01. Introduction to Mark's Gospel

Theme 1

INTRODUCTIONTO

MARK’S GOSPEL

AuthorPrudencio García Pérez

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Theme 1: Introduction to Mark’s Gospel

- INTRODUCTION: THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM-------- 3

I. WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK? -------- 5

II. WHEN WAS THE GOSPEL WRITTEN?-------- 8

III. WHERE WAS THE GOSPEL WRITTEN? ------- 10

IV. WHO WERE THE RECIPIENTS OF THE GOSPEL? ------- 12

V. WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL? ------- 13

VI. HOW DID MARK COMPOSE THE GOSPEL? ------- 15

VII. WHAT ARE THE LITERARY ASPECTS OF THE GOSPEL?

7.1. Literary genre: why is it called “gospel”? ------- 17

7.2. Structure of Mark’s Gospel ------- 187.3. Language and literary style -------

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VIII. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF MARK’S GOSPEL?

8.1. Jesus, Messiah and Son of God ------- 21

8.2. The discipleship ------- 238.3. Israel, the people of God and the kingdom -------

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- BIBLIOGRAPHY ------- 25

- EXCURSUS 1 ------- 26

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INTRODUCTION: THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM

In the New Testament we only have one gospel (Jesus himself and his teachings), but presented in four different ways (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). It is like four painters trying to make the best possible portrait of the person of Jesus. At first sight we realize that the gospel of John is completely different from the other three. Instead, the other three, called synoptic1 gospels, are very similar, but share important differences as well.

Since the beginning of the Church, the gospel of Mark was neglected by the majority of the scholars of the New Testament who considered it as a “popular copy” of the gospels of Matthew and Luke. However, since the XVIII century, the biblical science has made a lot of progress and now almost all the scholars (98%) believe that the gospel of Mark is the oldest (the first written) of the four and the key to understand the other two. How did this happen? This is what in recent years has been called the “synoptic problem”. Let’s explain this problem more in detail:

1. TRIPLE TRADITION: materials found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is also called the “Markan priority” because Mark is used as a source by Matthew and Luke. Mark is the shortest gospel with 661 verses; 330 of these verses are also found in Mt and Lk.

2. DOUBLE TRADITION: materials found in Matthew and Luke (around 230 verses), but absent in Mark2. This is what the experts call the document Q3 (German word “Quelle” which means “source”).

3. SINGLE TRADITION: materials found in a supplementary source only known to each one of the Synoptic Gospels: Mark = 53 verses; Matthew = 330; Luke = 500.

MATTHEW MARK LUKE330 330 330178 278 100230 230330 53 500

1 The synoptic gospels are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The term “synoptic” comes from the Greek word “syn-optic” which means they view Jesus “with the same eyes”; they have the same view on Jesus. 2 Mark and Matthew have 178 verses in common; Mark and Luke have about 100 verses. 3 See Excursus 1 at the end of this essay, p. 26.

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Looking at this chart, we realize that there are materials found in the three gospels, some only in two and some only in one. This brings up a few natural questions: What kind of relationship do these three gospels share? How can we explain their similarities and differences? Which gospel was written first and later used as a source for the other two? The three synoptic gospels follow the same scheme which was already used in the catechesis of the Early Christian community4:

SCHEME MATTHEW MARK LUKE1. Preparation for Jesus ministry

3:1-4:11 1:1-13 3:1-4:13

2. Jesus’ activity in Galilee 4:12-18:35 1:14-9:50 4:14-9:503. Journey to Jerusalem 19:1-20:34 10:1-52 9:51-18:434. Passion, death, resurrection 21:1-28:20 11:1-16:8 19:1-24:53

From this perspective, it seems that the synoptic gospels are just the fruit of copying from each other, but if we look carefully we see that there are differences, disagreements, additions, and changes among them as well. How can we explain these similarities and differences? These are the most accepted hypothesis nowadays (95%):

1. The two-source hypothesis: Mark and Q5 (lost document/material) are two independent sources used in writing the gospels of Matthew and Luke.

2. The four-source hypothesis: Apart from the main two sources (Mark and Q), Matthew and Luke had access to other documents that they introduced in their gospels (Matthew’s Supplementary source and Luke’s Supplementary source).

4 A summary of the contents of this Early Christian catechesis can be found in Acts 10:24ss.5 The contents of document Q are mainly Jesus’ sayings, teachings, and doctrinal materials; no miracles or exorcisms.

MARK Q

Matthew Luke

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I. WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK?

The gospel itself does not provide any indication about the name and identity of the author6. According to the gospel’s literary style, we could say the author was probably a Jew from the diaspora (born in a foreign country) who later became a Christian. Two reasons push us in that direction: a) the gospel was written in Greek, but its language and style are poor, simple, and popular; b) the gospel employs some Semitic words and expressions as well as sentences with Semitic flavor.

The tradition of the Church (since the last decade of the 1st

century AD) considers unanimously a person called Mark to be the writer of the gospel. This direct evidence comes from Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis (60-130 AD) who quotes someone he identifies as “the elder”, probably John the elder, a famous figure among the churches in the province of Asia. Eusebius of Caesarea quotes in his “Ecclesiastical History” what Papias said in his book “Interpretation of the Oracles of the Lord”, a book that no longer exists, it has been lost:

"And the elder used to say this, Mark became Peter's interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done by the Lord. For he had not heard the Lord, nor had followed him, but later on, followed Peter, who used to give teaching as necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord's oracles, so that Mark did nothing wrong in thus writing down single points as he remembered them. For to one thing he gave attention, to leave out nothing of what he had heard and to make no false statements in them. (H. E. 3.39. 14-15)".

