Mark is identified as a disciple of Peter in Rome (“ my son, Mark” – 1 Peter 5:13) and is a cousin of Barnabas (Acts 15:37). He is also the John Mark mentioned by St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles as a disciple from Jerusalem (Acts 12:12) who assisted Paul in his apostolic works (Acts 12:25).
Mark in Rome put down in writing Peter’s preaching. Although Peter’s disciple, Mark is quite frank about the weaknesses of Peter’s earlier undistinguished career.
Mark wrote in Greek. His Gospel is rough in style strongly Aramaic in feeling, and often faulty in construction, but it is fresh and lively. It is also appealing because of the specific details which no doubt reflect Peter’s personal experience of the events recorded.
Mark probably used a Greek translation of Matthew’s Aramaic Gospel as a guide in writing his own . It is noteworthy that he decided to put in very few of the Sayings of Jesus which were characteristic of that particular Gospel.
Because it does not seem from this Gospel that Jerusalem had yet been destroyed, it is thought to have been written before 70 A.D., probably shortly before or after Peter’s death in Rome about 64 A.D.
In Mark, Jesus, while remaining misunderstood and rejected by the people, is at the same time God’s triumphant envoy. The real point of this Gospel is the manifestation of the crucified Messiah. It is a gradual manifestation brought about with frequent cautions by Jesus who wanted silence about His miracles and His identity because the Jews were expecting a victorious warrior-Messiah. This cautionary measure was not invented by Mark. It corresponds to the underlying reality in Christ’s life of suffering which led to the resurrection.
Mark’s is the least systematic of the first three Gospels. It may be outlined as follows:
1: The preaching of John the Baptist plus s the baptism and temptation of Jesus (1:1-13).
2: A period of ministry in Galilee (1:14-7:23).
3: A journey of Jesus and His apostles to the district of Tyre and Sidon, the Decapolis, the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, and back to Galilee (7:24-9:59).
4: The final journey through Peraea and Jericho to Jerusalem where the passion and resurrection took place (10:1-16:8).
Mark’s sequence of events is a good example of what we mean when we say that the evangelists were not interested primarily in describing exactly what happened, for it is fairly certain that Jesus visited Jerusalem several times before His passion and death in that city.
However, Mark’s arrangement brings out forcibly an important development which is both factually and theologically significant. The general public received Jesus warmly at first but their enthusiasm waned as they found that His conception of the Messiah did not fulfil their hope. As a result Jesus left Galilee to devote Himself to the instruction of a small group of faithful followers who expresses their absolute allegiance in the profession of faith at Caesarea Philippi. This was a decisive turning-point: after it Jerusalem became the focus of attention, it was there that mounting opposition led to His death and the final triumph of the resurrection.