The audience is for Gentiles, and Mark may have been a Gentile himself as only he quotes Jesus for directly downplaying the [[Sabbath]]: Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”<ref>Mark 2:27 ([[NASB]]).</ref> That is not found in any other Gospel.<ref>https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-17-no-2-2016/marks-unique-contribution</ref> Mark describes Aramaic words and Jewish customs that would not be necessary for a Jewish audience. Mark was probably not Jewish himself, as he overstates the hand-washing ritual at Mark 7:3<ref>https://biblehub.com/mark/7-3.htm</ref> by saying that "all the Jews" performed the ritual,<ref>http://www.logicandlight.org/busted-14-marks-error-regarding-jewish-handwashing-rituals/</ref> and his use of "the" suggests he did view himself as part of the group. | The audience is for Gentiles, and Mark may have been a Gentile himself as only he quotes Jesus for directly downplaying the [[Sabbath]]: Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”<ref>Mark 2:27 ([[NASB]]).</ref> That is not found in any other Gospel.<ref>https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-17-no-2-2016/marks-unique-contribution</ref> Mark describes Aramaic words and Jewish customs that would not be necessary for a Jewish audience. Mark was probably not Jewish himself, as he overstates the hand-washing ritual at Mark 7:3<ref>https://biblehub.com/mark/7-3.htm</ref> by saying that "all the Jews" performed the ritual,<ref>http://www.logicandlight.org/busted-14-marks-error-regarding-jewish-handwashing-rituals/</ref> and his use of "the" suggests he did view himself as part of the group. |