The Gospel of Mark was written for a unique audience – Romans.
It was written for Romans around 65 to 70 CE (AD) to give Romans compelling reasons to follow Christ, while providing a framework for understanding the Christian faith.
Since Romans at that time favored short, crisp writing centered around action – not dialogue – the Gospel of Mark is deliberately short. In fact, it’s the shortest gospel. Many scholars also consider it the first gospel to be written.
Unlike the other gospel writers, Mark was not one of Jesus’ 12 apostles. Many scholars believe that Mark was the Apostle Peter’s scribe, which means that this gospel is really Peter’s account.
Many scholars consider the Gospel of Mark a foundational book that was also used to help craft the gospels of both Matthew and Luke. This relationship gives the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke similar structure and content. They are known as the synoptic (to see together) gospels because they have the same viewpoint.
Since the gospel of Mark was so heavily borrowed from, only about 7% of this gospel has unique content.
Jesus As A Man Of Action
The idea that the Gospel of Mark was written specifically for a Roman audience explains why certain elements of Jesus’ story were included and others omitted.
For example, part of Roman culture was the idea of the “divine man” … that some men were bestowed with divine power and ability.
So, Mark – for his Roman audience – focused on Jesus’ actions … His healings … His miracles. Some examples of these include …
* Jesus heals a man demon possessed (5:2-20)
* Jesus raises a 12-year-old girl from the dead
* Jesus fees 5,000 people (6:30-44)
* Jesus walks on water (6:45-52)
Other aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry were omitted because they didn’t line up with Roman sensibilities. These omissions included …
* Jesus’ genealogy (Romans simply wouldn’t have cared as much about this.)
* His sermons
* The story of Jesus’ birth
* Old Testament references (Again, Romans would have been less aware of these.)
A Roman Centurion Provides The Truth For Roman Readers
A Roman Centurion – a symbol of Roman strength and power – provides the ultimate truth that this gospel wants to convey …
Mark 15:39
When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
The End Of The Story After The End Of The Story
Most scholars agree that the Gospel of Mark originally concluded with this verse …
Mark 16:8
They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.
Your Bible probably continues up to verse 16:20, though. Why extra verses were probably added to this gospel will almost certainly be the subject of a future post here for you.