What is a Gospel and

what is the Gospel?

Greek: euangelion
(εὐαγγελιον = good + message)
ἀγγελοσ=messenger
 In early Christian history there are two usages:

“The” Gospel - “the good news, the good message”

came first.

Then the literary “life of Jesus” genre that Mark

invented came to be called Gospels.*

*The first use I know of is by Justin Martyr in the mid 2nd

century, in 1 Apology 55.
Early Christians didn’t invent the term – it existed before Christianity in both
Roman and Jewish contexts.

Jewish: In the Hebrew Bible (aka Tanak aka Old Testament), verses such as 2
Samuel 18:30, 1 Kings 1:42, or Isaiah 52:7 all mention “good news,” which gets
translated into “euangelion” in Greek versions of the Jewish scriptures.

Roman: the term “euangelion” became important in the cult of Emperor

Augustus. It was used in propaganda to describe his rise to power and anything
he said. E.g.:

“Caesar has exceeded the hopes of all former good messages [euangelia]….for
the world the birthday of the god was the beginning of his good messages
[euangelion]”
~(from an inscription in Priene, 9 BCE)
Four Gospels made
it into the canon of
the New Testament.

They were written in

this order:

Mark (around 69/70)

Matthew/Luke (late
70s to early 90s?)
John (around 100)*

*some scholars debate the

order of John and Luke,
putting Luke latest instead
There were
many other
Christian
gospels written
in the first
centuries! Most You can see a list of them
are lost, many here, and you can read
are fragments extant versions online at
or only earlychristianwritings.com!
(Click on “apocrypha” and
mentioned in
“gospels” comes up as an
other texts, but option.)
some remain
intact!
The gospels that didn’t make it into the canon are
highly diverse – from Jewish all the way to anti-
Semitic – and each serving its own particular
community’s quirks and needs.

(Then again, so are the gospels that made it in!)

Today, we begin with the first and
oldest gospel – perhaps the very
inventor of gospels as a literary
genre!

Mark!
The under-rated Gospel

• The shortest of our four

• The clumsiest use of Greek
• Some mistakes in geographical references and
narrative, not seen in the other Gospels
• focussed more on Galilee than Jerusalem
• no birth narrative - starts with Jesus as adult
• “a passion narrative with a long intro” (Kahler)
• strange abrupt ending (a truncated resurrection
appearance that ends awkwardly)
• Let’s face it: other gospels were written because
Mark didn’t satisfy everyone’s likes or needs
 Mark’s less-than-happy Ending:
And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go
and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went
to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one
another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the
tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; -- it
was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting
on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And
he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who
was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they
laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you
to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.” And they went out
and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come
upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.
 • “No Gospel explores the
Then again: mystery of faith in Jesus
Christ more profoundly
than Mark” (Halloday)
• Other gospel writers don’t
discard Mark, but
incorporate and expand on
him
• He’s the oldest existing
gospel and he innovated a
genre despite his struggles
with writing
• Mark has some hilarious
and mysterious elements
not present in other
gospels
Mark’s primary concerns

• To show how Jesus’ character and fate were misunderstood by

just about everyone.
• How does a Jewish messiah relate to non-Jews? (note: this is
Paul’s concern also!)
• Explaining a suffering Messiah
• (Sumney: “no one prior to the church thought the messiah would be a poor
artisan whom the Romans executed”)
• The importance (despite it being confusing) of a Messiah who
dies (5 of Mark’s 16 chapters, nearly 1/3, are about Jesus’
sufferings and death)
• The importance of the basileia of God (in contrast to the basileia
of Rome)
• Jesus as powerful “son of God” (also in contrast to Caesar?)
 • Powerful ‘Son of God’
• But only recognized by
demons and non-Jews!!
Who is Jesus in Mark? • Suffering Messiah
• Abandoned by friends and
disciples
• Bringer of God’s basileia,
which is “near”
• Preaches the coming
eschatological ‘Son of
Man’
• Concealed behind
‘messianic secret’
• Powerful healer and
exorcist: ACTION Gospel
• Observant Jew
Mark: Jesus as Unrecognized Messiah

• Jesus is recognized ONLY at key moments

• Jesus is NOT recognized as Messiah by his closest
friends, nor by other followers (what does this say
about faith and the nature of belief?)
• He IS recognized by the daemons over whom he
exercises power (Mark 1:23-24)
• He IS recognized by God, at two crucial moments, first
at baptism (Mark 1:9-11) then at transfiguration (Mark
9:2-8)
• At his death, he is only recognized by a Roman soldier
(a non-Jew) (Mark 15:38-39)
The “messianic secret”

• Mark’s Jesus often tells his disciples, those he’s

healed, and even the demons not to tell others who
he is
• The only exception, tellingly, is a non-Jew (5:18-20)
• Mark’s Gospel is the only Gospel where Jesus’
parables are intentionally hard to understand
• Either you understand Jesus, or you don’t. Chances
are, most people won’t, according to Mark.
Mark 5:18-20 (the only time someone can talk)

18 AsJesus was getting into the boat, the man

who had been demon-possessed begged to go
with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said,
“Go home to your own people and tell them
how much the Lord has done for you, and how
he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went
away and began to tell in the Decapolis how
much Jesus had done for him. And all the
people were amazed.
The block-head disciples
• The disciples in Mark are
rather dim
• misunderstanding Jesus
• Their lack of understanding
gets worse as the book
progresses, culminating in
their rejection
• Why such a poor image of
the 12?
Above: the disciples panic
in a storm while Jesus
remains relaxed. (Mark
4:40–41): “He said to
them, "Why are you
afraid? Have you no
faith?” And they were
filled with awe, and said to
one another, "Who then is
this, that even wind and
sea obey him?”
Why do the disciples behave so
badly in Mark? Hypothesis:

• Perhaps Mark is written during or shortly after a period

of persecution (if in Rome, shortly after Nero’s
persecutions, which likely murdered Peter and Paul)?
• Mark’s description of the disciples, and of coming to
faith even out of the fear and trembling of the
resurrection morning shows that if the 12 can still come
to faith, then others can too.
• If the 12 can abandon Jesus and still come back, so can
others. Forgiveness and comfort after trauma.
• “Faith can arise out of ignorance, misunderstanding,
fear and even betrayal. No one is exempt from betrayal,
but anyone can make it back.” ~M.R. Anderson
 • Jesus “as compassionate healer of those
with physical and psychological
maladies” (Halloday)
• Jesus as Davidic King- Davidic Messiah
More (political)
Roles of • Jesus as wonder-working rabbi/teacher
(but not law-giver, as in Matthew)
Jesus in • Jesus as Satan’s nemesis; Satan’s arch-
Mark foe
• Esp as portrayed in miracles, which
in Mk are often exorcisms
• Portrayed in the demons’ dialogues
with Jesus
• Jesus as Son of Man:
• Proto-typical human being
(abandoned and alone at the
point of death; persecuted and
misunderstood)
• Suffering One
• Eschatological judge
Your Week 3 Readings:
• Ch. 6 “The Christian
Gospels”
• Ch. 7 “Jesus, the Suffering
Son of God: The Gospel
according to Mark.”
• The entire Gospel of Mark (in
one sitting).
Note four short videos on moodle
from last week and this week:

• Week 2: Amy-Jill Levine on the

Jewish Annotated NT and
Jewish-Christian Relations
• Week 3: Mark Goodacre on
“Why are there 4 gospels?”
• Week 3: Tom O’Loughlin on
“What is a Gospel?”
• Week 3: Sara Parks on “Why
Study Q?”
NEXT LECTURE: Q and the SYNOPTICS!

(That would be a good band name!)