A BIOGRAPHY OF SAINT MARK HIS UPBRINGING1 St. Mark was born in ‘Cyrene,’ one of the cities of Pentapolis in Libya, in a town called ‘Ebryatolis,’ from Jewish parents related to the tribe of Levi2. His father’s name is ‘Aristopolis,’ and his mother ‘Mary’ was a pious woman, of some stature among the early Christians of Jerusalem3. Mark had two names (Act 12:12, 25; 15:37): John, a Hebrew name which means “the kingdom of God,” and Mark a Latin name which means “Hammer.” St. Mark was a relative of Barnabas, the Apostle. (nephew or cousin Col. 4:10). His father was also a cousin of St. Peter’s wife. He learned and mastered both Greek and Latin. After the barbarians attacked their home, they left Cyrene to Palestine, where he and his mother enjoyed the company of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark’s mother, Mary, was one of the women who ministered to the Lord with their resources. She offered her house to the Lord to eat the Passover with His disciples in the upper room. There, He washed their feet and gave them the Sacrament of the Eucharist. By that, her house became the first church in the world, consecrated by the Lord Himself through His holy presence and His practicing of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. In that same upper room, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples (Act 2:1-4), and in it the disciples assembled. St. Mark was one of the seventy apostles chosen by the Lord for ministry4, as testified by Origen5 and by St. Epiphanus6. St. Mark attended the wedding of Cana of Galilee; and he was the man carrying the pitcher of water who met the two disciples sent by Lord Jesus to prepare the Passover (Mk. 14:13,14; Lk. 22:11). He was also the young man who left his linen cloth and fled naked during the incident of the arrest of the Lord (Mk. 14:52)7. SAINT MARK AND THE LION St. Mark is symbolized by a lion; that is why the people of Venice, who consider him as their intercessor, chose the lion as their symbol, and set a statue of a winged lion at the square of St. Mark in their city. Some interpretations for the use of this symbol are the following: (1) It was claimed that St. Mark attracted his father Aristopolis to the Christian faith, while he was on a journey to Jordan. When they were confronted by a lion and a lioness the father asked his son to escape while he tried to distract the attention of the two beasts. The son assured his father, and in response to his prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, both beasts split in half and died; and the father started to believe in the Lord Christ. لد ا رسة حیاة القدیس مار مرقس الرسول بتوسع ا رجع كتاب قداسة البابا شنودة الثالث في هذا الشأن. 1 تاریخ البطاركة لسا ویرس بن المقفع ك 13 ، ص 2 .13 3 J. D. Douglas: Dict. of Christian Church, p. 632. القول الإبریزي للعلامة المقری زي، طبعة 1898 ، ص 18 . مصباح الظلمة لابن كبر، ك 4 .4 5 De Reta in Deum Fide. 6 Adv. Haer. 51:5. ابن المقفع ص 7 15 R ابن كبر 40 ،B 41 ،A. 7 (2) St. Mark opens his Gospel by saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness”. as if it was the voice of a lion, the king of animals, roaring high in the wilderness, preparing the way for the advent of the true King, our Lord Jesus Christ. Additionally, as this Gospel came to declare the authority of the Lord Christ, it was appropriate to symbolize Him by the lion; As it was said of the Lord that He is “the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5). (3) St. Ambrose considers, that, as St. Mark started his gospel with the proclamation of the authority of the divinity of the Lord Christ: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk. 1:1), it is appropriate to symbolize it by the lion1. HIS MISSIONARY WORK The apostle began his ministry with St. Peter the Apostle in Jerusalem and Judea. He joined the apostles Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey to Antioch, but, probably because of certain health reasons, he left them in Perga-Pemphilia, and returned to Jerusalem. When Barnabas asked that Mark accompany them on a second missionary journey, Paul declined. Barnabas and Mark then parted with Paul, and they went together to Cyprus, on a missionary tour of their own (Act 13:4-5), while Paul took Silas. Mark went to Cyprus a second time after the synod at Jerusalem (Act 15:39). There is no more mention of St. Mark in the book of Acts, as he headed to Egypt to establish the Church of Alexandria, after going first to his home of birth in Pentapolis, Libya. From there he set forth to the Oasis region, then to Upper-Egypt. Later on he entered Alexandria in the year 61 A.D. by way of its eastern gate. History tells us the