Editing Gospel of Mark (section)

===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}}