I feel like many sermons and lessons don’t quote from the Gospel of Mark very often, but some of that could just be the longer length of the other three gospels. At 16 chapters, Mark is the shortest of the four gospels in the Bible. I did the math and, if you were to choose a chapter at random from the four gospels, there is less than an 18% chance that it would be from Mark.
The NIV introduction doesn’t mention much about the context of this book’s writing, but it suggests that this gospel was written for a Roman audience. Citations in the first chapter suggest that the audience might have also had some familiarity with Jewish Scriptures. A commentator [Black, cited below] suggests more of a Gentile audience, though.
Since this gospel isn’t signed, we must look elsewhere for its author. Without getting into a lot of history, there is good evidence for a man named John Mark having written this gospel, based on what he learned from the teachings of Peter. While there are other theories, I intend to proceed in this series as if the Gospel of Mark was, in fact, written by Mark, and that this was the person named “John Mark” mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.
While this role (since Mark wasn’t one of Jesus’ apostles) might seem to make the information within this gospel “second-hand”, God’s inspiration of Scripture doesn’t require someone to have been an eyewitness in order to accurately document the truth. After all, Moses wasn’t present at Creation when he compiled Genesis, for instance. As described by a commentator, “The doctrine of inspiration is not restricted to the revelation of the unknown, but includes supervision of the use of existing knowledge.” In less-fancy terms, the Holy Spirit helped guide Mark’s collection of Peter’s teachings (along with Peter’s teachings themselves), even if Mark didn’t walk with Jesus in person throughout the Lord’s ministry.
We’re not sure if Mark wrote this gospel before or after Peter’s death, but a date in the early 60’s A.D. seems reasonable [per Black]. It also seems [per Black, p.20] that Luke used Mark’s gospel as part of his research for the Gospel of Luke. Even if Luke learned some things from Paul, writings from Peter’s teachings would have provided valuable insight into Jesus’ ministry, since Jesus lived, died, was raised from the dead, and returned to heaven before Paul’s conversion.
For your information, Matthew 3 and the first 11 verses of Matthew 4 also cover some of the same events as Mark 1:1-13 (to be covered in this particular mini-series from Mark’s gospel). The gospel of Luke also describes some of the same history, but it is spread out over several of the early chapters in Luke. Just like history lessons and news stories today, though, learning about the same events from different perspectives can enrich our understanding of what took place.
This gospel jumps right into things, after Jesus was already an adult. You’re not likely to hear a pastor quote from the book of Mark in a Christmas sermon series. However, for those who are new to the Bible, reading this gospel for the first time, I hope that they can appreciate how it starts. Each gospel contains good news about Jesus Christ, after all, and if Mark was one of the first books written about Jesus’ life, those reading about Him for the first time could appreciate that this was indeed “good news”.
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,
Mark 1:1 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.1.1.NIV
Now, your translation might say “good news” in verse 1, or it might say “gospel”. As you may know, the word “gospel” means “good news”, so these refer to the same thing. However, I think that it’s significant that this particular book of the Bible begins with this affirmation. Not only does this introduction re-affirm why we call the first four books of the New Testament “gospels”, but it also confirms – from the text of the Bible itself – that the account of Jesus Christ is indeed good news.
As we can further learn from John 3:17, Jesus wasn’t sent to this world to condemn it, but to save it. This is good news, and those who view God as hostile or just angry all of the time can – and should – read the gospels to learn about God’s love, mercy, and grace for humankind. Now, Jesus didn’t sugarcoat things, and some of what He taught made certain people angry. In fact, Jesus Himself got angry when bad ideas and sin were keeping people from something better. However, Jesus brought the greatest act of God’s love to those who were willing to accept His teaching, His authority, and His sacrifice for them.
In addition, we learn at the start of the Gospel of Mark that Jesus is the Messiah (or Christ – both meaning the “Anointed One” in different languages), and that He is the Son of God. That’s a pretty big claim, but Jesus backed up His identity with plenty of facts and evidence, including – as an upcoming article should describe in more detail – testimony from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for August 31, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 