Mark

by Paul Turner

Mark was probably the first Gospel written. Parts of it appear in both Matthew and Luke, who also used other materials that do not appear in Mark. Because Mark included Jesus' saying about the destruction of the Temple, a prediction fulfilled in the year 70, the date of composition is thought to be around then.

This Gospel never identifies its own author. An early tradition gave him the name Mark, a companion of Peter in Rome. Although the work may have been written in Rome by someone who heard the stories of Jesus (already being circulated), the name of its author is uncertain. The Gospel author writes with a sense of urgency. The audience who first received the book was probably a community of gentile Christians, which would account for the author's frequent explanation of Jewish customs and Aramaic words.

Mark's main point is to proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God. We hear the proclamation in the opening verse and again near the end, from the centurion at the cross. In the middle of the Gospel stands Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah.

In the second half of the Gospel, Jesus predicts his passion, death, and resurrection three times. The earliest version of Mark ended with the news of the resurrection but without stories of Jesus' appearances. Accounts of those events were later appended to Mark's conclusion. Mark does not relate the story of Jesus' birth. Mark is frequently symbolized as a lion, calling to mind the desert scene which opens his story.

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Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, MO, holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Sant' Anselmo University in Rome.