Summary and Analysis: The Gospel of Mark as a Story

Posted: February 21st, 2020

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Summary and Analysis: The Gospel of Mark as a Story

1.         The Gospel of Mark mainly discusses the life of Jesus via a reliable narrative form. It creates a story that firmly traces the development of the protagonist from the humble beginnings in the career of a minister. In addition to his career, the Gospel of Mark highlights the key points or milestones of Jesus’ life until his death.

2.         In the narrative of Mark, it is possible to note the existence of both heroic as well as villainous characters. Hence, as the Gospel develops, the good guys comprise the disciples of Jesus. These respective characters act as the ones that are loyal to Jesus. Even though Jesus is subject to situations of persecution, ridicule, and disrespect from the bad people, they continue to pay their allegiance towards him. On the other hand, the bad guys comprise the Pharisees, especially led by Caiaphas the High Priest. These villainous characters are consistently attempting to thwart the good intentions carried out by Jesus and his disciples by restricting him from attaining the goal at hand.

3.         The narrator of the gospel is Mark the apostle. Unlike the other Gospels, the Gospel of Mark is particularly distinct in respect to Mark’s ways of writing as well as the narration he employs in the respective story. Foremost, Mark starts each paragraph by using a conjunction. The use of a conjunction allows the writer to connect each section from the beginning to the culmination of the narrative. This is evidenced by the consistent use of ‘And’ in the commencement of every section. Another distinct attribute evidenced by Mark in his account of Jesus’ life involves the use of simple English. Mark’s writing is simple for the reader to understand.

4.         The narrative shifts decisively when John the Baptist is arrested by Herod. As seen in the narrative, John the Baptist sets the way for the coming of the protagonist. In fact, it is because of John the Baptist that the audience first becomes aware of Jesus. As such, his arrest and death at the hands of Herod turn the narrative considerably.