Introduction to the New Testament

 

Traditionally, John Mark is said to be the author of the second gospel, Mark. Barnabas was his cousin and always he accompanied him and Paul on their journeys.  He was not a direct witness to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ but he served as a scribe to Simon Peter who was in the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples (Chilton, 2017). The suggestion that he is the author of the second gospel has gathered opposition from modern scholars who claim that he is not the writer and that the writer of this gospel is anonymous. The tales of insurrections and the battle that occurred occasionally on the Jewish community were Mark’s point of reference concerning the Jewish Revolt. Another aspect that show this gospel was written after the gospel revolt is Mark 13 which have details concerning the Jewish war which was responsible for leading to the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem around 70 AD, therefore this is enough evidence that the gospel of Mark was written after the Jewish revolt.

The first category that describes Mark’s concept of Son of Man describes him as a prophetic teacher. An example is when he healed a paralytic man and told him to wake up and his sins were forgiven. The scribes judged this act as blasphemous because it is only God who can and has the power to forgive sins Jesus after noticing that they were questioning themselves internally he asked them what was easier between telling the man that his sins had been forgiven or telling him to stand up and walk but in order for him to show them that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins he forgave the sins of that man (Harris, 2014).

The second category of Mark’s concept of Son of Man revolves around Jesus’ suffering that led to his death and later resurrection. Jesus a human being will have to undergo great suffering in order to return and sit on his fathers’ right hand. In Mark 8:13 Jesus informs his disciples that he as the Son of Man will have to suffer at the hands of the elders and the high priest. This suffering would be accompanied by his death, and his resurrection on the third day (Harris, 2014).

Eschatological group of son of man saying are found in verses such as Mark 8:38 where Jesus takes time to warn those who are ashamed of accepting him and the gospel he preaches , he will be ashamed of them when he returns with his father’s glory and angels during his second coming (Harris, 2014). There is a connection between the phrase “Son of Man” as used by Mark, Ezekiel and Daniel. The use of the phrase in Enoch should be ignored since it does not relate to the others. At a point Daniel 7: 13-14 refers to Mark and his concept of son of Man on how he describes Jesus as one given dominion and kingship over mankind.

In his ministry Jesus was very fond of using parables in order to deliver his teachings and describe the Kingdom of God. A parable is defined as a short and fictious story that is told in order to deliver a certain hidden meaning or to illustrate an attitude or a religious principle. In the book of Mark, the second gospel the author explains that “ Jesus taught many things by parables”(Mark 4:2) and finally when he was alone with his disciples he admitted to them that they have been given a grand opportunity to know and understand the Kingdom of God but those who were outsiders would never understand since all things come in parables to them. Later on, Jesus posed a question to the disciples and asked them “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?” (Mark 4:30). In Mark 4:26-29 Jesus uses the parable of The Sprouting Seed to illustrate the Kingdom of God, he compares it to a man scattering seeds on the ground (ReligiousFacts, n.d). In so many occasions Jesus uses parables to describe the kingdom of God.

Scholars have issued out their concern that it is unlikely that the second gospel, Matthew was transcribed by a disciple or follower of Jesus. This can be attributed to the fact that the gospel of Mark was very much the reference point when writing the Matthew, therefore scholars have always considered Matthew as an extension of the gospel of Mark. The tone that is used in this book shows a strong difference between Jews and the believers of Jesus Christ. All this has made scholars conclude that the book was written in Syria during the 80s decade that had passes after the destruction of Jerusalem since at this time the region had large communities of Jews and even Jews who were Christians (Harris, 2014).

            The gospel of Luke can be regarded as an expansion of the second gospel, Mark, this gospel shows a great interest in the works of Jesus during his ministry. This gospel major focus it the works of Jesus in relation to the poor, by all mean, poor by wealth, health and women who were greatly disregarded, sinners and those who were outcasts in the society, the compassion he showed these people has serves as an inspiration to many. This gospel goes ahead and puts emphasis on how Jesus was guided by the holy spirit and prayers throughout his ministry (Harris, 2014). Luke is responsible for presenting the actions of Jesus as those to be emulated.

The book of Luke portrays its writer as someone who has deep knowledge and understanding of the actions that were taken by Paul and also an understanding of what Paul learnt from Jesus. This can be evidence that the writer of Luke was Paul’s travelling companion. However, in the books that follow which are Acts and Luke the writer fails to continue the lectures and ideas of Paul and this can serve as evidence that the author of Luke gospel was not a traveling companion of Paul (Harris, 2014).

 

 

 

 

 

References

Chilton, B. (2017). Who wrote the gospel of Mark? Cross Examined. Retrieved from;             https://crossexamined.org/wrote-gospel-mark/

Harris, S. L. (2014). The New Testament: A Student's Introduction (8th ed.). Retrieved from;           ?SectionID=5037&tabid=154#27.

ReligiousFacts (n.d). Gospel of Mark. Retrieved from; http://www.religionfacts.com/gospel-mark