The Gospels, Lesson 3

For videos, study guides and other resources, visit Third Millennium Ministries at thirdmill.org.

The Gospels

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means for profit, except in brief quotations for the purposes of review, comment, or scholarship, without written permission from the publisher, Third Millennium Ministries, Inc., P.O. Box 300769, Fern Park, Florida 32730-0769.

About Third Millennium Ministries

Founded in 1997, Third Millennium Ministries is a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to providing Biblical Education. For the World. For Free. In response to the growing global need for sound, biblically-based Christian leadership training, we are building a user-friendly, donor-supported, multimedia seminary curriculum in five major languages (English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, and Arabic) and distributing it freely to those who need it most, primarily Christian leaders who have no access to, or cannot afford, traditional education. All lessons are written, designed, and produced in-house, and are similar in style and quality to those on the History Channel©. This unparalleled, cost-effective method for training Christian leaders has proven to be very effective throughout the world. We have won Telly Awards for outstanding video production in Education and Use of Animation, and our curriculum is currently used in more than 150 countries. Third Millennium materials take the form of DVD, print, Internet streaming, satellite television transmission, and radio and television broadcasts.

For more information about our ministry and to learn how you can get involved, please visit http://thirdmill.org.

ii.

For videos, study guides and other resources, visit Third Millennium Ministries at thirdmill.org.

Contents

I. Introduction 1

II. Background 1

A. Author 1

1. Traditional View 1

2. Personal History 3

B. Original Audience 4

1. Witness of Early Church 4

2. Details of Gospel 4

C. Occasion 5

1. Date 6

2. Purpose 6

III. Structure and Content 8

A. The Announcement of the Messiah 8

B. The Power of the Messiah 9

1. Introduction 10

2. Near Capernaum 10

3. Region of Galilee 12

4. Beyond Galilee 14

C. The Apostles’ Affirmation of the Messiah 16

D. The Suffering Messiah 17

1. Preparation 17

2. Confrontation 19

3. Experience 20

E. The Victory of the Messiah 22

IV. Major Themes 23

A. Suffering Servant 23

1. Jewish Expectations 24

2. Jesus’ Ministry 25

3. Proper Response 27

B. Conquering King 29

1. Proclaimed Kingdom 29

2. Demonstrated Power and Authority 30

3. Conquered Enemies 31

V. Conclusion 33

ii.

For videos, study guides and other resources, visit Third Millennium Ministries at thirdmill.org.

The Gospels Lesson Three: The Gospel According to Mark

INTRODUCTION

Every day, thousands of Christians suffer persecution simply because they follow Christ. On a daily basis, millions of believers face the possibility of having their property confiscated; their leaders beaten and jailed; and their families harmed, kidnapped, or even murdered.

In fact, the persecution of Christians was on Mark’s mind as he wrote what is now the second gospel of the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark. The early Christian church had suffered in many ways. But how were believers to understand the significance of their suffering? What could Jesus’ example teach them about their difficulties? Mark responded to questions like these by telling the story of Jesus’ life in ways that strengthened the faith of early Christians and encouraged them to persevere.

This is the third lesson in our series The Gospels and we have entitled it “The Gospel According to Mark.” In this lesson, we’ll look closely at Mark’s record of Jesus’ life so that we can apply his teachings more effectively to our modern lives.

Our study of Mark’s gospel will divide into three main parts. First, we’ll consider the background of Mark’s gospel. Second, we’ll explore its structure and content. And third, we’ll look at some of its major themes. Let’s begin with the background of Mark’s gospel.

BACKGROUND

We'll explore the background of Mark’s gospel by considering the author Mark himself, his original audience, and the occasion or circumstances of his writing. Let’s look first at the author of Mark’s gospel.

Author

We’ll look at the authorship of Mark’s gospel in two parts. First, we’ll look at the traditional view of its authorship. And second, we’ll explore the author’s personal history. Let’s start with the traditional view on this gospel’s authorship.

Traditional View

Early church tradition is unanimous that the Gospel of Mark was written by John Mark. When we look in the New Testament, John Mark is described as a cousin of Barnabas. He accompanied Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey in the book of Acts. His mother is described as having a home in Jerusalem in which the early disciples met. Peter mentions John Mark as his son in one of his letters. Papias says that John Mark followed Peter around in Rome and accurately wrote down his teaching.

— Dr. Robert Plummer

Among the earliest Christian writers that said Mark wrote the second gospel was Papias. Papias lived at the beginning of the second century, and was a bishop in Asia Minor around A.D. 130.

We know of Papias’ view from the famous church historian Eusebius, who wrote around A.D. 325. In his work Ecclesiastical History Book 3 chapter 39 section 15, Eusebius offered this quote from Papias:

Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers.

According to Papias, Mark’s gospel was heavily dependent on the teaching of the Apostle Peter. Mark had not been an eyewitness to the ministry of Jesus, but he recorded what Peter had seen and heard from Jesus.

I think that the very earliest church traditions we have are sufficiently close to the time of the writing of the gospels and the early circulation of the gospels for people to have had some good information. And much the best example of this is what we know from Papias, who was Bishop of Heirapolis in Asia Minor the beginning of the second century. Papias wrote a big book which, sadly, has not survived, and we only have some little fragments of what he wrote, but among these are some comments on the gospels. And notably, Papias tells us that Mark wrote his gospel depending on the preaching of Peter. He was Peter’s interpreter according to Papias, which presumably means that he translated Peter’s Aramaic into Greek or Latin. And Papias tells us that he composed the gospel out of his knowledge of Peter’s preaching. I think that’s probably the most authentic and early tradition we have about the Gospels, and really, I see no reason to question it.