In this paragraph Papias makes three claims:

1. Mark is the author of the gospel;

6 When writing the gospel, Mark (like the other three evangelists) did not write “the gospel of Mark” as we see it today; this title was added years later by those who made copies of it in order to distinguish it from the other three. Originally, Mark’s work was an anonymous document written for the public use of the Christian community which he belonged to.

Mt Sup

MARK Q

Lk Sup

Matthew Luke

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2. Mark obtained his information from Peter because he was not an eyewitness of the events narrated in the gospel;

3. The gospel written by Mark lacks “order” because it follows the way Peter preached about the Lord, not his own understanding.

Some modern scholars consider the information provided by Papias as “pure fiction”, an invention of someone whose only purpose is to protect and defend the authority and validity of the gospel7. The explanation of these scholars is not very convincing because if Papias wanted to probe the apostolic origin and value of the gospel, why did he not use the name of a true apostle, like Peter, instead of the unknown Mark? Papias by identifying Mark as the author of the gospel (Mark was not a famous character in the primitive church), is clearly telling us that he was the true writer and that he had a close relationship with Peter (interpreter, disciple, secretary…).

What can we say about this Mark? The author of the gospel has been always identified with the person of John Mark whose name appears several times in the Acts of the Apostles and in the letters of Paul. This is a summary of what it is said about him there:

1. His mother was Mary, a well known believer in Jerusalem, in whose house the church gathered for prayer and the breaking of the bread (Acts 12:12s).

2. Some experts identify John Mark with the unnamed young man who fled completely naked the garden of Gethsemane just after Jesus was arrested (Mk 14:51-52), but there is not enough evidence to defend this opinion.

3. He accompanied his uncle Barnabas (Col 4:10) and Paul back to Antioch of Syria from Jerusalem (Acts 12:25).

4. He accompanied Barnabas and Paul during their first missionary journey (Acts 13:5), but returned home suddenly (Acts 13:13).

5. On the second missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to bring John Mark along with them, but this caused a great disagreement between Barnabas and Paul. They decided to break their partnership and go separate ways because of Paul’s refusal to accept Mark as a companion (Acts 15:37-40).

7 The main reasons these scholars give to justify their opinion are these: a) the gospel of Mark does not show a special relationship with Peter. On the contrary, his image in the gospel is not very positive and the role he play is less important here than in the gospels of Matthew and Luke; b) the theology of the gospel of Mark is closer to Paul’s than to Peter’s; c) the formation of the gospel was made by the collection of previous traditions, not by what he remembered of Peter’s preaching; d) the author makes incredible mistakes while describing the geography of the region of Galilee (see Mark 5:1; 7:31; 10:1); it seems impossible to believe that a follower of Peter could make such mistakes. For these scholars, the author of the gospel is an anonymous person we do not know anything about.

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6. He was with Paul during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome (Col 4:10; Philemon 24) where they became good friends and companions.

7. During his second imprisonment, Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark back to Rome (2Tim 4:11).

8. He was also a companion and coworker of Peter (1Peter 5:13), possibly in Rome. Peter calls him “my son”.

From this information, we can conclude that John Mark, the author of our gospel, was a person extremely closed to the most important figures of the early Christian community: Paul and Peter. Mark’s active life and emotional temperament pushed him to travel around the world and to be a true witness of the growth of the Christian faith and communities in the most relevant cities of his time: Jerusalem, Antioch of Syria, Cyprus, Ephesus, Alexandria, and Rome.

Following the testimony of Eusebius (4th century AD), Mark was the first Christian to preach the good news in Egypt, where he established many churches, and later became the first bishop of Alexandria (H. E. 2.16.1). What happened to Mark after this period in Egypt is not clear, although Jerome (in his book “De Viris Illustribus”, 8) says that he died in the eighth year of Nero (61 AD) and was buried in Alexandria. Whether any of this information is true is difficult to determine.

II. WHEN WAS THE GOSPEL WRITTEN?

Mark did not tell us when the gospel was written, so it is difficult to determine a date with precision. As we said before, when talking about the “synoptic problem”, the gospel of Mark was one of the sources of information used by Matthew and Luke to write their gospels; therefore, the date of composition of Mark, early or late date, will also affect the date of the other two gospels because they depend on it.

Unfortunately there is not agreement among the scholars on this point, but the main theories about the date of the gospel can be reduced to two:

1. The gospel of Mark was written between the years 64 and 75 AD. These are the main reasons supporting this theory:

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Mark 13, called the “Eschatological discourse”, seems to be related to the events of the Jewish war against the Romans (66-70 AD) which ended up with the destruction of Jerusalem.

Irenaeus text (around the year 180 AD) says that Mark produced his gospel after Peter’s death: “and after the death of these (Peter and Paul), Mark the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing the things preached by Peter” (Against Heresies, 3.1.2). Peter most probably died in Rome around the years 64 or 65, during the persecution against Christians of Emperor Nero. Therefore, the gospel of Mark was written some time after Peter’s death, but there is great disagreement among the scholars on the probable date (66? 70? 75?). However, this is the opinion shared by the majority of the experts.

2. The gospel of Mark was written between the years 40 and 50 AD. This theory is supported by some internal and external evidence:

The gospel of Mark ends suggesting that Peter and the disciples did not understand the universal meaning of the Christian mission. Instead, during the Council of Jerusalem (49-50), Peter’s intervention shows his understanding of the universal mission of the Church.

Mark favors the integration of the gentiles in the Christian community, while the followers of Jesus from a Jewish environment are against it (the twelve, the disciples). This is a problematic of the early days of the Church (40-50 AD).

The gospel of Mark mentions three times the Herodians and the Pharisees cooperating together against Jesus (3:6; 8:15; 12:13). The only time the house of Herod had the support of the Pharisees was during the kingship of Herod Agrippa I (41-44 AD).

Mark 13 seems to reflect the situation in Palestine at the time of Emperor Caligula, when he ordered to erect a statue in his honor in the Temple of Jerusalem (39-40 AD) which caused tremendous unrest among the people in the country.

The discovery of a papyrus fragment in the caves of Qumran (7Q5). Let’s see how it looks like:

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7Q5 consists of five lines of text and twenty visible letters. Some experts consider this fragment to be the earliest copy of the Gospel of Mark; it would be part of Mark 6:52-53. If this identification is correct, then the date of the Gospel of Mark should be pushed back to the 40's AD, since the fragment has been dated between 50 BC and 50 AD. However, this issue is complicated because there is not enough evidence for the identification of this fragment with the Gospel of Mark.

In conclusion, we could say that both theories are valid and possible, but the first one, the traditional one, is still considered the most probable one and is widely accepted by the experts.

III. WHERE WAS THE GOSPEL WRITTEN?

Through the history of the Church, there has been a lot of speculation about the location where the gospel of Mark was written;

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among these theories, there are still three which have many supporters8:

1. Rome (Italy): This is the opinion of the early Christian writers, like Irenaeus (180), Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, and Ephren, among others. This is also the most accepted opinion nowadays. These are the main reasons to justify this theory:

The gospel of Mark does not bear the name of any of the apostles; in order to be known and accepted by the whole Church, this gospel needed the support of an important and powerful church, like the one in Rome.

The gospel was written for gentiles, not for Jews. These are the reasons: a) explanation of Jewish customs (Mk 7:3-4; 14:12; 15:42); b) translation of Aramaic expressions (Mk 3:17; 5:41; 7:11; 10:46; 14:36; 15:34); frequent Latinisms (centurion, legion, denarius, census, pretorium, etc…); d) indications about the Roman Law and calendar (Mk 10:12; 13:35); e) explanation of the Roman value of Jewish coins (Mk 12:42); f) presentation of a Roman centurion as the first person who recognized the true identity of Jesus (Mk 15:39).

2. Antioch of Syria: This is the second most accepted opinion these days. These are the main reasons:

The testimony of John the elder, who lived in Ephesus; This place could easily explain the use and translation of

Aramaic and Latin expressions or words, because there was a numerous Jewish community there and it was also an important Roman center.

The use of Mark as a source for the gospels of Matthew and Luke can be better explained if Mark’s gospel was written in Antioch than in Rome.

The use of geographical locations in Galilee and Judah without any explanation about them shows that Mark’s readers know the geography of Palestine.

Antioch of Syria was the place where the followers of Jesus left the Jewish traditions and embraced the gentiles in the community, theme that appears very often in the gospel.

3. Galilee or the south of Syria: This is the opinion of some modern scholars like Lohmeyer, Marxen, Kelber, and González Ruiz, among others. These are the main reasons for their theory:8 Saint Jerome (4th century AD) also proposed Alexandria (Egypt) as the place of composition of the gospel of Mark. However, this opinion does not enjoy the support of the experts of the gospel.

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Galilee is the main scenery of the gospel, except at the end.

Jesus is successful when preaching his gospel in Galilee, but fails in Jerusalem.

The thoughts and sensitivity of the gospel of Mark are extremely connected with Israel, more than the other gospels.

The gospel of Mark shows a deep understanding of the marks and characteristics of the region of Galilee.

The debate moves around two locations: Syria (Antioch or neighboring southern areas) and Rome. Which one is the more reasonable location? Looking back at the evidence provided by the first Christians writers and the internal evidence of the gospel itself, we could honestly say that Rome seems to be the more reasonable location for the writing of the gospel.

IV. WHO WERE THE RECIPIENTS OF THE GOSPEL?

Before we talk about the recipients, we should first sum up all the information we have collected until now:

1. The author of the gospel is John Mark, disciple and interpreter of Peter in Rome.

2. It was written in between the years 64 and 75 AD.3. The place of composition was Rome or nearby areas

(Italy).

According to this data, the recipients of the gospel are Christians living in Rome or in neighboring areas. These Christians are mostly Roman and Greek gentiles (Christians without Jewish background) because Mark has to explain to them many Jewish customs and Aramaic words; however, it is possible to suggest that in this Roman community there was at least a small minority of Christians from Jewish background. It seems that these two groups had some disagreements and arguments on several topics, like what makes a believer pure or impure (Mk 7:1-23), but these problems had been solved already.

