Mark Blog 1

According to Craig S. Keener, the early Church gives authorship of Mark to Peter’s companion John Mark. However some scholars, as stated in the intro to Mark in the NISB, say that “modern scholars have generally been hesitant to link the Gospel of Mark to Peter on internal grounds, since Peter comes in for such heavy criticism in the narrative” (Tolbert 1802). Of course, the introduction goes on to say that the same evidence is used to defend the claim that Mark wrote the gospel.
Mark was written around 64 AD while the Romans were persecuting the church. The NISB says that Mark was probably written after Peter’s death while Nero persecuted the Church (Tolbert 1802). While the audience of Mark were probably Roman Christians, the place of writing is debated some people say that Mark was written in Galilee and others say that it was written in Alexandria while others say it was written in Rome (Keener 132). Mark’s audience was probably non-Jewish Christians who lived outside of Palestine.
The genre of Mark is a debated topic. Craig S. Keener states that the gospels are ancient biographies while the NISB states that it is probably a “novelistic biography.” At the same time, the NISB states
The Gospel of Mark is above all else an apocalyptic story, promising those presently in suffering and degradation that the much desired end is coming when all of God’s enemies, human and demonic, will be defeated and the present cruel world of suffering for God’s chosen will be no more (Tolbert 1801).
However before Christ returns the Gospel of Mark is “Jesus’ own example of how to live faithfully through these harrowing final moments” (Tolbert 1801).
Possibly the reason that Mark was written was to encourage the persecuted Church. Mark, unlike Greek tragedies has a happy ending which would have helped the church remember that God is faithful. Mark was trying to emphasize that following Jesus could involve suffering. Because Mark seems to show the failures of the disciples, it may also have been written to remind Christians that God would “still work with them patiently to help them get to that level of commitment” (Keener 133). The message of Mark is the “messianic secret” (Keener 133). Mark implies that the cross is where “Jesus is finally ‘coronated’” (Keener 133).
For me, one of the most interesting moments while reading Mark this time came from Mark 7:24-30 which is the story about the Gentile woman who asked Jesus to help her daughter, who had an unclean spirit. It caught my eye for a few different reasons. The first is that she and I are both Gentiles. The fact that I am a Gentile has been on my mind a lot lately. I suppose that I am trying to determine once again my identity in Christ. This first point is difficult for me to make because I am not sure if I completely understand it myself. The second reason this passage caught my eyes was because of her faith. She believed that the Jewish rabbi would be able to help her daughter. She recognized Jesus’ authority over evil spirits. How could she have known that he could have and would have helped her? This reminds me of Matthew 16:17 when Jesus tells Peter that God revealed to Peter the ‘Messiahship’ of Jesus and that no human could have revealed that to Peter. I think a similar thing took place in the woman’s heart. Craig S. Keener states “she indicates her faith that only the smallest fraction of his power is necessary to heal her daughter” (Keener 154). I thought that was interesting because it is true that only the pinky finger of God is needed to do anything and this woman recognizes that.
The other part of Mark that stuck out to me was in Mark 12:28-34 where a scribe asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is. Jesus answers that the most important commandment is to love God with all heart, soul, mind and strength and second is to love neighbors. This reading was the first time that I ever realized that the scribe who asked Jesus the question seemed to recognize Jesus’ authority from God. I smiled this time around when Jesus said, “‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’”



Tolbert, Mary Ann. “The Gospel According to Mark.” Pages 1801-1803 in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible with the Apocrypha. Edited by Walter J. Harrelson et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.

Keener, Craig S. “Mark,” Pages 132-184 in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993.