Mark

What makes Mark special?

Mark is the shortest and probably the oldest of the four Gospels included in the New Testament. Its language is simple, but the story it tells is powerful. Matthew and Luke include most of what is in Mark, but arrange the material differently and add more to it. Mark is full of action and tells about many of Jesus' miracles and healings. But according to Mark, the most powerful miracle of Jesus is his suffering and death. The first person in the Gospel who appears to understand this miracle is the Roman officer who saw Jesus die on the cross and says, “This man really was the Son of God” (15.39).

Mark provides answers to some important questions about Jesus, like:

Why was Mark written?

The very first verse says that the Gospel is the “good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The rest of the Gospel goes on to tell why this is true. Jesus showed by his words and by his actions that he truly is the Son of God.

What's the story behind the scene?

The explanations of Aramaic words and Jewish customs in this book suggest that Mark wrote the Gospel so that Gentiles or non-Jewish Christians could understand it. Since Peter is especially important in this Gospel, and since Mark is connected with Peter in 1 Peter 5.13, it was believed by the second century a.d. that it was Mark who wrote the Gospel.

How is Mark constructed?

At various places in the Gospel, Jesus reminds different people and even the demons not to tell anyone about who he is or what he has done (1.41-43; 3.10-12; 7.34-36; 8.30). Finally, in 15.39, a Roman army officer identifies Jesus as the Son of God, which is how Mark describes Jesus in the very first verse of the Gospel. This makes reading the Gospel a little like reading a mystery. Clues are given throughout the story to help people discover Jesus' true identity.

When you read chapter 16 you will notice that Mark has three different endings. This is because the Greek manuscripts of Mark differ from one another. A number of the oldest and most important manuscripts stop at verse 8; others include verses 9-20; and still others have only a shortened ending.

Mark can be outlined in the following way: