Bible Final Review: Mark

Most likely the — and shortest Gospel written

earliest

emphasizes the

conflicted nature of Jesus’ relationship with religious leaders and his own followers

Messianic secret

Jesus keeps his identity a secret

centrality of the cross

• The main argument is that Jesus’s primary purpose was to die on the cross

• Jesus’s death on the cross serves as the primary symbol for the life of self-denial, service, and sacrifice that followers of Jesus must embrace

  • Ransom, covenant

Secrecy

• Jesus’s parables about God’s kingdom are confusing and are only for “insiders” to understand

• Jesus tells people to not speak of his miracles and healings

Blind stories

two blind healing stories

How many endings

four: the short ending may have been damaged

Little Apocalypse

Mark 13

• Hint of crisis

• Scholars believe the gospel was written during the first Jewish war

  • Roman army breaks into the city and destroys the temple

  • The fall of Masada signals the end of the first Jewish war