Tonight we discussed the Gospel of Mark which is the shortest of the Gospels, and was probably the first of the Synoptic Gospels to be written. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, about 70 AD, sent shock waves throughout the Mediterranean and influenced the writers of Mark. What did it mean if the place where God was to be found no longer existed? Had God rejected his people and canceled his covenant with them? The story also seems to be hurried, moving feverishly from one event to the next. Were the authors of Mark concerned that the oral traditions of Jesus' life and teaching were in danger and needed to be put in writing?
The writers of Mark were crafting a story of the life and teachings of Jesus for their own community, which was probably Gentile. It was written within the community, probably by more than one author, by the community and for the community. The writer or writers of Mark included oral tradition in circulation at that time as well as other local materials. Copies of the document would have originally been circulated anonymously, and it was probably edited and adopted for use by other communities as it was circulated. Later, in the second century or so, the name Mark was attached to the document to establish its authority, and to identify the community or the principle author from where it came.
Mark attempted to stress Jesus' message about the kingdom of God breaking into human life as good news, and that Jesus himself was the gospel of God. Although the final ending was added later, the original story ended with a cliff hanger, with the women who discovered the empty tomb bewildered and trying to understand what it meant. Like the people in the Gospel of Mark, the living voice of God speaks within our lived experiences, and those who endure to the end will be saved.
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