Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark (Gk. Κατά Μάρκον Ευαγγέλιον) is the second of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a synoptic gospel. It is anonymously writtenHarris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.] but traditionally ascribed to Mark the Evangelist (also known as John Mark), a cousin of Barnabas. [Bernd Kollmann, "Joseph Barnabas" (Liturgical Press, 2004), page 30.] The gospel narrates the life of Jesus of Nazareth from John the Baptist to the resurrection (or to the empty tomb in the shorter recension), but it concentrates particularly on the last week of his life (chapters 11-16, the trip to Jerusalem). Its swift narrative portrays Jesus as a heroic man of action, an exorcist, a healer and miracle worker. It calls him the Son of Man [ (Jesus via Mark, to disciples), (Jesus; to disciples), (Jesus; to Peter, James, John, and Andrew), (Jesus; to high priest w/ chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law)] , the Son of God [verbatim in (centurion at crucifixion; to undefined audience); contextually implied in (voice from cloud; to disciples), (Jesus; to chief priest); included in some manuscripts of (Peter; to Jesus), (Jesus; to Peter, James, John, and Andrew (v. 33)), (healing; to leper), (healing; to healed man, "some people"), ). At times, the disciples have trouble understanding the parables, but Jesus explains what they mean, in secret (, NRSV), ξεστων (Greek corruption of "sextarius" ("pots", , ] [

Post-70 (After the destruction of the Second Temple)

Dating of Mark after 70 AD is based upon the belief that Jesus could not have supernaturally prophesied future events, but the text of Mark must reflect events that had already occurred. Thus, the dating of Mark divides those who consider supernatural prophesy by Jesus as impossible from those who view it as possible that Mark could have been written before the events described took place.

alludes to the slaughter and exile of the Jews from Jerusalem by the Romans after 70 [] see a 2nd century date for Mark. [). The Romans suppressed the revolt with as many as twelve legions, and pursued a scorched earth policy. According to the second century Roman historian Cassius Dio, 580,000 Jews were killed, 50 fortified towns and 985 villages razed. [). Aramaic words and phrases are also expanded upon by the author, e.g., ταλιθα κουμ ("talitha koum", ).

Alongside these Hellenistic influences, Mark makes use of the Old Testament in the form in which it had been translated into Greek, the Septuagint, for instance, ; . Those who seek to show the non-Hellenistic side of Mark note passages such as ); The commonality goes beyond the same selection of what stories about Jesus to tell, extending to the use of many of the same words in which 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"), as first proposed by G. Ch. Storr in 1786 and popularized by the critical scholarship that began in the mid-19th century. Another hypothesis known as the Augustinian hypothesis follows the traditional view that Matthew was the first Gospel, followed by Mark and then Luke. The other major alternative to Markan priority is the Griesbach hypothesis, which holds that Mark was written third as an abbreviating combination of Matthew and Luke.

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, [e.g. Udo Schnelle (1998 p 195), who wrote that "a direct literary connection between Mark and Q must be regarded as improbable" and looks to connections through the oral tradition. see: [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/q.html] ] but a couple of active scholars, such as Burton Mack, [Burton Mack (1993 pp 177–79); he discusses "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. see: [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/q.html] .] have argued that Mark had some knowledge of Q.

To further complicate the matter, in recent years there have been various hypotheses postulating other sources for Mark, generally proposed to explain certain difficulties with the two source hypothesis. It is argued that Mark gave an order and plot to the material found in his sources, and also added some parenthetical commentary. [e.g. Daniel J. Harrington, who wrote, "Mark had various kinds of traditions at his disposal: sayings, parables, controversies, healing stories and other miracles, and probably a passion narrative. Some of these traditions may have been grouped: controversies (), 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." Brown et al. 597] Other scholars have argued that canonical Mark is a gospel harmony, composed of Antiochian and Asian pre-Markan sources also found in Matthew and Luke, respectively. [e.g. Rolland, Philippe. "Marc, premiere harmonie evangelique?" Revue Biblique 90:23-79 (1983); "The first gospels: A new look at the synoptic problem". Lectio Divina 116, Paris: Cerf. (1984) [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.ebior.org/Bible/synopse-II.htm&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=5&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drolland%2Bboismard%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG%26as_qdr%3Dall] ]

Losses and early editing

Mark is the shortest canonical 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, Most differences are trivial but ]