The Roman Church was formed by a number of families coming from different backgrounds who gathered in a house to celebrate the breaking of the bread and to pray together as well as to receive more

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instruction about the teachings and deeds of Jesus (see the frequent use of “house” in Mark as a place where Jesus is alone with his disciples and teaches them).

This community was well organized and had a solid leadership. This idea is suggested in those texts from the gospel where Jesus teaches the Twelve about the importance of serving (service) others in the community, while presenting Peter as the leader of the group.

The vocabulary regarding the mission and the use of missionary traditions (cf. Mk 1:21-28; 5:1-20; 7:24-30; 13:10; 14:9) indicate that the Roman Church is a missionary community which is really committed to preaching the good news of Jesus among the gentiles and employs the technique of itinerancy (sending them two by two and staying in the house of believers) as a tool to better perform their task (Cf. Mk 6:6b-7.10).

V. WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL?

Mark decided to write his gospel because the faith of the Christian community of Rome, mainly formed by converted gentiles, was constantly tested by external and internal issues. From the outside, there were at least three important problems they had to deal with:

1. The persecutions of the Roman Emperors against Christians: In 64 AD, Emperor Nero began the first great persecution against Christians after blaming them for the fire that destroyed part of the city of Rome. This was the first big storm in the communities. During this persecution, some Christians were put in jail or killed; others gave up their faith in order to save their lives; and others fled the country. What a dangerous time to be a follower of Jesus!

2. The rebellion of the Jews against the Roman invasion of Israel (66-70 AD): During the revolt, debates and arguments arouse in the communities on how to react to this situation (in favor or against) creating unrest and tensions between the different groups of the community (Jewish-Christians and Gentile-Christians). It also provoked tensions with the Roman citizens especially because they could not distinguish between Christians and Jews; they also took the blame for the war in Israel. In the end, the Romans won the war and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.

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3. Christians were also hated and mistreated by the Jews living in a Roman context: Jews would accuse them of abandoning the true God, the true religion (Judaism) and putting their faith in a fake savior, Jesus.

From the inside, the Christian community also had to face at least two important challenges:

1. Within the Christian community, there were some movements with pre-Gnostic background which used Paul’s teachings to emphasize the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the giver of the Holy Spirit, without giving any value to his historical life, his sufferings, passion, and death on the cross in the land of Israel.

2. Due to the persecutions, many disciples and apostles of Jesus were imprisoned, hurt, and even murdered. In these dangerous times, it was absolutely necessary to preserve the apostolic traditions (memories, teachings, and experiences of Jesus) by putting them into writing before the eyewitnesses passed away and these oral documents got lost forever.

From this point of view, Mark knew in his heart that the Christian community of Rome was facing the biggest challenge ever. They were a small number of believers living in a hostile environment where they had to endure hatred, persecution, and sometimes death. That was the price they had to pay for being followers of Jesus. Therefore, many questions popped up in their heads: Why are we suffering so much? What is the meaning of it? Why Jesus, the Son of God, does not save us? In this difficult situation, Mark had to find a way to give them courage and help them to keep the faith alive. How to do that? Mark realized that helping them to understand correctly the identity of Jesus (corrective Christology) and his activity was the key point to reach his goal. That is why he made a presentation of Jesus whom, even though was the Messiah and the Son of God, was still persecuted, suffered, and died on the cross on the hands of the powerful people of his country. Jesus showed his power and greatness through the weakness and failure of the cross9.

9 When talking about the purpose of the gospel of Mark, the opinion above is the most accepted. In recent years some scholars have proposed other opinions without much success or acceptance. These are the most relevant: a) Liturgical purpose (P. Carrington): Mark was written to be used in the Christian liturgy; b) Catechetical purpose (G. S. Schille; B. Standaert): Mark was composed for the formation of the new catechumens in the community; c) Apocalyptic community (H. C. Kee): Mark lives in an apocalyptic community, like the Essenes, that gets new members through the itinerant missionary work, moving from one village to another. Therefore, Mark wrote the gospel to promise them a reward from God in the near future.

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In order to make an attractive presentation of the true identity of Jesus and his public activity, Mark used the historical-narrative method of instruction (like a storyteller narrating a story). His gospel became an instruction (catechesis) to his readers about Jesus of Nazareth, a historical person who lived an authentic human life, suffered, died on the cross, resurrected, and is the true teacher of the community. Mark’s intention was not to write a biography, but a catechetical instruction, remembering what happened in the past in order to solve the problems of the present. Therefore, Mark presents Christianity as a concrete way of living the present history, but firmly rooted in the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently, Christianity is a person, Jesus-Messiah-Son of God, the origin of a doctrine and the source of salvation10.

This was the main purpose of the evangelist Mark for writing the gospel. Besides this one, Mark had also in mind some secondary intentions or reasons which were closely related to the essential one:

1. Curiosity about the life of Jesus: the expected end of the world and the Parousia were not coming yet, so Christians wanted to know more and more about the historical life and activity of Jesus.

2. Compose a controversy document against other groups: against the Pharisees; against the family of Jesus; against his closest disciples or followers: the twelve were chosen by Jesus but showed an imperfect faith; against the disciples of John the Baptist: an important character, but just the forerunner of Jesus.

