GOSPEL OF MARK
INTRODUCTION
§ Shortest of the four gospels and has least _______________ material
§ Only gospel to refer to its message about Jesus as "_______________"
§ Regarded by many as the _______________for Matthew and Luke
§ Focus is on the _______________of Christ rather than his teachings or discourses
AUTHORSHIP
§ Title - no manuscript which contains Mark affirms authorship by anyone other than
_______________
§ External Evidence
§ Papias - “Mark, having become _______________Interpreter, wrote down
accurately everything he remembered, though not in order, of the things either
said or done by Christ ... Consequently Mark did nothing wrong in writing down
some things as he remembered them, for he made it his one concern not to omit
anything which he heard or to make any false statement in them." (The
Fragments of Papias)
AUTHORSHIP
§ External Evidence
§ Early Church Fathers who affirm Mark as author - Irenaeus, Clement of
Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Jerome, the Muratorian Canon
§ Significance - The early church's _______________attribution of the Gospel to a
_______________further strengthens the case for Mark
AUTHORSHIP
§ Internal Evidence - Technically Anonymous
§ Mark's Close Connection with Peter and Paul
§ Mark was part of the _______________church and a part of the missionary team
in _______________
§ Outline of Mark's gospel corresponds with Peter's _______________recorded in
Acts 10.36-41
§ Peter takes it on the _______________in Mark's gospel
§ Mark may be the man who fled the scene _______________when Jesus was
arrested (Mk 14:51-54)
§ Modern Doubts
§ Some scholars doubt Markan authorship because of the gospel's lack of
_______________
§ Conclusion - No reason to doubt that John Mark, companion of both Peter and Paul,
wrote the gospel which bears the name Mark
DATE
, § External Evidence
§ Papias & Clement of Alexandria - claimed that Mark recorded Peter's
sermons while Peter was _______________in Rome
§ Peter came to Rome when _______________was emperor (AD
41-54) Eusebius (EH 2.14.6)
§ Acts 15 mentions Peter still in _______________around AD 49
§ Peter not mentioned in Paul's prison epistles (AD 60-62)
§ Irenaeus - stated that "after the _______________of [Peter and Paul]
Mark the disciple and interpreter of Peter also handed down to us in
writing the things preached by Peter"
§ Tradition places Peter's death in AD 64-68 during
_______________persecution of Christians in Rome
DATE
§ Internal Evidence
1. Solution to the _______________Problem - If Matthew and Luke used Mark (AD
50s to 60s)
2. _______________Discourse (Mark 13) - Strong eschatological urgency in light of
the Jewish-Roman War (AD 66-70)
3. Theme of _______________- Taken in light of Nero's persecutions in Rome (AD
64-68)
§ The climax of Jesus' suffering is on the cross
§ Mark's audience seemed to be undergoing persecution (8:34-38; 10:30;
13:1-13)
§ Conclusion - Mark probably wrote his gospel between AD 65-70
AUDIENCE & PROVENANCE
§ External Evidence
1. Clement of Alexandria - Mark wrote for _______________in _______________
2. Other early Church Fathers stated that Mark wrote from _______________
3. Earliest use of the gospel comes from 1 Clement and the Shepherd of Hermas,
both of which are associated with _______________
4. References to suffering in persecution may be allusions to
_______________persecution in Rome
AUDIENCE & PROVENANCE
§ Internal Evidence
1. Mark explains _______________customs (7.3-4; 12.18)
2. Mark translates some _______________expressions (7.11; 15.22, 34)
3. Mark sometimes uses _______________terms to explain Jewish traditions
(measure, legion, denarius, centurion)
4. Mark 13 offers a tremendous pastoral counsel that seems to be aimed at
_______________Christians in light of the struggles between patriotism and
discipleship