type of ruler. He is establishing God’s reign not as a new Joshua, a Davidic-type warrior-messiah, Alexander the Great, or Caesar, but as a Servant Messiah. Rather than take the world with violent military force, he comes as a Servant of God to establish God’s peace through service and crucifixion. The Romans loved Augustus Caesar, the first of the Roman Emperors, for establishing the Pax Romana (peace of Rome). Jesus is God’s chosen Son who comes to establish the peace of God through using his power to heal and deliver people from sin, dying as a ransom for the world, and rising again as Messiah and Son of God. Mark’s Gospel calls people to take up their crosses and follow him in the path of humility and service, spreading the good news that the kingdom of God is here: repent and believe the good news.

Audience

Christianity probably began in Rome through pilgrims attending Pentecost who established the church when they returned from Jerusalem. The church was initially Jewish in ethos. In AD 49, Claudius kicked all the Jews out of Rome because of tensions over Chrestus, who is likely Christ.³⁴ Aquila and Priscilla were two of those expelled (Acts 18:2). The expulsion shows that the Christian community had grown and had met stiff resistance from Jews. The exile left the Roman church as a small gentile community. In AD 49, the Jerusalem Council also met and decided that circumcision and law observance were not required (Acts 15). On his second Antiochian mission, it is likely Paul sent the letter from the Council to Rome. The small Roman gentile Christian community was then able to preach the gospel of grace and faith to others, and the church grew. New leaders emerged. When the Jewish Christians returned, there appear to have been tensions between the returning Jews and gentiles. Romans was likely in part written to resolve the tensions between Jews and gentiles in the church (especially Rom 14—15). Philippians 3:1–11 and Hebrews (ca. AD 62–63) suggest this continued up until the time Mark was written.

The church at the time of Mark seems to have been mainly gentile and under pressure from the Roman rulers and the Jewish community. It was written only a few years before the Jewish-Roman war (AD 66–70). Jewish nationalism was on the rise. Peter and Paul were about to be killed by Rome. Mark’s Gospel was more than likely written to encourage the mainly gentile Christians facing persecution from all sides and the horror of the death of its great leaders. It encourages readers to endure the suffering Christians should expect and to live by the pattern laid down by Jesus the crucified Messiah, taking up their crosses and following him as faithful disciples.

As Mark was writing down Peter’s Gospel, he also likely had his eye on Christians across the whole Roman Empire. As Edwards says, These data indicate that Mark wrote for Greek readers whose primary frame of reference was the Roman Empire, whose native tongue was evidently Latin, and for whom the land and Jewish ethos of Jesus were unfamiliar.³⁵

Textual Issues

As we read Mark’s Gospel in versions other than the KJV or NKJV, we notice that there are missing verses. These deletions are because the KJV and NKJV are based on the Textus Receptus, which is now recognized by most textual scholars as an inferior text. Some of the verses included in the KJV and NKJV were probably not original to the text. These jumped verses are put into footnotes. They include 7:16; 9:44, 46; 11:26; and 15:28. The most significant of these ommissions is the longer ending of Mark. This passage is found in all versions of the Bible, usually with indications that it is not original (16:9–20). There are three possible endings to Mark’s Gospel found in the texts.

First, there is a shorter longer ending found in a few seventh to ninth century uncial³⁶ Greek manuscripts and some old Latin and other versions.

And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.

This ending is clearly a later addition added by some to give Mark a more satisfying ending.

The second ending is the usual longer ending found in Mark 16:9–20. This ending is found in the Textus Receptus,³⁷ the majority text,³⁸ a range of other texts, the Diatessaron,³⁹ and the early church writers, Irenaeus and Jerome. There are several versions of this.⁴⁰ Most contemporary Bibles aside from the KJV and NKJV include these words in italics or accompanied by a note stating that the passage is an interpolation.⁴¹

Most textual critics today consider this ending inauthentic. First, it is missing from the two significant uncials, Codex Sinaiticus (א) and Codex Vaticanus (B). Both Jerome and Eusebius, writing in the fourth century, state that the verses are not original. Third, the material is not consistent with the Greek of Mark’s Gospel and appears to be a summary based on Luke’s writings, with hints of John’s Gospel.⁴² Hence, some second-century writers added the summary to give Mark’s Gospel a more satisfactory ending.

As such, Mark’s Gospel appears to end at Mark 16:8. This ending appears a little strange, especially as it ends with the Greek gar, for. Some contend that the original ending on the scroll was lost. Alternatively, Mark was interrupted and never completed the Gospel, perhaps because of Nero’s persecution. However, the most likely view is that 16:8 is indeed the end of Mark. It ends with the women in fear and bewilderment concerning what has happened to Jesus and what they should. The ending could be a literary device to draw the reader into the same questions: Who is Jesus? What should I do? If this is true, then arguably, this is a quite brilliant way to end the Gospel and hints at Mark’s purpose. He states that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God and narrates his life. He challenges readers to consider: Who is this man? What should I do? Mark hopes that readers will recognize that he is the Son of God, place their faith in him, and go and tell the world.

