back to Mark
Having gotten my final scheduled homiletic endeavor ("Oh, What the Hell" - - preached yesterday at HNEC) out of the way, it's back to contemplating kata Markon, several upcoming sessions on the Gospel according to Mark, with Dr Dan's adult Sunday school class. How many sessions? IDK, I had in mind four max, so three to go, but the 7 Sep session was a slow starter so I guess we'll see how it works out.
To resume from a couple weeks ago, here, copy-and-pasted from Anne Cox Bailey's Facebook page is a thoughtful essay on Mark, that I'll share as a kick-starter, on this morning's +Time blogpost:
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Thank-you John Rawlinson:
There are four different canonical Gospels because each one was written for a different purpose, and a different group or recipients-- and audience. To whom was this Gospel directed? is there any parallel between Mark's original audience and us? Does the original language of the text tell us anything?
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MARK’S Audience
INTRODUCTION
Since the original Gospel texts do not mention an author, or the places to which they were directed, we have to scrutinize the texts for clues about these matters. Most scholars widely agree that Mark was the first written gospel, and that Matthew and Luke were based upon it. The result is that there are few unique clues in Mark to help us. Of course, each of the gospels was written in a different place, and for a different group of people.
The location and date of composition are not minor factors! The place where Mark was written would indicate the audience for which it was written, and why the author included particular sayings and stories of Jesus. The date of composition helps us understand the historical context— and therefore what was important to share from Jesus’ ministry. For example, if it was written after 70 A.D., when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, that would help understand the memories of Jesus’ comments about death and the destruction of Jerusalem
DATE OF WRITING
Since we have no fixed date when Mark was written, it is common to indicate a range of years when it might have been written. The most common belief is that it was written between 65 and 75 A.D.
There are references to “the Decapolis” (the Ten Towns) (Mk. 5:20, and 7:31). Only after the destruction of Jerusalem was that title used. That indicates Mark was written after 70 A.D.
Many lean toward the end of that period. First, some references emphasize the cost of discipleship in challenges and suffering. That suggests it was written after the destruction of Jerusalem. Second, as Jesus’ immediate Apostles were dying, it became important to place his message into written form so that it could continue without being altered and corrupted.
AUTHOR
Sometime before 130 A.D., Papias, a bishop in Turkey, said, “Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter….” Mark has been the attribution ever since.
John Mark is mentioned in Acts (esp. 12:12, and 12:25), and he was a Jew. He accompanied Paul in some missionary activity. Scholars have debated whether or not he is the Mark of the Gospel. Also, John (Yohann) was a common Jewish name, and Mark (Marcus) was a common Roman name.
Some of Mark’s references indicate the author was not familiar with the geography of Palestine. In Mark 11.1 it says that Jesus was going from Jericho to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, then Bethany, However, that is their reverse order. Mark 7:31 says that Jesus went from Tyre north to Sidon, then to the Sea of Galilee by way of the Decapolis (the Ten Cities). That would have him going from the south to the north, then far to the east, then south to the Decapolis, then back north to the Sea of Galilee— which is illogical.
Another possibility for authorship is that it WAS a Mark who wrote it, and who accompanied Peter, but not the same as the John Mark of the book of Acts.
LOCATION
There are several references to enduring through persecutions (Mk. 8:34-38; 10:38; and 13:9-13). There was no persecution in Palestine before Jews rebelled against Rome in 66 A.D. Since it seems to have been written after 70 A.D., it would not have been written in Jerusalem. So it was not written in Palestine.
The use of some Latin terms indicates it was written in Rome for the church there. However recently it was recognized that those Latin words were commonly used in conquered territories and were also widely known. However, there was persecution in Rome, so that remains a possibility. On the other hand, Latin was the common language in Rome, and Mark was written in Greek, which weighs against Rome as the origin.
One scholar, Reginald Fuller, pointed to the many Greek qualities and characteristics and said that points to an Eastern Mediterranean origin— probably Antioch. That city was about 25% Jewish— which included a number of the earliest followers of Jesus.
LANGUAGE
Mark was penned in well-written Greek. There are no hints of Aramaic or Hebrew grammatical elements, so it is unlikely that the author was originally an Aramaic speaking Palestinian. Also, the Old Testament quotations are from the Greek Septuagint, not the Hebrew.
AUDIENCE
It was not intended for a Jewish audience, In several places Jewish customs are explained (e.g., Mk. 7.3). The fig tree was one of the images for Israel (i.e., the Jewish people) and in the comment about the unproductive fig tree (Mk. 11:13-14), Jesus seems to be criticizing the Jews and shifting responsibility for God’s message to non-Jews. There are several brief Aramaic sayings which are translated (i.e., Mk. 5:41; 7:34; 14:36, and 15:34). Since Aramaic was the common language of Palestine, that indicates that the audience was not Palestinian.
Being written in Greek, Mark was intended for an audience beyond the narrow confines of Rome! In spite of the existence of the ROMAN Empire, Greek was the most common language outside the city itself, So, the Gospel seems not intended for the city of Rome!
Jesus is quoted as saying “Anyone who does the will of God is my brother, and my sister, and my mother.” (Mk. 3:35) In effect, he displaced the Jews as God’s favorite. This also indicates the audience was not the Jews of Palestine, or elsewhere.
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It's an interesting essay, I'm guessing the author was one John Rawlinson, whom I do not know. I do not agree with the author's suggestions that Jesus intended to displace the Jews as God's favorite; that would not have been the thought of a local itinerant Jewish teacher, but a thought and conclusion of the early-developing Christian church as it evolved from origins as a Jewish cult to becoming populated and led by Gentiles.
It's a good, thought-stirring piece and I appreciate that Anne posted it, very timely for my project!
RSF&PTL
T90
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art: an icon written by Olga Christine in 2010, that I pinched online. actually I preferred a different art piece:
