The Gospel of Mark in Bible Studies

One of my New Year's resolutions was the walking maps in the previous entry. Another one was to do a weekly Bible study. This isn't meant to be a devotional or to convert anyone. It's really just for my own benefit. I'm going to read parts of the Bible and research any questions that come to mind and write up in OD whatever I find. My goal is just to learn more and see where that takes me.

Now the story of Jesus' life is, of course, central to everything Christians believe, so I figure I should start in the gospels, and as far as I know, Mark was the first gospel to be written. So, I'm starting with Mark.

According to tradition, the Gospel of Mark was written by John Mark, also called Mark the Evangelist. According to Theopedia, the gospel includes "vivid details that are unnecessary to the flow of the narrative," suggesting it is written from the accounts of eyewitnesses (who would be more interested in reporting what details they could than in forming a literary narrative). The gospel was quoted, though not by name, by Polycarp (~110 AD). Theopedia also says Mark's authorship is testified to by the early Christian writers Papias (110-135 AD), Justin Martyr (150s AD), Irenaus (~180 AD), Clement of Alexandria (180-200 AD), Tertullian (200-220 AD) and Origen (220-250 AD). The website ntcanon.org says that Mark was "accepted; true; scriptural; or quoted from very approvingly" by 14 of 16 early Christian authorities, and "not mentioned or quoted from; opinion unknown" by the other two.

In particular, Papias, the earliest source to refer to Mark wrote, "Mark, being the recorder of [the Apostle] Peter, wrote accurately but not in order whatever he [Peter] remembered of the things either said or done by the Lord; for he [Mark] had neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but later, as I said, Peter, who used to make teachings according to [anecdote], but not making as it were a systematic composition of the Lord's sayings; so that Mark did not err at all when he wrote certain things just as he had recalled. For he had but one intention, not to leave out anything he had heard, nor to falsify anything in them."

Theopedia also says that Peter and Mark travelled to Rome; Peter was killed there in 64 AD. Sometime after Peter died, Mark seems to have collected his recordings of Peter's sermons in Rome into the Gospel of Mark for the Roman Christians who had followed Peter. Because he was writing for Romans, not Jews, Mark explains Jewish customs and translates Aramaic phrases. According to Wikipedia, the gospel was instead possibly written in Syria by an unknown author, though they establish a similar date of 60-70 AD. Wikipedia says theological differences within the text suggest multiple sources, rather than the single source of Mark's records of Peter's sermons.

The earliest well-established manuscript that includes part of Mark is a fragment called P45 from about 200-250 AD. A more recently-discovered fragment includes part of Mark and may be from the first century, meaning before 100 AD. This fragment was only announced in 2012, so it may be some time before the academic process is able to confirm or deny it.

Things to look for while reading:

• The "vivid details that are unnecessary to the flow of the narrative" described in Theopedia.
• Stories from Peter's perspective, suggesting Peter as a source for Mark.
• Theological differences within the text, suggesting multiple sources.
• Explanations of Jewish customs and translations of Aramaic, suggesting a non-Jewish target audience.