Opening Question:
What do people mean when they say, “it’s the Gospel truth”?
Introduction
We begin our study this quarter of the Biblical “gospel” according to Mark, and the first couple days focus on John Mark as a historical character in the Christian scriptures. Modern historical critical scholars believe they have discounted John Mark as author of this gospel, but many of their arguments are built around speculation and an overemphasis on Mark’s author (or implied author) as ignorant of Palestinian geography and Judaism. The earliest writings after the disciples who speak about Mark’s authorship ascribe it to Peter who shared his works through John Mark.
Some early church leader testimony is presented here:
Papias of Hierapolis (60-130AD) – “And the elder [perhaps John] used to say this, Mark became Peter’s interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done by the Lord. For he had not heard the Lord, nor had followed him, but later on, followed Peter, who used to give teaching as necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord’s oracles, so that Mark did nothing wrong in thus writing down single points as he remembered them. For to one thing he gave attention, to leave out nothing of what he had heard and to make no false statements in them.”
Irenaeus (130-200AD) – “Matthew composed his gospel among the Hebrews in their own language, while Peter and Paul proclaimed the gospel in Rome and founded the community. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, handed on his preaching to us in written form.”
Justin Martyr (appx. 150AD) – “It is said that he [Jesus] changed the name of one of the apostles to Peter; and it is written in his memoirs that he changed the names of others, two brothers, the sons of Zebedee, to Boanerges, which means ‘sons of thunder’….”
Clement of Alexandria (150-215AD) – “And so great a joy of light shone upon the minds of the hearers of Peter that they were not satisfied with merely a single hearing or with the unwritten teaching of the divine gospel, but with all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark, who was a follower of Peter and whose gospel is extant, to leave behind with them in writing a record of the teaching passed on to them orally; and they did not cease until they had prevailed upon the man and so became responsible for the Scripture for reading in the churches.”
To what degree does the original authorship of this book matter today? Can we judge the value of Mark based on the text alone, or is apostolic originality vital to both faith and confirmation of the text’s validity?
Who was Mark?
We learn some things about the potential author of this book from Acts and the N.T. Epistles: he is known as John Mark, a cousin of Barnabas, and companion of both him and Paul for a time. Peter calls him “my son,” which is usually assumed to be a spiritual relationship, not physical/biological.
Mark 1:1-3
Unlike the other Synoptic gospels (Matthew and Luke), Mark skips the birth narratives of Jesus, the much-beloved Christmas story. There are no angels, shepherds, or stable with manger. Mark tells us nothing about Jesus’ childhood events (see Luke for those), and leaves out the stories of Elisabeth and Zechariah. Instead, Mark begins with their son John, and a quote from the Old Testament immediately identifying the forerunner of Jesus.
Why would Mark leave out so many details of the first 30 years of Jesus’ life?
Most scholars note Mark’s audience as a Greco-Roman or at least non-Jew. What purpose does this quotation from the Old Testament serve? How might it prime a Gentile readership and audience for the story of Jesus?
Mark 1:4-8
The location, message and character of John the Baptist deserve some attention. He is noted as having a leather belt and wearing a camel’s hair. 2 Kings 1:8 says that Elijah the prophet was similarly adorned, but was “a hairy man.” The NIV reads he was wearing a “garment of hair” rather than just being “hairy,” perhaps to agree with the gospels.
How are Elijah and John similar? Jesus will later call John the Baptist a new Elijah; what did Jesus mean by that?
What was John’s message? How would this message fly with people today? Have we been called to announce this, or is this a message for someone else to give?
Mark 1:9-13
Jesus comes to John for baptism; but if baptism was an outward sign of repentance and spiritual cleansing from sin, this challenges some other claims of Jesus’ sinlessness.
Why would Jesus need to be baptized, if He was the sinless One? What purpose does it serve? How does the heavenly voice give meaning to this moment and to those hearing?
The fact that Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Spirit where He would surrounded by the “wild beasts” and was tempted by Satan for 40 days seems to allude to the Old Testament experience of Israel in the wilderness. Only Mark mentions that angels were ministering to Him.
Closing Comments
Mark’s gospel begins the way the book will continue: fast-paced action, one story after another, and Jesus quickly becoming the center of the story. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry is emphasized by the ceremonial washing of Israel by immersion, and then Jesus begins his own ministry. His three-fold message: 1) the “time is fulfilled,” 2) the “Kingdom is here,” and 3) “repent and believe the good news” from the backdrop to the rest of Jesus’ ministry.
