St Mark's Gospel in the New Testament - Essay Example

St. Mark's Gospel A Brief Introduction St. Mark's Gospel is a gospel in the New Testament. Considered second of the four canonical gospels, St. Mark's gospel is often referred to as a synoptic tale. Although there is no information about its author, it is believed to have been ascribed by John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. Also known as Mark the Evangelist, John describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Although the gospel covers the life from John the Baptist to the resurrection, it primarily deals with the last week of Jesus' life. The swift narration portrays Jesus as the Man Of God and depicts him as a spiritual healer and an exorcist. The Messianic secrets and the obtuseness of his disciples are the two main themes of the gospel. The use of parables by Jesus to hide his true identity and fulfill the distained prophesies are perhaps a bit intriguing and even his disciples fail to understand the true implications of his miracles. Traditionally, the Christian churches are of the belief that the gospel of St. Mark is an epitome of Gospel of Matthew and it is therefore placed after The Gospel of Matthews in most bibles. According to scholars, contrary to the beliefs of the Christian churches, Gospel of St. Mark, is indeed the first of the canonical gospels and is supposed to be the source of inspiration and material for the gospels of Matthew and Luke. The Gospel's Contribution To The Church Of England One of the foremost contributions of St. Mark's Gospel towards the Church of England is 'providing a sense of direction'. Before the gospel, numerous people were running here are there without a leader in place. They worshipped numerous Gods and had differing faiths. This resulted in vast differences in culture and people were always at loggerheads with each other. What was lacking in England was a common religion which could work to uplift the society as a whole. Hence, the Gospel was indeed a binder in terms of following a common God-Lord Jesus Christ. Another serious contribution of this story is about food. In the story, Jesus often invites his disciples to nourish themselves and although we ignore it a common occurrence, the irony remains that nourishment was the only means of providing peace and solace to his disciples. When the topic revolves around food, the disciples panic stating that it would take eight months of wages to have a peaceful meal. Jesus resolves their problem at the end of the gospel, thereby telling them and the Church of England that a simple and secure life, which has adequate nourishment and rest, is perhaps the best and by far the most ignored of all. (Hooker, 2001) The moral of the story revolves around four main aspects. The first is the problems concerning the discipleship, problems concerning the Church of England, problems concerning personal hopes and problems concerning our personal fears. Another important message which the Gospel grants to the Church of England is the importance of being one with each other. In the gospel, the disciples are shown as an arrogant lot who refuse to share food with the other fellow beings that are being drawn to Jesus. Well, Jesus refuses to provide food only to the disciples and insists that the disciples will get nourishment only if they willfully share the food with their fellowmen. The Church of England, which was divided and patronized the rich while ridiculing the poor, learnt its lesson of equality through the Gospel Of St. Marks. The message is clear-God is equal to all and he has no favorites. It is interesting to note that when the disciples ask Jesus to send the villagers away to fetch their own food as it is getting dark, Jesus refuses and states that the food would be provided by the disciples themselves. He supports his theory by stating that it was he who provided them (disciples) food on a regular basis, hence, it was now their (disciples) turn to do the same. The message instills a feeling of equality and the fact that nourishment is equal and required by both the rich as well as the underprivileged. The lesson of equality teaches the church that people who come to offer their prayers are not chosen in accordance to their wealth or status but by the will of God. It is also the theme of the New Testament that to be in a church is to be with the un-chosen neighbors. It also states that a church is a place wherein people from all walks of life come together to be one with God and this in turn helps us unite with people we have never met before. (Hooker, 2001) Anglican churches are often worried about their resources and are petrified of running out of their finances. This reminds us of a line by a disciple in the gospel. He says, "That would take eight months of a man's wages." The answer was in reply to Jesus' question to feed the others who had assembled with him. Delusion, boredom and panic have stricken most Anglican churches and if they read the gospel of St Marks, the baseless fear which is engrained in the minds of most disciples, would surely cease to exist. Another fear which needs to be countered is the 'fear to ask'. The gospel teaches us that we need to ask if we are to survive and become providers. Most Christians abstain from asking when the need arises and hence suffer a lifetime of neglect and oppression. The gospel asserts that unless you learn to ask and fulfill your basic needs, you would continue to be a burden on yourself, the society and even the almighty. Hence, taking cue from the Gospel of St. Mark, churches, with special reference to the Church of England, should let go of their fear and utilize all possible means to amass adequate resources to feed all who come to offer their prayers to Lord Jesus Christ. (Lenski, 1946) Conclusion The Gospel of St. Mark's has proven to be of immense help to the society and Churches of England. Through a simple term called 'nourishment', Jesus teaches the lesson of life, of peace and solidarity, of equality and freedom, of asking and giving and the ability to be one with God. Works Cited Hooker, M. D. (2001). Gospel According to St Mark. Continuum International Publishing Group. Lenski, R. C. (1946). Interpretation of St. Mark's Gospel. Augsburg Fortress Publishing. Read More