Ending

Starting in the 19th century, textual critics have commonly asserted that ] The style of these verses differs from the rest of Mark, suggesting they were a later addition. In a handful of manuscripts, a "short ending" is included after 16:8, but before the "long ending", and exists by itself in one of the earliest Old Latin codices, Codex Bobiensis. By the 5th century, at least four different endings have been attested. (See Mark 16 for a more comprehensive treatment of this topic.) Some scholars] Those who believe that 16:8 was not the intended ending argue that it would be very unusual syntax for the text to end with the conjunction "gar" ("γαρ"), as does [http://www.greeknewtestament.com/B41C016.htm#V8 Mark 16:8] , and that thematically it would be strange for a book of good news to end with a note of fear ("εφοβουντο γαρ", "for they were afraid"). [N. B. Stonehouse, "The Witness of Matthew and Mark to Christ" (1944) pp. 86-118; also J. B. Tyson, "Journal of Biblical Literature" 80 (1961) pp. 261-268. A relevant commentary: P. W. van Horst, "can a Book end with GAR? A note on Mark 16:8", in "Journal of Theological Studies", new series 23 (1972) pp. 121-124. For an online overview, see this [http://www.indopedia.org/Mark_16.html indopedia.org article] ] Some of those; ; , —"How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt?" (9:12b NRSV). Yet this comparison is not explicit; Mark's Gospel creates this link between Daniel and Isaiah, and applies it to Christ. It is postulated that this is because of the persecution of Christians; thus, Mark's Gospel encourages believers to stand firm ().
*The Messianic Secret, Jesus' command to unclean spirits and to his disciples that they not reveal his identity, is stronger in Mark than in the other gospels. [Wrede, Wilhelm. The Messianic Secret in the Gospels. 1901. ISBN 0-227-67717-X]
*To the question "Are You the Christ?", Jesus gives the direct answer, "I am": , , .
*Mark is the only gospel that has Jesus explicitly admit that he does not know when the end of the world will be (On Matthew 24.36: "The omission of the words ["neither the Son"] because of the doctrinal difficulty they present is more probable than their addition by assimilation to Mk 13.32."] See also Kenosis.
*"No sign will be given to this generation" . See also Typology (theology).

Characteristics of Mark's language

The phrase "and immediately" occurs nearly forty times in Mark; while in Luke, which is much longer, it is used only seven times, and in John only four times. [ [http://www.site-berea.com/D/ebd/T0002400.html#T0002421 Easton's Bible Dictionary: Mark, Gospel according to] ] The word "law" ( [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=3551 nomos] ) is never used, while it appears 8 times in Matthew, 9 times in Luke, 15 times in John, 19 times in Acts, many times in Romans.

Latin loanwords are often used: [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=4688 speculator] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=3582 sextarius] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=2760 centurion] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=3003 legion] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=2835 quadrans] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=4232 praetorium] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=2541 caesar] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=2778 census] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=5417 flagello] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=3426 modius] , [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=1220 denarius] . [Bauer lexicon] Mark has only a few direct Old Testament quotations: , , One case of literary allusion in the Gospel of Mark comes from the crucifixion scene, which is crafted from literary allusions to Psalm 22 and Amos 8. or , the other gospels split them up: Mark 4:24 being found in and .
*Parable of the Growing Seed ( and ). See Aramaic of Jesus.
*Only place in the New Testament Jesus is addressed as "the son of Mary" ().
*Only place that both names his brothers and mentions his sisters ( but prohibited in ).
*Mark's literary cycles::* - Dispute with the Pharisees;:* - Crossing of the lake;:*.
*"Thus he declared all foods clean." [The verb "katharizo" means both "to declare to be clean" and "to purify." The "Scholars Version" has: "This is how everything we eat is purified", Gaus' "Unvarnished New Testament" has: "purging all that is eaten." See also [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/words.pl?word=2511 Strong's G2511] ] ; cf. , , , and ).
*When Jesus is arrested, a young naked man flees: , .
*Witness testimony against Jesus does not agree (). See also Fayyum Fragment. The other Gospels simply record, "the cock crew". Early codices 01, W, and most Western texts have the simpler version., ).
*The women ask each other who will roll away the stone (), cf. ), compare with , where Jesus says that the "Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ("lutron") for many ("anti pollōn")." According to Barnabas Lindars, this refers to Isaiah's fourth servant song, with "lutron" referring to the "offering for sin" (Isaiah 53:10) and "anti pollōn" to the Servant "bearing the sin of many" in Isaiah 52:12. [Lindars, Barnabas. "Salvation Proclaimed, VII: Mark 10:45 – A Ransom for Many" "Expository Times" 93 [1982] , 293.] The Greek word "anti" means "in the place of", which indicates a substitutionary death. [Ladd, George Eldon. "A Theology of the New Testament" (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 188.]

