In his opening verse, Mark provides readers with the main key to understanding his Gospel: Although we can learn much about the disciples and other characters from reading Mark, it is most important to understand what he is teaching about Jesus: Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). Setting It is generally agreed that Mark was the first of the four canonical Gospels to be written. Before the writing of Mark, there were no Gospels as such. The gospel traditions were circulated or “delivered” orally under the supervision of the eyewitnesses and ministers of the word of God (Luke 1:2). As these eyewitnesses began to die, it became important to record the gospel traditions in writing. According to church tradition, after the martyrdom of Peter in the mid-60s AD, the church in Rome asked John Mark to put into writing the accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings that Peter had delivered to them orally. As a result, Mark became the first to compose what we call a “Gospel,” a written account of Jesus’ life and teachings, from the oral materials about Jesus. Summary The overall structure of Mark is geographical. The first nine chapters narrate events of Jesus’ ministry...

The Gospel of Mark Purpose To relay the Good News about Jesus, who is the Messiah and Son of God Author John Mark, who according to early tradition put in writing the recollections of the apostle Peter Date Likely written sometime during the late 60s AD Setting Written at a time in which Christians in the Roman world were facing persecution—necessitating that the gospel traditions begin to be written down—and Jerusalem’s destruction was imminent

1:1 Mark opens with an introduction. This Gospel is about Jesus. With every account in Mark, one should ask, “What is Mark teaching about Jesus in this passage?” • Good News, a frequent term in Mark (see 1:14-15; 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9), is frequently translated gospel. See study note on Mark 1:15. • The Hebrew word mashiakh (Messiah) is equivalent to the Greek term christos (Christ). Both words mean “anointed.” In the Old Testament, priests (Exod 28:41; Lev 16:32; 21:10), kings (2 Sam 1:14, 16; 19:21; Ps 2), and prophets (1 Kgs 19:16) were anointed with oil to indicate the Lord’s presence, blessing, and authority for the tasks to which God called them. As time went on, Israelites increasingly looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, “the Anointed One,” a descendant of David who would be Israel’s king. The first-century political connotations of this title were such that Jesus avoided openly declaring that he was the Messiah (see Mark 3:11-12; 8:27-30; 14:61-63; 15:2, 26; John 4:25-26). • the Son of God: This title emphasizes Jesus’ unique relationship with God the Father (Mark 1:11; 9:7; 12:4-6; 14:61-62).

1:10 The expression the heavens splitting apart indicates Jesus’ unique access to God the Father; in 15:38, the same verb includes believers in that access through Jesus’ death. • All four Gospels refer to the Spirit descending on him like a dove. The Spirit, who was involved in the first creation, acted with Jesus in bringing the new creation (Gen 1:2; Rom 8:15-17; 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 1:13-14; 2 Thes 2:13).