Introduction
The passage of Mark is chosen as the primary text because it is straight to the point, very precise, and the fact that it was the first gospel written, therefore all the other gospels writer must have used Mark’s gospel as first-hand material and additional sources such as the Q source. Even though Matthew was quite fascinating with his description in his passage, Luke was the motivational passage because of his Christology. Luke saw Jesus as the prophet, the one sent by God for the outcast, the merciful and compassionate one. Therefore, he gave a wider view or description of Jesus’ temptation. Mark's gospel author is unknow, but the Goespel very likely took shape in Rome in the late 60s. It was probably written c.66-70 CE when the Christian community was being persecuted for their supposed guilt in the great fire that destroyed much of the city in 64 CE which fits Jesus' supposed prophesies in Mark 13:9-13 that his followers would suffer hatred for his sake.
Body
Right after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, where he received the avowal of his Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus "like a dove" and a voice from heaven was heard to say, "You are my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased" (Mark 1:9-11) He was instantly led by the Spirit into the wilderness where Jesus would be tempted, just before his ministry. All three Synoptic Gospels indicate that Jesus was "driven" or "led by the Spirit" into the wilderness in order to be tempted by
The Gospel of Luke was also written around eighty CE, written somewhere outside of Palestine (Tatum, 1999, p.34). The author may have been Luke the Gentile Christian, writing to another Gentile, Theophilus. Like Matthew, Luke is strongly believed to be written after Mark, with references from him, “Q” and “L” if following the Two (Four)-Document Hypothesis. The authors of Luke and Matthew are believed to be written during the same time without the knowledge of knowing. As mentioned before, Luke is about fifty percent longer than Mark is, making it important source since it contains more information about the historic life of Jesus. There is also a second part to Luke which is the book Acts, but is separate in Bible. Both include the beginnings
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.
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 )
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.
The common belief among source critics is that, the Gospel of Mark is the oldest and Matthew and Luke used his gospel along with an unknown source to write their Gospels. Evidence supporting this view make the makes four points. First, the Luke’s Gospel is contains approximately half of Mark’s information and Matthew’s Gospel encompasses almost all of Mark’s views. Second, Mark’s words are used verbatium Matthew and Luke. Third, Matthew and Luke follow the same sequence of events as Mark. Finally, Matthew and Luke sometimes reword Mark’s uncomfortable passages of scripture to allow smooth transitions and ease of understanding.[5]
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.
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
The gospel according to mark is a prolific story which takes look at people's view of Jesus, and critiques of several aspects of religion, and a further critiques humanity and human nature. The story does this by making Espinosa imitate the role of Jesus Christ, as well as by making the Gutres his followers and making them a symbol of human nature as well. Finally paints a view of how humanity will continue to react to the unknown.
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).
3 yrs later, shortly before Pentecost, Jesus talked with the apostles about a gift promised by the father and commanded, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4)
Mark 16: 1-8 reaches its climax in verse 7. Verse 7 contains the message of the angel to the three women to respond to faith and proclaim the resurrection of Christ given by witnessing the divine act by which the stone was rolled away (Dufour, 1974). The angel of God or the young man clothed in a white robe (v. 5) gives a commission to the three women to go and tell the disciples that Jesus Christ will go before them to Galilee. Although Peter is singled out, pointing to his denials of Christ in Mark 14: 68-71, it is important to note that the Easter message was first proclaimed to the three faithful and devoted women of the Christian entourage as pointed out in The Jerome Biblical Commentary (1968). These three faithful women are called to become the first witnesses of the resurrection of Christ and to share the good news with the apostles. Healy (2008) referred to the three women as “the apostles to the apostles” alluding to their commission.