Mark

By Mary Jane Chaignot

The gospel of Mark is a masterpiece – at least in the eyes of modern biblical scholars. But that was not always the case. For the better part of 1800 years, Mark was virtually ignored, bracketed as it was by the two more popular gospels of Matthew and Luke. As a matter of fact, some scholars think the only reason Mark made it into the canon was because of his purported association with Peter. An ancient document written by Eusebius in the fourth century quotes Papias (ca 130 CE) who claimed that "Mark was Peter's interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said or done by the Lord." Clearly that gave his gospel some stature even though Mark never claimed to have been a follower of Jesus nor did he ever hear him speak. For ages, then, this gospel was thought to be little more than Peter's memoirs, written after Matthew and Luke and heavily dependent upon them. Since it was so much shorter than the other two, scholars thought that Mark was nothing but an abbreviated version of them. And, frankly, if you read the accounts side by side, most people will think that Matthew and Luke have simply said it better. So, relegated to being a poor copy of what others had already written, Mark was pretty much ignored.

All that opinion changed in the 1830's after two scholars began to seriously argue for the idea that Mark, indeed, was the original and that Matthew and Luke both copied from him! Their arguments were compelling and after centuries of virtual neglect, Mark suddenly became the focus of scholarly attention. This new view came at a time when scholars were particularly interested in the historical question: what really happened back then, what did Jesus really say? So, they reasoned that if Mark were first, surely this book would be the most reliable in giving the most accurate information about Jesus himself. It would be the clearest, unedited biography of Jesus that was available. But after intensive investigation by some of the finest Biblical scholars, they were forced to conclude that the historical Jesus was very elusive, indeed. No one could say with certainty whether the recorded events happened exactly as Mark told them or if the author had edited them.

Since then scholarship has pursued various methodologies of biblical investigation, and throughout it all Mark has remained at the forefront. That has become increasingly true in recent years as scholars have studied the gospels through the lens of literary criticism. They all agree that Mark is an amazing story. It has a booming beginning, a middle, and that unfinished, abrupt ending. It has a plot filled with twists and turns, unexpected surprises, disappointments, conflicts, healings, good guys and bad guys. And it has a point, a message. It is not just a compelling story; it is a document of faith. It tells us something about God and about the way of salvation.

But the book tells us about ourselves too, about what disciples are like. That's why the ending is so intriguing. If the book really does end at 16:8, it means that the women fled from the tomb, saying nothing because they were afraid. Many people find that unacceptable. Thus it is that over the years other endings have cropped up. They wrap things up rather nicely, but very few scholars would argue that Mark wrote them. (We might want immediately to counter with the argument that the women must have been silent for only a little while. After all, here we are two thousand years later and we know the story, so someone had to tell it. But that misses the point.)

As readers, how does it feel to hear that nothing came of the women's visit to the tomb? That the story really does end abruptly and unfinished? That lack of closure prevents us from moving on comfortably. In a sense, we are left speechless -- and deeply disappointed. But with whom? With the characters? Do we find ourselves thinking about how they should have done things differently? Maybe we're thinking about how we would have done it differently. Might we try to distance ourselves from them?

Suddenly, we find ourselves thinking about this on a whole new level. The big question is not what Peter or the disciples did, but what we are doing. It's that growing awareness that this gospel wasn't "about them;" it was written "for us." It never was meant to be a dispassionate story about Jesus; it is also a story from him. So, we are faced with the deepening realization that we, too, need to make a crucial leap of faith. Are we ready to obey, to accept Jesus' invitation to "follow" -- wherever he leads? Maybe this is the "beginning of the good news" (1:1) because it is the beginning of discipleship -- ours, not theirs. If Mark ended his gospel like this on purpose, he was a very sophisticated author.

