Purpose Of Mark's Gospel

When I read Mark during church we would read the long ending, at the time I didn’t know the difference between the endings. I was confused to why there were three different parts to it and they were broken up as if they were supposed to be a new verse. When I asked the leader of the class she couldn’t give me an explanation. With the research I have done I feel that I have come to a conclusion as to which ending is the most correct and why there are multiple endings.

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.

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.

Longenecker’s The Lost Letters of Pergamum encapsulates the socio-historical, cultural, and political atmosphere of the first-century setting in which Mark’s Gospel would have been experienced. Understanding Jesus in context of this background alters the way I understand the Gospel of Mark. Specific passages in Mark can be reflected upon based on the socio-historical, cultural, and political aspects of the setting described in Longenecker’s book. In The Lost Letters of Pergamum, readers see Euphemos and Antipas admonishing Luke against associating himself with Christians for they worship and follow a different lord than the emperor as well as endorse an empire other than Rome.

The Gospel according to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. The story explains how the Messiah, Jesus, was refused by Israel and finally sent the disciples to preach the gospel around the whole world. As Matthew wrote for his fellow Jews, he wrote his Gospel in the language Jesus spoke, Aramaic, which led early Church Fathers to believe Matthew’s was the first Gospel. On the other hand, the Gospel of Mark teaches that Jesus is the Son of God who assumed human nature. Mark wrote the gospel in Greek for a Gentile-Christian audience, which was undergoing persecution, perhaps in Rome. A central theme is that following Jesus often means that a Christian must suffer like Jesus did. Mark’s Gospel points out that Jesus accepted this important title, but that he was reluctant to let people know his identity. (Matthew 26:26-30 and Mark 14:22-26 )

In the Gospel of Mark, Mark discloses the life of Jesus and his embodiment of God’s Kingdom. Throughout his Gospel, Mark focuses on accurately revealing Jesus’ identity to his readers, and explaining why Jesus was destined to die on the Cross. Mark uses his role as an arranger by employing a diverse array of literary tactics to highlight the lessons of his narrative. One of the most effective of these devices is intercalation—the process of sandwiching one story between the beginning and ending of a separate story. For most people, this tactic would at first appear as impractical or senseless; however, through this process Mark is able to convey a deeper meaning in the lessons he is hoping to share through the life of Jesus, and what it infers about the nature of God’s Kingdom. One of the most notable examples of intercalation in the Gospel of Mark is seen in Mark 5:21-43: the story of the raising of Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter and the woman who suffered from hemorrhages. Through the intercalation of these two passages, Mark is able to express that the boundaries of God’s Kingdom expand beyond social status and wealth, and that faith alone is all that is needed to be a part of His divine realm.

John Mark was the author of the book of Mark in the New Testament. John Mark was traveling companion of Paul and interpreter for Peter in Rome(Harris,2014). It is believed that his accounts in the book of Mark came from oral passing knowledge regarding Jesus from individuals in the area. This word of mouth passing of information is hard for scholars to verify. Some say that John Mark wrote his gospel after the Jewish Revolt against Rome began. Scholars come to ths belief based on the focus on discord towards believers, war and destruction which would bring about the second coming of Christ(Harris,2014). With all the clues and information found in the book of Mark,it is still not known for cetainity who wrote the Gospel. The true author is considered

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.

The roles of disciples play a very important part in developing the message of the gospels due to their close relation to Jesus throughout the stories. To start to understand the importance of the disciples first you have to understand the main purpose of the Gospels. The Gospels are written in order to describe Jesus’s life on earth before Heaven. They give people insight to who Jesus was and create a stronger basis of belief in Jesus and God. In order to bring the Gospels to life they use the students of Jesus or Disciples to project his teachings and stories. The disciples take on many different roles in the varying gospels. They are students, friends, witnesses, observers, and worshipers of Jesus. Disciples come in many different forms of people as well. During the stories of the Gospels, Jesus is essentially walking along picking up new followers and experiencing new things with them. Throughout the experiences, Jesus teaches the disciples and they grow and learn and as a result the reader grows and learns as well. That is why the disciples play such a pivotal role in the comprehension of Jesus and him as a person. It becomes evident when analyzing the different Gospels that Jesus’ relationship with the Disciples is slightly changed in the varying texts. A noticeable difference in the development of the disciple 's relationship to Jesus is present specifically in the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Thomas.

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.

Considered the first of the four Gospels to be written, Mark was believed to be the interpreter of Peter who wrote down what Peter said. It is widely believed that Mark was written in Greek for a gentile audience as his writing would often explain Jewish terms and customs to the reader. When seeking out the location of where Mark was written, there is no clear evidence of a specific place however, other regions and intended audiences are also considered plausible, which include: Italy, Rome, Egypt, Palestine and Syria.

This narrative criticism was completed using online resources, comparative biblical texts including the New King James Bible, New Living Translation, Revised Standard and American Standard Version Bibles. The Gospel of Mark has no authorship specifically mentioned in its book, but is traditionally attributed to Mark ,an associate of Peter, around AD 60-70 , it is also confirmed by Church fathers around AD 140, although there is still some continued question as to its authorship. Written to early Christian communities, most likely Gentile Christians in Rome, based on the explanations of Jewish customs and the reference to Roman time system.

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).