Editing Gospel of Mark (section)

==Comparison with other writings==
[[File:PericopesHenryIIFol117rAngelOnTomb.jpg|thumb|"Entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment"{{snd}}Mark's description of the discovery of the empty tomb (from the [[Pericopes of Henry II]])]]

===Mark and the New Testament===
All four gospels tell a story in which Jesus' death and resurrection are the crucial redemptive events.{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|p=587}} There are, however, important differences between the four: Unlike [[Gospel of John|John]], Mark never calls Jesus "God", or claims that Jesus existed before his earthly life; unlike [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]], the author does not mention a virgin birth or indicate whether Jesus had a normal human parentage and birth; unlike Matthew and Luke, he makes no attempt to trace Jesus' ancestry back to [[King David]] or [[Adam]] with a genealogy.{{sfn|Burkett|2002|p=158}}

Christians of Mark's time expected Jesus to return as Messiah in their own lifetime{{snd}}Mark, like the other gospels, attributes the promise to return to Jesus himself,<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse|Mark|9:1}} and {{bibleverse-nb|Mark|13:30}}</ref> and it is reflected in the [[Pauline epistles|Pauline Epistles]], the [[Epistle of James]], the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]] and in the [[Book of Revelation]]. When return failed, the early Christians revised their understanding. Some acknowledged that the [[Second Coming]] had been delayed, but still expected it; others redefined the focus of the promise, the [[Gospel of John]], for example, speaking of "eternal life" as something available in the present; while still others concluded that Jesus would not return at all (the [[Second Epistle of Peter]] argues against those who held the view that Jesus would not return at all).{{sfn|Burkett|2002|pp=69–70}} Other scholars, however, contend that all four gospels show an eschatology wherein many of the eschatological topics concern the destruction of the Jewish Temple, the transfiguration and resurrection of Jesus, whereas his return is a promise for an undisclosed time in the future which people should always be ready for.<ref>[[N.T. Wright]] (2018), ''Hope Deferred? Against the Dogma of Delay'', University of St. Andrew's, pp. 68-72</ref><ref>[[Larry Hurtado]] (1990), ''Mark: New International Biblical Commentary'', p. 140</ref><ref>Robert Stein (2014), ''Jesus, the Temple and the Coming Son of Man: A Commentary on Mark 13''</ref><ref>[[Michael F. Bird]] (2024), [https://www.logos.com/grow/hall-the-olivet-discourse// ''The Olivet Discourse: Second Coming Prophesy or Prophetic Warning against Jerusalem?'']</ref> Other scholars, like those of the [[Jesus Seminar]], believe that the apocalyptic language in Mark and the rest of the gospels are inventions of the gospel writers and the early Christians for theological and cultural purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1988/v45-3-article2.htm#13|url-status=dead|title=A renaissance in Jesus studies|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204055910/http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1988/v45-3-article2.htm#13 |archive-date=2012-02-04|publisher=[[Princeton Theological Seminary]]|date=October 1988|author-first1=Marcus J. |author-last1=Borg}}</ref>

Mark's despairing death of Jesus was changed to a more victorious one in subsequent gospels.{{sfn|Moyise|2013|p=unpaginated}} Mark's Christ dies with the cry, "[[My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?]]"; Matthew, the next gospel to be written, repeats this word for word but manages to make clear that Jesus's death is the beginning of the resurrection of Israel; Luke has a still more positive picture, replacing Mark's (and Matthew's) cry of despair with one of submission to God's will ("Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"); while John, the last gospel, has Jesus dying without apparent suffering in fulfillment of the divine plan.{{sfn|Moyise|2013|p=unpaginated}}