Yet despite scholars' intense scrutiny, they have yet to arrive at a consensus on just who this author was. Based on that document from Eusebius, many have argued that the writer of Mark's gospel was the John Mark written about in Acts 12:12ff, who was a cousin of Barnabas, and who prayed for Peter when he was imprisoned by Herod (Acts 9:12-17). This could very easily be true. But Mark was a very common name in antiquity and there could have been many people named "Mark" in the early church. And just because the gospel is called "Mark" doesn't mean someone named "Mark" wrote it. On the other hand, no one can say for certainty that it wasn't this individual. We do know that the author was well educated and well versed in Jewish scripture and rituals. But we also know that he saw Jesus as superceding this way of life; hence Jesus did not obey the traditions – he didn't fast, declared all foods clean, and ate with gentiles and unclean people.

Most scholars think the book was written in Rome sometime between 64 and 75 CE. The lower number is the year Peter was martyred. The higher number is based on the premise that Mark was written first. It was probably intended for a Gentile audience, in all probability, Roman Christians. But the bottom line is that we really can't answer these points with confidence, and unless new materials are discovered, we may never know them with absolute certainty. And so it goes.

Scholars have multiple ways of organizing this gospel. We will use three divisions: The Galilean Ministry – 1:1-8:30; The Jerusalem Journey and Ministry – 8:31-13:37; Jesus' Passion and Resurrection – 14:1-16:8 (9-20).

I – 1:1-8:30 – The Galilean Ministry

1:1-13
- Prologue
  - 1:1
    - Introduction – Beginning of good news about Jesus Christ
  - 1:2-8
    - Ministry of John the Baptist
    - Quote from prophet Isaiah
    - John was baptizing, preaching a baptism of repentance
  - 1:9-11
    - Jesus came to John to be baptized
    - Heavens were torn open, Spirit descended, voice came from heaven
  - 1:12-13
    - Spirit drove Jesus into the desert
    - Jesus was in desert 40 days and angels attended him
  - 1:14-3:6
    - Early Galilean Ministry
1:14-20
- John was in prison; Calling the disciples
- Jesus called Simon and Andrew, James and his brother, John
- All left their nets and followed immediately
1:21-28
- First Sabbath healing – in Capernaum
- Jesus was teaching in synagogue
- Man was possessed by evil spirit
- Jesus commanded the evil spirit to come out of him
- People were amazed, news spread quickly
1:29-31
- Healing of Peter's mother-in-law
- The fever left her and she served them
1:32-34
- Jesus healed many people after the sabbath
1:35-39
- Jesus got up early, went off to pray
- Simon found him, said everyone was looking for him
- Jesus went into surrounding villages
1:40-45
- Healing of a leper
- Leper approached him, asked if he was willing to heal him
- Jesus touched him and said, "Be clean!"
- Told man to go to priests, offer required sacrifices
2:1-12
- Healing of paralytic
- Many people were gathered in a house
- Four friends made an opening in the roof, let down their friend
- Jesus said, "Your sins are forgiven."
- Scribes accused him of blasphemy
- Jesus healed the man (thereby showing that, indeed, his sins were forgiven)
- People were amazed
2:13-17
- Jesus eats with sinners
- Jesus invited Levi (tax collector) to follow
- Later Jesus had dinner with Levi and his friends
- Pharisees were outraged (sinners were unclean)
2:18-22
- Issue of fasting
- Pharisees demanded to know why Jesus' disciples did not fast
- Jesus replied with parable of bridegroom, unshrunken cloth, and new wine
2:23-28
- Gleaning grain on the Sabbath
- Jesus and his disciples picked grain on Sabbath
- Pharisees were upset
- Jesus replied with story of David eating consecrated bread
- "Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."
3:1-6
- Healing a man with shriveled hand on Sabbath
- Pharisees were watching him
- Jesus said, "Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on Sabbath?"
- Pharisees went out and began to plot how they might kill Jesus
3:7-6:13
- Later Galilean Ministry
  - 3:7-12
    - Great crowds followed Jesus; he healed them all
  - 3:13-19
    - Choosing of the Twelve
  - 3:20-35
    - First Sandwiched story – Jesus' family and Beelzebub
      - 3:20-21
        
