The Gospel of Mark
An investigation into the reliability of the first Gospel
Although it is commonly asserted by skeptics that the Gospel of Mark is unreliable and inconsistent with history, the evidence may suggest that the author of the Gospel of Mark worked with early sources or that he may have been an eyewitness or interpreter of an eyewitness since he correctly identifies Palestinian (Judean) archeology, geography, social customs, and administrative structures.
Fishing as a Major occupation on the Sea of Galilee
Mark 1:16-20:
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
The Gospel passage portrays many of the apostles as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. The discovery of the Galilean fishing boat (see figure one) demonstrates that fishing on the Lake of Galilee was an occupation at the time of Jesus.
A synagogue in the town of Galilee
Mark 1:21:
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.
Although early scholars doubted the presence of synagogues in Galilee, since it was a relatively small town, recent archeology has confirmed the presence of synagogues in the region (Migdal Synagogue. See figure two).
The beliefs of the Jews
Mark 7:1-4
1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
The author correctly identifies the practices of the Pharisees, demonstrating the familiarity of the author with Jewish customs and sectarian disputes. If John Mark is the person who is described in the book of Acts, a member of the early Jerusalem Church which was full of Jewish-Christians, we would expect Mark to have knowledge of Judaism and the Jewish Jerusalem community, which is exactly what we find in the passage.
Mark 12:18
18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.
The author further demonstrates his knowledge of Jewish traditions and practices suggesting his familiarity with Jerusalem, especially since the Sadducees, a rich Jewish group, died out around ad seventy when the temple was destroyed, making it more difficult for one to find information concerning the views of the Sadducees at the time.
Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus 13.10.5-6:
...the Pharisees, who were one of the sects of the Jews, as we have informed you already. These have so great a power over the multitude, that when they say any thing against the king, or against the high priest, they are presently believed...but of the sect of the Sadducees, whose notions are quite contrary to those of the Pharisees...What I would now explain is this, that the Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses; and for that reason it is that the Sadducees reject them, and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our forefathers. And concerning these things it is that great disputes and differences have arisen among them, while the Sadducees are able to persuade none but the rich, and have not the populace obsequious to them, but the Pharisees have the multitude on their side.
Identification of the person and rule of Pontius Pilate
Mark 15:1-16:
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. 2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” 5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. 6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13 “Crucify him!” they shouted. 14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. 16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.
In the passage, Pilate:
- interrogates Jesus
- presides over a judicial hearing
- controls Roman soldiers
- orders the execution
Pontius Pilate has been found in other external sources, notably the pilate stone, where he is called prefect, the duties of which align well with those of above.
translation:
for the sailors [the building called tibereium]
Pontius Pilate
prefect of Judea
repaired [it]
Aramaic sayings preserved in the Greek gospel
Mk 5:41
talitha Koum (“little girl, arise”)
Mk 7:54
ephphatha (“be opened”)
Mk 3:17
boanerges (“sons of thunder”)
Mk. 14:36
abba (“father”)
Mk. 10:51; Jn. 20:16
rabbi (“teacher”)
Mk 15:22
golgotha (“place of the skull”)
Mk 11:9
hosanna
Mk 15:34; Mt. 27:46
eloi, eloi, lema sabachthani
Mk 7:11
corbon
Mk 10:46
bartimaeus (“son of timaeus”)
The sayings above were preserved by Mark in Aramaic, a language spoken in the levant and not used in the rest of the world at the time. Jesus, who was born in Israel, likely primarily used the Aramaic langauge. After the death of Jesus, the first church was established by the twelve apostles in Jerusalem, which is in Israel. Since the church was in Jerusalem, and since they were the followers of Jesus, who spoke Aramaic, it would have been necessary for them, the members of the Church of Jerusalem, to speak and to be fluent in Aramaic. So, since many of the other churches of this time could and did not speak Aramaic (since they mostly spoke Greek or Latin) and since much of the Roman Empire at this time could not speak Aramaic, if a tradition had been passed down, and that tradition was in Aramaic, it is likely that the tradition was passed down by the Jerusalem Church, which was the most reliable since it had been found by the apostles (Peter, James, the cousin of Jesus, John), though, the conclusion is probabilistic and not certain.
