Gospel of Mark

Mark is the second book of the New Testament of the Bible. It is preceded by Gospel of Matthew and followed by Luke. 
Mark is considered to be one of two primary sources for the three synoptic gospels along with the Q document. Mark does not address the birth or infancy of Jesus. Instead, the reader is brought immediately into Jesus' theology and preachings as Jesus is being baptized by John. Mark is far less focused on Jesus' days of teaching than he is on the Passion, which takes up the majority of the works of Mark.
==Authorship and dating== 
:Main article: Authorship of the New Testament
Although written anonymously and in third-person, the author of the Gospel of Mark is believed, per Christian tradition, to be Mark, the interpreter of Peter the Apostle. However, this tradition should be taken with a grain of salt, for Papias, the originator of this tradition, was, by far, no scholar. It has been suggested that the book was originally intended as fiction and further that its author understood the non-historicity of Jesus.
The Gospel of Mark is considered the first of the gospels written because the only material it contains that is not contained in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are a few insignificant details that anyone in his right mind would edit out. It can be dated to 67 CE by its apocalyptic Oliviet Discourse, for it mentions "wars and rumors of wars", a reference to the First Jewish Revolt, tells of the persecution of Christians under Nero, who died in the summer of 68 CE, tells the Judeans to "flee to the mountains", which would be stupid after the autumn of 67 CE, and, especially telling, prays that the flight of the Judeans may not be in the Winter. Documentation of these events sets the lower limit on the date of authorship at about 67 CE, but does not rule out the possibility that the gospel was actually written much later.
===Historical figures===
It is likely that Mark’s Jesus figure is based/derived on a real earthly being attested in Josephus’ Jewish War — ” Likewise, it is likely that Mark’s “John the Baptist” figure is based/derived on a real earthly being attested in Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews. But that does not mean that “John the Baptist” met ”Jesus son of Ananias” on the Jordan and performed a baptism, any more than the movie “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” means Lincoln hunted Vampires.
It appears that the Markan author used the works of Josephus as inspiration for his Jesus and John the Baptist figures, which means the composition date is post 93 CE, and more likely second-century.Per Godfrey, Neil (2 April 2019). “Much More Fully Informed History for Atheists — A Scholarly Introduction to the Two Jesus Parallels”. Vridar. Mahlon Smith writes: "[Ted Weeden now concludes] that Josephus himself created the story of Jesus son of Ananias and that Mark used his account. If this is the case, Mark could have been composed no earlier than 80 ce."
==Contents of Mark==
Mark begins with the baptism by John and the calling of the twelve. Mark 4 introduces some of the parables of Jesus. Mark 8 forward begins the discussions of Jesus' last days, with the actual entrance into Jerusalem to be found in Mark 11.
=== Baptism by John ===
Richard Carrier holds that the John the Baptist scene is most likely fictional. Carrier further argues that pre-existing pagan cults also used the "baptism" concept as an initiatory rite and that the gospel scene is an that explains the purpose of baptism to the Christian initiate. Carrier writes,
=== Temple cleansing by Jesus ===
R.G. Price asserts that the cleansing of the temple scene is the product of the imaginative interpretation of a passage in Hosea by the Markan author and has no historical basis. rationalrevolution.net. decipheringthegospels.com. Other scholars like also assert that the scene is fiction. Mack writes, "The temple act cannot be historical. If one deletes from the story those themes essential to the Markan plots, there is nothing left over for historical reminiscence." Vridar.
==Theology and Style==
Mark is written for a predominantly Greek audience. His allusions to the Old Testament tend to be a way of setting the scene, rather than direct fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. The one notable exception is the Passion, which does cast Jesus' trial and death as the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy. Throughout Mark, Jesus is not the "Son of God" as with the other three gospels, but the "Son of Man". The Jesus character in Mark is more political and direct than he is prophetic. The wording of Mark's parables emphasizes moral codes and spiritual behaviors that are grounded in this world.Alfred Blunt ap. cf. Vridar.
When Jesus speaks of the end of human history he says, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."RationalWiki:Annotated Bible/Mark#Mark 13:32 In this passage (which appears in Matthew as wellRationalWiki:Annotated Bible/Matthew#Matthew 24:36) Jesus specifically excludes himself from this knowledge of eschatological timing, creating a breach in his alleged omniscience and the unity of the Trinity. This might suggest that the author of this text was an Arian.