3. Religious propaganda: Mark wanted to proclaim the Christian faith among the gentiles so that they could come to believe in Jesus.

VI. HOW DID MARK COMPOSE THE GOSPEL?

Until the 19th century, it was believed that Peter was the main source of information of Mark, following the testimony of Papias, but nowadays this opinion has been completely abandoned. Others presented Paul as the main source of Mark, especially because the gospel uses a number of words (15) that appear often in the Pauline writings (gospel, word, mystery, proclaim, etc…). Against this opinion, it has been said that there are essential terms in the Pauline

10 For further information on the purpose of the gospel of Mark, see R. AGUIRRE MONASTERIO – A. RODRIGUEZ CARMONA, Evangelios Sinópticos y Hechos de los Apóstoles, Verbo Divino, Estella 1994, pp. 167-168.

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vocabulary that do not appear in Mark’s gospel (justice, justification, salvation, light, darkness, etc…). If they are not the source of Mark’s information, then we have to ask ourselves the following question: What sources did Mark use to compose the gospel?

When Mark decided to write his gospel, he was aware of the existence of written documents and materials regarding the life and ministry of Jesus. These collections of documents were probably translated into Greek already. The following collections are considered by the majority of the experts to have been used by Mark for writing his gospel:

1. Collection of miracles (Mk 5-7): It showed Jesus’ power and his special contact with God. It was probably used by Christian missionaries to present Jesus as a “divine man”, just as the heroes of the gentiles.

2. Collection of controversies against the scribes and Pharisees (Mk 2): controversies about the power to forgive sins; the need of fasting; picking corn on Sabbath day; eating with sinners.

3. Collection of parables (Mk 4).4. The apocalyptic discourse of Jesus (Mk 13).5. Short narration of the “Last Supper” and the Eucharist

(Mk 10:42-45): this tradition could come from Paul (1Cor 11:23-26).

6. The Passion story (Mk 14:13-16:8): This document was probably created by the community of Jerusalem because they knew what happened to Jesus better than any other community.

Besides these important collections, there were other smaller materials (oral or written) and “leaflets” about Jesus already circulating across the different locations of the Christian communities. The big problem for Mark was to put all these documents together, in a logical order, especially knowing that the chronology (when) or the geographical location (where) of many stories had been lost or forgotten. Mark’s mission was not easy at all!

Mark used the best of his ability and intelligence (and the guidance of the Holy Spirit) to combine these materials so that they could have a sort of “biographical and catechetical” order. He also added other elements to help him merge and give logical progress to the story. At that time, it was very unusual to begin a sort of biography without including the birth, childhood, and youth of the main character. Mark omitted this part of the life of Jesus probably because he did not have access to any documents describing it. That is why his gospel

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begins with the preaching of John the Baptist and ends with his death on the cross and resurrection. Mark, by beginning his gospel with a prophecy, is clearly telling the readers that Jesus is the fulfillment of the oracles from the Old Testament.

VII. WHAT ARE THE LITERARY ASPECTS OF THE GOSPEL?

7.1. LITERARY GENRE: WHY IS IT CALLED “GOSPEL”?

As we said before, when Mark decided to compose his gospel, he did not write any title. In the 2nd century, Christian writers added a label (kata Markon = according to Mark) to distinguish it from the other gospels. Later, the label developed into a name: “The Gospel according to Mark” (in Greek: “Euangelion kata Markon”).

Why is it called “gospel”? The term comes from the Greek word “euangelion” which means “good proclamation or good news11”. In the Greek text of the Old Testament (Septuagint = LXX), the noun is used only 6 times, but we often find the verb “euangelizesthai”, (21 times) which means “to bring good news or the messenger who brings good news”. It appears in Second Isaiah in connection with the messenger who announces the saving and liberating intervention of God, who is going to establish his kingship in history in favor of his people who now are slaves in Babylon (Is 52:7; cf. 40:9; 60:6; 61:1). This kind of good news brings joy and hope to those living in exile. The book of Isaiah was well known at the time of Jesus. Jesus himself presents his mission and message using the prophecies of Isaiah.

Following its meaning in the prophets, the ancient Christian community used the verb “euangelizesthai” to designate the proclamation of God’s salvation. This verb was especially used by Luke (10 in the gospel and 15 in the Acts) and Paul (23 times). The noun “euangelion” is often found in the writings of Paul (60 times) as well, but it seldom appears in the gospels (8 times in Mark and 4 in Matthew). However, this term in the New Testament always refers to the oral preaching, never designates the written texts. In the same way, the word “euangelistès” (evangelist) is used by the primitive church to describe the preachers of God’s word, not the writers of books (cf. Acts 21:8; 2Tim 4:5). In conclusion, “gospel” is the person of Jesus himself and the proclamation of the message of salvation brought him.

11 The word “euangelion” (good news) was already known and used by the Greek and Roman writers before Mark put it in the beginning of his gospel. This word was normally employed to announce an important victory in battle or to highlight the great events and happenings during the life of an emperor.

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During the 2nd century, the word “euangelion” began to designate the type of writings regarding the preaching of the apostles about Jesus. Justin (around the year 153) was the first to give the name of “euangelia” (gospels) to the writings of the evangelists. He normally calls them “memories of the apostles”, but in one case he called them “gospels”. Since Irenaeus’ time (around the year 180), the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were normally known as “gospels”. Nevertheless, the Christian writers were always really careful to say “Gospel according…” in the singular form, to emphasize that the gospel is one (Jesus and his teachings), but transmitted in four different versions.

