Explaining the Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark is a narrative of the life of Jesus Christ, leading up to his death. The Gospel of Mark starts off with the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. In the first couple of chapters, Mark

The Gospel of Mark has three different endings rather than one known ending like the other Gospels. The other Gospels are easily ended with an ending that fits. The Gospel of Mark is also much shorter than the other ones, but the most important difference is how he chose to begin and end it. There are many scholars giving reasons for how or why this one ended the way it did, and also where they think the correct ending appears. They too have different views, so they must leave it to the readers to decide what they each personally think. The two extra ending that were added have major differences from the original. But with more than one version of the correct ending, it shows there is a problem.

Biblical scholars believe that The Gospel of Mark was written between the 50s and no later than 67 CE, about thirty years after the death of Jesus. There are many indications that pinpoint the provenance of Mark’s Gospels text was written for the Christian Gentile, or non-Jew readers, particularly in Rome, who were being persecuted and a suffering community especially after Nero began to persecute Christians in A.D. 65. The Gospel was originally written in Greek, which was the common language of the Greco-Roman Empire and it also explained Jewish language and customs (e.g.7:2-4; 15:42), translated Aramaic words for the Gentiles (3:17; 5:41; 7:11, 34; 15:22 and showed special interest in persecution and martyrdom, which would have been of special

When comparing how the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Thomas view the kingdom of God, the writings have some similarities, but have two opposing main views are how you get to the kingdom. In the Gospel of Mark, it talks more about how one has to repent in order to enter the kingdom of God. It’s portrayed as more of a place one has to earn the right to enter through various doings. In the Gospel of Thomas, it has written that the kingdom is inside and all around. It’s not a specific place, but rather the kingdom is present at all times. However, both Gospels describe the actual kingdom in such a similar way, both comparing the kingdom to a mustard seed.

There are many different gospels that tell a similar story. Matthew and Mark are two Gospels written in a similar way but have different audiences. The story is the Last Supper and is about the last meal that Jesus experienced with his Apostles before his Sacrifice. There are many similarities, but not very many differences. Overall, the same story is told, but from two different perspectives.

The gospel of Mark is a short recollection of Jesus life, it has many details but is missing pieces or additions to his life. The Gospel of mark was said to have lost pieces, and also the first account of Jesus life. Although it is not as detailed in some areas as it is in others, it tells many accounts of Jesus life on earth and what kind of a person he was, the life he lived, his struggles and his ending.

Bible Scholar David Garland points to two possibilities as to why Mark’s Gospel is written in a narrative style or form. Garland believes the Gospel of Mark either came from an oral story circulating in the Jerusalem church or it came from a firsthand account of the Apostle Peter. Some bible scholars point to the idea that the Gospel of Mark was narrativized, so it could be heard rather than be read silently. Bible scholar Robert Tannehill believes the Gospel of Mark may even have been collected and delivered orally before it was ever written down. Michael Licona believes if a certain text appears in all three Synoptics, the Gospel of Mark is the most likely source for Matthew and Luke’s accounts. Licona notes that this rule should not be held hard and fast, since Mark may also have been using an oral story while Matthew and Luke choose another source or omitted material where it differs in each of their Gospel’s. The Apostle Peter seems to be the eyewitness account which Mark narrates into a single unified story, which centers around a single central figure Jesus and a group of His closest companions. If the author of Mark was using an oral story to write his gospel from, this would definitely explain its narrative style.

The three central themes in the Gospel of Mark are: The Good News; Following the way; Kingdom of God.

Now that we have uncovered some of the significance of the location of the text both in relation to the surrounding narratives, and geographically it is time to look at each of the accounts, and how they compare to one another. The account of the miracle in Mark is the longest, and most detailed of the three, and I will be exploring it first. Luke’s account is very similar to Mark’s, and in fact it is believed that Luke used Mark as the sole source for his account of the story, and simply changed the language possibly changing the meaning, and focus of the text for his Gospel , so I will look at his narrative second. Finally Matthew is the shortest, and least detailed account of this narrative containing some

The genre of this specific pericope is best described as a narrative (Mann 398). This narrative is seen not only here in Mark but also in Luke 18:18-30 and Matthew 19:16-30. Thus, though the Markan story is written by Mark, it does not stand alone. The Book

Very early in the morning, three days after Jesus' crucifixion, Mary was heading to the tomb to cover Jesus' body with spices when she and the other women she was with looked up and saw the giant, bulky, stone was rolled away leaving the tomb gaping. When they entered the tomb an angel sat there waiting for them and said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene,who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” Later Jesus appeared to Mary showing her that He had risen. She immediately went and told the others that she saw Jesus however they did not believe

The Gospel of Mark is all about the works of Jesus. His life, miracles, teachings, and parables are all compiled into one Gospel. We learn about Christ’s work and how that strengthens humanity and us. Understanding Mark’s Gospel leads us to the belief and trust in the “Kingdom of God”, this is his prominent message throughout the Gospel, teaching us that through His works we will gain salvation. We learn about this when Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15).

A Gospel in general, is a textual document written in narrative form of the good news and teachings proclaimed by Jesus to announce the power of God. Mark’s Gospel is one of four others (Matthew, Luke and John), where each Gospel has its differences in structure, language and theological slants. Mark’s Gospel is divided into three main sections: The Ministry of Jesus, Jesus’ prologue of foretelling his Passion, and his Passion and Death. Mark set out

Mark: The Gospel of Mark tells the story of Jesus Christ’s life from when he was baptized by John the Baptist until the days of his death, and his resurrection. Mark was the second of four Gospels although some Scholars argue and insist Mark was the first Gospel written 1. Mark was written by John Mark in AD 65, with a target audience of Roman Christian beleivers 2. Mark was written in a unique manner in regards to literary genre, as it contains figures of speech, and portray life situations in a passionate story like setting that can make the reader feel as if he is there 3. The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, however it is written in a manner that emphasizes more so on Jesus’s works than Jesus’s words 4. The key theme in Mark is to portray the life of Jesus Christ as the son of God 5, and the purpose was to show the human qualities and emotions that Jesus displayed from anger (Mark 3:5), and compassion (Mark 1:41). Some of the key events of Jesus Christ’s life in the Gospel Mark include his miracles, his entrance into Jerusalem, the last supper, his arrest and trial, his crucifixion, his resurrection, and his ascension 6. The Gospel of Mark ends with his instruction to the eleven Apostles “And he said unto them “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:16), and his ascension into Heaven (Mark 16:19).

There are four possible ending of the gospel of Mark are commonly accepted by people. They are the abrupt ending, longer ending, the shorter ending and the extended ending. However, I tend to believe that the abrupt ending should be more reliable.