Have you noticed that most of the Gospels for daily Mass have come from Mark? When we began the new Liturgical Year at Advent, we changed our cycle of readings. During this Year of Faith we are using Cycle I for weekdays. That means most of our daily Gospels will be from Mark. With that said, I think this is good time to take a closer look at the second Gospel.
Did you know?
- Mark was not an apostle himself nor was he one of the original disciples, but rather the follower of one of them. Traditionally, he’s supposed to be the disciple of Peter.
- Mark is the shortest Gospel.
- Mark was the first written of the four Gospels.
- We know that both Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source in writing their Gospels. So, Mark is really the one that sets the stage for all the later Christian Gospel writings.
- Mark wrote primarily for an audience of gentile Greek-speaking residents of the Roman Empire.
- There is no story of Jesus’ birth in Mark. This Gospel begins with the preaching of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus.
- Mark’s Gospel is really about the death of Jesus. It’s as if Mark tells the story by thinking about the death. He writes a passion story with a long introduction. It focuses particularly on the last week of Jesus’ life (chapters 11–16).
- One of the main issues in Mark’s way of presenting Jesus is what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah. The “Suffering Messiah” is central to Mark’s portrayal of Jesus.
- Only place in the New Testament Jesus is referred to as “the son of Mary,” and Mark is the only gospel where Jesus himself is called a carpenter (Mk 6:3).
There you go. Now that your interest in the Gospel of Mark has been peeked, I encourage you to spend some time with it. I challenge you to read it straight through in one sitting. (I know you can do that. It’s short!) Learn more…find a commentary….join a Bible study…go on-line and see what is said about this Gospel. Whatever you do, enjoy doing it with the Gospel of Mark!