A friend and colleague whom I have immense respect for describes Mark as a ‘strange Gospel.’ That might not be the phrase you immediately associate with it, but brought to mind is the important question of what exactly is a Gospel? It’s a book, a collection of material that tells us about the life of Jesus, a history, a biography. There are many labels that you can attach to it, but at the end of the day, a Gospel is far more than letters on a manuscript, words on a page. It’s ‘good news’ and of that, Mark is very keen to tell us! Why? Mark is writing because of a relationship, several in fact.

There’s his relationship in faith to Jesus Christ; his relationship to the eyewitness accounts that he is using to craft his story; his relationship to the community for which he wrote and, of course, his relationship with us, the hearers and readers of his Gospel today. Mark wrote because he had something of profound importance to communicate; his Gospel is a bold and vibrant proclamation of the ‘good news’ of what God had done in Jesus.

Archbishop Rowan Williams describes Mark as a ‘Cinderella’, often viewed as unattractive, not much use for the annual Nativity play, and so on. Mark’s Greek is rough and ready, it’s full of pace (one of Mark’s favourite phrases, it seems, is to tell us that something happened ‘immediately’!), and interestingly it is full of present tense verbs. If you read the narrative in the present tense (rather than the ‘it happened’ tense) that makes an incredible difference to how you perceive your role in the story.

No longer are we accessing a story written a long time ago, we are actually there! Beginning of the good news of Jesus Messiah, Son of God (The New Testament, ‘freshly translated’ by Nicholas King, 2006, Kevin Mayhew). There’s not even a word for ‘the’. Mark begins with a bold proclamation. John the Baptist bursts on to the scene announcing that the time is ‘now’, the place is ‘here’, and the purpose is ‘this’.
It’s an announcement that God is taking over. We need to look and listen, be aware of what is happening around us. If Mark’s beginning is abrupt, so too is his ending. The oldest manuscripts stop suddenly at 16:8.  This caused some concern amongst early readers of the Gospel, who added extra, longer endings in order to ‘finish’ what they felt was ‘incomplete.’

But Mark’s sudden ending is quite deliberate, because he wants the story to continue in our lives. We too are disciples. Mark invites us to re-read the whole Gospel again, our lives having been transformed by the first read-through, but this time we are to read it in the light of the resurrection. We take our faith for granted sometimes, but Mark reminds us that we too have an active role to play in the ongoing story of salvation. It’s not surprising then to say that for Mark, discipleship is a very important theme. It weaves its way throughout the Gospel as an answer to the questions that the Gospel seems to pose: who is Jesus (chapters 1-8) and, why must he die (chapters 9-16)?

The disciples are called, they follow (immediately), they are sent out, they ask questions and crucially, they get things wrong. Mark seems to portray the disciples negatively, and Peter in particular seems to present himself in a not very positive light at times. But we ought to be reassured here, because even when the disciples desert Jesus, there is hope of forgiveness and restoration. You don’t have to be ‘perfect’ to follow Jesus.

Mark’s Gospel is also a Gospel of unveiling secrets. Read through it and notice how many times Jesus tells people not to reveal who he is. How can a Gospel that has proclamation at its heart keep telling us to ‘be quiet?’ Maybe it is because a relationship of trust is needed? Maybe too it is because there is something very profound at the heart of our faith, a mystery that is revealed in Christ and lived out in the life of the Church today. Mark offers signs of hope, glimpses of light that enable us to see Christ in the face of those around us. That is both good news and a profound challenge.

The Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley is Director of Biblical Studies and lecturer in the New Testament at Ripon College Cuddesdon and on the Oxford Ministry Course.
 

More on Mark:

Want to find out more? The Door recommends the following commentaries and guides for gaining a deeper understanding of Mark’s Gospel:
•Helen-Ann Hartley: Making Sense of the Bible (2011) SPCK
•Morna Hooker: The Messages of Mark (2005) Epworth Press
•Nicholas King: The Strangest Gospel: A Study Of Mark (2006) Kevin Mayhew
•RT France: Mark, from the People’s Bible Commentary series (BRF)
•T and T Clark Study Guides: Mark by WR Telford ( T&T Clark)
•Mark for Everyone: Tom Wright (SPCK)
•Mark for Everyone – Bible Study Guide: Tom Wright (SPCK)
•A Feminist Companion to Mark: edited by Amy-Jill Levine (Sheffield Academic Press)