        Jesus' family wanted to take him home ("he is mad")
      - 3:22-30
        
        Teachers of the law accused him of being possessed
        
        Jesus said, "How can Satan cast out Satan?"
      - 3:31-35
        
        Jesus' family called him
        
        Jesus redefined family
  - 4:1-34
    - Parables about the kingdom of God
      - 4:1-9
        
        Parable of sower
        
        Many types of ground; some seeds sprouted, others did not
        
        "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
      - 4:10-12
        
        Secret of the kingdom given to those "inside"
        
        Others relegated to remaining "outside"
      - 4:13-20
        
        Explanation of parable for disciples
      - 4:21-23
        
        Parable of lamp
        
        "Whatever is hidden will be disclosed."
      - 4:24-25
        
        Parable of measure
        
        "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
      - 4:26-29
        
        Parable of seed growing secretly
        
        Seed mysteriously produced a crop
      - 4:30-32
        
        Parable of mustard seed
        
        Smallest seed, yet grew into large bush
      - 4:33-34
        
        Summary statement
  - 4:35-41
    - Stilling the storm
    - Later that day, Jesus and disciples got into a boat to cross lake
    - Storm came up; Jesus was asleep
    - Disciples were fearful and woke him up
    - Jesus asked, "Do you still have no faith?" and then stilled the storm
    - Now disciples were terrified
  - 5:1-20
    - Healing of the man at Gerasene
    - Man was possessed, ran to Jesus
    - Demons cried out, went into the pigs
    - Pigs rushed over the bank, drowned in the lake
    - Man was free
    - People tending the pigs were terrified, as was the whole town
    - Asked Jesus to leave
  - 5:21-43
    - Another sandwiched story – Jairus and hemorrhaging woman
      - 5:21-24
        
        Introduction to Jairus, plight of his daughter
        
        Jesus went to heal her
      - 5:25-34
        
        On the way, Jesus was interrupted by hemorrhaging woman
        
        Jesus stopped when she touched him and was healed
        
        He pronounced her clean
      - 5:35-43
        
        During interruption, Jairus' daughter died
        
        Jesus told Jairus not to be afraid, but to believe (just like the woman)
        
        Jesus raised the daughter
    - 6:1-6
      - Rejection in his home town
      - People just couldn't get past the fact he was a carpenter's son
      - They took offense at him
      - Jesus could not do any miracles there
      - (This time Jesus was amazed – at their lack of faith)
    - 6:7-13
      - Sending out of the Twelve
      - He sent them out two by two, giving them authority over evil spirits
      - They were very effective
6:14-8:30
- Moving out of Galilee
  - 6:14-16
    - Questions came up regarding Jesus' identity
    - Herod heard about him, thought he was John the
    - Baptist raised up
  - 6:17-29
    - Flashback to death of John the Baptist
    - Herod's wife had issues with John's disapproval of her marriage
    - Her daughter danced for Herod at his birthday banquet
    - Herod offered her "anything you ask"
    - The daughter asked for the head of John the Baptist
    - Her wish was granted despite the king's distress
    - (He needed to save face among his guests)
    - John's disciples buried him
  - 6:30-44
    - The feeding of five thousand (a banquet in the wilderness)
    - The disciples returned from their mission
    - Jesus left with them for some solitude, but followed by a crowd
    - He had compassion on the crowd and taught them many things
    - It got late
    - Disciples wanted the crowd dismissed
    - Jesus fed them with five loaves and two fishes
    - They had 12 baskets filled with leftovers
    - 6:45-52
      - Jesus walks on the water
      - After sending the disciples off in a boat, Jesus went to pray
      - During the night, he went out to the disciples on the water
      - They were terrified, thinking they were seeing a ghost
      - Jesus said, "It is I. Don't be afraid."
      - After Jesus got into the boat with them, the disciples were completely terrified -- "for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened"
    - 6:53-56
      - Summary of healings at Gennesaret
    - 7:1-13
      - Dispute over unwashed hands
      - Pharisees challenged Jesus on proper hand washing techniques
      - Jesus responded by challenging them on other traditions
    - 7:14-23
      - Jesus declared all food clean
    - 7:24-30
      - Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman
      - (If all foods are clean, maybe all people are too…)
      - Gentile woman asked for healing for her demon possessed daughter
      - Initially Jesus refused, but the woman persisted
      - Woman accepted his mission to Jews first, and would settle for crumbs
      - Jesus marveled at her understanding and healed her daughter
    - 7:31-37
      - Symbolic healing of deaf and dumb man
      - If Jesus can heal physical deafness, there is hope for spiritual deafness as well
    - 8:1-10
      - Feeding of four thousand
      - Jesus was still in Gentile territory; great crowd followed him for three days
      - Disciples could not imagine where they could ever get enough food
      - (This is after they've witnessed 5000 fed in a similar situation)
      - Jesus fed 4000 with 7 loaves and a few small fish
      - 7 baskets were filled with leftovers
    - 8:11-13
      - Pharisees request a sign from heaven
      - (Apparently, feeding thousands in the wilderness didn't impress them)
    - 8:14-21
      - Leaven of the Pharisees and the disciples
      - Disciples and Jesus were in a boat; disciples had forgotten to bring bread
      - Jesus warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees
      - Disciples were fixated on not having enough bread
      - (This is after they've witnessed two extraordinary feedings)
      - Jesus accused them of having hardened hearts
      - "Do you have eyes but fail to see…?"
    - 8:22-26
      - Symbolic healing of a blind man at Bethsaida
    - 8:27-30
      - Peter confesses Jesus as Messiah

