The Gospel of Mark as the first Jesus story

Context of the Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark is, for various reasons, very important among the writings of early Christianity. Whereas before him different kinds of Jesus traditions had circulated orally, and perhaps had been compiled into small collections, Mark was the first to write a Jesus narrative in which he incorporated different kinds of traditions about Jesus: his words, deeds, crucifixion and resurrection. Although Mark does not present Jesus's words and deeds in full and in chronological order, and comes up with his own organisation and interpretation of Jesus's life rather than with a historical account thereof, some scholars think that it resembles a kind of ancient biography, for example, that of a prophet or teacher. Others prefer to call the Gospel of Mark a foundation document for a community, which provides information about its initiator, aims and destination. Be that as it may, this genre was used by other early Christian writers (Matthew, Luke and John) and became, together with Paul's letters, the most influential instrument in the formation of the Christian consciousness.

Although the author of the oldest Gospel is called ‘Mark’, this author can no longer be identified with certainty. The title ‘The Gospel of Mark’ was only added to the writing during the second century CE. The date, aim and intended audience of this Gospel are also not obvious and have to be deduced from material in the Gospel. The Gospel of Mark translates Latin terms into Greek (Mark 5:9, legion; 15:16, praetoriunv, 15:39 centurion), and it also contains Aramaic language influences. This may point to an area where Greek was the common language, but where the underlying culture was Semitic, with some exposure to Roman culture. Syria, the region north of Galilee, may fit this description and would also be consistent with the situation during the Roman-Jewish war reflected in Mark 13.

Mark 13, which probably points to events experienced by Mark's community, may provide a clue to the more specific context addressed in the Gospel. This chapter, in which terminology from the Old Testament and from Jewish apocalypticism is used, probably refers to the situation of 66 to 70 CE when the Roman-Jewish war took place (cf Part 1) and Palestine suffered from severe unrest and resulting apocalyptic fervour (cf e g 13:68,17-23,24-31).