story of how Anianus accepted the Christian Faith, as the first Egyptian to do so. When Mark’s footwear needed repair, he approached Anianus the shoemaker, who, as the needle pierced his finger, he uttered the words “O God the One.” St. Mark healed him in the name of Lord Christ, and began talking to him of “God, the One.” Anianus and his household accepted faith. As Christian faith quickly spread in Alexandria, St. Mark ordained Anianus a bishop, and with him three priests and seven deacons. The pagan mob rose in anger, which compelled St. Mark to leave Alexandria to Perga (Lybia), and from there he headed to Rome, where he joined St. Peter and St. Paul, to remain with them until their martyrdom in the year 64 A.D. When St. Mark returned to Alexandria in the year 65 A.D. to find out how the Christian faith had flourished, he decided to visit Pentapolis before getting back to Alexandria to be martyred at the district of ‘Bokalia.’ The people of Lebanon believe that St. Mark preached the new faith in their country; so also in Colosse (Col. 4: 10), in Venice, and Aquila, where he is considered as their intercessor. We end our talk about his missionary work with the words of the apostle St. Paul, as he was going through his final hours before martyrdom: “Get Mark and bring him with you, he is useful to me for ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:11). 1 In Luc. Praef. 8 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING All scholars agree that the Gospel according to Mark is the oldest of all gospels. Many of them also believe it to be the main source from which the evangelists Matthew and Luke based their gospels. St. Irenaeus believes it to be written after the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul that is after the year 67 A.D. Most scholars agree to the time between the years 65 and 70 A.D.1 According to St. John Chrysostom, this gospel was written in Egypt2, but other scholars claim it was written in Rome. THE GOSPEL OF ST. MARK AND ST. PETER THE APOSTLE Certain scholars tried to credit the gospel of St. Mark to the Apostle Peter, considering St. Mark to be just a scribe or an interpreter for his relative St. Peter; and that this gospel is nothing but memoirs of St. Peter or sermons that St. Mark heard him give while they were together in Rome which he recorded after the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul. This point of view is totally rejected by the Orthodox Church. His Holiness Pope Shenouda III presented a study on “Saint Mark the Apostle” on the occasion of the sixteenth century anniversary of his martyrdom. The main points of which I shall enumerate, letting the reader refer to the book by His Holiness: I shall discuss the main points of this book and refer the reader to the book for any other points. (1) This view was based on Papias’s claim that St. Mark had never heard or met the Lord but accepted the faith by following St. Peter. This view, adopted by certain scholars, is wrong, as confirmed by several Church Fathers who studied the history of the Church and confirmed the opposite view. (2) St. Mark was neither a scribe nor an interpreter for St. Peter during his ministry in Rome, as claimed by some. It was not St. Peter, but St. Paul, who ministered in Rome. In his epistle to the Romans, St. Paul clearly expresses his desire to work among them (Rom. 1:10-11), and confirms his refusal to build on another man’s foundation (Rom. 15:20). St. Paul was the preacher for the Gentiles while St. Peter was a preacher for those of circumcision. (3) If St. Mark was merely a recorder of St. Peter’s memoirs or his sermons after his martyrdom, there would be no need to hide it. St. Mark would have certainly mentioned it as a matter of honesty and humility. (4) Certain scholars base their claim that it was St. Peter’s memoirs, on the fact that it includes his weaknesses and ignores his glories, and that he did this out of modesty. This we can dispute by the following argument: a- The writers of the gospels are above personal level in their task. We find the prophet Moses stating: “The man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the 1 Wycliffe: Bible Encyclopedia, 1979, v. 2, p 1078. 2 In Matt. hom 1. 