II – 8:31-13:37 – The Jerusalem Journey and Ministry

8:31-10:52
- Journey to Jerusalem
  - 8:31-33
    - Jesus' first Passion prediction
    - Peter rebuked him
    - Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan."
  - 8:34-9:1
    - Qualifications for discipleship
    - Must take up their cross and follow
  - 9:2-8
    - Transfiguration
    - Jesus, Peter, James, and John went up the mountain
    - Jesus' clothes became dazzling white; Elijah and
    - Moses appeared
    - Peter didn't know what to say so he offered to build three shelters
    - Voice from heaven told them to listen to Jesus
  - 9:9-13
    - Explanation of coming of Elijah
    - Fulfillment of scripture
  - 9:14-29
    - Healing of a boy with an evil spirit
    - Crowd was arguing with disciples
    - Man asked for healing for his son; disciples could not heal him
    - Jesus walked up and said, "O faithless generation…"
    - Man asked for healing; Jesus said he only needed to believe
    - Man said "I believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
    - Jesus healed the boy
    - Disciples asked why they could not heal him
    - "This kind can come out only by prayer"
  - 9:30-37
    - Second Passion prediction
    - Disciples didn't understand and were afraid to ask
    - Among themselves, the disciples argued about which was greatest
    - Jesus said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last"
    - Jesus put a small child in their midst to make his point
  - 9:38-42
    - Someone was using Jesus' name to drive out demons
    - Jesus refused to stop him
  - 9:43-50
    - Additional requirements for discipleship
    - Remove any temptations
    - Lesson on saltiness
  - 10:1-12
    - Teaching on divorce
    - God intended the two would become one flesh
    - No exceptions for infidelity
  - 10:13-16
    - Disciples try to prevent the children from coming to Jesus
    - Jesus rebuked disciples; blessed the children
  - 10:17-31
    - Rich young man and the kingdom of God
    - Young man kept all the commandments
    - Jesus told him to sell all, then "Come, follow me."
    - Young man went away sad
    - Disciples reminded Jesus they had given up everything
    - Jesus promised eternal life
  - 10:32-45
    - Third Passion prediction
    - James and John asked to sit at Jesus' right and left hands (places of honor)
    - Other disciples were upset
    - Jesus said if they wanted to be great, they had to first be servants
  - 10:46-52
    - Healing of another blind man (Bartimaeus)
    - (Near Jericho – roughly 15 miles SE of Jerusalem)
11:1-13:37
- Jesus in Jerusalem
  - 11:1-11
    - Jesus' triumphal entry
    - Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt
    - People sang, Hosanna!
    - Stayed at Bethany for the night
  - 11:12-26
    - Another sandwiched story – "Cursing" of fig tree
      - 11:12-14
        
