Mark seems to have a very pointed and factual way of laying out his gospel account. The nature of this makes his book seem as though there is no room for debate as to the historical accuracy of his testimony. This would account for the brevity of his account of the life of Jesus compared to the others. Further, Mark is the only gospel writer who does not reveal anything about the birth or early life of Christ, suggesting also that there is no room for dispute as to the reality of Jesus’ life here on earth. There are several main themes that stood out during my initial reading of the book of Mark. One of the most striking, especially in the beginning of the book, is Mark’s sense of immediacy. He uses the word immediately some 30 times throughout the book, as well as other phrases that suggest haste. This initially seems to me to correlate with the coming of the kingdom of God which Jesus Himself preached was “at hand”.
The kingdom of God is also mentioned several times throughout the book. Although this does not seem to be a major theme since it is explicitly mentioned only a few times, there are other themes that possibly correlate with this theme which would give it more prominence. Mark makes mention of kingdom concerns like power and authority on numerous occasions. Jesus demonstrates power over sickness, the Law and things unclean, demons, nature, sin, and death itself. Not only were the people astonished and marveled at His power displayed in His deeds, but also at the authority of his both His words and deeds. Multitudes followed Him, looking for deliverance and leadership from their illnesses as well as their political plight; because of this, Mark often records that Jesus was outside of the cities, and often travelling on the sea. Finally, there are several key references to this coming kingdom reaching out beyond Israel to the surrounding nations and to all nations. Mark records Jesus going into the areas and to the peoples surrounding Israel. This move away from ministering to the Jews only culminated in the Great Commission as Jesus commands His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every nation.
Several of these themes can be seen in the passage telling of the cleansing of the leprous man in Mark 1:40-45. Coming into contact with a leper made one ceremonially unclean. This making the unclean clean is seen later on as well. In this passage the theme of immediacy is also present. The leprosy leaves the man immediately, as soon as Jesus spoke. Jesus sends the man away at once to bring the necessary sacrifices to the priest. Not only does this show the immediacy and urgency of Jesus’ ministry, but it also demonstrates His power and authority over sickness and death. Jesus also shows His willingness and desire to heal and restore, and does so in ways that are unconventional to the times. Moreover, the multitudes that came to Him because of the power He wielded forced Him outside of the city so He could attend to them all.
After reading two general introductions to the book of Mark, it seems like I am basically on track with many of the main themes. The introductory notes in the New Geneva Study Bible (NKJV) added to the notion of the missional focus of this gospel by also pointing out that the final confession of Christ as the Son of God.
This introduction also lists Jesus’ Sonship as another theme in this book, which is one that I never picked up on. The power and authority theme connects with this one, in that the power of Jesus displayed His deity. Further, Jesus seems to try to keep this relationship between His Father and himself secretive, and commands those He heals as well as many of the demons and unclean spirits not to mention who He is or what He has done. Jesus is also challenged and condemned by the Sanhedrin because of His declaration to be the Son of the Blessed.
If Mark indeed did write this letter from Rome to the Roman church, or the churches of Italy at large, many of these themes make sense. The issues of power and authority would have been well understood by the Romans. Further, the fact that Mark spends much time pointing out that the real enemy of God’s people was not Rome but rather a dark, spiritual enemy fits well with this thrust. Also mentioned in these introductions was the thought that Mark possibly served as an interpreter for Peter. The suggestion is made that the book of Mark mirrors the recounting of gospel events by Peter in the Book of Acts. Further, Peter was in Rome at the end of his life, and could easily have been a/the source for Mark’s gospel account.
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