Saint Mark gospel book outline

The second volume of the New Testament is the Gospel of Saint Mark. From the time John the Baptist baptizes Jesus through to his death, burial, and finding of the empty tomb, the ministry of Jesus is described in this book. Both the birth narrative and the post-resurrection appearance are left out of the novel. Jesus is portrayed in the novel as a brave man, but his true identity is kept secret and only revealed through parables. The gospel in the book concludes with the discovery of the empty tomb, the hope of meeting again and an appeal to the disciples to spread the gospel (Moloney 321)

While examining the book, the focus is on the setting, the structure, theology and how it compares with other gospel books in the New Testament.

Body

I. THE BOOK THOUGH REGARDED BY MANY TO HAVE UNKNOWN AUTHOR WAS WRITTEN BY MARK IN GREEK TO EXPLAIN JEWISH TRADITION AND TRANSLATE ARAMAIC OF GREEK-SPEAKING CHRISTIANS TO GENTILE AUDIENCE.

A. The two main confusing issues presented by this book are the synoptic problem and the history of the author or mark.

1. The book has a huge resemblance to the gospel books by Mathew, mark and Luke in terms of their content. The books though share many words exhibits critical difference. This present phenomena called synoptic problem.

2. This gospel book was used as a reference by both Mathew and Luke as they were writing there gospels. Many scholars regards book as having unknown author because many doubt mark tradition (Marcus, 54).

B. The setting of the book is in Judaism where the Christianity or church begun and is placed second or fourth in Christian canon.

1. The book is based on Jesus history that arose within his lifetime and shortly after his death. It is a Jewish literature addressed to gentile audience 2. The book comes second in the bible.

II. THERE IS NO PARTICULAR STRUCTURE IN THIS BOOK, BUT ITS CONTENT IS BASED ON HISTORY OF JESUS

A. There no agreement on the structure of this book due to the fact that the story of Jesus kept on shifting from one place to another.

1. The book is three act dramas based on Jesus parables, his teaching in Galilee to Judea then finally end with Jesus arrival in Jerusalem (Telford, 87).

B. The book analyses the history of Jesus teaching actions and death with an omission of his birth narrative and post resurrection narratives.

1. It begins with Jesus teaching and parables.

2. Jesus identity is revealed by peter

3. Jesus returning to Jerusalem where he announces the destruction of the temple

4. The Passover is narrated

5. Finally the empty tomb.

III. THEOLOGY OF THE SAINT MARK GOSPEL IS BASED ON THE CONFIRMATION OF IDENTITY OF JESUS.

A. The book uses several themes to confirm identity of Jesus.

1. The book portrays the Jesus’ disciples as fearful, obtuse and uncomprehending.

2. The secrecy surrounding his true identity is revealed. This misses out in other gospels books such as john.

3. The enemies of Jesus portray him as magicians due to his miracles.

B. The book reveals the perspective or authors understanding of Jesus Christ.

1. Mark sees Jesus as son of God though no clear explanation has been provided

2. He calls Jesus Christos meaning messiah or the anointed one

3. He also uses titles such as son of man where he ties Jesus to his royal kingship (Carrington, 71).

IV. IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER GOSPELS BOOKS, THERE ARE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCE.

A. The book presents a similarity with gospel books by Luke, Mathew and johns.

1. Both books center their stories on Jesus history and give his death and resurrection special treatment.

B. Mark gospel book is also different from others.

2. Mark never calls Jesus GOD like other gospels such as john.

3. Jesus birth is omitted in this book unlike in Mathew and Luke.

4. Unlike other gospel books, the book makes no attempt to trace Jesus ancestry to Adam or David (Carrington, 67).

Conclusion

The saint mark gospel book presents the history of Jesus in a unique way that makes it different from other gospel books. The book centers on Jesus teachings, death and resurrection but omits birth and post-resurrection narration. The setting is Judaism.

Work cited

Carrington, Philip. According to Mark: A running commentary on the oldest gospel. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Marcus, Joel. Mark 8-16: a new translation with introduction and commentary. Yale University Press, 2014.

Moloney, Francis J. SDB. The gospel of Mark: A commentary. Baker Books, 2012.

Telford, William. The barren temple and the withered tree: a redaction-critical analysis of the cursing of the fig-tree pericope in Mark's Gospel and its relation to the cleansing of the temple tradition. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.