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The Gospel of Mark is traditionally the second of the New Testament Gospel s. It narrates the life of Jesus from His Baptism by John The Baptist to His Resurrection , but it concentrates particularly on the last week of his life. Usually dated around AD 65 - 80 , it is regarded by most modern scholars as the earliest of the Canonical Gospel s, contrary to the traditional view of the Augustinian Hypothesis . CONTENT The contents of the Gospel, in order, are as follows:
AUTHORSHIP AND PROVENANCE The gospel itself is anonymous, but as early as Papias in the early 2nd Century , a text was attributed to Mark , a disciple of Peter , who is said to have recorded the Apostle's discourses. Papias' authority in this was John The Presbyter . While the text of Papias is no longer extant, it was quoted by Eusebius Of Caesarea : :And the presbyter would say this: Mark, who had indeed been Peter's interpreter, accurately wrote as much as he remembered, yet not in order, about that which was either said or done by the Lord. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but later, as I said, Peter, who would make the teachings anecdotally but not exactly an arrangement of the Lord's reports, so that Mark did not fail by writing certain things as he recalled. For he had one purpose, not to omit what he heard or falsify them.In many older translations, the Greek behind προς την χρειαν, ''pros tas chreias'', "anecdotally" had been rendered "to the necessities (of his hearers)", but contemporary scholars since J. Kürzinger in the 1960s now prefer to understand ''chreias'' in this context as a rhetorical term that means "anecdote." From the time of sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son" for Mark was a very common name in the First Century . Some scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark contains mistakes concerning Galilean topography, supporting that the author, or his sources, were unfamiliar with the actual geography of that area, unlike the historical Peter. Finally, some scholars dispute the connection of the gospel with Persecution , identified with persecution at Rome, because persecution was widespread, albeit sporadic beyond the borders of the city of Rome. As Morna D. Hooker, the Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity in The University of Cambridge, stated in her commentary on Mark (p. 8): "All we can say with certainty, therefore, is that the gospel was composed somewhere in the Roman Empire—a conclusion that scarsely narrows the field at all!" A Mar Saba Letter ascribed to Clement of Alexandria, copied into a book at the Mar Saba monastery and published by Morton Smith in 1973 , contains references to a previously unknown Secret Gospel Of Mark and provides additional details about Mark's Roman origin. While most Clement scholars agree that the letter sounds authentic, a number of scholars remain unconvinced that an early, "Secret" Mark existed before the canonical gospel, and have asserted that the "Mar Saba letter" is a modern-day Forgery . DATE The text of the Gospel itself furnishes us with no clear information as to the time that it was written. It is generally agreed among scholars to be the first gospel written. Comments attributed to . This would mean that either Mark recorded Jesus prophesying that the temple would be destroyed, or that the work was written ''after'' it happened in AD 70. Most scholars contrast these comments with the more specific ones in Luke and Matthew , and would be hesitant to assign a date later than AD 70-73, the latter being when Jerusalem was finally and fully sacked. Nevertheless, a great majority of moderate and conservative scholars assign Mark a date between AD 60 and 70, although there are vocal minority groups which argue for earlier or later dates. Many have also seen an impending sense of Persecution in the Gospel. This could indicate it being written to sustain the faith of a community under such a threat. As the only known Christian persecution at that time was in Rome under Nero , some have used this to place the writing of the Gospel then. (Brown et al. 596-597) Two papyrologists, Fr. , to be dubious. AUDIENCE The general theory is that Mark is a Hellenistic gospel, written primarily for an audience of Greek-speaking residents of the plotted to execute Jesus has been used to promote and condone Anti-Semitism . The demonization of Pharisee s at first seems to direct this gospel at a Gentile audience; perhaps one only partly of Jewish extraction, as at Alexandria. (See Jews In The New Testament for further discussion.) Alongside these Hellenistic influences, ''Mark'' in common with the other 14:18-20 ); 7:27 ; and 8:27-30 . These also indicate that the audience of ''Mark'' has kept at least some of its Jewish heritage, and also that the gospel might not be as Hellenistic as it first seems. The author of Mark also employed certain Latinised vocabulary not found in any of the other gospels: e.g. σπεκουλατορα ("soldier of the guard", 6:27 , NRSV), ξεστων (Greek corruption of ''sextarius'' ("pots", 7:4 ), κοδραντης ("penny", 12:42 , NRSV), κεντυριων (" Centurion ", 15:39 , 15:44-45 ). It has been suggested that these usages show that Mark was written in Rome. MARKAN PRIORITY AMONG THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS The first three or Synoptic Gospels are closely related. For example, out of a total of 662 verses, Mark has 406 in common with both Matthew and Luke, 145 with Matthew alone, 60 with Luke alone, and at most 51 peculiar to itself, according to one reckoning. The commonality goes beyond the same selection of what stories about Jesus to tell but extends to the use of many of the same words in how they are told. The Synoptic Problem is an investigation into whether and how the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke used each other or common sources. Most researchers into the synoptic problem have concluded that Mark was written first and used by Matthew and Luke (" Markan Priority "). Markan priority was first proposed by G. Ch. Storr, in 1786 but it did not come to dominate critical scholarship until the mid-19th century. The major alternative to Markan priority is the Griesbach Hypothesis , which holds that Mark was written third as an abbreviating combination of Matthew and Luke. The traditional view that Matthew was written first in Hebrew (or Aramaic), and the Greek Mark was based on it, and