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Jesus - Mark Portrayal
by A.J. Wilson

“But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Mark 14:61-62

The Gospel of Mark has many interesting characteristics which make it the gospel of choice for many readers.  First of all the brevity of his gospel draws many people’s attention, making it easier to read the whole gospel in a short amount of time.  We may also relate well with Mark’s intended audience, Roman (Gentile) Christians.  Mark takes care to explain some of the Jewish traditions that they, like us, were unfamiliar with (7:3-4).  Also his frequent use of ‘immediately’ portrays the urgency with which Jesus ministered, and gives the reader a sense of action (1:10,18,20).  Despite his quick pace John Mark also inserts many adjectives which the other gospel writers left out, yet give the reader a sense of being in the story.  We may also relate more with Jesus in this gospel due to the ‘humanly’ presentation of Christ’s emotions and feelings.  One of my favorite parts of John Mark’s Gospel is the focus on Jesus’ human nature.  He shows us Jesus had compassion (1:41, 6:34, 8:2), broken-hearted at Gethsemane (14:33-34), and grieved of the unbelievers (3:5, 10:14). 

Mark’s fast pace is partly due to his focus on the deeds/actions and the supernatural miracles of Christ.  Many of the teachings of Jesus are intentionally omitted from this account of Christ’s life (possibly because John Mark was not there to hear the actual words.  John Mark’s gospel is a recounting of the memories of Peter, who John Mark spent time ministering with.)  He chose rather to simply say that Jesus taught at a place and then moved on to more action (2:13, 6:2, 6, 34).  John Mark’s immediate audience of Roman Christians would have already been experiencing trials and persecutions, so by including the miracles he shows that if Jesus has power over this world then He can help us to overcome the world also.

I also enjoy that this Gospel was accepted into the Bible, it shows me restoration.  John Mark had traveled with Paul and Barnabas, but turned back because the work was hard (Acts 13:13).  Paul was so angry that he split with Barnabas not to travel with John Mark (Acts 15:39).  But later John Mark became a faithful worker as evidence of Paul’s writing (2 Tim 4:11), and the acceptance of his gospel by the church was never questioned.

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