I. AUTHOR: JOHN MARK
A. Strictly speaking, the Gospel is anonymous
B. EXTERNAL EVIDENCE strongly supports John Mark as the
author of the Gospel of Mark in association with the
Apostle Peter1
1. Pseudo-Barnabas ([5:9; Mark 2:17] c. A.D. 70-130)
2. Polycarp (c. 110-150)
3. Hermas (c. 115-140)
4. Papias (the bishop of Hierapolis A.D. 140) wrote
in his last work (Exegesis of the Lord's Oracles)
the strongest evidence for Marcan authorship tied
to Peter:2The Elder said this also: Mark, who
became Peter's interpreter, wrote accurately,
though not in order, all that he remembered of the
things said or done by the Lord. For he had
neither heard the Lord nor been one of his
followers, but afterwards, as I said, he had
followed Peter, who used to compose his discourses
with a view to the needs of his hearers, but not
as though he were drawing up a connected account
of the Lord's sayings. So Mark made no mistake in
thus recording some things just as he remembered
them. For he was careful of this one thing, to
omit none of the things he had heard and to make
no untrue statements therein.3
5. Irenaeus (c. 130-202) also agrees with the Mark-
Peter correlation:"And after their [Peter's and
Paul's] death, Mark, the disciple and interpreter
of Peter, himself also handed down to us in
writing the things preached by Peter"4
6. Justin Martyr ([Dialogue, 106.3] c. 150-155)
7. Clement of Alexandria ([preserved in Eusebius'
Historia Ecclesia, vi.14.6ff] c. 150-215)
8. Tertullian ([Adv. Marcion, iv.5] c. 150-220)
9. Origen (c. 185-254)
10. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315-386)
11. Eusebius (c. 325-340)
12. Jerome (c. 340-420)
13. Augustine (c. 400)
14. The Anti-Marcionite Prologue to Mark (A.D. 160-
180) mentions Mark as the Gospel writer and
connects him with Peter:"...Mark declared, who is
called 'stumb-fingered' because he had short
fingers in comparison with the size of the rest of
his body. He was Peter's interpreter. After the
death of Peter himself he wrote down this same
gospel in the regions of Italy."5
15. Murtatorian Canon (c. 170)
C. INTERNAL EVIDENCE is the realm where some questions are
raised, but they are not determinative to overthrow
Marcan authorship
1. John-Mark is mentioned elsewhere in the biblical
material:
a. He was a Jewish Christian whose mother, Mary,
owned a home in Jerusalem where the early
church met (Acts 12:12)
b. He was a cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10)
c. He was added to Paul and Barnabas' party when
they visited Jerusalem for the famine relief
(Acts 12:25)
d. He went with Barnabas and Saul (Paul) on the
first missionary journey, but turned back to
Jerusalem when they went inland to Asia at
Perga in Pamphylia (Acts 13:5,13)
e. On the second missionary journey Barnabas
wanted to take John-Mark along, but Paul
refused because of his earlier defection, so
Barnabas took Mark to Cyprus where he
probably encouraged him (Acts 15:36-41)
f. Paul was later reconciled with Mark:
1) Mark was with Paul during his
imprisonment in Rome and served as his
delegate in Asia Minor (Philemon 24;
Col. 4:10)
2) Paul instructed Timothy to send Mark to
Rome to be with him during his final
imprisonment because he was useful to
him for service (2 Tim. 4:11)
g. When 1 Peter was written, Mark was with Peter
in Rome and regarded as Peter's spiritual son
(1 Peter 5:13)
2. It is unlikely that the early church would have
assigned the authorship of a Gospel to a person of
secondary, and even "questionable" history as John
Mark since he was neither an apostle, nor a person
of prominence in the early church
3. Luke may possibly have developed John Mark in the
book of Acts not only for literary reasons within
the book, but because he was a source which Luke
used
4. There is evidence in Mark that it was written for
Gentiles (perhaps from Rome):
a. Mark does not include a genealogy
b. Mark interprets Hebrew (Aramaic) words (5:41;
7:11,34; 14:36)
c. Mark uses Roman time rather than Hebrew time
(6:48; 13:35)
d. Mark uses Latin (5:9; 6:27; 12:15,42;
15:16,39)
e. Mark explains locations and places
5. There is evidence that the writer was from
Palestine:
a. He is familiar with the geography of