        Tree had no good fruit
        
        Jesus said, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again."
      - 11:15-19
        
        Cleansing of the temple
        
        Jesus overturned all the money tables
        
        "You have made my house a den of robbers"
        
        Chief priests looked for a way to kill him
      - 11:20-26
        
        Fig tree had withered by the next morning
        
        Jesus responded with pronouncements
        
        "If you have faith, you will receive whatever is asked in prayer"
11:27-33
- First of four questions – Issue of Jesus' authority
- Chief priests wanted to know who authorized him to "cleanse" temple
- Jesus responded by asking who authorized John the Baptist
- Priests were stymied, couldn't answer
- Jesus didn't answer their question either
12:1-12
- Parable of the unjust tenants
- Landowner sent servant to collect rent from tenants
- They killed him
- Landowner sent several others, finally his own son
- Tenants killed all
- Landowner will come, kill the tenants, give vineyard to others
- Chief priests determined to kill him, knew the parable was against them
12:13-17
- Second question – Paying taxes to Caesar
- Pharisees and Herodians tried to catch him in his words
- Jesus knew their hypocrisy
- Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, to God what is God's".
12:18-27
- Third question – Marriage at the resurrection
- Sadducees asked about the woman who married seven brothers
- Jesus said the risen will not marry nor be given in marriage
- Jesus also corrected their view on the resurrection
12:28-34
- Fourth question – Which is the greatest commandment?
- One of the teachers of the law asked which is most important commandment
- Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart."
- The second is, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
- After this no one dared ask him any more questions
12:35-37
- Jesus asked a question about Christ being David's son
- Quoted from scripture wherein David spoke of "My Lord."
- Crowd was delighted
12:36-40
- Jesus warned the crowd about the teachers of the Law
- Many of them were frauds
12:41-44
- Widow's offering of two mites
- (Immediately follows warning of religious leaders devouring widow's houses)
13:1-37
- Little Apocalypse in Mark
  - 13:1-2
    - Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple
    - (This happened in 70CE, Mark might have written before or after this date.)
  - 13:3-4
    - Disciples wanted to know when it would happen and how they would know
  - 13:5-8
    - Warning against those who will deceive
    - Signs of the end times – wars, earthquakes, famines
  - 13:9-13
    - Warning against persecution and betrayal by kin
    - Encouragement to "stand firm"
    - All who do will be saved
  - 13:14-23
    - Warning of "abomination that causes desolation"
    - Imagery is from book of Daniel where temple was profaned
    - May happen again
  - 13:24-27
    - The coming of the Son of Man in clouds with power
    - After all that distress, Son of Man will come in power and glory
    - He will gather his elect
  - 13:28-31
    - Parable of the fig tree
    - Gets new leaves every spring – symbol of hope
    - The certainty of new leaves = the certainty of Jesus' predictions
  - 13:32-37
    - The need to be watchful and awake
    - They must be prepared at all times since they do not know when these times will come

