An Examination of The Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark: What Does it Mean?
The Gospel of Mark is widely considered to be the oldest gospel, and is also is the shortest of the gospel narratives. Mark offers the narrative structure that will inspire and guide that of the other synoptic gospels. Mark is the gospel that “establishes... the life of Jesus as a story form. It develops a narrative from his early career, through ...the main points of his life and culminat[es] in his death” (White, 1998, par.2). The later synoptic gospel authors Matthew and Luke (and John as well) clearly read Mark’s work and used Mark as their inspiration, despite adding in other materials to flesh out his story, and in some instances, adding material that offers a very different perspective on the character and significance of Jesus (White, 1998).
Confession that Jesus is the Son of God
The emphasis in the Gospel of Mark is that Jesus’ identity is mysterious and is not something that can be understood by everyone. While this is not unusual in the gospel narratives, in that all of them depict being Jesus being rejected by the majority of his people, in Mark in particular, Jesus is depicted as being evasive about his identity. “At times, Jesus actually silences the demons who would announce his true identity. When he performs a miracle, he tells people, don’t say anything to anyone about what I have done” (White, 1998, par.5).
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is even portrayed as rejecting his own earthly mother and brother as uncomprehending of his true nature. When told his mother and brother outside, “Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother’” (NIV, Mark 3:34-35). The announcement of Jesus’s heritage highlights the dominant theme of the gospel of mystery, namely that the mystery of Jesus’s true nature is only known to those who do God’s will. Jesus is not revealing his true nature out of a desire for aggrandizement on earth.
Caesarea Philippi
This is made very clear in the incident of Caesarea Philippi, in which Peter is depicted as declaring Jesus the Messiah. It is noteworthy that Jesus not declare himself to be the Son of God. It is Peter, the disciple who, although a believer, is more interested in the opinion and feelings of the world, that is anxious to declare Jesus’s true nature. But “Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him” (Mark 8:30). While this might seem to be an attempt by Jesus to protect himself from danger, Jesus does not seem at any time to show a great deal of concern for his personal physical safety or fear of capture. Instead, the implication is that Jesus does not think that his status as the Son of God is something that people can be directly told at this time. Rather the understanding comes with the heart, not with proclamation and outward demonstrations of belief.
In fact, another, second dominant theme of Mark is the fact that the conventional dictates of obeying the Mosaic Laws are not necessarily what must be adhered to for a follower to be righteous. Making a public display about righteousness is not what matters. All that matters is faith and the internal rather than the external world. Thus, Jesus shows that he does not care about showing he is righteous and holy in public by obeying the commandments. Nor does he make a great show of the fact he is the Son of God in speech, or even being anointed as such by his own followers. It does not matter what others say he is, for he and his true followers already know.
Portrait of the Disciples
Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of Mark is the portrait of the disciples as unknowing and uncomprehending of Jesus’s true nature. Of course, this element is present in many of the other gospels, such as the anecdote about doubting Thomas, and of course Judas’s betrayal, which is detailed very extensively in the later authored gospels. But over and over again in Mark, throughout Jesus’s teaching, even those closest to him are shown to misunderstand his teachings. This intensifies the sense of Jesus as a mystical figure who is not of this world, even though he is flesh and teaching in the world. The disciples are mystified why they cannot perform the types of miracles performed by Jesus, which Jesus says can only be accomplished through prayer.
When Jesus foretells his death to the disciples, he says of himself (The Son of Man): “‘They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’ But they [the disciples] did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (Mark 9:31-32). The disciples may follow Jesus, but they do not comprehend his mission, and hold him in awe and fear. Although Luke and The Acts of the Apostles will largely portray the disciples, though fallible, as carrying out Jesus’s legacy, in Mark, the disciples largely act as a foil, portraying how other than the poor, sick, and socially despised, no one really understands Jesus. A third theme of the book of Mark is that individuals who think who know him best, know him the least. Jesus is very much alone—so alone he even cries out to his father in heaven, feeling forsaken, when he is on the cross.
To say that the portrayal of the disciples is entirely discouraging is not entirely unfair, given that Jesus clearly does attempt to educate them, and tries to convey his knowledge to them, admittedly in a very oblique way, through parables and other sayings. The disciples are there to bear witness. But Jesus repeatedly reminds them that simply because they are disciples is not a position of moral and teaching authority, as conveyed when he is shown holding a small child in his arms, rather than celebrating the accomplishments of his immediate and most intimate followers.
Who Do You Say I Am?
One of the most powerful aspects of Jesus’ legacy is the idea of empowerment and the need for believers to testify themselves, rather than to derive their authority from their position of authority in a religious structure. Jesus demands that his followers reflect upon what he means and what they say he is, and how they define him. This requires prayer and a great deal of self-examination on the part of the believer.
I personally believe that Jesus was an honest and unafraid radical. He did not think that true faith could be exhibited simply by following dietary restrictions or making a public show of piety in a temple. Instead, it meant giving charity to the poor, standing with people who were socially ostracized, healing the sick, and feeding the hungry. He was unafraid to speak truth to power, as evidenced in his cleaning of the Temple, and criticized both the religious and political leadership of his day. He put truth above his personal safety.
A fourth, final theme of Mark is Jesus’s compassion, even when it is not popular, as he praises the woman who anoints him, rather than tries to save money in the here and now. It is the kindness and the compassion behind the gesture that moves him, rather than his male disciples condemning the woman’s action and love.
Conclusion
The portrait which emerges of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark is not always a comfortable one which adheres to the popular conception of Jesus. There is no nativity narrative, Jesus is often disappointed and even confrontational of his disciples, and the only people who seem to understand and appreciate him are the most marginal figures of society. Even Jesus experiences despair when he is crucified. The resurrection narrative is present, but very spare and enigmatic, like Jesus’s teachings throughout. However, the Jesus which emerges is still a very important component of his full legacy (which must be understood in the context of the other gospels as well), and is essential to understand in a complete and meaningful way for the believer to understand his or her own relationship with Jesus and faith.
Reference
White, M. (1998). The gospel of Mark. PBS. Retrieved from: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/mark.html