From these observations about the history of the term “gospel” we can obtain some important conclusions:

1. The word “gospel” is closely connected to the person and message of Jesus, which should be understood as the fulfillment of the messianic promises, the final intervention of God in human history.

2. These writings have been called “gospels” because the message of Jesus, the preaching of the apostles, and what is written inside the gospels are closely related.

3. The gospel, before being written, was an oral proclamation.

4. The gospels are completely different from other writings of ancient times12. These are the reasons: a) come from a religious movement; b) depend on the oral preaching; c) contain the apostolic testimony about the person of Jesus.

7.2. STRUCTURE OF MARK’S GOSPEL

Finding the internal structure of the gospel of Mark is always quite complicated because of its “non-literary” style. The links between the sections and the key motifs holding the structure of the gospel together are hard to find. Despite these problems, we still can propose this scheme:

INTRODUCTION: John the Baptist and Jesus enter the scene (1:1-13)

FIRST PART: Jesus’ activity in Galilee (1:14-8:26)

12 Mark is the inventor or creator of the literary genre called “gospel” for two reasons: a) there is not any extra-biblical literature with the characteristics of his gospel; b) He was the first evangelist to write a gospel, so the other three (Matthew, Luke, and John) copied from him.

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A) 1:14-3:6 Beginning of Jesus’ activity and first controversies

B) 3:7-6:6a Parables and miracles C) 6:6b-8:26 Section of the bread

SECOND PART: Passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus (8:27-16:8)

A) 8:27-10:52 Jesus on the way to JerusalemB) 11:1-13:37 Jesus’ activity in JerusalemC) 14:1-16:8 Passion, death, and resurrection

CONCLUSION: Manifestations of the risen Christ (16:9-20)

7.3. LANGUAGE AND LITERARY STYLE

The gospel of Mark was written in the simple and popular Greek of the “koiné”. This language was mainly spoken in bilingual Semitic countries like Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.

Mark is the shortest of the four gospels: only 16 chapters which contain 95 episodes. His work is made of 11.242 words divided in 1.345 different terms13. These are the characteristics of his vocabulary:

Use of the same word with different meanings: for example “look” (periblepo).

Repetition of the same words: “again” (palin, 28 times); the adjective “a lot” (polis, 60 times); “immediately” (euthys, 62 times)…

Use of the popular diminutive: little daughter (5:23; 7:25); little girl (5:41.42; 6:22.28); little dog (7:27s), little fish (8:7)…

Use of Aramaic words mainly related to names, places, and institutions of Israel: Barabbas, Bartimaios, Satanas, Bethsaida, Golgotha, Paskha, Sabbato…

Use of Latin words: denarion (denarius); kensos (census); kenturion (centurion); legion (legion)…

The syntax of the gospel is neither beautiful nor delicate. It is rough and unpolished, like the one found in popular writings. Mark did not spend much time working on the literary style of the gospel or 13 From these terms, 60 are names and 79 are “hapax legomena” (which means, words that appear only once in the New Testament).

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decorating the language of the stories he found. He normally puts an episode next to another (like a pearl necklace) without using coordinating conjunctions (this is called “parataxis”). But when he uses them, he often repeats the same one (for example, “kai” = and). Other times, he employs impersonal terms as subjects of the verb (“they” or “people”) or leaves the sentences incomplete.

Mark’s style is simple but vivid and communicates immediately with the reader. It is the typical style of the oral language, not the written one. Despite the grammatical mistakes, Mark knows how to attract the attention of his readers and keep them interested until the end. In order to achieve this purpose, he employs some literary tricks which provide a good rhythm to the story: the historical present tense, the direct style, the multiplication of participles, etc… When Mark wants to highlight his ideas, his uses other tricks: repetition of the same phrase by different actors (2:5.7.10), synonyms, repetition of words, use of words with the same root, the double question (1:24). The presentation of details and the introduction of the feelings of the characters help to keep the interest for the story high and achieve vivid descriptions. All this information suggests the gospel was written not to be read, but to be listened to.

Another characteristic of Mark’s literary style is called “grouping”: Mark placed some of the episodes together, in groups or in small units according to their topic, location, chronology, etc… For example, there are five controversy stories in one block (2:1-3:6); several parables are found in one chapter (4:1-34); three “passion predictions” appear in the middle of the gospel (8:31-10:45); Jesus’ eschatological teachings are piled up in just one chapter (13:1-37); etc…

VIII. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF MARK’S GOSPEL?

Taking into consideration all the information we have collected until now, we could certainly say that the message or theology of Mark’s gospel moves around three key topics which unify all the sections of the book: 1) Jesus, Messiah and Son of God; 2) the discipleship; 3) Israel, the people of God and the Kingdom.

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8.1 JESUS, MESSIAH AND SON OF GOD14

In Mark’s eyes, Jesus is much more than a moral teacher, a preacher of the Kingdom of God, and a miracle worker. He takes all this information about Jesus from previous oral and written traditions, puts them together, and gives them a new insight. The beginning and the end of the gospel will show the true identity of Jesus: Messiah and Son of God (Mk 1.1; 15:39). He is the Christ-Messiah who fulfils the divine promises; He is also the Son of God (1:1), loved by the Father, filled with his Spirit (1:9-11), the winner in the fight against evil (1:12-13), and the one who defeats death with the resurrection (16:6).

