One of the main characteristics of the gospel of Mark is it’s length. Mark is much shorter than Matthew and Luke, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. The author of Mark does not slow down the gospel story and makes sure that only important and relevant details are included. When Mark is compared with Matthew and Luke, it becomes obvious to see what Mark has eliminated. The author’s omission of Jesus’ birth, lineage, resurrection, and ascension denote careful planning and purpose in the gospel of Mark.
In the beginning of Mark, the author does not include Jesus’ genealogy or his birth story like Matthew and Luke do. Instead, the gospel begins with John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus. Interestingly, unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark’s author also does not mention or allude to Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph. An example of the intentional omission of Joseph is when Jesus is rejected at Nazareth. In Matthew, Joseph is alluded to when people ask, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (English Standard Version, Matt. 13.55a). In contrast, in Mark people ask, “Is not this the carpenter…”(Mark 6.3a). When compared with Matthew, it’s
The author of Mark gives the basic outline or the “essentials” of Jesus’ biography. Considering this and the fact that Mark was the first gospel written, it should come as no surprise that the gospels of Matthew and Luke borrow from and expand on Mark. However, this does not mean that one should only read Mark because the “essentials” are all that’s needed in order to be a follower of Christ. Matthew and Luke have important material that Mark does not include. They also narrate from different perspective and with a different purpose. On the other hand, it also does not mean that reading Luke and Matthew will reveal everything you need to know about Mark, Mark merely includes details and wording that Matthew and Luke do
For example, John begins by introducing Jesus as the Word made flesh, who existed in heaven beside God until coming down to earth (John 1:1,14), immediately making this gospel stand aside from the synoptic gospels, which portray Jesus as a human figure who begins his life the moment he is born. The absence of the nativity scene in John supports the claim of Jesus being the divine Son of God who was sent down from heaven and transformed into the Word incarnate. Birth wouldn’t be important to someone who had previously existed (Harris, 253). The Gospel of Matthew does in fact include the nativity scene, because according to Matthew this is the very beginning of Jesus’ existence. Before the birth, Matthew maps out the genealogy of Jesus, all to support the claim that, “Jesus the Messiah, son of David, the son of Abraham,” (Matt. 1:1) is heir to the Davidic throne, and in fact the Jewish Messiah, King of the Jews. Right off the bat it is evident that John disregards the birth scene because it really isn’t relative to the divine being, and Matthew accentuates Jesus’ lineage, which would make Jesus appear to the audience very human, and rightful to the throne, something many Jews disagreed with during that time. Matthew does, however, also refer to Jesus as the Son of God multiple times similar to John. It is still true that John uses that title to express Jesus as being, “a father’s
Lastly, Gospels are to give a complete picture of Jesus but both Gospels give a different view on Him. Since they are two different writers, there are two different perspectives on Him. Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah or a promising king. Everything revolves around the statement of Jesus as the Messiah as Matthew references each prophecy that shows through Christ’s own teachings on His kingdom. This becomes evident when Matthew explains “that it might be fulfilled which was spoke by the Lord through the prophet” (Matthew 2:5). It also explains that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, for “thus it is written by the prophet” (Matthew 1:22). Most of Matthew’s writing often indicate slight detail in the life of Jesus and finish with a connection on how the event is a fulfillment of prophecy. In contrast, John’s Gospel introduces Him to reader as the eternal Father and the eternal Word. John proves this with the statement of :"in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in
Step-Father of Jesus Christ, Joseph was a hard working carpenter that serves his people. Jesus was brought into his Step Father’s trade in Book of Mark questioning in astonishment “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” (Mark 6:3) Jesus served his people but never followed his Step-Father’s footsteps and believed he was made for more than being a carpenter but to be a servant for the Lord. “Who thought he was in the form of God, did not count equality with a god to be grasped but taking form of a servant and being born in the likeness of man” (Philippians 2:6-7) Jesus followed passions that Willy never did in “Death of a
He is announced by the narrator as Jesus as Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. This is not as strong, or divine, as Mark's announcement calling Jesus as Christ, Son of God. Matthew does later note Jesus as Son of God. Matthew uses other's response to Jesus; his evaluated point of view; Jesus' titles and attributes; and His deeds and words to characterize him. Matthew's Jesus is a very complex character. In chapter two the Magi see him as the King of the Jews. Later, John calls Him "one mightier". The centurion sees Christ as a person of authority as seen in chapter eight, and Jesus called...