Context

Jesus ministered throughout the nation, especially in Galilee, including a time of ministry to the north of the nation in what we now call Lebanon. The maps below summarize Jesus’s movements and focus.⁴³

Figure

5

: Jesus’s Ministry in Galilee

Figure

6

: Jesus’s Ministry in Palestine

Arrangement and Structure

Mark’s Gospel can be broken up into two main sections:

Part One: The Revelation of Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God (1:1—8:29)

Part Two: The Revelation of Jesus as a Servant Messiah (8:30—16:8)

Part One, in which Jesus is revealed as the Messiah, culminates in Peter’s confession of that very thing. We can break it down further:

1.The Title (1:1): The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ and the Son of God.

2.The Ministry of John the Baptist (1:1–8): As with Samuel and David, the prophet John precedes the Davidic King.

3.Jesus’s Baptism and Anointing (1:9–11): In a further parallel with Samuel and David, the prophet John then anoints this King (1 Sam 16:12–13).

4.The Temptation (1:12–13): The Messiah wins his first battle.

5.The Kingdom of God and the Required Response (1:14–15): The proposition of the Gospel

6.The Ministry of Jesus (1:16—8:26): Calling disciples of the kingdom (a renewed Israel), power ministry of healing and deliverance, proclamation, personal encounters, clashes with Jewish leaders

The center of Mark is the confession in 8:27–29, where at Caesarea Philippi, a city named after the royal figures Caesar and Philip the Herod (named after Philip the father of Alexander the Great), the real King is revealed: Jesus, Israel’s Messiah.

Part Two focuses on what kind of messiah, with Jesus teaching and demonstrating to his disciples what it means to be a disciple of the kingdom. He does this by example as he uses his power for the marginalized and powerless. Jesus also instructs the disciples through verbal teaching. Finally, Jesus demonstrates what his kingdom is all about through his death. Through crucifixion, Jesus gives his life as a ransom for many (10:45). Through his shed blood, he inaugurates the new covenant (14:24). Jesus dies; all appears lost; yet, his tomb is empty. An angel announces his resurrection. The women are left bewildered and afraid. As we read, it is up to us to consider for ourselves who Jesus is.

A more detailed structure will be given below before we begin to consider the Gospel itself in each section.

Other Key Features

Jesus and His Identity

The original Gospel was anonymous, probably intentionally so that the message is Jesus and not the writer Mark or his source Peter. The point of the Gospel is to present Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, who came to establish God’s reign, and to invite people to respond with repentance and faith (1:1, 14–15). There is no infancy narrative, so Mark is purely interested in Jesus’s ministry up until his resurrection. He demonstrates his messiahship with acts of power to help those in need and reveals his true identity to his disciples, who hear and heed the call of the kingdom. We are left to decide for ourselves who this man is (4:41).

There is a double layer to Mark’s Gospel. Mark knows who Jesus is. He is Messiah (seven times; see 1:1; 8:29; 14:61). He is the true Son of God (eight times), who even calls God Abba Father (14:36). He is Daniel and Enoch’s Son of Man (fourteen times; Dan 7:13–14; 1 Enoch 37—71). He is the Lord (five times). He is God incarnate who forgives (2:5–11), rules the Sabbath (2:28), calms a storm (4:35–41), raises the dead (5:29–43), walks on water (5:45–52), provides food for Israel in the wilderness (6:30–44; 8:1–10), and is transfigured in blazing glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (9:2–8). He is the teacher, who brings God’s word with astonishing authority;⁴⁴ the wisdom of God (cf. Prov 8:22–31; 1 Cor 1:30). The prophets from Moses to John the Baptist brought God’s promises for the future. Now, God’s people are to listen to him (9:7). Jesus is God’s voice to the world.

Set in the context of Rome, he is presented as a contrast to the Caesars. They ruled the world, having supposedly brought it peace. The Caesars were seen as an incarnation of the gods and were called Lord and Son of God. To this world, Mark declares that Jesus is its actual ruler.

In a Jewish setting, Mark declares Jesus the fulfillment of Israel’s dreams of the expected one who will bring God’s redemption. They hoped for liberation from gentile rule. Jesus came to do something grander: liberation from sin for all people, including Israel. He recalls and transcends the conqueror Joshua; David the great king on whom the Messiah would be patterned; and Moses, Israel’s provider, lawgiver, and leader.