9 face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). Moses’ humility did not prevent him from mentioning the miracles that God did through him, how God appeared and spoke to him, accepted his intercessions, and complimented him; At the same time, he mentioned his weaknesses: how he was slow of speech and slow of tongue (Exod. 4:10) his trespass that compelled God to forbid him from entering the promised land. “...holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Pet. 1:21) In the New Testament, St. John, the Beloved, mentioned how he stood by the cross, how the Lord addressed him and put His mother in his care (Jn. 19:25-27), calling himself “the disciple, whom Jesus loved” and who “was leaning on Jesus’ bosom” (Jn. 13: 3-25). b- St. Mark did not abstain from complimenting St. Peter the Apostle. He mentioned the Lord’s call for St. Peter as the first of its kind (1:16-20), put his name ahead of all the other apostles (3:16), and placed the story of Christ’s entering his house to heal his mother-in-law as the first of the Lord’s miracles in his gospel (1:29-31)... He also mentioned St. Peter’s words to the Lord: “See, we have left all and followed you” (10:28), and his presence in several occasions together with James and John (5:37; 9:2-8; 14:32). (5) Certain scholars base their claims that the gospel is a compilation of St. Peter’s memoirs on the fact that it mentions incidents that must have been experienced by an eye-witness. But, if we consider St. Mark’s calling from the Lord to be one of the seventy disciples and his mother’s position among the followers of the Lord, we realize that several of these incidents were either witnessed by St. Mark himself, other disciples, or his mother or anyone of the Lord’s company. FEATURES (1) The early Christians understood the word “gospel” to mean “good news for the world.” We have dealt with the word “gospel” in our study of the Gospel according to St. Matthew1. St. Mark was, according to the majority of scholars, the first to use this expression to designate a specific book which presents the life of Jesus Christ as good news for the world2. It seems that St. Mark was particularly fond of this word, and included it in the first verse of his Gospel saying: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mk. 1:1) He, likewise, did the same in several occasions. When he spoke of carrying the cross, he mentioned the Lord’s saying, Whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s, will save it” (Mk. 8:35). It is worth mentioning that the word ‘gospel” was not mentioned by the Evangelists Matthew or Luke in this particular situation (Mt. 16: 25; Lk. 9: 24). The same thing can be said, as St. Mark included what the Lord said about “the leaving”: “There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time..., and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mk. 10:29) Likewise, St. Matthew the Evangelist did not mention the expression “gospel” in this particular situation. (Mt. 19:29). St. Mark included the word “gospel” in (1:14, 15: 14:9.) As he preached among the pagan Gentiles and philosophers and especially in Alexandria, this word had a special ا رجع للمؤلف: الإنجیل بحسب متى، المقدمة. 1 2 R.P. Martin: Mark, Evangelist and Theologian, 1972, p. 24-36. 10 taste to him. He felt the true joy, which was revealed to the Gentiles from the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ and His presentation of the sacrifice on the cross, as a symbol of reconciliation between God and His people. (2) As St. Mark was writing his gospel to the Romans, we find him doing the following: a- He translated the Aramaic expressions unknown to the Romans for example: “Boanerges” (3:17); “Talitha” (5:41); “Corban” (7:11); “Ephphatha” (7:34); “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” (15:34); “Golgotha” (15:21). If he had been addressing the Jews, there would have been no need to translate the meaning of these words, which were well known to them. b- He explained the Jewish customs, locations and sects and other things that were known to the Jews but unknown to the Romans. He explained the concept of defilement of the Pharisees, and how they were keen on washing things outside (7:2-4); the custom of killing the Passover lamb on the first day of Unleavened Bread (14:12); the meaning of the expression “the preparation day” (15:42); the denial of the Sadducees about the Resurrection (12:18) etc. He mentioned the Jordan followed by the word “river;”(1: 5) and explained that the Mount of Olives is opposite the temple (13:3), and that Bethphage and Bethany are close to Jerusalem (1:11). c- Since St. Matthew was writing to the Jews, he quoted much from the Old Testament; however, St. Mark did not because he was addressing the Gentiles. d- St. Mark was not writing to the Jews (as religious people), nor to the Greeks (as people of Philosophy and thought), but since he was addressing the Romans, who were people of action, he presented a book, small in size, and with no introduction. He was keen on presenting the Lord Christ in His continuous deeds