The author of this gospel also speaks of Jesus' death through the metaphors of the departing bridegroom in , ). Some.

Many scholars believe that Mark structured his gospel in order to emphasise Jesus' death. For example, Alan Culpepper sees Mark 15:1-39 as developing in three acts, each containing an event and a response. [Culpepper, R. Alan. "The Passion and Resurrection in Mark," " [http://www.rande.org Review and Expositor] " 75 [1978] , 584.] The first event is Jesus' trial, followed by the soldiers' mocking response; the second event is Jesus' crucifixion, followed by the spectators mocking him; the third and final event in this sequence is Jesus' death, followed by the veil being rent and the centurion confessing, "truly this man was the Son of God." In weaving these things into a triadic structure, Mark is thereby emphasising the importance of this confession, which provides a dramatic contrast to the two scenes of mocking which precede it. D. R. Bauer suggests that "by bringing his gospel to a climax with this christological confession at the cross, Mark indicates that Jesus is first and foremost Son of God, and that Jesus is Son of God as one who suffers and dies in obedience to God." [Bauer, D. R. "Son of God" in Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight and I. Howard Marshall (eds.) "Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels" (Downers Grove: IVP, 1992), 773.] Joel Marcus notes that the other Evangelists "attenuate" Mark's emphasis on Jesus' suffering and death, and sees Mark as more strongly influenced than they are by Paul's "theology of the cross". [cite journal |last=Marcus |first=Joel |year=2000 |title=Mark – Interpreter of Paul |journal=New Testament Studies |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=473–487 |doi=10.1017/S0028688500000278 ]

ee also

*List of Gospels
*Apocalyptic literature
*Acts of the Apostles (genre)
*List of omitted Bible verses
*Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus(reference to Mark)

Notes

References

*Brown, R., et al. "The New Jerome Biblical Commentary", Prentice Hall, 1990.
*Bultmann, R., "History of the Synoptic Tradition", Harper & Row, 1963.
*Dewey, J., "The Survival of Mark’s Gospel: A Good Story?", "JBL" 123.3 (2004) 495-507.
*Ehrman, Bart D., "Misquoting Jesus", Harper Collins, 2005.
* [http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1116&C=1228 Grant, Robert M., "A Historical Introduction to the New Testament" Harper and Row, 1963: Chapter 8: The Gospel Of Mark]
*Guy, Harold A, "The Origin of the Gospel of Mark", Hodder & Stoughton 1954
*Holmes, M. W., "To Be Continued... The Many Endings of Mark", "Bible Review" 17.4 (2001).
*Ladd, George Eldon. "A Theology of the New Testament" Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.
*Mack, Burton L., 1993. "The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian origins", HarperSanFrancisco.
*McKnight, E. V., "What is Form Criticism?", 1997.
*Neill, Stephen and Wright, Tom, "The Interpretation of The New Testament 1861-1986", Oxford University Press, 1990, 1989, 1964, ISBN 0192830570
*Perrin, N., "What is Redaction Criticism?"
*Perrin, Norman & Duling, Dennis C., "The New Testament: An Introduction", Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1982, 1974
*Schnelle, Udo, 1998. "The History and Theology of the New Testament Writings" (M. Eugene Boring translator), Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998.
*Telford, W. (ed.), "The Interpretation of Mark", Fortress Press, 1985.
*Tuckett, C. (ed), "The Messianic Secret", Fortress Press, 1983

External links

Online translations of the Gospel of Mark:
* [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48 "Bible Gateway 35 languages/50 versions" at GospelCom.net]
* [http://unbound.biola.edu "Unbound Bible 100+ languages/versions" at Biola University]
* [http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=Mark+1 "Online Bible" at gospelhall.org]
* [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/mark.html Early Christian Writings:] Mark in numerous English translations, on-line scholarly resources
* (King James version)

Related articles:
* [http://www.textweek.com/mkjnacts/mark.htm Resources for the Book of Mark] at The Text This Week
* [http://www-user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/TCG/index.html An Online Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels] by Wieland Willker, including detailed text-critical discussion of the 300 most important variants of the Greek text (PDF, 411 pages) and the variant endings (PDF, 17 pages).