Furthermore, Jesus’s real enemy is not Caesar or even the Jewish leaders with whom he clashed regularly, but Satan, who has the world trapped in sin. He defeats Satan in the wilderness to begin his mission (1:12–13). He drives out demons.⁴⁵ He is accused of working as Satan’s emissary; yet, he performs miracles by the power of God (3:22–27). He preaches the word that Satan seeks to steal from human hearts and minds, showing that there is a war going on for every person’s soul (4:15). He sent his disciples to engage in that same war, not with worldly weapons (cf. 2 Cor 10:3), but with the power of God to deliver people from sin and Satan (6:7, 13). They must beware of Satan corrupting their understanding of the gospel and mission, or they too will fall (8:33).

As noted, in the first half of the Gospel, Jesus’s identity as Messiah is revealed. In the second half, he shows them what kind of Messiah he is: a Servant Messiah. The disciples are directly instructed to walk in the same pattern, with cross hung over their backs as they relentlessly serve those in need and proclaim the good news of the gospel of the kingdom.

Diverse Responses to Jesus

Through Mark, we get a range of responses that challenge us to respond correctly to him but also to be prepared for a range of reactions from people as we preach the good news. Some know who Jesus is, including John the Baptist (1:7–8);⁴⁶ demons who reluctantly recognize him, unable to resist his divine power (1:23–24; 3:11; 9:20); and Bartimaeus (10:46–52).

Then there are the disciples who are drawn to Jesus and follow him with immediacy (1:16–20; 2:13–17); hang in with him, impressed by his power; but struggle to comprehend who he is. At times they are utterly terrified (4:35–41) or do not understand him (6:50–52), causing Jesus to ask, Do you still not understand? (8:21). Ultimately, they do understand him as Messiah (8:29). However, after this, as Jesus begins to predict his death, they are again bemused and confused (8:31–33; 9:32; 10:32). When he dies, they do not come to claim his body and bury him but desert him, with only the women watching from a distance (15:40).

Unsurprisingly, for a Gospel that has its source in Peter, Peter dominates. He is mentioned first and last (1:16; 16:7), the first-named respondent to Jesus’s summons (1:16–20; 3:16). With John and Jacob (James),⁴⁷ he forms Jesus’s inner circle (5:37; 13:3; 14:33). He recognizes Jesus as Messiah (8:29) but is then rebuked for challenging Jesus (8:32–33). He is the mouthpiece for the disciples (8:29; 10:28; 11:21). He courageously claims he will never deny Jesus but fails dismally (14:29, 31, 54, 66–72). He does stay with Jesus in Gethsemane, only to fall asleep in weakness (14:37). Ultimately, in Mark’s Gospel, he deserts Jesus. The existence of Mark’s Gospel and the widely acknowledged link between Mark and Peter indicates that the story of Peter’s restoration recorded in John 21 was known to Mark’s Roman readers. We see, then, in the life of Peter, a parallel to the story of many believers who are drawn to Jesus, stumble along in their lives as disciples, yet become leaders among God’s people.

Some are impressed with him but do not recognize him as Messiah. Some, like Herod Antipas, believe him to be John the Baptist raised from the dead (6:14; 8:28). Others see him as Elijah restored (6:15; 8:28; cf. 2 Kgs 2; Mal 4:5–6), or a prophet (6:15). Such diverse perspectives prepare us for a world in which people have all sorts of views of Jesus. Some are quite impressed by him but are not yet disciples. They are near to the kingdom of God (12:34). They enter when they recognize that he is the Messiah and Son of God and yield to his rule.

Some entirely reject Jesus, such as the demons mentioned earlier. They acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son but continue to seek to destroy him and his work. Then there is Judas, who tragically accepts the call to follow, only to reject and betray him.⁴⁸ He symbolizes the story of many who step out on the journey of faith, only to fall away and deny Jesus. Many in Nazareth reject Jesus, failing to understand how the boy they saw grow up in Joseph’s home can be Messiah. Because of their unbelief, Jesus could do only a few miracles there (6:1–6). They are like those who who cling to their church traditions and fail to see God raising new leaders to bring renewal in their midst.

The Jewish leaders oppose Jesus from the beginning when Jesus claims the power to forgive sins (2:6). Clashes go on and intensify.⁴⁹ They seek to kill him.⁵⁰ They conspire with Judas and the Romans to kill Jesus and succeed (14—15). Jesus did not quite fit their expectations of a messiah who would reveal himself to them, adhere to their interpretations of Israel’s law, call them to his side, and take back the nation from the Romans.

Throughout the Gospel, there are those who are drawn to Jesus but never fully grasp who he is. Then there are the crowds⁵¹ or the masses.⁵² They