The Gospel of Mark is generally regarded as the earliest of the Synoptic Gospels, written probably in the period 50-70 CE (Earle 1026), although some narrow the date even further to 65-67 (Cranfield 268). As Cranfield (269) establishes, Mark is most likely the earliest when it is examined in comparison with Matthew and Luke: "The substance of over ninety per cent (sic) of Mark's verses is contained in Matthew, the substance of over fifty per cent (sic) in Luke," and, further, that "there is often agreement in sentence structure and collocation of words between both Matthew and Luke and Mark or between one of them and Mark, and it hardly ever happens that Matthew and Luke agree against Mark. . . ."
The language of Mark--its explanations of Jewish customs and translations of Aramaic expressions--suggests strongly that the Gospel was written for a Gentile audience (Cranfield 268). In referring to his depiction of the Gospel as one of "action," Earle points out (1026), "This emphasis on action is appropriate in a Gospel written probably at Rome and primarily for Romans. Mark uses ten Latinisms . . . . He explains Jewish customs for his Roman readers. He does not even use the word 'law'. . . ."
The Roman connection is important because it gives weight to the widely held belief that the apostle Peter is the primary source of the oral history Mark has recorded (Cranfield 267). Early church tradition holds or implies that the Gospel was written "in the parts of Italy" or at Rome specifically (Cranfield 268). Although the authorship of the Gospel is anonymous, in his first epistle Peter acknowledges the presence of "my son, Mark" with him at Rome (I Peter 5:13).
In Mark 8:27-33, we begin to see what has been outlined as the "fifth withdrawal" of Jesus from the people, in this case to Caesarea Philippi, during the third period of his ministry at Galilee (Earle 1025). The event is recorded in both Matthew (16:13-23) ...