a few of the advocates of traditional suggest that the Greek Matthean was translated with the use of an already written Mark and/or Luke, bringing the text into better agreement, to give the familiar Greek Matthew. There are two solutions to the synoptic problem that are based on Markan priority. Firstly, the Farrer Hypothesis , that Mark wrote first followed by Matthew then Luke, each writer using the work of his predecessors. Secondly, the more dominant Two-Source Hypothesis (2SH) posits that the gospels of Matthew and Luke also draw extensively from a now-lost "sayings" collection—called Q after German ''Quelle'', "source". Most supporters of the 2SH do not think there is a literary connection between Mark and Q, but a couple of active scholars have argued that Mark had some knowledge of Q. SOURCES There has been an endless debate on the sources of Mark. According to Daniel J. Harrington: Mark had various kinds of traditions at his disposal: sayings, Parable s, controversies, healing stories and other Miracle s, and probably a Passion narrative. Some of these traditions may have been grouped: controversies ( 2:1-3:6 ), seed parables ( 4:1-34 ), miracles ( 4:35-5:43 ), etc. Mark gave an order and a plot to these sayings and incidents, connected them with bridge passages, and added parenthetical comments for the sake of his readers. ''MARK'' AND MIDRASH The Gospel of Mark appears to be Midrash , or sermonic commentary, of the '' Tanakh ''. Mark contains over 150 citations or allusions to the ''Tanakh'', with the bulk of the Gospel episodes being derived from Kings 1 & 2 stories about Elijah and Elisha. See Michael A. Turton's Historical Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Errors of geography and culture suggest the author was not a local, but may have written in Rome. ''MARK'''S DISPUTED RELATION WITH THE Q GOSPEL Many mainstream textual critics agree that ''Matthew'' as we now have it and ''Luke'' depend upon ''Mark'' and the theorized lost "sayings" gospel called ''Q''. Associated with the subject of "Markan priority" discussed below, is the question raised whether ''Mark'' depends on the Q gospel at all. Several possible relationships are offered: ''Mark'' supplementing the sayings source, Q as a supplement to Mark, even "a critical debate by Mark with the Christology of the sayings source" {Link without Title} . The existence of ''Q'' was suggested originally to account for the "double tradition" material, that material which is present in both ''Matthew'' and ''Luke'' but not ''Mark''. Some scholars, like Burton Mack (1993 pp 177-9), discuss "a myriad of interesting points at which the so-called overlaps between Mark and Q show Mark's use of Q material for his own narrative designs." On the other hand Udo Schnelle (1998 p 195) finds that "a direct literary connection between Mark and Q must be regarded as improbable" and looks to connections through the oral tradition [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/q.html .a CHARACTERISTICS Unlike both Matthew and Luke, Mark does not offer any information about the life of Jesus before he begins his ministry: there is no nativity in Mark, as in 4:38a ; Mark 5:21-43 and Matthew 9:18-26 ). Other characteristics unique to ''Mark''
:Then:
THE "LITTLE APOCALYPSE" OF MARK 13 , '' Jewish War '' VI). (The Western Wall , which still stands, was not a part of the Temple proper, but rather part of a larger structure on which the Temple and other buildings stood.) This fulfilled prophecy would place the passage before the Destruction Of Jerusalem , for readers who affirm the reality of prophecies; others speculate that this an example of a '' Vaticinium Ex Eventu '' ( NL , loosely "prophecy after the event"; cf. Book Of Daniel ). Jesus seems to be also talking about the End Of The World : Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be Earthquake s in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs (verse 8). See also Second Coming . LOSSES AND EARLY EDITING Mark is the shortest gospel. Manuscripts, both scrolls and codices, tend to lose text at the beginning and the end, not unlike a coverless paperback in a backpack. These losses are characteristically unconnected with excisions. For instance, Mark 1:1 has been found in two different forms. Most manuscripts of Mark, including the highly regarded 4th century manuscript of Mark, 01 (4th century), Codex Koridethi 037 (9th century), and the text called Minuscule 28 (11th century). A further manuscript, P45 is 3rd century, but its opening portion has not survived. (At the same time there is a translation issue that affects the intent: the article "the" is not present in Greek MSS; it was instead added to English translations for flow and compatibility with Church doctrine. "A Son of God" would also be a correct translation, as would the omission the article entirely.) An axiom adopted by some readers, though not by professionals generally, is: "A shorter version generally means an earlier form." Judicious editing of unwanted material, however, may also produce a shorter document. The discovery of sections that have been deleted in the familiar, canonical Mark, quoted in a letter of Clement Of Alexandria , is discussed in the entry for Secret Gospel Of Mark . Interpolations may not be editorial, either. It is a common experience that Gloss es written in the margins of manuscripts get incorporated into the text as copies are made. Any particular example is open to dispute of course, but one may take note of Mark 7:16 , "Let anyone with ears to hear, listen," which is not found in early manuscripts. Ending There was some dispute among textual critics in the 19th century as to whether 16:9-20 , describing some disciples' encounters with the resurrected Jesus, were actually part of the original Gospel, or if they were added later. The oldest extant manuscripts do not contain these verses and the style differs from the rest of Mark, suggesting that they were a later addition. A few manuscripts even include a different ending after verse 8. By the 5th century, at least 4 different endings have been attested. (See Mark 16 for a more comprehensive treatment of this topic.) The third-century theologian ". This abrupt ending is also used to support the identification of this book as an example of Closet Drama . REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS Online translations of the Gospel Of Mark :
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