Mark: The Servant Who Gave His Life

Mark at a Glance

Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels and the quickest. It has no birth story and no long sermon, only the Son of God at work, and then a cross and an empty tomb.

• Author. John Mark. The church met in his mother's house in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12), and he was a relative of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). He left Paul and Barnabas at Perga (Acts 13:13) but was later profitable to me for the ministry, Paul wrote (2 Timothy 4:11). Peter called him Marcus my son (1 Peter 5:13). Christians have long held that Mark recorded the preaching of Peter.
• Date. About AD 55 to 65.
• Written To. Gentile readers, especially Romans. Mark explains Jewish customs (Mark 7:3–4), translates Aramaic words (Mark 5:41), and uses Latin words such as centurion (Mark 15:39).
• Setting. Galilee and the lands beyond, then Jerusalem. Tradition places Mark with Peter in Rome when he wrote.
• Key Verse. Mark 10:45: the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
• Key Word or Theme. Straightway and immediately, which together appear more than thirty times. The theme is Jesus the Servant in action.