III – 14:1-16:8 (9-20) – Jesus' Passion and Resurrection

14:1-2
- Chief priests and teachers of the law plan to arrest and kill Jesus
14:3-9
- Anointing by unknown woman
- Disciples rebuked her for "wasting" so much perfume
- Jesus said she did what she could, and will be remembered for it
14:10-11
- Betrayal by Judas
- Chief priests were delighted; Judas watched for an opportunity
14:12-16
- Preparation of the Passover meal
- Disciples entered the city and found a man carrying water
- They followed him; he showed them a large upper room
14:17-21
- Jesus announces one of them will betray him
- One by one, they ask, "Is it I?"
- Indication of self-doubt, sadness
- He said it would be one who dipped bread with him
- (Suggests he was very close to this disciple)
14:22-26
- The Lord's Supper
- Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it: "This is my body."
- He did likewise with the cup
- After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives
14:27-31
- Jesus predicts Peter's denial of him
- (Note: 14:1-31, each new scene is bracketed by betrayal)
14:32-42
- Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
- Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him
- They slept; he prayed
- "Take this cup from me. Yet not my will, but thine be done."
- The scene is repeated three times
- Then Jesus' hour had come; they went to meet his betrayer
14:43-52
- The arrest of Jesus
- Judas came with an armed crowd
- The signal was his kiss
- The men seized Jesus; scripture must be fulfilled
- All the disciples fled the scene (One young man fled leaving his garment)
14:53-65
- Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin
- They took Jesus to the high priest; Peter followed at a distance
- False witnesses could not give same testimony
- Chief priest asked Jesus directly, "Are you the Christ?"
- Jesus said he was; chief priest tore his clothes, accused him of blasphemy
- They condemned him to death, struck him
14:66-72
- Peter's denial of Jesus
- After the third denial, he heard the cock crow and remembered
- Jesus' prophecy
- Peter wept bitterly
15:1-15
- Jesus' trial before Pilate
- Leaders of the Jews took Jesus before
- Pilate Pilate asked if he was "king of the Jews"
- Jesus said, "It is as you say."
- Pilate offered to release one criminal in honor of the Passover
- Crowd chose Barabbas, the murderer
- Crowd chanted that Jesus should be crucified
- Pilate released Barabbas, turned Jesus over to be crucified
15:16-20
- Soldiers mocked Jesus
15:21-32
- The Crucifixion
- Simon of Cyrene was forced to help
- Jesus carry his cross Jesus was crucified at the third hour
- They cast lots for his garments
- Two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right, the other on the left
- The crowd mocked him: "He saved others, but he can't save himself."
15:33-41
- Jesus' death on the cross
- Darkness reigned from the sixth to the ninth hour
- Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
- Then Jesus breathed his last
- The curtain of the temple was torn in two (Same word used for tearing of the heavens at his baptism)
- Centurion said, "Surely, this man was the Son of God!"
- Women were watching from a distance
15:42-47
- Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus
- Joseph was a member of the council (Same one that condemned Jesus to death)
- He asked Pilate for permission to bury Jesus
- Several women watched where he buried the body
16:1-8
- The empty tomb
- After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joses, and Salome took spices to the tomb in order to anoint Jesus' body
- They mused about how they would be able to move the large stone
- To their surprise, the stone had already been moved
- A young man (angel) was sitting there, told them not to be afraid
- He told them to run and tell Peter and the others that Jesus would meet them in Galilee just as he had said
- "But the women said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."

This is how scholars believe the gospel ends – abrupt, unfinished, and completely unexpected. Throughout this gospel, those who followed Jesus and should have been able to understand his message proved to be the most disappointing characters. They all abandoned him at the end. The unsettling ending compels us to examine our own willingness to follow and to determine what kind of disciples we have been and will be.

Shorter ending:
"They reported all these instructions briefly to Peter's companions. Afterwards, Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen. (Definitely not written by Mark, but successfully contradicts the women's silence.)

Longer ending:
16:9-20 – Resurrection appearances of Jesus
16:9-11 – Appearance to Mary Magdalene Similar to John
20:11-18 16:12-13 – Appearance to two disciples walking Similar to Luke
24:13-55 (Walk to Emmaus)
16:14-18 – Appearance to the Eleven remaining disciples Similar to "Great Commission" of Matthew
28:19 16:19-20 – Jesus' Ascension
Similar to Acts 1:1

These verses were also not written by Mark. They are dissimilar in style and vocabulary and are missing in the earliest manuscripts. In some manuscripts they follow the short ending. Yet they were part of the tradition as early as 140 CE. The church fathers made reference to them. No one knows who wrote them, but clearly they were intended to "round off" the gospel.

Bibliography

Barclay, William. "Mark." Daily Study Bible. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1975.

Edwards, James. "The Gospel According to Mark." The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B Eerdmans, 2002.

Gaebelein, Frank. "Mark." Expositor's Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1985.

Hooker, Morna. "The Gospel According to Mark." Black's New Testament Commentary. London: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991.

Witherington, Ben, III. The Gospel of Mark, A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B Eerdmans, 2001.

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