Who wrote Mark, and when?
John Mark, companion of Peter and Paul; early tradition says he recorded Peter’s preaching. About AD 55–65, probably the earliest Gospel.
Like the other Gospels, Mark does not name its author. Early tradition, recorded by Papias around AD 120, says that Mark was Peter's interpreter and wrote down what Peter preached about Jesus. This Mark is usually identified with John Mark, who appears in Acts and in the letters of Paul and Peter. Most scholars accept that the Gospel was written in the 60s AD, and many think it was the first Gospel to be written, with Matthew and Luke drawing on it. Some date it slightly earlier, in the late 50s, and some just after AD 70. The link to Peter is widely respected but cannot be proved from the text itself, which never mentions its source.
Who was Mark written to?
Gentile Christians, most likely in Rome, facing persecution.
Mark seems to write for Gentile Christians, most likely in Rome. He explains Jewish customs that a Jewish reader would already know, translates Aramaic words, and uses several Latin terms. Early tradition also places the Gospel in Rome. If so, the first readers were a church that had recently suffered under the emperor Nero, who blamed Christians for the great fire of AD 64 and had many of them executed. Peter himself is thought to have died in that persecution. These were believers who had learned that following Jesus could cost everything, and who needed a Gospel that faced suffering honestly. Mark's picture of frightened disciples and a crucified Son of God would have met them exactly where they were.
What was happening at the time?
Mark explains Jewish customs and Aramaic words, which suggests non-Jewish readers, and his emphasis on suffering discipleship fits a church under Nero’s persecution. The story moves quickly (“immediately” appears dozens of times), reaches its turning point at Peter’s confession, and then heads straight to the cross. The identity of Jesus is revealed most clearly in his death, by a Roman centurion.
Why was Mark written?
To present Jesus as the suffering Son of God and to call disciples to follow him on the way of the cross.
Mark was written to show who Jesus is and what it means to follow him. The book opens by calling Jesus the Son of God, and then spends sixteen chapters showing how hard that was for people to see. The turning point comes in chapter 8, when Peter says that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus at once begins to teach that he must suffer and die. From then on the story heads straight for the cross, and the clearest confession of his identity comes from a Roman soldier at the moment of his death (see chapter 15). Mark wants readers to grasp that the Son of God came to serve and to give his life as a ransom (see chapter 10), and that his followers must take up their own cross. In the wider story of the Bible, Mark is likely the earliest written account of Jesus and a foundation for Matthew and Luke.
How to read Mark today
Mark is the shortest Gospel and moves fast, so read it in as few sittings as you can; two or three hours covers the whole thing. Notice how often the word “immediately” appears. Watch the disciples, who keep misunderstanding Jesus, and notice that Mark does not hide their failures. Pay attention to chapter 8, where the story turns from who Jesus is to what he came to do. Do not force the abrupt ending at Mark 16:8; most scholars think the Gospel ends there, and the longer ending printed in many Bibles is a later addition, usually marked with a note. Let the silence and fear of the women stand, and ask why Mark might have left it there. As you read, pray for the courage to follow Jesus when it costs something, and for eyes to see him clearly.
The key verse in Mark
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Passages worth knowing in Mark
- Mark 1
The beginning of the gospel
Baptism, temptation and a day in Capernaum, all in one chapter.
- Mark 4:35-41
Jesus calms the storm
Who can this be, that even the wind and sea obey him?
- Mark 8:27-38
Peter’s confession and the first passion prediction
Take up your cross and follow me.
- Mark 10:35-45
Not to be served but to serve
The key verse in its setting.
- Mark 15
The crucifixion
Truly this Man was the Son of God.
- Mark 16:1-8
The empty tomb
He is risen; he is not here.
The main themes of Mark
- Jesus the Son of God
- The servant who suffers
- Discipleship and the cross
- The kingdom breaking in
- Faith and fear
An outline of Mark
| Section | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Ministry in Galilee | 1–8 |
| The way to Jerusalem | 8–10 |
| Jerusalem, death and resurrection | 11–16 |