Fr. Charles - Questions about Mark

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When was the Gospel written?

            An actual date when the Gospel of Mark was written cannot be accurately ascertained.  Some scholars believe this document was written around AD 50, while others believe it was written in the late 60s or just after AD 70.  The key to educating a guess centers on the lack details about the First Jewish Revolt against Rome and the fall of Jerusalem.

 

Why was this Gospel Written?

            The most likely reason for the writing the Gospel was to help the Christian sustain their faith under persecution by the Romans.

 

To whom was this Gospel written?

            To whom the Gospel of Mark is written remains unclear but there are reasonable possibilities that the text was written for Gentiles living somewhere in the Roman Empire, most likely Rome, were the audience was not familiar with Jewish customs, traditions or did not know Aramaic.  The audience would most likely have spoken Greek and understood Latin.

 

What is the Messianic Secret?

            The Messianic Secret was the revelation by his disciples to the public that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah who was promised in the Old Testament.  The revelation needed to be kept secret until Jesus completed his ministry which included his suffering, death, burial and resurrection.

How many "endings" are there in Mark?

            There are three different endings to the Gospel of Mark.  The original ending occurs at Chapter 16 verse 8, with the words "They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid".  Many scholars could not accept that the author of Mark would end the Gospel on a note of fear and felt that part of the original document have been lost.  So to rectify what they thought was mission, the copyists made attempts to correct or to reconstruct another ending of Mark.  The Marcan Appendix, also called "The Longer Ending" is the common ending in most Bibles.  The third ending is called the "Sorter Ending" which has Jesus, through his disciples, proclaiming eternal salvation.

Who was the first to see the risen Jesus in Mark's Gospel?

            If one relies solely on the original text in Mark, then the Angel is the first to see the risen Christ because Mark ends his Gospel with an exchange between the women who came to anoint Jesus and the Angel who tells them "You seek Jesus of Nazareth the crucified.  He has been raise; he is not here" (Mk 16:6)