The Four Gospels, Part 2

The second gospel in the New Testament is “The Gospel According to Mark.” Mark is mentioned 10 times in the New Testament. His Jewish name is John (Acts 13:5, 13), but his Roman names is Mark (Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37). He lived in Jerusalem and his cousin was Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). He might have been the young man dressed only in a linen cloth when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:51, 52), because his gospel is the only one that mentions the incident.

Mark spent time with Barnabas and Saul (Paul) at the church in Antioch and assisted them on their first missionary journey. But he unexpectedly departed from the mission field which caused Paul to lose confidence in him (Acts 15:37-39). But years later Paul again placed his trust in Mark and complimented him on his steadfast faith (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). Mark also assisted Peter in “Babylon” (1 Peter 5:13). Finally Mark went to Rome to assist Paul under Paul’s first arrest (2 Timothy 4:11).

It was perhaps those experiences of assisting Barnabas, Paul and Peter that colored Mark’s gospel. His gospel emphasizes Jesus Christ as the prophesied Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 42:1-7; 49:1-7; 52:13-15; 53:1-12). There is no genealogy for Jesus in Mark’s gospel as there was in Matthew’s. A King needs a genealogy but not a servant. Presenting the Servant of the Lord, Mark’s gospel is action packed from beginning to end. His book is full of graphic images like an action movie. Words like “Immediately” pepper his good news (Mark 1:10, 12, 18, 20, 28, 31). The Lord Jesus is always doing something in Mark’s gospel rather than teaching.

The first half of Mark’s gospel ends with Jesus saying, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many(Mark 10:45).” From this point on the gospel tells the story of Christ’s redemptive death and resurrection. And it concludes with Christ’s ascension and Jesus still working as the Servant of the Lord along with his disciples (Mark 16:19-20).  Though Mark’s gospel is different from Matthew’s in a number of ways, we must always remember that his gospel is divinely inspired; it is God’s Word to us (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).

Finally, it may have been while Mark was in Rome that he wrote his gospel for gentile converts. The Latinisims in his book indicate that he was writing to Roman believers (see Mark 12:42 for example where he explains that “two mites,” a Jewish term, equals a “quadrans,” a Roman term). The Roman Christians at the time were facing harsh persecution. Mark declares that persecution is the cost of discipleship (Mark 10:30). Having once run away from hardships (Acts 13:13; 15:37-39) Mark now understood  what it meant to “be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:13).”