rather than in His sermons or speeches. e- The Romans were people who believed in power and authority, having been masters of the world at that time. That is why St. Mark talked to them of the Lord Christ, as a man of real authority; a theme that is obvious throughout the entire book from its beginning to its end. Christ’s authority was evident upon the unclean spirits (1: 27); upon ailments (1: 42); upon nature (4: 39-41); upon plants (11: 12- 20); within temple (11: 33); and upon the Sabbath, as “the Lord of the Sabbath” (2: 28). By His true authority, He was aware of secret thoughts (2: 8); and revealed the secrets of the future (13). By His authority, He could feed the multitude (6:33-44; 8:1-9). The Romans believed in authority through violence, pride and oppression, but St. Mark the Evangelist proclaimed the authority of the Lord through humility and ministry to others (9:33; 10:35, 45). The concepts of the passion and the cross prevailed his whole book - almost 1/3 of it - although the book, as a whole, is a preparation for the soul to receive Christ, the King, through passion! f- St. Mark the Evangelist presented Herod as an example of their kings, characterized by violence and murder, and around whom gathered those who seek fun and dance. At the same time, he presents the Lord Christ, who reigns by the gospel of the Kingdom, attracting and fulfilling the soul. The Evangelist often proclaims how multitudes gathered together around the Lord (1:28, 33, 45; 2:1, 2; 3:7-9; 4:1-2; 6:32-34; 7:24; 9:15; 5:24). All ran after Him, even when He tried to retreat to a deserted place (6: 32-34), or to a certain house (7:24). Many times, the Evangelist proclaims how the multitudes were astonished at His teaching (1:22, 27; 4:41; 6:51; 11 10:24, 26). He never imposed Himself on others, but through His love and humility He attracted the hearts of many. g- The Evangelist probably concentrated on demonstrating the conflict between the Lord and the Jews to encourage the Romans to accept Him, who had been rejected by the Jews. In particular, the Lord Christ did not show weakness in His stand before His adversaries, but was always able to expose their hypocrisy. They did not crucify Him through weakness on His part, because He foretold three times to His disciples that He would be crucified (8:31; 10:33,34) to rise from the dead and come again in the glory of His Father, accompanied by the holy angels (8: 38) on the clouds of heaven (14:62). In addition, St. Mark particularly emphasized the Lord’s approach toward the Gentiles (7:24-30; 11:17; 13:10; 16:15) His last commandment was “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (16:15). h- As the Evangelist addressed his gospel to the Romans, he stressed its catholic nature, to encompass the Gentiles as well. That is why he often used the expressions “whole” and “all” (1:5, 28, 33, 39; 2:13; 4:1; 6:33, 39, 41, 55; 13:10). Finally, we should like to mention the view of a certain scholar: “It is evident that, St. Mark used to live among a Christian community of a Gentile origin, yet it was not completely isolated from Judaism, although it had its own blossoming culture1.” (3) If the word “gospel” had been very favorite to St. Mark, the evangelist, faith was the way to enjoy its worldly and spiritual blessings2. This book strongly stressed that fact, and showed that lack of faith kept people from recognizing the work of the Lord Christ (6:1-6). Certain scholars see that the Lord Christ is presented in this book as someone who dedicated His life to awaken the faith of man3. (4) The book in our hands prepares the soul to receive the gospel of the Suffering Christ. That is why the sayings of the Lord Christ focus on suffering. He spoke about most of His suffering clearly and frankly on three occasions: a- in ‘Caesarea Philippi’ (8: 31). b- passing through Galilee (9:30). c- on His way to the holy city (10: 33, 34). The Lord Christ was faced on all these occasions either by rebuke, as was done by Simon Peter, or by fear and misunderstanding on the part of the disciples. The mystery of the Cross was not yet recognized, although the Lord had prepared them for it previously on more than one occasion (see 2:20; 3:6; 6:1-6; 6:14-29). Notice that the proclamations of the Lord concerning His sufferings covered three points: a- His reference to Himself as “the Son of Man” (8:31; 9:31; 10:45). If the Evangelist started his book by proclaiming that the Lord Christ is “the Son of God” (1:1), because the “Son of God” became “the Son of Man” in order to put Himself in the hands of men, to fulfill in Himself the will of His Father. b- His confirmation that He would be killed (8: 31; 9: 31; 10: 34). He came into the world, incarnated, for this purpose; to give Himself as a sacrifice; since that was the only way of proclaiming His saving love. 1 Sherman E. Johnson: The Gospel according to St. Mark, 1977, p 4. 