1. Revelation 4:7 describes the cherubim around God’s throne as beings with four faces: a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle.
By long tradition, the church has attributed one of these “faces” to each of the Gospels, according to the character and message of the particular Gospel.
In the cathedrals of Europe this motif is repeated again and again by carvings or paintings of each one of these creatures, typically with a book. Over the centuries, different traditions have connected these four faces of the cherubim in different ways.
One way of thinking has connected the Gospel of Mark with the ox, because the Gospel of Mark shows Jesus as a servant, just as an ox is an animal of work and service. The Gospel of Mark shows Jesus as the Servant of God, as a Workman of God.
a. For this reason, the Gospel of Mark is a “busy” book.
In this Gospel, Jesus seems the busiest, quickly moving from one event to another.
One of the key words in the Gospel is immediately, occurring more than 40 times in Mark. We see Jesus as a servant – busy meeting needs and busy being God’s Messiah.
b. In the Gospel of Mark, the emphasis is on the deeds of Jesus more than on the words of Jesus.
“The Gospel of Mark pictures Christ in action. There is a minimum of discourse and a maximum of deed.” (Robertson)
2. Strong church tradition says that the Apostle Peter is the main source of Mark’s gospel.
Some think of Mark as “The Gospel According to Peter.”
a. One indication of Peter’s influence is that Peter speaks very affectionately of Mark, referring to him as Mark my son in 1 Peter 5:13.
He also wrote that Mark was with him in 1 Peter 5:13.
i. Mark (who is also called John-Mark in passages like Acts 12:25) was a failure in ministry as pictured in the book of Acts with Paul (Acts 15:36-41).
His relationship with Paul was restored in the end (2 Timothy 4:11).
ii. Like Mark, Peter also knew what it was like to be a failure in following Jesus after having denied Him three times.
He too was restored in the end.
b. Another indication of Peter’s influence is the vivid, eyewitness detail of this Gospel.
It is “fullest of striking details that apparently came from Peter’s discourses which Mark heard, such as green grass (6:39), two thousand hogs (5:13), looking round about (3:5,34).” (Robertson)
i. “Mark’s Gospel throbs with life and bristles with vivid details.
We see with Peter’s eyes and catch almost the very look and gesture of Jesus as he moved among men in his work of healing men’s bodies and saving men’s souls.” (Robertson)
c. A third indication of Peter’s influence
is that “Peter usually spoke in Aramaic and Mark has more Aramaic phrases than the other, like Boanerges (3:17), Talitha cumi (5:41), Korban (7:11), Ephphatha (7:34), Abba (14:36).” (Robertson)
3. Many believe Mark to be the first of the four Gospels written, and that it was written in Rome.
a. Most scholars agree that the Gospel of Mark was the first of the four written, though some believe that Matthew was perhaps first.
i. “One of the clearest results of modern critics study of the Gospels is the early date of Mark’s Gospel.
Precisely how early is not definitely known, but there are leading scholars who hold that A.D. 50 is quite probable.” (Robertson)
b. Mark was not one of the 12 disciples.
Perhaps the only mention of him in the Gospel is a shadowy reference in Mark 14:51-52. As a youth, he perhaps was part of the larger group that followed Jesus.
c. The early church met at the home of Mark’s mother, Mary, in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12).
d. To the hard-working and accomplishment-oriented Romans, Mark wrote a gospel that emphasized Jesus as God’s Servant.
Because no one cares about the pedigree of a servant, the Gospel of Mark has no genealogy of Jesus.
i. Another indication that Mark wrote his Gospel for the Roman mind is that he uses more Latin words than any of the other Gospels.
“There are also more Latin phrases and idioms like centurio (15:39), quadrans (12:42), flagellare (15:15), speculator (6:27), census (12:14), sextarius (7:4), praetorium (15:6), than in the other Gospels.” (Robertson)
ii. When Bible translators go to a people who have never had the Scriptures in their own language, they usually begin by translating the Gospel of Mark.
Mark is the most translated book in the entire world.
One reason is that it is the shortest Gospel, but the other reason is that this Gospel was written for people unfamiliar with first century Judaism. Mark wrote it for the Romans.