==Differences from Matthew and Luke==
*Mark frequently explains Jewish ritual, another example that the book is intended for a Gentile audience.
*Jesus is addressed as the Son of Mary, as well as names his brothers and sister.
*"The Sabbath is made for man; man is not made for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27) does not appear in Matthew, Luke or Gospel of John.
*Strong emphasis on the role of John the Baptist including a detailed description of the beheading of John.
*Mark contains details obscure and unnecessary, such as Mark 3:21, Mark 6:5, and Mark 14:51, which do not appear in either Matthew or Luke.
* The phrase from verse 16:18, "and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them," is found only in Mark.
* Mark is more willing to provide negative material about Jesus, such as the disciples rebuking Jesus in Mark 4:38 and Jesus healing many but not all in Mark 1:34 (c.f. Matthew 8:16).Marcan priority, Wikipedia, accesssed 28 January 2016
==Alternate endings==
:
The original ending of Mark is chapter 16 verse 8, "[The women] said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." The Greek version of Mark ends in what is apparently mid-sentence. The final two words are εφοβουντο γαρ, this is significant because nowhere else in ancient Greek is a sentence ended with the word γαρ (meaning "for").
Mark is the only canonical gospel with significant various alternate endings. However, most of the contents of the traditional longer ending, verses 16:9-20, are found in the other gospels and are not unique to This longer ending appears to be an interpolation added early in order that Mark's ending resemble those of the other gospels.
All alternate endings are forgeries, which include: a short ending summarizing the traditional longer ending; and a long ending detailing Jesus' role in defeating sin, inserted around the fifth century (see ). Religions Wiki.Robert H. Stein, "The Ending of Mark," Bulletin for Biblical Research 18.1 (2008): 79-98 (84). "[T]here is universal agreement that the shorter ending, the shorter ending followed by the longer ending, and the longer ending with the Freer Logion after v. 14 are not Markan but are later scribal additions added to 16:8. The only endings of Mark that we possess that merit consideration are 16:8 and the longer ending, 16:9–20." Errancy Wiki. "The style, logic, and content of the LE ['Longer Ending' of Mark] all demonstrate against Markan authorship, indeed decisively even by themselves, the more so together . . . . The manuscript evidence and even the Patristic evidence strongly confirm this conclusion in every respect . . . . And all the leading experts agree . . . . There is therefore no rational basis for believing the LE was written by Mark."
=== Up a creek without a paddle ===
In the longer ending, Jesus went through a litany of signs that would identify those who believed:
# In Jesus' name they would cast out devils.
# They would speak with new tongues.
# They would pick up serpents without harm.
# They would drink poison with no ill effect.
# They would cure the sick by laying on hands.
Some of the Pentecostal churches have taken at least some of these precepts literally, particularly the ones about speaking in tongues and handling snakes.Pastor among suspects in illegal snake bust. The Associated Press, 11 July 2008. In Kentucky, snake handling is a misdemeanor and punishable by a $50 to $250 fine. In Middlesboro, Kentucky in 2008, 10 people were arrested and 125 venomous snakes were confiscated as part of an undercover sting operation against the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name.
=== Historizing trend after Mark ===
The canonical gospels when laid out chronologically illustrate the progression towards historizing a bodily resurrection. Neil Godfrey writes:
</blockquote>
==The Secret Gospel of Mark==
:
In 1958, an American researcher claimed to have found a letter, in a library in Israel, from a Bishop named Clement of Alexandria which discussed a heretical version of the Gospel of Mark. According to this letter, Clement was suggesting that this non-canonical version was not something Christians should read. If true, it would explain a weird passage in Mark, but the explanation would be one that a lot of fundamentalists wouldn't like. The canonical gospel mentions that Jesus took a trip to Jericho and then the very next sentence describes him leaving Jericho, raising the question of what he did there. According to the alleged secret gospel, Jesus apparently duplicated his Lazarus trick, raising a young man from the dead. Jesus then got to know this young man and decided to teach him some "secrets of the Kingdom of God" involving this kid dressing up in nothing but a loincloth and having nighttime meetings with Jesus. However, nobody else has seen this letter and it could just as easily be a hoax. Assuming it isn't a hoax, a longer version of Mark "for initiates only" while the shorter version has the wink-wink-nudge-nudge references to pederasty cut and more edifying material added, is an example of milk before meat. As the church ossified into a political institution, the shorter Mark would have become canonical and secret Mark would have been suppressed entirely.See also Shawn Eyer, The Strange Case of the Secret Gospel According to Mark: How Morton Smith's Discovery of a Lost Letter by Clement of Alexandria Scandalized Biblical Scholarship at The Gnostic Society Library.
