Mark's Gospel

The Lion is the symbol of Mark’s Gospel. It represented strength and courage to the early Christians and disciples.

• Mark’s Gospel is ascribed to a certain Mark, or John. Although it is not certain who wrote it, it is accepted that this Gospel was written in about AD 60 in Rome.
• It is likely that Mark got his information from Peter.

Mark wrote his Gospel because:

• key people who knew Jesus and remembered the stories were dying
• the stories needed to be preserved
• persecuted Christians needed strength from Jesus’ life
• it was important to have a written record of the events of Jesus’ life

There are good reasons to believe that Mark’s Gospel is written for a non-Jewish readership:

• Words are translated from Aramaic.
• There is strong emphasis on the suffering of Jesus and on the necessary acceptance of possible suffering on the part of the disciples.

Mark’s Gospel was spread by:

• word of mouth
• people living by the teachings of Jesus