Chapter Intro Video

Chapter Objectives

This chapter should enable the student to

• summarize what modern scholarship has to say about the historical circumstances underlying Mark’s Gospel, including what can be known of the book’s author, audience, sources, and date of composition.

• identify distinctive literary features and theological perspectives that characterize Mark’s Gospel as different from the other New Testament Gospels.

• describe Mark’s portrait of Jesus, with appreciation for this Gospel’s emphasis on the humanity of Christ and the centrality of the cross.

• explain what scholars mean when they talk about a “messianic secret” theme in Mark’s Gospel, with awareness of how that theme has been understood in academic studies.

• explicate Mark’s understanding of “the kingdom of God” as a present and future phenomenon.

• describe Mark’s portrait of the disciples and offer viable explanations for why this Gospel seems to focus so relentlessly on the failures of those disciples.

Chapter Summary

This chapter offers a brief overview of the contents of Mark’s Gospel, followed by discussion of historical background, distinctive features, and major themes.

In terms of historical background, most scholars believe that Mark was the first Gospel written and that it was produced shortly before or after 70 CE by a Christian who wrote for a community of largely Gentile believers. Church tradition has identified the author with John Mark, a companion of Peter in Rome, but this identification is disputed and cannot be confirmed.

Only a small amount of the material in Mark’s Gospel is unparalleled—most of the stories told here are also found in Matthew and/or Luke. Still, Mark’s Gospel is noted for its sense of urgency, its colloquial style, its use of intercalation, and its abrupt ending (which led Christians in earlier times to compose what they thought were more suitable endings for the book).

Mark’s Gospel is usually thought to emphasize the humanity of Jesus in a more evident way than the other Gospels. The crucifixion of Jesus is particularly central to the plot of Mark’s story and to the theology of the Gospel’s author. Mark’s Gospel also displays a somewhat curious “secrecy” theme, by which the identity of Jesus is intentionally shrouded in mystery. As for the message of Jesus, Mark’s Gospel emphasizes above all Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God as both a present, in-breaking reality and a future, imminent hope. Finally, Mark’s Gospel portrays Jesus’ disciples as cowards and fools who repeatedly disappoint him and ultimately fail him.

Study Questions

1. Who was John Mark and why has church tradition associated the Gospel of Mark with him—and with Peter? What points do scholars offer for and against acceptance of those associations?

2. List three features of Mark’s Gospel that make it distinctive in terms of literary style.

3. What is distinctive about the ending of Mark’s Gospel and what two theories do scholars propose to explain why the Gospel ends as it does?

4. Compare Mark’s emphasis on the death of Jesus to the significance accorded Jesus’ death in the letters of Paul and in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. How might Mark be said to occupy an “intermediate position” between Paul and the other Gospel writers?

5. What is the “messianic secret” theme? How have scholars accounted for this motif in the past and what explanations for the theme would remain in favor today?

6. Cite two implications of Mark’s claim that the kingdom of God is a present reality as well as a future one.

7. Summarize Mark’s treatment of the disciples. What explanations have scholars offered for why the disciples are portrayed in this way?

Video: Exorcism in Mark

Video: Ransom and Atonement in Mark

Video: Minor Characters in Mark

Map: Jesus' Ministry in Mark