Intro to Mark
The Gospel of Mark is probably the Gospel I'm least familiar with. I resonate very much with Matthew because of his emphasis on the Kingdom of Heaven. I love John for its advanced and deep theology. I'm sympathetic to Luke and his understanding that the Gospel is good news to the poor and oppressed. But I haven't spent nearly as much time in Mark as I have the other Gospels. I'm looking forward to a closer look at this gospel.
Mark is said to be a reflection of the teachings of the Apostle Peter. John Mark, who was a relative of Barnabas was also very close to Peter. Early church fathers seem to indicate that the Gospel of Mark was written in Rome in the late 50's or early 60's. It is also widely believed that Mark was the first of the Gospels written and that Matthew and Luke rely, to some degree on the book of Mark as a source for the stories and teachings of Jesus. (Remember that Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the "synoptic Gospels" because of their similarities in content).
The book of Mark is short and to the point. A unique characteristic of the book is the "Messianic Secret." We'll often see in Mark that when people realize who Jesus is, He warns them not to tell anyone, which at first seems strange. On reason may be that Jesus was very careful about the timing, not wanting to bring about his execution before He had accomplished what He wanted to accomplish.
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