1I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom: 2preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all patience and teaching. 3For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts, 4and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn away to fables. 5But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.
6For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. 8From now on, the crown of righteousness is stored up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.
9Be diligent to come to me soon, 10for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. 12But I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13Bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus when you come—and the books, especially the parchments. 14Alexander the coppersmith did much evil to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15Beware of him, for he greatly opposed our words.
16At my first defense, no one came to help me, but all left me. May it not be held against them. 17But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear. So I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 18And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me for his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
19Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the house of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus remained at Corinth, but I left Trophimus at Miletus sick. 21Be diligent to come before winter. Eubulus salutes you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
22The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. 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.