Title: MARK and JOHN -- The First and Last Gospels, newly translated from the best available New Testament texts
Genre: Religion Biblical Studies
Pages: 176
Synopsis:
Bishop Papias of Hierapolis in the province of Phrygia tells us something about Mark's Gospel in a letter dated around 120 in which he quotes the recollection of an "old man" he identifies as John, the Elder (who signed two New Testament letters and extensively edited and added to The Gospel of John): "When Mark became Peter's interpreter, he wrote down, although by no means in full detail, much of what Peter accurately remembered about the words and works of the Lord… Peter did not intend to give a complete exposition of the Lord's ministry."
The Jesus that emerges from the uncensored and restored Mark (reconstructed from what I consider to be the best Greek texts published in that admirable compendium, The Greek New Testament, edited with scholarly thoroughness by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Bruce M. Metzger and Allen Wikgren) is quite different from the stained-glass image presented by Matthew, Luke and John. In fact, when they quote from Mark (which they often do), both Matthew and Luke work overtime to change Mark's adjectives, even though they are the impressions of an eye-witness, namely Peter, whose veracity is beyond doubt. After all, Peter is so scrupulously honest, he even presents himself on at least four or five important occasions in a wholly unflattering light. You can't help but have a lot of respect for a man who is so quick to condemn his own failings. My hat's off to him!
As noted in the text, Mark's manuscript ends abruptly. While it is by no means uncommon in Greek literature to end a sentence with a preposition ("for" actually—I have used "of" as an indication), to conclude a whole book that way is unheard of. Two early attempts to supply a conclusion are appended. Some Greek texts use one or the other. Some use both. Most Christian churches (both Catholic and Protestant) regard only a censored version of Appendix Two as authoritative.
The account of Herod's dealings with John the Baptist was quite possibly written by Mark. It certainly captures his style and even employs his favorite word, "immediately", twice. On the other hand, it is undoubtedly out of place in Chapter Six, so I have included it as an Appendix rather than try to guess where it may have originally been inserted.