— Dr. Richard Bauckham

Other writers in the early church also affirmed the traditional view that Mark wrote this gospel. For example, the Anti-Marcionite Prologue to the second gospel, written around A.D. 170, directly asserts Mark’s authorship. The church father Ireneaus, who wrote around A.D. 177, also affirmed this view. And in addition to this, the earliest Greek manuscripts that give a title to this book call it “According to Mark.”

The evidence affirming that Mark wrote the second gospel was widespread in the early church. In fact, we have no record from the ancient church of any significant debate over his authorship. Although in recent centuries some scholars have tried to deny this traditional view, they have not refuted the ancient testimony to Mark’s authorship, nor have they been able to point to anything in the gospel itself that rules out Mark as its author. For these reasons, modern Christians can confidently affirm that Mark wrote this gospel.

Now that we’ve confirmed the traditional view that Mark wrote this gospel, let’s explore his personal history so that we can better understand his account.

Personal History

According to Acts 12:12, Mark was the son of a woman named Mary who lived in Jerusalem. It was in her home that some of the Christians in Jerusalem met to pray for Peter while he was in prison. So, Mark’s association with Peter and other apostles began at least this early.

Mark was also the cousin of Barnabas, as Paul mentioned in Colossians 4:10. He even assisted Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. But as we learn in Acts 13:13, Mark deserted them in the middle of the trip and he returned to Jerusalem.

As a result, Paul refused to allow Mark to join him on his second missionary journey. As we read in Acts 15:36-41, Paul and Barnabas separated over the issue. So, Barnabas took Mark with him to minister in Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas to replace Barnabas as his traveling companion.

According to Colossians 4:10, however, Mark later won back Paul’s confidence, and was even with Paul during one of his imprisonments.

Later, Mark also assisted Peter when he ministered in Rome. In fact, he had such a close relationship with Peter that Peter affectionately called Mark, “my son” in 1 Peter 5:13. It was probably during this time that Peter taught Mark most of the details of Jesus’ earthly ministry that are recorded in Mark’s gospel.

Mark or John Mark, as his full name is, is a fascinating character in the Bible. He shows up just briefly at a few instances. His mother was named Mary. His mother owned a house in Jerusalem, we know, because the church at times met at that house. He was the cousin of Barnabas, who was one of the missionary companions of the apostle Paul. He traveled with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Church history tells us he was a close associate with Peter, as well. In fact, church tradition tells us that Mark, in fact, his gospel was really, sort of, the recollections of Peter. So some people say, “Well, who is this Mark? He wasn’t an apostle.” Certainly true that he wasn’t an apostle, but just look at his credentials; quite amazing credentials. He almost certainly saw and knew Jesus maybe as a very young youth at the time. So he was an eye-witness to Jesus, almost certainly an eye-witness to the resurrection. Who were his mentors? His two main mentors were Paul the apostle to the Gentiles, and Peter, really the representative of the twelve apostles. So, qualified to write a gospel of Jesus Christ? Absolutely qualified.

— Dr. Mark Strauss

Now that we’ve talked about Mark as the author of this gospel, we should explore the identity of Mark’s original audience.

Original Audience

The witness of the ancient church and several details of Mark’s gospel point to the churches in Italy, especially in the city of Rome, as Mark’s original audience.

We’ll explore the idea that Mark wrote to the churches of Italy and Rome by looking briefly at the witness of the early church and at some details of Mark’s gospel itself. Let’s turn first to the witness of the early church.

Witness of Early Church

The three ancient witnesses we mentioned earlier — Papias (who wrote around A.D. 130), the Anti-Marcionite Prologue (written around A.D. 170), and Irenaeus (who wrote around A.D. 177) — all reported that Mark wrote his gospel in Italy, and some specifically identified the city of Rome. Moreover, none of them suggested that Mark had sent his gospel to the church in any other city. This indicates that Mark wrote to the local churches where he lived. And this conclusion is strengthened by 1 Peter 5:13 which locates Mark in Rome during the days he ministered alongside Peter.

Of course, like all the Gospels, history proves that God intended the Gospel of Mark to be used by the whole church in all ages. But we are better prepared to interpret Mark’s gospel the way he intended when we understand that he wrote out of a deep concern for what was happening to the Italian, and especially, Roman Christians of his day.

In addition to the witness of the early church, many details of Mark’s gospel also suggest that he wrote to churches in Italy, and more particularly in Rome. We’ll mention four details of Mark’s gospel that support the claim that he wrote to the churches of Italy and Rome.

Details of Gospel

First, on a number of occasions, Mark explained Palestinian customs to his audience. For example, Mark explained the Pharisees’ practice of washing their hands in Mark 7:3-4. Explanations like this suggest that Mark’s audience included a substantial number of Gentiles who lived outside Palestine.

A second detail that is compatible with an Italian and Roman audience is that Mark explained Aramaic expressions. For example, listen to his explanation of the names given to James and John in Mark 3:17:

James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder) (Mark 3:17).

Mark provided similar explanations in 5:41, 7:34, and 15:22, 34. Aramaic speaking Palestinians would not have needed these explanations, and even many Jews outside Palestine would have been familiar with Aramaic and Hebrew from their synagogues. So, this detail suggests that Mark wrote to Gentiles outside Palestine.

A third detail that points even more clearly to an audience in Italy and Rome is that Mark used more Latin words than any other gospel writer, indicating that a substantial part of his audience understood Latin.

During the first century, Latin was not widely spoken in the Mediterranean world. It was primarily limited to Italy, the homeland of the Roman Empire. So, it’s significant that Mark used Latin words at least 15 times. For example, in Mark 12:42, he used the Latin word lepta, referring to a small copper coin. Although he spelled the word in Greek letters, the word itself was Latin and was not likely to have been understood by those who didn’t speak Latin.