===Content unique to Mark===
[[File:San Marco cathedral in Venice.JPG|thumb|right|[[Mark the Evangelist|St. Mark]] with angels, holding his gospel. His symbol, [[Lion of St Mark|the winged lion]], also appears with him. Detail from [[St Mark's Basilica|St Mark's Cathedral]].]]
* The [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath]] was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. {{bibleverse||Mark|2:27}}{{Efn|Similar to a rabbinical saying from the 2nd century BC, "The Sabbath is given over to you ["the son of man"], and not you to the Sabbath." {{harv|Kohler|1905}}}} Not present in either Matthew 12:1–8 or Luke 6:1–5. This is also a so-called "[[Western non-interpolation]]". The passage is not found in the Western text of Mark.
* People were saying, "[Jesus] has gone out of his mind", see also [[Rejection of Jesus]].<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|3:21}}</ref>
* Mark is the only gospel with the combination of verses in [[Mark 4]]:24–25: the other gospels split them up, Mark 4:24 being found in Luke 6:38 and Matthew 7:2, Mark 4:25 in Matthew 13:12 and Matthew 25:29, Luke 8:18 and Luke 19:26.
*The [[Parable of the Growing Seed]].<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|4:26–29}}</ref>
* Only Mark counts the [[Legion (demons)|possessed swine]]; there are about two thousand.<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|5:13}}</ref>
* Two consecutive healing stories of women; both make use of the number twelve.<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|5:25}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|5:42}}</ref>
* Only Mark gives healing commands of Jesus in the (presumably original) [[Aramaic]]: ''Talitha koum'',<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|5:41}}</ref> ''Ephphatha''.<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|7:34}}</ref> See [[Aramaic of Jesus]].
* Only place in the New Testament where Jesus is referred to as "the son of Mary".<ref name="auto1">''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|6:3}}</ref>
* Mark is the only gospel where Jesus himself is called a carpenter;<ref name="auto1"/> in Matthew he is called a carpenter's son.<ref name="auto">''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Matthew|13:55}}</ref>
* Only place that both names [[Brothers and sisters of Jesus|his brothers and mentions his sisters]];<ref name="auto1"/> Matthew has a slightly different name for one brother.<ref name="auto"/>
* The taking of a staff and sandals is permitted in Mark 6:8–9 but prohibited in Matthew 10:9–10 and Luke 9:3.
* Only Mark refers to [[Herod Antipas]] as a king;<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|6:14}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|6:24}}</ref> Matthew and Luke refer to him (more properly) as an [[Herodian tetrarch]].<ref>''Bible'' ''cf.'' {{bibleverse||Matthew|14:1}}; {{bibleverse||Luke|3:19}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|9:7}}</ref>
* The longest version of the story of [[Herodias]]' daughter's dance and the [[beheading of John the Baptist]].<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|6:14–29}}</ref>
* Mark's literary cycles:
:* 6:30–44{{snd}}''Feeding'' of the five thousand;
:* 6:45–56{{snd}}Crossing of the ''lake'';
:* 7:1–13{{snd}}''Dispute'' with the Pharisees;
:* 7:14–23{{snd}}''[[Discourse on Defilement]]''{{sfn|Twelftree|1999|p=79}}
:Then:
:* 8:1–9{{snd}}''Feeding'' of the four thousand;
:* 8:10{{snd}}Crossing of the ''lake'';
:* 8:11–13{{snd}}''Dispute'' with the Pharisees;
:* 8:14–21{{snd}}Incident of ''no bread'' and discourse about the ''leaven'' of the Pharisees.
* Customs that at that time were unique to Jews are explained (hand, produce, and utensil washing): Mark 7:3–4.
* "Thus he declared all foods clean".{{Efn|The verb ''katharizo'' means both "to declare to be clean" and "to purify." The ''Scholars Version'' has: "This is how everything we eat is purified", Gaus' ''[[Unvarnished New Testament]]'' has: "purging all that is eaten."}} 7:19 [[NRSV]], not found in the Matthean parallel Matthew 15:15–20.
* There is no mention of [[Samaritans]].
* Jesus heals using his fingers and spit at the same time: 7:33; ''cf.'' 8:23, Luke 11:20, John 9:6, Matthew 8:16.
* Jesus lays his hands on a blind man twice in curing him: 8:23–25; ''cf.'' 5:23, 16:18, Acts 6:6, Acts 9:17, Acts 28:8, [[laying on of hands]].
* Jesus cites the [[Shema Yisrael]]: "Hear O Israel&nbsp;...";<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|12:29–30}}</ref> in the parallels of Matt 22:37–38 and Luke 10:27 the first part of the Shema<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Deut|6:4}}</ref> is absent.
* Mark points out that the [[Mount of Olives]] is across from the [[Temple Mount|Temple]].<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|13:3}}</ref>
* When [[Arrest of Jesus|Jesus is arrested]], a [[Naked fugitive|naked young man]] flees.<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|14:51–52}}</ref> A young man in a robe also appears in Mark 16:5–7.
* Mark does not name the [[List of High Priests of Israel|High Priest]].<ref>''Bible'' ''cf.'' {{bibleverse||Matthew|26:57}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|3:2}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|4:6}}, {{bibleverse||John|18:13}}</ref>
* Witness testimony against Jesus does not agree.<ref>''Bible'' ''cf.'' {{bibleverse||Mark|14:56}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|14:59}}</ref>
* The cock crows "twice" as predicted.<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|14:72}}</ref> See also [[Fayyum Fragment]]. The other Gospels simply record, "the cock crew". Early codices 01, W, and most Western texts have the simpler version.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www-user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/TCG/TC-Mark.pdf |title=A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels. Vol. 2: Mark, p. 448 |access-date=9 January 2008 |last=Willker |first=Wieland |work=TCG 2007: An Online Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels|edition=5th |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227161053/http://www-user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/TCG/TC-Mark.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2008 }}</ref>
* Pilate's position (Governor) is not specified.<ref>''Bible'' ''cf.'' {{bibleverse||Mark|15:1}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|27:2}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|3:1}}, {{bibleverse||John|18:28–29}}</ref>
* [[Simon of Cyrene]]'s sons are named.<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|15:21}}</ref>
* A summoned centurion is questioned.<ref>''Bible'' {{bibleverse||Mark|15:44–45}}</ref>
* The women ask each other who will roll away the stone.<ref>''Bible'' ''cf.'' {{bibleverse||Mark|16:3}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|28:2–7}}</ref>
* A young man sits on the "right side".<ref>''Bible'' ''cf.'' {{bibleverse||Mark|16:5}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|24:4}}, {{bibleverse||John|20:12}}</ref>
* Mark is the only canonical gospel with significant various alternative endings.{{efn|See {{section link|Mark 16|Alternate endings}}}} Most of the contents of the traditional "Longer Ending" ({{bibleverse||Mark|16:9–20|KJV}}) are found in other New Testament texts and are not unique to Mark, see {{section link|Mark 16|Longer ending}}, the one significant exception being 16:18b ("and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them"), which is unique to Mark.