Mark – John Schultz © - Bible-Commentaries.com THE GOSPEL OF MARK I. Who is Mark? We know very little about Mark. His name occurs a few times in The Book of Acts.1 We know he was the son of a certain Mary and that he was sometimes called John Mark. He accompanied Paul and Barnabas on one of their missionary journeys, but evidently returned home before the end of the trip.2 His defection became the cause for the split between Paul and Barnabas.3 Peter later adopted Mark, calling him “my son Mark.”4 The only place where Mark may have identified himself in his Gospel may be in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was arrested. We read: “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”5 The Pulpit Commentary, referring to Ezekiel’s vision of the throne of God carried by four four-faced angels, (the face of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle,)6 compares Mark to the lion. II. Mark’s Gospel: The same commentary observes: “If early testimony is to have its due weight, St. Mark wrote his Gospel in Greek, and at Rome, and apparently for Gentiles, certainly not exclusively, or in the first instance, for Jews. There are explanations given here and there in his Gospel which would be superfluous if it were written only for Jews. Jordan, when he first mentions it, is called ‘the river Jordan.’ It is true that many good authorities read ‘the river Jordan’ in St. Matthew (in. 6); but this may have been introduced to make his Gospel more clear to those who were unacquainted with the geography of Palestine. ‘John’s disciples and the Pharisees used to fast’ (esan nesteountes); literally, ‘were fasting.’ This would have been unnecessary information for Jews. ‘The time of figs was not yet.’ Every inhabitant of Palestine would have known this. St. Mark alone preserves those words of our Lord, ‘The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath,’ (… Mark 2:27) — a great principle, belonging to all nations alike. He alone quotes the words (… Mark 11:17), ‘of all nations,’ literally (pasi tois ethnesin), ‘for all the nations,’ in connection with our Lord’s cleansing of the temple.” Bible scholars generally believe that Mark received most of his information from Peter. Unlike Matthew and John, he was not a member of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples. But he must have been a close observer and, to a certain extent, follower of Christ, particularly when Jesus came to Jerusalem. There are certain events of which he may have been an eyewitness. The Adam Clarke’s Commentary gives the following summary of Mark’s Gospel: “Though the matter of Mark’s work came from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, yet the language seems to be entirely his own: it is very plain, simple, and unadorned; and 1 Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37, 39 2 Acts 12:25 3 Acts 15:37-39 4 1 Peter 5:13 5 Mark 14:51,52 6 See Ezek. 1:10. 1/199 Mark – John Schultz © - Bible-Commentaries.com sometimes appears to approach to a degree of rusticity or inelegance. Whoever reads the original must be struck with the very frequent, and often pleonastic, occurrence of eutheoos, immediately, and palin, again, and such like; but these detract nothing from the accuracy and fidelity of the work. The Hebraisms which abound in it may be naturally expected from a native of Palestine, writing in Greek. The Latinisms which frequently occur are accounted for on the ground of this Gospel being written for the Gentiles, and particularly for the Roman people: this, it must be confessed, is only theory, but it is a theory which stands supported by many arguments, and highly presumptive facts. However this may be, the Gospel according to Mark is a very important portion of Divine revelation, which God has preserved by a chain of providences, from the time of its promulgation until now; and for which no truly pious reader will hesitate to render due praise to that God whose work is ever perfect.” III. Time of writing: The Navigators’ study on Mark states: “Modern scholars almost unanimously agree that Mark’s was the earliest of the four Gospels. He probably wrote the book after Peter died, but before Jerusalem fell, between A.D. 64 and 70. Mark like wrote in Rome, but some say his book could have been written in Egypt or Syria. It is clear, however, that Mark was written for Gentiles, or non-Jews. Mark revealed certain signs to point us toward this conclusion; for example he explained Jewish practices, which presumes his intended audience did not already know them. Also, Mark translated Aramaic words (the Jewish language of the time) found in the text. If he were writing to Jewish people, he obviously wouldn’t have needed to do that.” IV. The keyword: The Greek word euthus, “immediately,” is the most typical word in Mark’s Gospel. It is used more than forty times in this Gospel, giving Mark’s story “speed.” Mark gives us the impression that Jesus worked with great intensity, never losing a moment. Yet, we know that our Lord spent hours and sometimes whole nights in fellowship with the Father. Bible scholars generally consider Mark’s emphasis on Jesus’ ministry as coming to earth as “the Servant.” We could consider Mark’s key verse to be: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,”7 a statement we find also in Matthew’s Gospel.8 V. Outline: R. Alan Cole, in Mark9, gives the following outline: 7 Mark 10:43 8 Matt. 20:28 9 Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 2/199 Mark – John Schultz © - Bible-Commentaries.com I. PREPARE THE WAY: THE PREPARATION FOR THE EVANGEL (1:1-13) .......... 7 A. THE TITLE OF THE BOOK (1:1) ............................................................................ 7 B. THE FORERUNNER (1:2-8) .................................................................................... 7 C. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS (1:9-11) ....................................................................... 10 D. THE TEMPTATION (1:1-13) ................................................................................. 12 II. HIS OWN DID NOT RECEIVE HIM: THE EARLY GALILEAN MINISTRY (1:14- 3:6) ..................................................................................................................... 12 A. THE KINGDOM OF God IN GALILEE (1:14-45) ................................................ 12 i. The first Galilean preaching (1:14-15) .................................................................. 12 ii. The call of the disciples (1:16-20) ........................................................................ 13 iii. Jesus at Capernaum (1:21-28) ............................................................................. 14 iv. Peter’s mother-in-law (1:29-31) .......................................................................... 16 v. The evening healings (1:32-34) ............................................................................ 16 vi. From Capernaum to Galilee (1:35-39) ................................................................. 17 vii. The cleansing of the leper (1:40-45) ................................................................... 18 B. THE BEGINNING OF CONFLICT (2:1 – 3:6) ...................................................... 19 i. The healing of the paralyzed man (2:1-12) ............................................................ 19 ii. The ministry of Jesus (2:13) ................................................................................. 23 iii. The call of Levi (2:14-17) ................................................................................... 23 iv. Controversy about fasting (2:18-22) .................................................................... 25 v. Controversy about the Sabbath (2:23-28) ............................................................. 27 vi. The man with the withered hand (3:1-6) ............................................................. 30 III. ALL WHO RECEIVED HIM: THE CALL AND TRAINING OF THE DISCIPLES (3:7–8:26) ........................................................................................................... 31 A. THE CONFLICT INCREASES (3:7-35) ................................................................ 31 i. The breach with the religious leaders (3:7-12) ...................................................... 31 ii. The call of the twelve (3:13-19) ........................................................................... 33 iii. Mounting opposition: the Beelzebul controversy (3:20-30) ................................ 35 iv. The true relatives of Jesus (3:31-35) .................................................................... 38 B. PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM (4:1-34) ............................................................ 39 i. The parable of the sower, and the reason for the use of parables (4:1-25) ............ 39 ii. Two more parables of growth (4:26-32) ............................................................... 43 iii. The summing up of the parables (4:33-34) ......................................................... 46 C. MINISTRY ROUND THE LAKE OF GALILEE (4:35 – 7:23) ............................. 46 i. Jesus calms the storm (4:35-41) ............................................................................. 46 3/199 Mark – John Schultz © - Bible-Commentaries.com ii. The Gadarene demoniac (5:1-20) ......................................................................... 49 iii. Two more healing miracles (5:21-43) ................................................................. 53 iv. His own city rejects Him (6:1-6) ........................................................................