2 J.A. Findlay: Jesus as they Saw, 1934, p 107. 3 R.P. Martin: Mark, p. 111. 12 c- His confirmation that He is to rise from the dead after three days. His death was not out of weakness, but was done in order to raise us also with Him. In our study of this book, the theme of suffering is obviously prevalent throughout it. When He spoke of the parable of the ‘vineyard and the vinedressers,’ He demonstrated how the vinedressers planned to kill the heir (12:7). He spoke of Himself as the cornerstone which the builders rejected (12:10). When a woman presented a flask of costly oil to pour it on His head He said: “She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial” (14:8), etc. Certain scholars see this book as focusing mainly on the sufferings of the Lord Christ and His tasting of the bitterness of death. One of them commented, saying: “This book, as a whole is a description of how the Lord Jesus has suffered1.” Another saw in it, “a parade of the sufferings of Christ, either through direct temptations by Satan, or through human sources.” This feature led some to believe that St. Mark addressed his book to a particular suffering Christian community, who was facing the burden of persecution, drawing their attention to their duty of sharing the fellowship of suffering with Christ, who invites His disciples to accept it. Some scholars call this book ‘the Gospel of the Martyr2,’ meaning the gospel presented to support and encourage Christians who face martyrdom. It may have not presented the philosophy of suffering in the life of the Lord Christ, nor in that of His disciples, as in the epistles of St. Paul the Apostle, but it has, nevertheless, confirmed the commitment to the acceptance of suffering, according to the will of God. (5) Our teacher St. Mark reveals to us the person of our Lord Jesus as the One who works incessantly for our sake. He presents 16 stories demonstrating the miracles He performed, and confirming that He healed many and cast out several unclean spirits (1:34, 39; 3:10, 11). Yet the book in its entirety enunciates the Lord’s words; Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” (8:12) Some distinguish between performing miracles (either through healing or casting out unclean spirits) and giving signs from heaven. Miracles were performed by the Lord as acts of love and compassion, when He saw His people in need of support. St. Mark the Evangelist presented the feelings of the Lord Christ towards His people, often writing; “He had compassion on them” and “ He took the children in His arms” etc. But the sign that the Pharisees, as well as Herod when Christ stood before him, asked for was to realize an extraordinary action, for the sake of showing off; something that Lord Christ utterly refused to do. In this regard we should notice that: a- His refusal to give a sign from heaven was followed by the admonishing of His disciples to: “take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” (8:15) They then reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread,” though the Evangelist mentioned that “they had one loaf with them in the boat.” (8:14) The sign was actually in their hands, and they did not recognize it; as the Lord Christ was “the One Loaf” broken for their sake, and they did not know. This was why the Lord rebuked them for not perceiving or understanding (8:17-21). The real unseen sign is the “Eucharistic act,” or “the broken loaf that He 1 Cf. U.W. Mauser: Christ in the Wilderness, 1963, p 100. 2 D.E. Nineham: Saint Mark, 1983, p 33 13 gave them1. b- Certain scholars believe that the Lord refused to give a sign of heaven because He wanted them to concentrate their cues on Him. One of them says2: “Jesus Himself, is the sole sign of the gospel... we should not seek a miracle or sign, separate from Jesus Himself.” That was based on the saying of the prophet: “The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) That sign which the prophets desired to enjoy was beholding the incarnated Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. c- He refused to give them a physical sign, as He came seeking “faith.” We see the Gospel of St. Mark revealing around faith, based upon trust in Christ, who is able to fulfill our needs; not the faith based upon signs and visible miracles. The multitude who were astonished (6: 2) quickly, commented, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary...?” (6: 