Author

• Mark was probably a child or young teenager when Jesus was on his 3-year ministry.
• Mark was not an Apostle.
• The Last Supper was probably held at Mark's house. His mother, Mary, was most likely wealthy. (To read proof of the idea that the Last Supper was eaten in Mark's house, go here.)
• Mark was probably in the Garden when Jesus was arrested. (Mark 14:51, 52; this boy was probably Mark.)
• Mark knew and traveled with Paul and Peter.
• Mark was the secretary of Peter and wrote down what Peter remembered: this formed the Gospel of Mark.
• Later in life, Mark became the first Bishop of Alexandria (and the first bishop of Africa).

Place and Time of Writing

• Clement of Alexandria (150-215) wrote that Mark was written in Rome.
• Most scholars assign a date in the years 64-70. We will use the year 68.

Unique Characteristics

• Mark is one of the Synoptic Gospels, along with Matthew and Luke.
• Mark was not an apostle. He got his information from Peter, who was one of the original Apostles.
• Peter and Paul probably died during the persecution of the Christians by Nero after the fire in Rome in 64. Mark may have witness one or both deaths.
• Extra: From Eusebius, an early church historian who lived in the 300's: "And the presbyter [the Apostle John] used to say this, 'Mark became Peter's interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not indeed in order of the things said or done by the Lord. For he had not heard the Lord, nor had he followed him, but later on, as I said, followed Peter, who used to give teaching as necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord's sayings, so that Mark did nothing wrong in writing down single points as he remembered them. For to one thing he gave attention, not to leave out anything he had heard and to make no false statements in them.'"
• Mark is the shortest of the 4 Gospels.
• Matthew: 28 chapters
• Mark: 16
• Luke: 24
• John: 21
• Many scholars believe that Mark was probably the first Gospel written.
• Why? Think about this example: Suppose you were given a very important letter and told to copy it. Would you leave anything out? No. But if you had additional information, would you add it? Possibly. Therefore, the theory is that, since Mark was the shortest, he wrote first, and then Matthew and Luke used Mark as an example and added information that they knew about. That would explain the connection between the three Gospels (similar stories and teachings) plus why Matthew and Luke are so much longer than Mark. Note: no one knows if this is what happened, but it is a good guess.

Audience

• Gentiles (non-Jews). Mark was probably in Rome and the church members were mainly Gentile.

Theme

• Mark describes the mission of Jesus as Servant and Redeemer.
• Servant
• Mark 10:45: "But even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many."
• Romans taught that people needed to serve and sacrifice to the gods. In return, the gods may or may not grant wishes.
• A short list of Roman gods: Jupiter/Zeus, Cupid, Mercury, Neptune/Poseidon, and Venus/Aphrodite.
• Mark showed that the true God is the opposite of this belief, instead God serves people who love him. Therefore Mark focused on showing Jesus serving people, for example, he included many miracles of Jesus (see below).
• Redeemer
• To "redeem" something means to "bring it back."
• Mark showed that Jesus came to earth to bring people back to God. According to the Garden of Eden story, people are separated from God and live lives of natural disobedience to God. Mark showed that God came to earth in the human form of Jesus in order to bring people back to God. Mark explained that it took someone who was totally innocent and perfect, Jesus, to bridge the gap between God and humanity. Jesus received the punishment that was meant for people because of their disobedience, and so died on the cross in their place. Therefore, Mark shows that by accepting Jesus’ sacrifice, people can renew their relationship to God and be brought back to God.