INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF MARK
Who Wrote It? When? Where? And Why?
Before we begin studying the Gospel of Mark, let's get acquainted with the book.
Who was Mark?
Was he one of the twelve apostles?
Where did he get his information about Jesus?
When and where did he write?
Who were his first readers?
And what did he want them to understand?
These questions will help us follow Mark's account of Jesus from the beginning to the empty tomb.
1. WHAT IS THE GOSPEL OF MARK?
The New Testament contains four accounts of Jesus' life and ministry: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
We call them the four Gospels.
The word gospel means good news.
Each Gospel tells us about Jesus, but each writer selects and arranges his material to communicate his message.
Mark is the shortest of the four, with only 16 chapters.
He does not begin with Jesus' birth, His childhood, or a genealogy.
Instead, he opens with these words:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” — Mark 1:1
Mark tells us immediately who his book is about.
Jesus is the Christ—the promised Messiah—and the Son of God.
Then Mark begins showing us what that means.
2. WHO WROTE MARK?
The Gospel itself does not name its author.
However, early Christian writers identified him as Mark, traditionally understood to be the John Mark mentioned in the New Testament.
We first meet John Mark by name in Acts 12:12.
After Peter was miraculously released from prison, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Christians were gathered there praying.
Mark's mother was named Mary. We are not told his father's name.
Mark was also a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10).
Later, Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their missionary work.
He left them during their first journey, and Paul initially refused to take him on another.
But Mark's story did not end there.
Years later, Paul called Mark a fellow worker (Philemon 24).
Near the end of his life, Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark because he was useful to him in ministry (2 Timothy 4:11).
Mark became a trusted worker among the early Christians.
But how did he come to write an account of Jesus' ministry?
3. WHERE DID MARK GET HIS INFORMATION?
Mark was not one of the twelve apostles.
The New Testament does not tell us that he accompanied Jesus during His public ministry.
However, Mark had a close relationship with the apostle Peter.
Peter refers to him as “Mark my son” in 1 Peter 5:13.
This appears to describe their close spiritual relationship.
Early Christian writers provide another important piece of information.
Papias, an early second-century Christian writer, reported that Mark served as Peter's interpreter and accurately recorded what Peter remembered and taught about Jesus.
Papias's account survives in the writings of Eusebius, a fourth-century church historian.
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Other early Christian writers also connected Mark's Gospel with Peter's preaching.
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That does not necessarily mean Peter dictated every sentence while Mark wrote it down.
The evidence does not tell us exactly how Mark composed his Gospel.
But the early tradition gives us good reason to take seriously the connection between Mark's account and Peter's eyewitness testimony.
Peter had been with Jesus.
He had heard His teaching, witnessed His miracles, and seen His death and resurrection.
Mark's Gospel preserves an account of Jesus that early Christians associated closely with Peter's preaching.
4. WHEN WAS MARK WRITTEN?
We do not know the exact year.
Many scholars date Mark to the A.D. 60s or around A.D. 70. Others place it shortly after A.D. 70.
The date matters because Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70.
In Mark 13, Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple.
Some scholars believe Mark was written after that event and that the account reflects the circumstances surrounding Jerusalem's destruction.
Others believe Mark recorded Jesus' prediction before the event occurred.
Early Christian testimony connecting Mark with Peter is also relevant, although it does not establish a precise date.
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For our study, we will use the A.D. 60s as a reasonable working date, while recognizing that the exact date remains uncertain.
Mark was probably written within a generation of Jesus' death and resurrection.
It is also widely regarded as the earliest of our four canonical Gospels.
Many scholars believe Matthew and Luke used Mark as one of their sources, although the literary relationship among the Gospels remains a subject of study.
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5. WHERE WAS MARK WRITTEN?
Early Christian tradition associates Mark's Gospel with Rome.
Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire.
The emperor ruled from there, and the city was home to people from many nations.
By the middle of the first century, Christians were living in Rome.
Paul wrote his letter to the Romans before he had personally visited their congregation.
Later, Acts tells us that Paul himself arrived in Rome.
Early Christian testimony places Mark in connection with Peter's ministry there.
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There are also clues within the Gospel that fit readers living outside Judea.
Mark sometimes explains Jewish customs.
For example, Mark 7:3–4 explains Jewish washing practices.
He also translates Aramaic expressions.
In Mark 5:41, Jesus says, “Talitha cumi,” and Mark explains what the words mean.
In Mark 7:34, he translates “Ephphatha” as “Be opened.”
Mark also uses some Latin-derived terms.
These details fit a readership that included Gentiles—people who were not Jews.
They are consistent with the tradition that Mark wrote in Rome, although they do not prove the location by themselves.
Rome is a reasonable possibility, but the Gospel does not tell us where it was written.
6. WHO WERE MARK'S FIRST READERS?
Mark appears to have written for Christians who included many Gentiles.
They needed some Jewish customs and Aramaic expressions explained.
If the traditional Roman setting is correct, his first readers lived in the heart of the Roman Empire.
That could be a dangerous place to follow Jesus.
In A.D. 64, a great fire devastated much of Rome.
The Roman historian Tacitus later reported that Emperor Nero blamed Christians for the fire and subjected them to severe punishment.
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We cannot prove that Mark wrote specifically in response to Nero's persecution.
But suffering and persecution are important themes in his Gospel.
Jesus warns His followers that they may be rejected, arrested, and even killed because of their allegiance to Him.
And Jesus Himself suffers before entering His glory.
Mark's message would have been meaningful to Christians facing opposition.
It remains meaningful to Christians facing opposition today.
7. WHY DID MARK WRITE?
Mark tells us his central subject in the opening verse:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
His Gospel develops that announcement.