Palestine, especially Jerusalem (5:1; 6:53;
8:10; 11:1; 13:3)
b. He knew Aramaic, the common language of
Palestine (5:41; 7:11,34; 14:36)
c. He understood Jewish institutions and customs
(1:21; 2:14,16,18; 7:2-4)
6. There is evidence that the author was connected
with Peter:
a. The vividness and detail suggest
reminiscences of a close eyewitness such as
Peter (1:16-20,29-31,35-38; 5:21-24,35-43;
6:39,53-54; 9:14-15; 10:32,46; 14:32-42)
b. The use of Peter's words and deeds (8:29,32-
33; 9:5-6; 10:28-30; 14:29-31,66-72)
c. The inclusion of the unique words "and Peter"
in 16:7
d. The similarity between the broad outline of
this Gospel and Peter's sermon in Caesarea
[Galilee, Jerusalem, Passion, Resurrection,
Commission] (Acts 10:34-43)
II. DATE: Although the problem is complex, it is plausible that
Mark was written sometime between A.D. 64-69
A. The usual discussion of date revolves around the
synoptic problem and especially Marcan priority. In
view of the historical identification of Matthew, a
possible plurality of sources used by all of the
synoptic writers, and the Jewish need for Matthew, it
is possible that Matthew preceded the Gospel of Mark.
Therefore, Mark need not be the first Gospel account
1. Mark was considered to be an abstract of Matthew
from Augustine until the early part of the
nineteenth century (Guthrie, p. 133)
2. Even though the parallels of "Mark" in Matthew and
Luke are striking, it is entirely possible that
they are using a similar source which Mark used
(Ur-Mark/pre-Marcan)
3. Matthew was an Apostle, so one wonders why in his
composition of a gospel account he would depend so
heavily upon another's eyewitness account (e.g.,
the banquet held in his own house (Matthew 9:9-13;
Mark 2:13-17) see Toussaint, Behold the King p.
330)
4. Since the first church was Jewish and Matthew's
gospel is characteristically Jewish, it is
reasonable to consider Matthew as the first gospel
designed to address the early concerns of the Jews
B. The description of Jesus' prediction of the destruction
of Jerusalem suggests that Mark's Gospel was written
before A.D. 70 (Mk. 13:2,14-23)
C. Early testimony of the church is divided about when
Mark was written (e.g., before or after the martyrdom
of Peter, A.D. 64-68):
1. Irenaeus and the Anti-Marcionite Prologue affirmed
that Mark wrote after the death of Peter and Paul
(see above) thus, placing the date of the epistle
between A.D. 67-69 (Paul was probably martyred
A.D. 67/68)
2. Clement of Alexandria and Origen affirmed that
Mark wrote during Peter's lifetime with Peter's
ratification,6 thus placing the date of the
epistle between A.D. 64-68 (Peter was probably
martyred A.D. 64)
3. It is possible that the statements are not
contradictory:
a. Perhaps Mark began his gospel before Peter's
death, and completed it after Peter's death
b. It is also possible that Irenaeus is not
referring to the death of Peter so much as to
his departure (f*) from the place where
Mark was
c. If the statements are not contradictory than
a date would be in the early to mid-sixties
4. Because Marcan priority is not a necessary
prerequisite to the synoptic problem, either
option is possible allowing for all of the
synoptics to have been written before A.D. 70:
a. Matthew could have been written c. A.D. 50
b. Luke could have been written c. A.D. 60
c. Acts could have been written c. A.D. 64/65
III. PLACE OF ORIGIN AND DESTINATION: Rome to Gentile, Roman
Christians
A. The church fathers (see above under "Author") affirm
that Mark's Gospel was written in Rome for Gentile,
Roman Christians
B. Evidence from the Gospel supports the affirmations of
the church fathers:
1. Aramaic expressions are translated (3:17; 5:41;
7:11,34; 9:43; 10:46; 14:36; 15:22,34)
2. Jewish customs are explained (7:3-4; 14:12; 15:42)
3. Latin terms are used rather than Greek equivalents
(5:9; 6:27; 12:15,42; 15:16,39)
4. Roman reckoning of time is used (6:48; 13:35)
5. He alone identifies Simon of Cyrene as the father
of Alexander and Rufus (15:21; cf. Rom. 16:13)
6. Few OT quotations or references to fulfilled
prophecy are used
7. Mark is concerned for all of the nations and has a
