02 — The Second Gospel
The Gospel according to Mark — the shortest, swiftest, and (on the dominant modern view) the earliest of the four — together with the patristic tradition of its origin: that Mark wrote down the preaching of the Apostle Peter, whose interpreter (hermeneutes) he was, recorded by Papias of Hierapolis and preserved by Eusebius (HE 3.39.15). These files treat the Gospel as a literary and theological whole and then examine the Peter–Mark tradition that the early Church received as the key to its origin.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle and Evangelist)
The Second Gospel is the writing that makes John Mark “the Evangelist.” It opens with the words “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1), and races forward in a present-tense, “immediately”-driven narrative toward the cross. The early Church was unanimous that behind it stood the Apostle Peter: Papias, Irenaeus, Clement, and Eusebius all connect Mark’s Gospel to Peter’s preaching at Rome, and this connection — its strength, its limits, and the scholarly assessment of it — is the second pillar of this section. Together the two files set out what the Gospel is and the claim, ancient and contested, about how it came to be.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Gospel of Mark | The Second Gospel as a whole: its “beginning of the gospel” (Mark 1:1), its urgency and the euthys (“immediately”) refrain, its structure around Caesarea Philippi (8:27–30), the action-driven narrative, and its theological shape toward the cross. |
| Peter and the Gospel | The Papias tradition that Mark, “the interpreter of Peter,” wrote down accurately but not in order what Peter remembered (Eusebius, HE 3.39.15); the corroborating witness of Irenaeus, Clement, and Justin; “Mark, my son” (1 Pet. 5:13); and the scholarly assessment of the tradition. |
See Also
- John Mark of Jerusalem — the man who became the evangelist
- Markan Priority — the case that this Gospel was written first
- The Messianic Secret — the theological signature of the Gospel
- The Church Fathers — Papias, Irenaeus, and Clement, the witnesses to the Gospel’s origin
References
- The Gospel according to Mark (esp. 1:1; 8:27–30). Revised Standard Version and Greek New Testament (NA28) consulted.
- Papias of Hierapolis, Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord, in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.39.15. Trans. McGiffert, NPNF II/1.
- Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies 3.1.1. Trans. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1.
- France, R. T. The Gospel of Mark (NIGTC). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
- Hengel, Martin. Studies in the Gospel of Mark. Trans. John Bowden. London: SCM Press, 1985.