Book 41 The Book Of Mark
Who wrote the book of Mark: Mark, who is justifiably assumed to be the son of Peter
When was it written: Around 5 5 A.D.
Mark is the shortest of the gospels and focuses on the facts surrounding Jesus’ ministry and miracles.
Like Matthew and the other gospels, Mark also has a target audience—Roman and other Gentile readers. Because these people groups were not familiar with Jewish laws and customs, Mark takes the time to explain these things in detail and why/ how they relate to Jesus’ ministry as the fulfillment of the Law. Mark is committed to convincing readers of Jesus’ deity as the Son of the one true and living God.
Mark’s explanations of Jewish laws and customs are interwoven within the accounts of Jesus’ miracles and messages so that readers will see the purposefulness of everything Jesus did.
And finally, it is worth noting that Mark devotes one-third of his writing to one week in Jesus’ life—his last week on earth.
This makes a powerful statement as to the depth of Mark’s gratitude for the gift of salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross. It also demonstrates Mark’s desire to live out the Great Commission (Matthew 28)—to take the message of the gospel to all nations.
Who Was Mark
Mark was a devoted follower of Jesus even though can safely assume from various scriptures throughout the New Testament that Mark was considerably younger than Jesus and the disciples.
His close association with Jesus combined with his young age is one more piece of evidence (in addition to those given below) that the belief that Mark was the son of Peter is correct. While there is no indisputable proof that Peter and Mark were father and son, there are several strong indicators pointing in that direction:
Mark’s style of writing and his ‘voice’ are very similar in nature to Peter’s.
- Mark was active in the ministry—both with Barnabas, his cousin, and Paul. This fact, coupled with the fact that we know he was considerably younger than Paul and Peter also makes it a logical assumption.
- Peter refers to Mark (also known as John Mark) as his son. Scholars are not sure whether this is in a biological sense or spiritual sense, so that is why this statement is not considered indisputable.
What Does Mark Tell Us About Jesus
Rather than begin with the miracle of Jesus’ birth like Matthew and Luke do, Mark begins his account of Jesus’ life here on earth by telling readers about John the Baptist and his role in bringing Jesus onto the scene.
The account of Jesus’ baptism, God’s audible voice being heard, and a greatly condensed mention of Jesus’ time of fasting and being tempted by Satan immediately follow.
Mark’s intent was not to make light of what happened to Jesus in the desert. But quite frankly, the people Mark was reaching out to didn’t understand the concept or reasoning behind fasting and they certainly didn’t comprehend the power of Satan and sin in our lives.
They didn’t even see sin as sin. In other words, expounding on these events wouldn’t have promoted Mark’s efforts to convince the non-Jews he was writing for that Jesus is the Messiah.
But the need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and that God literally spoke to express his pleasure and approval of what had taken place…those things needed to be shared.
From here Mark, like the other gospel accounts, informs readers of the calling/selection of the first disciples and the fact that Jesus wasted no time in preaching, teaching, and healing.
With that being said, I want to list for you what Mark felt was most important for his targeted audience to know about Jesus and his ministry:
- Mark is the only one to mention the fact that some of Jesus’ earliest miracles took place in the home of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. If indeed Mark is Peter’s son, this would definitely have made a lasting impression upon young Mark, because the probability of him being an eyewitness to these events was quite high.
- Jesus wasn’t content to stay in one place. Verse 1:38 expresses Jesus’ desire and commitment to reach as many people as possible.
- Mark wasn’t shy about letting readers know that Jewish religious leaders were highly opposed to Jesus. From the very beginning, they were looking for ways to trick Jesus, catch him in a lie, or some other offense. But they couldn’t so they resorted to name-calling and threats. His purpose in exposing their thoughts and feelings wasn’t to come to their defense, though. It was to discredit them even more because no matter what they said or did, Jesus had an appropriate answer that exposed their pride and ignorance to the truth.
Mark gives us two different accounts of Jesus breaking the Sabbath by allowing his disciples to pick up heads of grain to eat as they passed by some fields and by healing a man on the Sabbath. Both were considered work, which was strictly forbidden according to the Law of Moses.
Jesus countered their accusations by asking questions that would only serve to expose their true motives for calling him out. Jesus wasn’t antagonizing them solely for the purpose of ‘picking a fight’.
He wanted…he needed to expose them for who and what they really were. These men were the religious leaders of their day. They were highly respected (and feared) by the Jewish community—and had been for hundreds of years.
