Mark’s Mark

Mark starts his book by declaring, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah.” There is no birth narrative here but instead, there’s the birth of a literary genre—the gospel (from the old English “god-spel”—“good news”).

There is so much meaning packed into the first two sentences of Mark. He states that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The name “Jesus” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Joshua” which means “The Lord is Salvation,” and was the name revealed to Joseph in Matthew 1:21. “Christ” is the Greek word meaning “anointed” and the “Son of God” is a repeated phrase throughout Mark’s gospel.

Mark’s first language would have been Aramaic. But, living in Palestine, Mark would have been multi-lingual (as many people are in different parts of the world today). Greek was the “lingua franca” of the time (like English today), and as Palestine was a Roman province the local people would have heard Latin spoken all around them. The educated knew Hebrew as well.

Mark’s style is distinct and energetic. The adverb “immediately” appears 41 times and he describes the reactions of people and the emotional responses of Jesus in ways that other writers do not.

Mark begins where he sees the good news beginning, in the Old Testament, with Isaiah’s and Malachi’s words (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1). All that he is about to tell is firmly grounded in Old Testament Scripture.

Mark’s enthusiasm to write the gospel truth was not in any way hindered by his lack of fluency in Greek. Instead, what many might see as a limitation becomes a strength, as Mark moves us quickly into the heart of the gospel message.

Respond in Prayer

Lord God, just as Mark starts his gospel, may I too ground my truth in scripture and may I never let my perceived limitations stop me from speaking the truth about your Son Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray, Amen.

Sarah Patterson