Many biblical scholars consider Mark to be the earliest production among the four gospels.
Unlike Luke and Matthew, Mark contains no infancy narrative of Jesus. And compared to the other three, there is little by way of a post-resurrection appearance. What is there (Mark 16:8-20) seems to be compiled from the accounts in the other gospels; moreover, these verses are not found in the earliest manuscripts. When one considers how, for centuries, Jesus’ nativity and resurrection have been the main foci of Christian theology, the virtual absence of both in Mark, the first written gospel, is striking. In Mark, we are left to deal with Jesus first and foremost as teacher. The concern isn’t so much who Jesus is as what he says. Still, who he is matters. and Mark addresses it in the opening verse of his gospel scripturally, having no need to resort to philosophy or theology: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it it written in the prophets.”

With this episode, A Light To The Nations begins an exclusive focus on the Gospel of Mark. Every two weeks we will hear the text and discuss its content, particularly the terminology in the original Greek. Join me today for The Beginning Of The Gospel (Episode 58), and our discussion of Mark 1:1-3.

Notes:
“Passing Clouds” performed by Roger Limb

What does Jesus mean when he says that, for those who are willing to accept it, John the Forerunner “is the Elijah to come”? How does John function as Elijah in the Gospels? In this episode we discuss the text that is heard in the Orthodox Church on the Nativity of the Forerunner, in which John is said to go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17).

Koran performed by Delerium.
Photo by Brett Jordan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/page-of-book-of-malachi-in-bible-20764514/

The Scriptural God has no representative statue, no temple and no earthly city. As such, he is unique among other deities of the ancient near east; they are made by the hands of men, they reside in temples made of stone, set in fortified cities and governed by a king who, like the statue, is the representative of the deity, his plenipotentiary on earth. By comparison, the Scriptural God seems like an anti-god. He is present among his people exclusively through his word of instruction, his Torah.
The heaviness, the weight of this God is to be found not in a statue, but rather in his statutes.

References
כְּב֣וֹד - ke-bowd - δόξης (Greek) glory; weight, heaviness
ὑποστάσεως - hypostasis - substance; something that stands under or supports something
χαρακτὴρ - charaktēr - a graver, character, imprint, or expression
Exodus 13:21-22; 16:10
Isaiah 53:6-12
Mark 14:36
Philippians 2:5-10
Hebrews 1:1-4, 13 7:28; 8:1; 10:12; 12:1-2

Brand New Orleans performed by Prince.

Photo by Sidorela Shehaj: https://www.pexels.com/photo/low-angle-shot-of-an-athena-statue-under-a-cloudy-sky-14458428/