He wants his readers to understand who Jesus is.
But Mark does more than provide a title.
He shows us Jesus in action.
Jesus teaches with authority.
He forgives sins.
He casts out demons.
He heals the sick.
He commands the wind and the sea.
He raises the dead.
He feeds thousands.
And again and again, people struggle to understand who He is.
Then, near the middle of the Gospel, Jesus asks His disciples:
“Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answers:
“You are the Christ.” — Mark 8:29
Peter gives the right answer.
But he still does not understand what kind of Messiah Jesus came to be.
Immediately afterward, Jesus begins teaching that He must suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise again.
Peter objects.
Jesus rebukes him.
Peter knows Jesus is the Messiah, but he has not yet understood the Messiah's mission.
That is a major turning point in Mark.
The question is no longer simply:
Who is Jesus?
It becomes:
What kind of Messiah is He, and what does it mean to follow Him?
8. WHAT MAKES MARK DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER GOSPELS?
Mark moves quickly.
He frequently uses a word translated “immediately.”
One event follows another.
Jesus teaches, heals, travels, and confronts opposition.
Mark includes fewer extended teaching sections than Matthew.
He often shows us who Jesus is through what Jesus does.
Another striking feature is the way Mark describes the disciples.
They do not always understand Jesus.
They worry about bread after watching Him feed thousands.
They struggle to understand His parables.
They argue about which of them is greatest.
They do not understand why Jesus must die.
When Jesus is arrested, they flee.
Peter denies Him three times.
Mark does not hide their failures.
If Peter's preaching stands behind this Gospel, that is especially interesting. Peter's own failures are included in the account.
But we should not assume we know Mark's reason for including every incident.
What we can see is that the disciples had to learn what it meant to follow Jesus.
And Mark invites his readers to learn alongside them.
9. WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD?
Jesus lived and taught while the Roman Empire controlled Judea and Galilee.
The Romans governed the region through a combination of Roman officials and local rulers.
Jewish people had different views about how to respond to Roman rule.
Some hoped for political independence.
Others were concerned primarily with preserving their religious traditions and way of life.
Expectations about the coming Messiah also varied.
Some anticipated a ruler who would restore Israel's national fortunes.
But Jesus did not lead a military rebellion against Rome.
He announced the kingdom of God.
He called people to repent and believe the good news.
And He taught that He must suffer, die, and rise again.
Mark shows us a Messiah whose mission cannot be understood simply in terms of earthly political power.
By the time Mark was probably written, tensions between Judea and Rome were increasing.
The Jewish revolt began in A.D. 66.
Roman forces destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in A.D. 70.
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These events form part of the historical world in which Mark's Gospel was written and first circulated.
But Mark's primary subject is not Rome or the Jewish revolt.
It is Jesus.
10. HOW IS MARK ORGANIZED?
Mark has 16 chapters.
We can divide the book into three broad sections.
Mark 1:1–8:26
WHO IS JESUS?
Jesus announces the kingdom, teaches with authority, performs miracles, and encounters growing opposition.
The disciples see His works but struggle to understand Him.
Mark 8:27–10:52
THE MESSIAH AND THE CROSS
Peter identifies Jesus as the Christ.
Jesus begins openly teaching about His coming suffering, death, and resurrection.
He also explains what it means to follow Him.
Mark 11:1–16:8
JERUSALEM, THE CROSS, AND THE EMPTY TOMB
Jesus enters Jerusalem.
Opposition reaches its climax.
He is arrested, crucified, and buried.
On the first day of the week, the women find His tomb empty and hear the announcement that He has risen.
A note about the ending: Some Bibles include Mark 16:9–20, while others place these verses in brackets or add a footnote. The earliest surviving Greek manuscripts of Mark end at 16:8. We will examine that textual question when we reach the final chapter.
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11. WHY DOES MARK BEGIN WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST?
Matthew and Luke tell us about Jesus' birth.
Mark does not.
He begins with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus' public ministry.
Why?
Mark's opening words are:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Then he immediately quotes the Old Testament prophets.
John appears in the wilderness, preaching repentance and announcing that someone greater is coming.
Mark wants us to understand that Jesus' coming was the fulfillment of God's promises.
John was the messenger.
Jesus was the One whose coming John announced.
And Mark wastes no time bringing Him onto the scene.
12. WHAT SHOULD WE WATCH FOR AS WE READ?
As we work through Mark, keep several questions in mind.
Who recognizes Jesus?
Who misunderstands Him?
Why do the religious leaders oppose Him?
Why do the disciples struggle to understand what they have seen?
Why does Jesus repeatedly speak about His coming death?
What does He mean when He tells His followers to take up their cross?
And how does the cross help us understand who Jesus really is?
Mark does not simply give us a collection of interesting stories.
He leads us from Jesus' first appearance in Galilee to His death and resurrection.
And along the way, he asks us to consider the same question Jesus asked His disciples:
“Who do you say that I am?”
THE BIG PICTURE
Mark was an early Christian associated with both Paul and Peter.
Early Christian tradition connects his Gospel with Peter's eyewitness preaching.
The Gospel was probably written around the A.D. 60s or A.D. 70, possibly in Rome, for readers who included Gentile Christians.
Its central subject is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark shows us His authority, His miracles, His teaching, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection.
He also shows us that following Jesus involves more than recognizing His title.
It means listening to Him, trusting Him, and following Him—even when the way leads through suffering.
Now that we have met Mark and learned something about his Gospel, we are ready to begin.
NEXT STUDY: Mark 1:1–8 — The Beginning of the Good News
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.