In the central part of the gospel, Jesus15 is also the son of Mary (6:3), and therefore a normal human being capable of showing feelings and emotions: he is moved and touched by people’s problems; he feels sadness, amazement, wonder, anger, compassion; he enjoys his friend’s company, accepts invitations, deals with all kinds of people, etc…

Jesus will be also recognized as Messiah by friends and adversaries: the evil spirits (1:34); the leader of the Apostles, Peter (8:29).

Mark often talks about Jesus as the “Son of Man” (14 times)16, which is the main character of the book of the prophet Daniel (Dan 7:13-14). Jesus is the Son of Man, the one who establishes and delivers the kingdom to his people. This title only appears in Jesus’ mouth and applies it to himself in three different contexts: 1) brings the hope of liberation to people through the forgiveness of sins (2:10) and the superiority of man regarding the law or the Sabbath (2:27-28); 2) indicates that Jesus is the suffering servant prophesized by Isaiah (8:31; 9:31; 10:33.45; 14:21.41); 3) Jesus is the eschatological judge who comes through the clouds 8:38; 13:26; 14:62).

We should say something more about the title “Son of God” because this motif or key word runs all over the gospel providing consistency and unity. This title is the program of the gospel (1:1) and it is pronounced by God himself (1:11; 9:7), by the possessed with evil spirits (3:11; 5:7), by the Roman centurion (15:39) who unbelievably recognized in the foolishness of the cross the manifestation of God’s 14 The main source for this section is B. MARCONCINI, Los Sinópticos: formación, redacción, teología, San Pablo, Madrid 1998, pp.86-90. 15 The name of Jesus appears 81 times in Mark. His name, like the name of John or Mark, is just a human name and does not hide special connotations. 16 Mark 2:28; 8:31.38; 9:9.12.31; 10:33.45; 13:26; 14:21.41.62. This title normally appears in the gospels, but not in the rest of the New Testament (only 3 times): Matthew (6 times); Luke (6 times); John (12 times).

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power. Jesus as God’s natural son can be also seen in the invocation “Abba” (Dad, Daddy), which expresses the familiarity and affection of a son with his father (14:36).

Besides these titles, we still can find some others in the gospel: prophet (6:15; 8:28); Son of David (10:47s; 11:10); the Holy one of God (1:24); Sir (7:28); Rabbi, Teacher (9:5; 11:21; 14:45).

On another hand, this proclamation of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God comes with the imposition of silence (messianic secret). Jesus orders the demons to keep silent about his identity because they are not accepted as witnesses of his mystery (1:25.34; 3:12) and the only thing they can do is observe with terror the destruction of their demonic kingdom. Those healed from different kinds of sickness are invited to be silent so that they will not spread a false identity of Jesus (miracle worker), but they do not normally listen (1:44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). Even the Twelve (8:30) and the witnesses of the transfiguration (9:9) have to avoid a triumphant interpretation of Jesus-Messiah, which includes seeking power, command, or the first places (9:34; 10:37). With this attitude, Jesus wants to avoid a political interpretation of the Messiah (the king and savior of Israel) in order to place the attention on the cross which reveals the humble and painful “way” chosen by God to save mankind (suffering servant).

The reaction of the people to Jesus’ identity was mostly incomprehension and confusion. They did not know who he really was and what he was talking about. However, this incomprehension of his identity gradually became disbelief and hardening of heart. Little by little the crowds abandoned him, the scribes and Pharisees passed from attacking him to making the decision of ending his life, and the disciples failed to understand Jesus’ way and stay with him in times of danger. At the cross, Jesus arrived alone, completely misunderstood by all, and betrayed by his friends, but this apparent failure was later transformed in triumph by the resurrection.

Mark guides his community from worshiping only the risen Jesus to the understanding of the historical Jesus by calling his life and activity “good news” (euangelion). Jesus is great and powerful, but his power can only be seen through the mystery of the cross. The new way of life of his community begins with service, not power or authority, and only can be achieved by forgetting about ourselves and devoting ourselves to others. At the feet of the cross, people’s disbelief was transformed into admiration, wonder, and deep faith by the centurion’s recognition of Jesus as the Son of God (15:39). At this point, the gospel of Jesus is the opposite of the gospel of the Roman power: Caesar and Jesus, the throne of the emperor and the cross of the rejected teacher

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become two salvation proposals; everyone must make a personal choice.

8.2. THE DISCIPLESHIP

Mark mentions two specific groups of followers of Jesus in his gospel: the disciples and the twelve. Both groups are closely connected, but can be separated as well: the disciples are the big group of his followers from whom he chose the twelve. These twelve were chosen for a special purpose: to be his companions and to preach the message with power and authority (3:13-19). They received the mystery of the Kingdom of God (4:10s); they were sent to preach (6:7s); they enjoyed the special private teachings of Jesus; they shared his table and ate with him at the last supper (14:17s). Despite being so close to Jesus, they constantly showed their incapacity to understand his identity, teachings, and mission: incomprehension of the parables (4:13; 7:18); failure to recognize his identity during a storm (4:35-41) and while walking on the water (6:51s). After Peter’s messianic confession of Jesus (he is the Messiah-the Christ), the disciples did not understand the necessity of Jesus’ passion and death (8:33; 9:32.35; 10:32), refused to accept such a destiny, and tried to stop him.

