What are facts about Mark's Gospel?

Answer 1

The four Gospels Mattew, Mark, Luke, and John all tell the story of Jesus birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. They are also the first four books in the New Testament.

A key fact about them is that they were originally anonymous, so we do not know who actually wrote the gospels, in spite of the attributions to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Another key fact is that Mark's Gospel was the first to be written, not Matthew's Gospel as often supposed.

Answer 2

A:The following are facts about Mark's Gospel, rather than about its contents:

• It was written in Greek Koine
• It was the first New Testament gospel to be written
• It was written approximately 70 CE
• It was originally anonymous but was attributed to Mark in the second century by the Church Father Papias
• It was the original source document from which the Gospels of Matthew and Luke were largely derived, with 'Q' as their other major source
• It was a secondary source used by the author of John's Gospel, which was otherwise loosely based on Luke's Gospel
• It is based on a chiastic structure (a circular sequence in which an opening set of events is contrasted with another set of events that mirrors the first) in which the opening set begins with John explaining the coming of Jesus, followed by the baptism and the voice of God from heaven, and ends with Jesus predicting his death (9:1), and the contrasting structure begins with the Transfiguration of Jesus and the voice of God from heaven, and ends with the crucifixion, followed by the young man explaining the departure of Jesus.
• It originally ended at verse 16:8, with the young man telling the women that Jesus was risen and they fled in terror, telling no one.
• The 'Long Ending', verses 16:9-20, was added much later, to more or less harmonise with Matthew and Luke
• There was once also a 'Short Ending'.