Jesus wasn’t there to win a popularity contest between him and them. He was there to seek and save the lost, to be the fulfillment of the Law (thus ending the old Law), and to establish the Church as God intended it. He had to help the people see and understand that the old ways were no longer necessary.
Mark tells us that the Pharisees and other religious leaders hated Jesus so much that they conspired with the Herodians (who were extremely corrupt and pro-Roman government) to kill Jesus.
Mark is the only writer to mention the fact that people came from Idumea to see and listen to Jesus. This is especially relevant due to the fact that Idumea is the Greek name for Edom, the land of Esau’s descendants.
In addition to the miracles Mark records, he records a number of Jesus’ parables including the Parable of the Sower that explains why some people will reject the truth even though they know it as truth.
Mark, like the other gospels, records the account of Jesus sending out the twelve disciples to teach, preach, and heal.
Chapter 6 gives us an account of the beheading of John the Baptist.
We are given detailed accounts of Jesus’ feeding of 5,000 men (plus women and children) using only five little loaves of bread and two fish. This miracle is one that had literally thousands of witnesses and benefactors and could not be explained away on any level.
Jesus summed it up best in verse 8 when he said, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”
In addition to mentioning the fact that at least a few Edomites came to investigate Jesus, a Syrophoenician woman boldly approached Jesus requesting he drive the demons out of her daughter.
The term ‘syrophoenician’ could have denoted
- She was Phoenician but living in the Roman province of Syria instead of Africa, or
- She was biracial—part Syrian and part Phoenician. Either way, she was a Gentile who was unafraid to approach Jesus and unashamed to admit her faith. And that was exactly the point Mark wanted to make—that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind.
Like Matthew, Mark gives us the account of Peter’s confession of faith but adds the not-so-little detail that after praising Peter for his acknowledgment of truth, he warns the disciples not to tell anyone about him.
This statement is extremely troubling and contradictory to many. Why shouldn’t they tell people? Hadn’t Jesus been preaching and doing miracles in order to get people to believe he was God’s Son, their Savior? Hadn’t he sent the disciples out to do the very same?
Hadn’t Jesus said he was there to seek and save the lost? Yes, to all of those. But Jesus knew things were about to change. He was in the final months of his ministry and life here on earth.
He still had lots to do and little time left to do it, so he needed as little opposition as possible. So instead of focusing on large crowds, he focused his attention on small groups of people and individuals—among those where he would have the greatest impact.
Mark provides insight into the conversations Jesus has with his disciples—conversations about how they are to present themselves and conduct themselves while going about the business of ministry.
He reminds them that the kingdom of God is not an earthly one and that they shouldn’t be concerned with power and popularity, but with speaking and holding to the truth in bold humility no matter what.
The remainder of the book of Mark contains the accounts of many of the same incidents the other gospels give us including Jesus’ message about the signs of the end of the age, what faith really is, the cost of following Jesus, and what it means to be truly great in the eyes of God.
The final chapters of Mark give us the account of the Last Supper, Jesus’ arrest and trial before the high priests and Pilot, his death on the cross, his burial and resurrection, and a couple of references to his post-resurrection appearances to the disciples.
The Book Of Mark Ends With:
The statement that after seeing Jesus return to heaven the disciples went out and preached just as they had been told to do and that the LORD confirmed his word by allowing them (the disciples) to do mighty works in his name.
The Controversy Surrounding The Book Of Mark
Some scholars say that the last few verses of Mark (Mark 16:9-20) are not found in the earliest manuscripts of Mark; causing questions as to whether or not they should actually be part of the Bible. In fact, footnotes in the Bible make note of this. However, when you look at the whole picture, you see that these statements are not completely accurate.
Yes, the verses are missing from some of the early manuscripts, but not all—not by any means. While verses 9-20 are not present in less than a half-dozen early manuscripts (fourth to twelfth century), they are present in several hundred others dated from the second to thirteenth century; including the old Latin (second century), Armenian (fifth century), Ethiopian (seventh century), and the Byzantine (450 A.D.) just to name a few.
It should also be noted that the history and doctrine contained in these verses are repeated without any hint of contradiction in multiple other places in the Bible and that ALL scripture is God-breathed. It is all there because God wants it to be.
Key Verses In Mark:
Every book of the Bible provides us with words of wisdom, instruction, comfort, encouragement, admonishment, warning, promise, and hope. Let’s look at some of what the Book of Mark has to offer.
“These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” Mark 3:16-19
Mark 13, the Signs of the End of the Age
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” Mark 16:6
“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16