Authorship & Purpose of The Gospel of Mark

The second gospel was neglected by scholars from the 4th to the 19th centuries because it was widely regarded as an abridgment of Matthew, which was written first (Grassmick 95). Since the 19th century proposition that Mark was written first and Matthew instead was an expansion of Mark, interest in the Gospel of Mark has increased. Concurrent with this is the study of Mark's time and culture to find clues to the interpretation of his gospel. Study of the culture and attitudes of first century Palestine can shed light on any of the four gospels, regardless of which one was written first.

Grassmick notes that Papias makes the earliest known statement about the Gospel of Mark, which was originally untitled ("Kata Markon" was added later.) Papias stated that though not a follower of Jesus, he did follow the apostle Peter, and basically wrote down what Peter taught. Justin Martyr, Te

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em was determining which one was correct. While the Pharisees "sat in the seat of Moses" (Matt. 23:2-3) they were sterile in their legalism and thus given to a legalism prone to abuses (Matt. 23:3-6). The Sadducees pretended to adhere most closely to the Torah in their insistence that only the Torah was valid. This in fact omitted the prophecies that warned (and still warn) of judgment and the Psalms that most vividly describe the Messiah. Thus, the Sadducees earned perhaps the most stinging rebuke of all from Jesus, "Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?" (Mark 12:24). The Essenes, who are not mentioned in the Scriptures, were ascetic to the point of seclusion, making the Pharisees appear indulgent by comparison (Josephus, Wars 2.8.6). In fact, but for Josephus' accounts of his life and the time of first century Palestine, we would today know little or nothing of this third sect of Hebraism. But however sterile Pharisaism may have seemed, the Essenes were celibate by choice. The problem facing the Israelite or potential Gentile convert was one of determining who was right. All three had both good arguments on their side and serious problems. The problems misrepresented a lov
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2837
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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