Guide to Mark

From RationalWiki

Mark is the second book of the New Testament of the Bible. It is preceded by Matthew and followed by Luke.

Mark is considered to be one of two primary sources for the three synoptic gospels along with the Q document. Mark does not address the birth or infancy of Jesus. Instead, the reader is brought immediately into Jesus' theology and preachings as Jesus is being baptized by John. Mark is far less focused on Jesus' days of teaching than he is on the Passion which takes up the majority of the works of Mark.

[edit] Authorship and dating

Main article: Authorship of the New Testament

Although written anonymously, the author of the Gospel of Mark is believed, per Christian tradition, to be Mark, the interpreter of Peter the Apostle. There is, however, no strong evidence for this attribution.

It has been suggested that the book was originally intended as fiction and further that its author understood the non-historicity of Jesus.

The Gospel of Mark was the first of the gospels written, around 65 to 80 CE.

[edit] Contents of Mark

Mark begins with the baptism by John and the calling of the twelve. Mark 4 introduces some of the parables of Jesus. Mark 8 forward begins the discussions of Jesus' last days, with the actual entrance into Jerusalem to be found in Mark 11.

[edit] Theology and Style

Mark is written for a predominantly Greek audience. His allusions to the Old Testament tend to be a way of setting the scene, rather than direct fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. The one notable exception is the Passion, which does cast Jesus' trial and death as the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. Throughout Mark, Jesus is not the "Son of God" as with the other three gospels, but the "Son of Man". The Jesus character in Mark is more political and direct than he is prophetic. The wording of Mark's parables emphasizes moral codes and spiritual behaviors that are grounded in this world.

[edit] Differences from Matthew and Luke

Mark frequently explains Jewish ritual, another example that the book is intended for a Gentile audience.
Jesus is addressed as the Son of Mary, as well as names his brothers and sister.
"The Sabbath is made for man; man is not made for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27) does not appear in Matthew, Luke or John.
Strong emphasis on the role of John the Baptist including a detailed description of the beheading of John.
The phrase from verse 16:18, "and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them," is found only in Mark.

[edit] Alternate endings

Mark is the only canonical gospel with significant various alternate endings. However, most of the contents of the traditional longer ending, verses 16:9-20, are found in the other gospels and are not unique to Mark. ^[1] This longer ending appears to be an interpolation added early in order that Mark's ending resemble those of the other gospels.

Alternate endings include ending Mark at verse 8 (original ending), a short ending summarizing the traditional longer ending, and a long ending detailing Jesus' role in defeating sin, inserted around the fifth century.

[edit] The Secret Gospel of Mark

Main Article: WP Secret Gospel of Mark

In 1973 an American researcher claimed to have found a letter, in a library in Israel, from a Bishop named Clement of Alexandria which discussed a heretical version of the Gospel of Mark. According to this letter Clement was discussing the fact that this non-canonical version was not something Christians should read. If true it would explain a weird passage in Mark, but the explanation would be one that a lot of fundies wouldn't like. The canonical gospel mentions the fact that Jesus took a trip to Jericho and then the very next sentence describes him leaving Jericho leaving a question of what he did there. According to the alleged secret gospel Jeus apparently duplicated his Lazerus trick, raising a young man from the dead. Jesus then got to know this young man and decided to teach him some "secrets" involving this kid dressing up in nothing but a loincloth and having night time meetings with Jesus. However, nobody else has seen this letter and it could just as easily be a hoax.