2, 3) Faith, therefore, is not to be based upon the astonishment of a sign or a miracle, but upon leaning on Jesus’ bosom, that satisfies the soul. d- The High Priests and the scribes asked for a sign at the time of crucifixion, saying, “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” (15:32) They sought a visible sign, namely, descending from the cross, in order to believe in Him; not knowing that if He had done, they would have been indeed amazed, as by a ‘superman;’ on the contrary that would have not fulfilled His mission as the spiritual King of the Jews! The Lord, in refusing to give a visible sign by descending from the cross, was able to attract, through the glory of the cross, the heart of the right thief as well as that of the centurion, and to tear the veil of the temple from top to bottom. The glory of the cross gave light, not to amaze the onlookers, but to attract millions to believe. The cross became the true proclamation, and the sign and miracle that was performed, not through His descending from it, but through annunciating His love and humility, and giving Himself up till death, to raise us with Him. What the High Priests and the scribes did was nothing but an extension of the devil’s conversation with the Lord Christ, asking Him to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple to astonish the people to believe in Him. But the way of the Lord Christ is that of the cross, not by astonishing people with incredible signs! e- Indeed, before His crucifixion, He presented to His disciples the sign of His Transfiguration on the mount, right before their eyes. Yet even then, He did not intend it to be an astonishing act: If He had done it, it would have been only done in front of His three disciples, nor even before all of them, but in the presence of a great multitude to demonstrate His glory. In other words, what He presented through His Transfiguration, was not a sign to astonish onlookers, but rather a gift and a divine proclamation. It was a revelation to those whom He shares hidden inner life, that they may experience the exalted heavenly life. In other words, He did not present the Transfiguration to attain the astonishment and admiration of others, but rather to draw their hearts towards a life of fellowship with the Father in His Son, by the Holy Spirit, as a practical life and a genuine experience. 1 A. Richardson: The Miracle Stories of the Gospels, 1941, p. 47f. 2 Cf. M.E. Glasswell: The use of Miracles in Marken Gospel, in Miracles, ed C.F.D. Moule 1965, p. 161f. 14 When the bleeding woman encountered the Lord, she was blessed by a power that has gone out of Him (5: 30); not through a visible sign or miracle, but through her faith in His ability to heal her. f- Finally, while the Lord refused to give a sign from heaven in order to confirm His identity, the antichrists and the false prophets, on the contrary, “show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (13:21-23). (6) The attention of some scholars was drawn to the fact that St. Mark the Evangelist, expressed his opinion that the Lord Christ wished His identity as the Son of God to remain a secret that was not to be revealed until His Resurrection. The analysis, by W. Wrede1, of the Gospel of St. Mark, was based on four main points: The Lord abstained from revealing His secret as the Christ. during His ministry on earth. He revealed that secret not the multitude, but to His disciples, who were not able to apprehend it. The demons recognized Him, but He rebuked them and did not let them testify to Him; and that, as the miracles of healing which He performed, were revealing His secrets, He often ordered those He healed, to refrain from proclaiming them. Another scholar convinced that St. Mark reveals secrecy of the identity of the nature of the Lord Christ, and how He was keen on hiding it, because of following signs2: a-When the demons recognized Him, He forbade them from revealing His identity (1:25,34; 3:12). b-The Lord Christ avoided the proclamation of His miracles and healings (1:44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26), except if the one healed was either Gentile or lived among the Gentiles (5:19, 20). c- The tendency of the Lord to withdraw from people (1:35; 3:7; 4:35; 6:31; 7:24; 8:27; 9:30). d- His refusal of giving a sign to that generation (8:21). e- More than once, He presented special teaching to His disciples when they were alone (4:33-34; 7:17-23; 9:28-31), but the parables He gave to the multitude seemed mysterious and incomprehensible to them (4:10-13). f- The multitudes did not apprehend His parables because of hard-heartedness of the Jewish people, or