The relevance of the gospel of mark to modern day audiences?

Answer 1

...I am writing a book on Jesus whole life in modern day terms. But, because I'm a girl, Jesus and his disciples are girls, Lasarus is a girl and Mary and Martha are boys. :)

There is a bible that is in modern day terms.

Answer 2

The consistent theological theme of Mark's Gospel is known as the "Messianic Secret". The Gospel often has Jesus hide his messianic identity. When he exorcises demons, they recognise him, but he commands them to silence. When he heals people, he once again tells them not to reveal how they were healed. Then when he preaches, he uses parables to conceal his true message. The disciples are obtuse, not understanding what Jesus said.

William Wrede coined the term "Messianic Secret" in 1901, when he challenged the view that Mark comprised a straightforward historical account. He believed that this was a literary device that Mark used to resolve the tension between early Christians, who hailed Jesus as the Messiah, and the historical Jesus who never made any such claim for himself.

Since Mark's gospel was the major original source for the other New Testament gospels, this theme was carried into both Matthew and Luke, where it creates some tension with the themes of those gospels. The author of John's Gospel entirely rejected the "Messianic Secret" theme, even moving the "Cleansing of the Temple" event, in which Jesus publicly reveals himself to the religious authorities, from the very end of the story (as in all the synoptics) to the very beginning of the story.