Although the image of the disciples in the gospel is not very positive, Mark still underlines the important role they play, especially the twelve and their leaders, because they are the connection between the time of Jesus and the time of the Church; those who were called to be Jesus’ companions (3:14) now are presented as the only witnesses of the special teachings and manifestations of Jesus. They are the recipients of the mystery of the Kingdom of God and the followers of Jesus on the way to the cross. They are the witnesses of the history and the resurrection of Jesus.

During Jesus’ life and ministry, the disciples were not yet preachers of his messianic identity and divine filiation. They failed to recognize him as Messiah and Son of God at the foot of the cross. If they were assembled again after the resurrection, it was because of the grace of the risen Lord decided to summon them in Galilee (14:28; 16:7). The discipleship that Mark presents to the reader in the gospel for their imitation comes from God’s grace and must be followed on the way of the cross.

8.3. ISRAEL, THE PEOPLE OF GOD AND THE KINGDOM

Israel represents the people who do not believe in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God. Consequently, Jerusalem is the capital or the

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spiritual center of disbelief17. While in Jerusalem, in the Temple area, Jesus criticized their religious rituals and practices (12:32s). In Mark’s passion account, the religious authorities condemned Jesus to death (14:64) and the simple people, instigated by the religious leaders, asked Pilate to crucify him (15:11-15).

Because of the disbelief of the people of Israel, God is about to choose another people to be his holy nation and these are those who will accept and believe in Jesus, as their savior and Messiah, and will keep his teachings (13:10). Since the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus gathered around him a new spiritual family that fulfills God’s will (3:31-35). The twelve, the link between Jesus and the Church, are the founders of this new community. This new people will be made up of Jews and Gentiles.

Finally, Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God (Basileia tou Theu) as a future reality, but imminent (8:38; 9:43.45.47; 10:15.23.25.30; 14:25), and also as a present reality in himself and his public activity (1:14). These two realities are closely related in the history of salvation. The kingdom of God begins in this world, like a time of salvation, but finds its perfect completion in God’s world.

BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY

DONAHUE, J. R. – HARRINGTON, D. J., Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina 2, Liturgical Press, Collegeville 2002.

EDWARDS, J. R., The Gospel according to Mark, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids (MI) 2002.

FRANCE, R. T., The Gospel of Mark, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids (MI) 2002.

FUSCO, V., Nascondimento e rivelazione. Studi sul Vangelo di Marco, Paideia, Brescia 2007.

GNILKA, J., Evangelio según Marcos, Vols. I-II, Sígueme, Salamanca 1986-1987.

GRASSO, S., Vangelo di Marco: nuova versione, introduzione e commento, Paoline, Milano 2003.

HOOKER, M. D., The Gospel according to St. Mark, Continuum, London 2001.17 Mark 3:22; 4:12 7:1-23; 11:12-19.

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KINGSBURY, J. D., Conflict in Mark: Jesus, Authorities, Disciples, Fortress Press, Minneapolis 1989.

MATEOS, J. – CAMACHO, F., El Evangelio de Marcos. Análisis lingüístico y comentario exegético, Vols. I-III, El Almendro, Córdoba 1993-2004.

MOLONEY, F. J., Mark: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist, Hendrickson Press, Peabody 2004.

STEIN, R. H., Mark, Baker, Grand Rapids 2008.

WITHERINGTON, B., The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids (MI) 2001.

EXCURSUS 1

MOST IMPORTANT MATERIALS OF DOCUMENT Q

LUKE MATTHEW CONTENTS1 3:7-9.16ss 3:7-12 Preaching of John the Baptist2 4:2-13 4:2-11 Temptations of Jesus3 6:20-23.27-

30.32-365:3-6.11-12.39-

42.45-48Sermon on the plain I

4 6:37-38.41-49 7:1-5.16-21.24-27

Sermon on the plain II

5 7:1-10 8:5-13 The Centurion at Capernaum

6 7:18-35 11:2-19 About John the Baptist7 9:57-60 8:19-22 About discipleship8 10:1-12 9:37-10:15 Discourse about the mission9 10:13-15.21-22 11:21-23.25-26 Cursing and blessings10 11:1-4 6:9-13 The Lord’s Prayer11 11:9-13 7:7-11 About prayer12 11:14-23 12:22-30 About Beelzebub13 11:24-26 12:43-45 Return of the unclean spirit14 11:29-32 12:38-42 Asking for a sign15 11:33-35 5:15; 6:22-23 Parable of the lamp16 11:39-52 23:4.23-25.29s Against the Pharisees17 12:2-10 10:26-33 Open and fearless speech18 12:22-34 6:25-33.19-21 Trust in God19 12:39-46 24:43-51 Being alert and watchful

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20 13:18-21 13:31-33 The mustard and the yeast21 13:34-35 23:37-39 Admonition over Jerusalem22 17:22-37 24:26-28.37-41 Discourse on the Parousia23 19:11-28 25:14-30 The parable of the talents

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Documents

01. Introduction to Mark's Gospel