1Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed: 2shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily; not for dishonest gain, but willingly; 3not as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. 4When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
5Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility and subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, 7casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.
8Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings. 10But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
12Through Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. 13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you. So does Mark, my son. 14Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace be to all of you who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
As with the other Gospels, the author of the Gospel of Mark is not explicitly stated. However, very early and nearly universal church documents assign Mark as the author. Papias (ca. A.D. 140) claims Mark wrote the Gospel as Peter’s interpreter. Justin Martyr, writing around the same time, agreed. Irenaeus (ca. 180) also said Mark was the author, and that it was a compilation of Peter’s sermons.
Mark was the author’s Roman name, but he was also known by his Hebrew name, John. He lived in Jerusalem with his mother, Mary, whose home became the headquarters of the first Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12). Mark went with Barnabas and Saul (Paul) to Antioch, and went on Paul’s first missionary journey around A.D. 46. At Pamphylia, he left Paul unannounced, causing Paul to argue with Barnabas about taking him with them again (Acts 15:36-41). However, by 60-62, Paul’s faith in Mark had been repaired to the point that Paul called him a “fellow worker” (Col 4:10, 11; Phlm 24). He also helped Peter (1 Peter 5:13), and came to Rome to help Paul during his imprisonment and final moments (2 Tim 4:11).
Although some early church Fathers assigned a date as early as A.D. 40, it is all but impossible that Mark would have written the Gospel before he deserted Paul. Irenaeus dated Mark to after both Peter and Paul’s death, around A.D. 67. However, both Papias and Clement of Alexandria, much earlier than Irenaeus, claimed that Mark wrote down Peter’s sermons while Peter was still alive. Also, if Luke used Mark as a source, as many scholars now believe, Mark must have compiled his account earlier than Luke’s gospel, which was written before Luke wrote Acts, sometime around A.D. 62. For these reasons, the strongest argument is that Mark wrote his Gospel sometime in the mid 50’s.
Clement of Alexandria said that Mark was written for those in Rome. Mark is thought to have been living in Rome at the time of the gospel’s writing. Internal evidence seems to agree with a Roman audience, and also points to a majority of Gentile addressees. Mark uniquely uses Latin terms, such as lepta, praetorium, and quadrans. His use of quadrans is especially helpful, since this coinage was not circulated in the eastern part of the Roman empire. Mark also translated Aramaic sayings into Greek, and explains customs unique to Palestine, pointing to a Gentile audience, or at least an audience that was unfamiliar with Judaism in Palestine.
Many scholars think Mark was written to strengthen Christian communities in the face of persecution, assuming a late date for the writing of Mark. Certainly suffering is one of the themes of Mark. Mark emphasizes not only Jesus’ death, but also His triumph over death and suffering. However, suffering is not the only theme, and may not even be the most important one. Another theme is that of Jesus as servant. This is shown by Mark’s emphasis on Jesus’ actions over His words. Another significant idea in Mark is Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law, negating its requirements. Because of the similarity of this theme in Mark with the Epistle to the Romans, combined with the theory that Mark was written in the mid-50’s to Gentiles in Rome, some scholars have posited that Mark was written as a primer in preparation for Paul’s visit to Rome. New converts returning from Pentecost in Jerusalem had most likely formed the church in Rome. Thus they were not established by an Apostolic visit, and were probably lacking in information about the faith they had embraced. Some have even suggested Mark may have written his Gospel with the intent of redeeming himself with Paul. We know that by 60-62, when Mark was in Rome, Paul had changed his mind toward Mark. If this was the case, it would explain the similarities between Mark and Romans, despite that Mark got his information from Peter.