gentile, Roman centurion proclaim Jesus' deity at
the end of the Gospel (5:18029; 7:24--8:10; 11:17;
13:10; 14:9; 15:39)
8. The tone and message of the Gospel are encouraging
to Roman believers who were encountering
persecution and expecting more (8:34-38; 9:49;
13:9-13)
9. Mark assumes that his readers are familiar with
the main characters, so he writes with more of a
theological interest rather than a biological
interest
10. Mark addresses his readers more directly by
explaining the meaning for them of particular
actions and statements (2:10,28; 7:19)
11. Mark does not include a genealogy as Matthew and
Luke do
IV. OUTSTANDING CHARACTERISTICS OF MARK
A. In view of Christian martyrdom, Christ is presented as
the One who continues to speak and act meaningfully in
the context of crisis
B. Mark is simple and straightforward:
1. The language is less elaborate and more popular
than Luke or Matthew
2. Mark uses "and" a lot
3. Mark uses "immediately" intimating vividness and
excitement to the action
4. Mark uses the historical present over 150 times
making Jesus a contemporary of those reading
(narrative tells what happens, not simply what
happened)
5. Mark uses detail in his narrative to heighten the
sense of being there (names, pillow in the boat,
wild beasts in the wilderness, nicknaming of James
and John, etc.)
6. Mark puts his readers in the scene where they may
visualize and feel what the evangelist has
described: especially by making parenthetical
statements (13:37; 4:41, etc.)
C. Mark is seeking for his readers to make a decision (cf.
3:7-9 [public] with 3:20-35 [private])
D. Mark is the shortest of the Gospels
E. Mark emphasizes Jesus' action more than his teaching
(18 miracles, and 4 parables). Jesus has sovereign
power over all: disease, disability, demons, nature.
This is evidence that Jesus' kingdom has come near to
those people
F. Mark's subjects are related with unusual candor and
vividness (Jesus' hearers who are amazed, disciples who
do not understand, Jesus who has emotions and
compassion)
G. There is a dominate movement of Jesus toward the cross.
From Mark 8:31 onward Jesus and his disciples were "on
the way" (9:33; 10:32) from Caesarea Philippi in the
north through Galilee to Jerusalem in the south. The
rest of the narrative (36%) is devoted to events of the
Passion Week (11:1--16:8). Mark has been called a
Passion story with an introduction
H. Mark presents Jesus as the Son of God (1:1,11; 3:11;
5:7; 9:7; 13:32; 14:36, 61-62)
I. Barclay calls Mark the closest thing we have to a
biography of Jesus' life (p. xviii)
V. PURPOSES OF MARK
A. To encourage Roman Christians:
1. To demonstrate in an active way how to suffer
during persecution--as Jesus did! Jesus is
constantly presented as one who speaks and acts
meaningfully in the context of crisis. This
"present" aspect of the gospel (tenses,
"immediately", and miracles et cetera) was for
this purpose7
2. To demonstrate how to be a disciple to Christians
in Rome:
a. Mark explains Jewish customs (Pharisees 7:2;
the preparation day 15:42)
b. This is portrayed through many of the
portraits of Jesus and the Twelve
c. Jesus as Messiah is being portrayed as caring
for his children--the disciples
d. Jesus teaches about discipleship in light of
his death and resurrection
B. To fight the emergence of heretical, theological
teachings8 If Mark is a later gospel (see above), than
it follows that he in narrative form would be
addressing similar difficulties addressed more directly
by the letters of Paul and Peter
C. To emphasize Jesus as a servant:
1. Jesus proclaims himself as a servant 10:45
2. Matthew identifies Jesus as King, Messiah, but
Mark focuses upon Jesus as servant:
a. He is the Servant of YHWH
b. Mark emphasizes what Jesus does rather than
what Jesus says as in Matthew
___________________________
1 Norman Geisler, A General Introduction to the Bible, pp.
186, 193.
2 This is preserved in Eusebius' Historia Ecclesia (HE),
iii.39.15.
3 Cited from Wessel, "Mark" in EBC, p. 605.
4 Contra Haereses 3.1.3.
5 Cited from Wessel, "Mark" in EBC, p. 606.
6 Historia Ecclesia, vi.14.6ff.
7 Lane, p. 25.
8 cf. Wessel, p. 610.
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