==Greek names of the disciples of Jesus==
The Gospel of Mark was originally composed in Greek for a Greek-speaking audience and later translated into Syriac, Latin and Coptic.
Greek names of the disciples per Mk. 3:13-19
Name (in order of presentation)	Mentions by name (3:20–16:8)	Base Name 	Modifier 	Cognomen 	Cognomen given by Jesus	"Church Pillars" per Paul c. 53 CE (Galatians 2:9)
Simon Peter 	~20 	Símōnos Σίμωνος 	  	  	Pétros 	Kēphâs
Jacob/James (son of Zebedee) 	~10 	Iákōbos Ἰάκωβος 	ton tou Zebedaiou τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου 	  	Boanergés Βοανεργές 	Iakōbos Ἰάκωβος
John (brother of Jacob/James) 	~10 	Iōánnēs Ἰωάννης 	ton adelphon tou Iakōbou τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Ἰακώβου	  	Boanergés Βοανεργές 	Iōannēs Ἰωάννης
Andrew 	1 	Andréas Ἀνδρέας 	  	  	  	
Philip 	0 	Phílippos Φίλιππος 	  	  	  	
Bartholomew 	0 	Bartholomaîos Βαρθολομαῖος	  	  	  	
Matthew 	0 	Matthaîos Ματθαῖος 	  	  	  	
Thomas 	0 	Thōmâs Θωμᾶς 	  	  	  	
Jacob (son of Alphaeus) 	0 	Iákōbos Ἰάκωβος 	ton tou Halphaiou τὸν τοῦ Ἁλφαίου 	  	  	
Thaddeus 	0 	Thaddaîos Θαδδαῖος 	  	  	  	
Simon (the Cananean) 	0 	Símōnos Σίμωνος 	ton Kananaion τὸν Καναναῖον 	  	  	
Judas Iscariot 	2 	Ioúdas Ἰούδας 	  	Iskariṓtēs Ἰσκαριώτης	  	
Jesus put a name on Simon, and that name was Petron. Notably, the Markan author does not have Jesus appoint Simon as he did the other disciples, but just calls him a name.
*Petron is not a proper name, it literally means "Rock" or "Stone" in Greek.Clement Grene Cowardice, Betrayal and Discipleship: Peter and Judas in the Gospels [PDF]. "Mary-Anne Tolbert has claimed that Peter’s nickname is given as a specific reference to the ‘rocky ground’(πετρῶδες) of the Parable of the Sower of Mark 4:1-20. [Tolbert, Sowing, p. 145.] The description of the seed sprouting up quickly, only to wither away under the heat of the sun, might indeed seem like an apt allegorical description of Peter’s career as a follower of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel. —(p.120)"
*Boanerges is defined within Mark as "Sons of Thunder".
*Some of the proposed meanings for Iskarioth:Taylor, Joan E. (2010). "the Name 'Iskarioth' (Iscariot)" Journal of Biblical Literature. 129. 367–83 
# “a man from Qarioth”
# “robber” or “assassin”
# “the liar” or “the false one”
# “red-head” or “red dyer”
# "to deliver” i.e. it was he who delivered Jesus to the authorities.
# “a man from Jerusalem”
The name Judas Iscariot as literally meaning "Jerusalem Jew" is coherent with Tom Dykstra's argument that the Gospel of Mark is a polemic against the Torah observant (hence "Jewish") leaders of the Christian Jerusalem church who appear as the figures: Peter; James/Jacob; and John in the Markan gospel. And that the name Judas Iscariot is a reference to the Torah observant Christians still supporting said Jerusalem church. Dykstra writes,
==See also==
*RationalWiki:Annotated Bible/Mark
==Notes==
==Bibliography==
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* Website
** GreekLexicon.org.
==References==
Category:New Testament
Category:Gospels