The Book of Mark

Things I didn't know: First of all, for some reason, in spite of my Bible education both in Christian School and at Liberty University, I always thought that the four gospels were written by disciples of Jesus, especially Matthew, Mark, and John. I did know that Luke was a physician and not one of the disciples. But only Matthew is thought to be an actual disciple of Jesus. "Mark was a close associate of Peter, from who he received the tradition of the things said and done by the Lord" (NIV Study Bible) Mark's account is thought to be the earliest written gospel. He is also considered to be the "John Mark" of the new testament. It is thought that he wrote these accounts in Rome, Italy to the Gentile church in Rome. He explains Jewish Customs, translates Aramaic words and has a special interest in persecution and martyrdom, "Subjects of special concern to Roman believers"(NIV Study Bible) The NIV Study Bible says that "Mark's gospel is a simple succinct, unadorned, yet vivid account of Jesus' ministry, emphasizing more what Jesus did than what he said."

Why all this is important in studying the gospel of Mark? I think we need to understand where the writers were coming from. I think it is very interesting to know that Mark was following Peter around and his message must have been so compelling. In a way, we are looking at the life of Christ in the same way Mark did. He didn't know Jesus first hand, he was learning about him from Peter who had lived life with Jesus.

What it says to me? We never know who is learning about Christ through us. It could be a close friend, it could be someone we don't know, but they knows us. It could be a waitress in a restaurant who knows I am a Christian, but I don't know anything about her. What is she learning about Christ through me?

I am trying to keep these posts very short both for my sake and for yours. We will sink into Mark's gospel tomorrow.