The authors of the Gospel According to Matthew, and the Gospel According to Luke made some considerable modifications, deletions, and additions to the Gospel of Mark. To the average reader the changes seem rather significant and one might ask why these changes were made. Well, there are several reasons why these changes were made. For example, the authors wanted to show readers that Jesus was more holy than the original author set him out to be. Also, the authors sought after to express the gospel in, what they thought, were better words to make it appear more authentic. Furthermore the authors of the Gospel According to Matthew and the Gospel According to Luke wanted simply to modify the text because they didn’t see eye to eye with what the original author said.
The beginning and ending of the Gospel of Mark really support the four main themes present within the Gospel. The four main themes in the Gospel are: Jesus as being enigmatic, Jesus as a sufferer, Low Christology and Apocalypticism present within the Gospel. The beginning and ending of this Gospel support Jesus as being misunderstood because in the beginning, there is no birth story of Jesus or any background information presented, Jesus is just there. This makes one question where did he come from and who was he born to? In the end of the Gospel, the tomb is described as empty and the last sentences of the Gospel in Mark 16: 8 says: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (1743). This ending of the Gospel is enigmatic because there is no mention of Jesus’ resurrection or whether anyone ever found out that Jesus had ascended to Heaven. The beginning and ending, not to mention the entire Gospel, leaves one wondering many things about Jesus, because his whole existence in Mark is very mys...
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the origin of nearly everything the Christian Church teaches about Jesus. The Gospels, in turn, serve as the scale or test of truth and authenticity of everything the church teaches about Jesus. It is said that the Gospels are the link between Jesus of Nazareth and the people of every age throughout history who have claimed to be his followers. Although the Gospels teach us about Jesus’ life they may not provide concrete evidence that what they speak of is true there are several other sources.
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
The New Testament teaches about who Jesus is and what he did on the earth. John wrote the last of the four gospels which recount Jesus’ life and what is to come. The gospel of John is somewhat different from the other three gospels, in that it is more symbolic and less concrete. For example, John expresses Jesus as the Passover Lamb when Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not. This gospel is showing that Christianity is moving away from the long-practiced Jewish traditions. John’s gospel can be laid out into four parts: the prologue or the incarnate word, signs of the Messiah with teachings about life in him, the farewell teaching and the passion narrative, and the epilogue or the roles of Peter and of the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Gospel of John is arguably the most
The birth narrative of Matthew begins with a long genealogy of Jesus, which basically shows how Jesus is son of Abraham who is the father of the nation of Israel, and David the King of the Jews. This may not seem important but this genealogy shows how Jesus is connected to the Davidic line. Then we have Mary, who just found out she was pregnant and Joseph decides it is best to divorce her because he wanted to break his union with someone who is pregnant, by someone else. But behold the angel comes down and reassures Joseph that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and that he should take her back into his house. The angel also said to name the child Emmanuel. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and King Herod heard of this new newborn king of the Jews and he ordered that all boys under the age of 2 be killed. The magi gave Jesus the gifts and left. In a dream, the angel of the lord told Joseph to take the child and go to Egypt and hide, Herod then died, and Jesus was safe.
Mark was Peter's son (I Peter 5:13, possibly spiritual son), who wrote down what Peter said about who Jesus was, what He did, where He went and what happened; Mark's gospel is therefore Peter's account, an eye-witness account, written down by Mark.
The Quelle source is information that consists in both Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospel. Now give that mark’s Gospel is rather short and has difficulties, it is interesting to
Mark’s gospel and John’s gospel contain many differences from the beginning, but both end with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The gospels of John and Mark represent Jesus as two different people. The disparity is that Mark represents Jesus as a servant while John portrays Jesus as a divine being. However, one must realize the two texts are meant to read by different audiences during different time periods. Each description presents a particular aspect of the life of Historical Jesus.
I read about Jesus in the four gospels of the New Testament. In their narratives of his birth, Matthew and Luke call him the virgin-born Savior, the Lord Christ Jesus, the Holy One, the So of the Most High, the Son of God, and Immanuel, which means "God with us." Mark does not give us an account of Christ's birth, but he dows introduce him as Jesus Christ, the son of God.
Many important themes arose while I was reading the Gospel of Mark. In my week 2 group discussion posts, the themes I listed were faith, power of prayer, forgiveness, repentance, optimism, gratitude and mercy. However there are more that I found in the chapter and I read through it again such as the healing power of God and standing for righteousness.