The Gospel According to Mark

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jul 22, 1908

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 30.

The Gospel According to Mark

In the New Testament, our readings cover the last four chapters of Matthew and the first five of Mark. The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four. It was not written by one of the twelve, but rather by a young disciple, nephew of Barnabas, whose full name was John Mark, and by this he is referred to in the epistles, as in Acts 12:12; 13:5, 13; Col. 4:10. It is supposed that he learned these great facts of the Gospel from Peter (1 Peter 5:13), but we may also believe that the Spirit of God inspired his words. It was probably written between the years 63 and 70, A.D. Its style is altogether different from that of Matthew. While giving some details not found in either Matthew or Luke, the writer passes very swiftly over the story, very clear and incisive is his style. The divine power of the Lord, His great living energy, stands out prominently in the story. One of his favorite words is "immediately," occurring not less than forty-one times. The tense which he seems to prefer is the present, the actors standing out before you as living, moving characters. He has very little preface to his work, but plunges into the story immediately.