at least, of their leaders (3:5; 7:6, 7). g- The Lord Christ refused to reveal His nature until the Son of God was raised from the dead (8:30; 9:9). Hiding His nature seems to have been based on the spiritual basis that the Lord Christ, with His true authority, did not seek worldly glory, but acted in humility, so that when He rose from the dead, He would reveal His nature, not to glorify Himself, but rather to glorify those who believe in Him so they could enjoy the power of His Resurrection. From another aspect, hiding His nature, might have been done in order to fulfill His divine purpose of His crucifixion; the Apostle St. Paul says that, “had they (the Jews) known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8). (7) This gospel has presented the Person of the Lord Christ as a minister to humanity, not only through sermons and commandments, but also by practical love and Divine compassion that drew souls to Him. The word “teach,” (in Greek), is mentioned 15 1 W. Wrede: The Messianic Secret, Cambridge 1971, p. 9, 81, 209 (English Translation by J.C.G. Greig). 2 Sherman E. Johnson: The Gospel according to St. Mark, p. 10. H. Anderson: The Gospel of Mark 1981, p. 44 f. 15 times in this book, far more than in any other book in the New Testament1; The Lord Christ was called “Teacher” 17 times, not only by the Master Himself (14: 14), but by His disciples, the multitude, and even His adversaries the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees, and the Herodians. This book presented Him to us as a Teacher, moving in every direction, either teaching in the synagogue and the temple (1:21; 6:2; 11:7; 12:35; 14:49), or to the multitude (2:13, 14; 6:34; 10:1) or His disciples (6:30). In His teaching, He did not follow the system of the ‘rabbis,’ where his disciples surround him as a rabbi or a new rabbi that they hear about, but his own disciples accompanied and lived with him in true fellowship. The main theme of His teaching was not merely a list of commandments and precepts, but the presentation of Himself to them to accept Him2, although they did not acknowledge Him before His Resurrection. He presented Himself as a “sufferer,” exhorting them to have fellowship with Him in His sufferings (8:34; 9:31; 10:32). That was the theme of His teaching to them, as well as their reward: to receive Him in their lives, with His cross and His sufferings. Finally, He, as a teacher, has been unique in His authority. So if the Jews, as well as the Gentiles, believed in a bitter contest between the Creator and the unseen evil powers, then the Lord came to cleanse the creation and drive away, by His authority the unclean spirits used by the evil one as agents for his work. He defeated the unseen powers of evil and cast them away from His creation, He prevailed over the opposing Jewish leaderships because they were agencies working for these evil powers3. Therefore this book, in its essence, is not a parade of the life of the Lord, but rather a gospel of victory over the powers of evil, and ridding the creation of their authority, through enjoying the Person of the Teacher as the conqueror and victorious! (8) If this gospel is characterized by being very concise, it is at the same time characterized by detail and clarity. It mentions Matthew, the tax-collector, as the son of ‘Alphaeus’ (2:14); the blind Bartimaeus as the son of ‘Timaeus’ (10:46); Simon, the Cyrenian, as the father of ‘Alexander’ and ‘Rufus’ (15:21). And in his narration of the miracle of feeding the multitude, he was particular in saying that they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties (6:39, 40). He was also particular in proclaiming the feelings of the Lord Christ, as someone who witnessed His actions, acknowledging Him as a Lover of mankind. He reveals how He partook of our emotions and feelings, as someone very close to us; saying, that He was “moved with compassion” (1:43);.”I have compassion” (8:2), “sent him away” (1: 43).”looked at the young man and loved him” (10:21); “took the children in His arms” (9:36; 1:16)... (9) He was fond of using the expression, “immediately,” in order to give the reader the same feeling he himself had; and he used the present tense to narrate certain incidents, turning them into continuous actions. (10) He was the only Evangelist to mention the miracles of healing the deaf mute (7:31- 37), and the healing of the blind paralytic of Bethsaida (8:22-27); and the parable of scattered seed (4:26-29). 1 C.F. Evans: The Beginning of the Gospel, 1968, p. 47. 2 Jerome Biblical Commentary, p. 23. 3 Nineham: Saint Mark, p. 34.
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