The Gospel According To MarkSample

Mark’s Audience: Mark 3:17

The three ancient witnesses we mentioned earlier — Papias (who wrote around A.D. 130), the Anti-Marcionite Prologue (written around A.D. 170), and Irenaeus (who wrote around A.D. 177) — all reported that Mark wrote his gospel in Italy, and some specifically identified the city of Rome. Moreover, none of them suggested that Mark had sent his gospel to the church in any other city. This indicates that Mark wrote to the local churches where he lived. And this conclusion is strengthened by 1 Peter 5:13 which locates Mark in Rome during the days he ministered alongside Peter.

Of course, like all the Gospels, history proves that God intended the Gospel of Mark to be used by the whole church in all ages. But we are better prepared to interpret Mark’s gospel the way he intended when we understand that he wrote out of a deep concern for what was happening to the Italian, and especially, Roman Christians of his day. 

In addition to the witness of the early church, many details of Mark’s gospel also suggest that he wrote to churches in Italy, and more particularly in Rome. We’ll mention three details of Mark’s gospel that support the claim that he wrote to the churches of Italy and Rome.

First, on a number of occasions, Mark explained Palestinian customs to his audience. For example, Mark explained the Pharisees’ practice of washing their hands in Mark 7:3-4. Explanations like this suggest that Mark’s audience included a substantial number of Gentiles who lived outside Palestine. 

A second detail that is compatible with an Italian and Roman audience is that Mark explained Aramaic expressions. For example, consider his explanation of the names given to James and John in Mark 3:17:

James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder).

Mark provided similar explanations in 5:41, 7:34, and 15:22, 34. Aramaic speaking Palestinians would not have needed these explanations, and even many Jews outside Palestine would have been familiar with Aramaic and Hebrew from their synagogues. So, this detail suggests that Mark wrote to Gentiles outside Palestine.

A third detail that points even more clearly to an audience in Italy and Rome is that Mark used more Latin words than any other gospel writer, indicating that a substantial part of his audience understood Latin. 

During the first century, Latin was not widely spoken in the Mediterranean world. It was primarily limited to Italy, the homeland of the Roman Empire. So, it’s significant that Mark used Latin words at least 15 times. For example, in Mark 12:42, he used the Latin word lepta, referring to a small copper coin. Although he spelled the word in Greek letters, the word itself was Latin and was not likely to have been understood by those who didn’t speak Latin.