GOS-03 The Gospel According to Mark

Every day, thousands of Christians suffer persecution simply because they follow Christ. On a daily basis, millions of believers face the possibility of having their property confiscated; their leaders beaten and jailed; and their families harmed, kidnapped, or even murdered.

In fact, the persecution of Christians was on Mark’s mind as he wrote what is now the second gospel of the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark. The early Christian church had suffered in many ways. But how were believers to understand the significance of their suffering? What could Jesus’ example teach them about their difficulties? Mark responded to questions like these by telling the story of Jesus’ life in ways that strengthened the faith of early Christians and encouraged them to persevere.

This is the third lesson in our series The Gospels and we have entitled it “The Gospel According to Mark.” In this lesson, we’ll look closely at Mark’s record of Jesus’ life so that we can apply his teachings more effectively to our modern lives. Our study of Mark’s gospel will divide into three main parts. First, we’ll consider the background of Mark’s gospel. Second, we’ll explore its structure and content. And third, we’ll look at some of its major themes. Let’s begin with the background of Mark’s gospel.

We'll explore the background of Mark’s gospel by considering the author Mark himself, his original audience, and the occasion or circumstances of his writing. Let’s look first at the author of Mark’s gospel.

We’ll look at the authorship of Mark’s gospel in two parts. First, we’ll look at the traditional view of its authorship. And second, we’ll explore the author’s personal history. Let’s start with the traditional view on this gospel’s authorship.

Early church tradition is unanimous that the Gospel of Mark was written by John Mark. When we look in the New Testament, John Mark is described as a cousin of Barnabas. He accompanied Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey in the book of Acts. His mother is described as having a home in Jerusalem in which the early disciples met. Peter mentions John Mark as his son in one of his letters… Papias says that John Mark followed Peter around in Rome and accurately wrote down his teaching.