Gospel of Mark
1. According to tradition, who wrote the Gospel of Mark? Why are modern scholars unable to verify that tradition? What themes in the Gospel suggest that it was composed after the Jewish Revolt against Rome had already begun
2. Describe the three different categories Mark assigns the Son of Man concept. How is this concept related to earlier Jewish writings, such as the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and I Enoch?
3. Define parable and discuss Jesus’ use of this literary form to describe his vision of God’s kingdom.
4. Why do scholars believe that it is unlikely that one of the Twelve wrote Matthew’s Gospel? From the content of the Gospel, what can we infer about its author and the time and place of its composition?
5. Describe some of Luke’s major themes and concerns.
6. Evaluate the evidence for and against the tradition that Luke, Paul’s traveling companion, wrote the Gospel bearing his name.
-Word count must be at least 1,250 words for total assignment.
-Must be in APA style including in-text citation (author’s last name, year) and references.
-Must include at least 3 scholarly sources 1 being the textbook.
-Textbook: Harris, S. L. (2014). The New Testament: A Student’s Introduction (8th ed.). Dubuque: McGraw-Hill Education.
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Gospel of Mark
Question#1
According to the tradition, Mark’s gospel was authored in Rome amid the period 66-70 CE by an itinerant companion to Paul as well as Peter’s interpreter John Mark. Despite the fact that John Mark is none of the direct witnesses of the whole life of Jesus, he served as a transcriber to the Peter- one of the twelve disciples, who was summoned by the Christ as the closest individual among the smaller circle of Disciples. The evidence upholding that Mark authored the gospel was prevalent in the ancient church. As a matter of fact, there is no history in the early church of any important discussion over who wrote the book of Mark (Ministries, 2005). Despite the fact that in the recent years the scholars have put forth some efforts to deny the tradition’s perspective, they have not rebutted the traditional evidence to Mark’s authorship, nor do they have some evidence from the gospel to pinpoint anything that Mark authored the book.
(1,420 words)