Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark

The second Gospel is mainly concerned with the Galilean ministry of Christ, and the circumstances during the last week at Jerusalem.it begins with Jesus' baptism and temptation. The main potrtion of the Gospel, concerning the public ministry, Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus.

Mark doesn't mention the events mentioned by the other Synoptists. The geneologies, the appearance of the Holy Ghost to Mary, the birth of the Saviour's cousin, John the Bapitst etc. are all eschewed in favor of getting right into the beginnings of Jesus' public life.

Mark is much more concerned with Christ's acts than with His teachings, though two of these teachings 4:3-32 and 13:5-37 are fairly long. The miracles take up almost 25% of the Gospel. This impresses upon the reader Christ's almighty power and dominion over all physcal laws. The first chapter shows three miracles: the casting out of an unclean spirit, the cure of Peter's mother-in-law, and the healing of a leper. 18 miracles are recorded and all but three occur in the first eight chapters. Only two of these miracles (7: 31-37and 8:22-26) are peculiar to Mark.Mark, however shows details not found in the other Synoptics. Mark has only four parables: the sower (4:3-9), the seed growing secretly (4:26-29), the mustard seed (4:30-32), and the wicked husbandman (12:1-9). The second of is percular to Mark. Mark gives a face to the human feelings and emotions of Christ. The frailities of the apostles are much more graphic than in the parallel narratives the other two Synoptics.

Who really wrote it?

Most early tradition connects the Second Gospel with two people Mark and Peter. Mark being "Peter's copyist", transcribing what Peter preached. Irenaeus says: "Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, himself also handed down to us in writing what was preached by Peter"

The only question is the ancient Mark is today's Second Gospel. Early Christian literature knows no trace of difference from our present-day Gospel.

Style

The Second Gospel was written in Greek, being that Greek was widely spoken in the Roman empire in the first century. Greek was the lingua franca of the times. Paul wrote to the Romans in Greek.

The Second Gospel uses 1333 different words, of which 58 are proper names. Eighty words, exclusive of proper names, are not found elsewhere in the New Testament. Compared to Luke, which has more than 250 peculiar words, Mark has only a third as many unique words. Mark shares 150 words with the other Synoptics. 15 are shared only by John and 11 others by one or other of the Synoptic and John.