The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (44 page)

27:51 curtain of the temple:
Hung between the Temple's two holiest chambers, the holy place and the most holy place (Ex 26:31-34). The veil was a sign that God's infinite holiness could not be approached by sinners (cf. Heb 9:8). With Jesus' saving death, forgiveness is secured for man, and access to heaven is reopened (Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19-22). This is announced by God himself, who tears the veil
from top to bottom.
See note on Mk 15:38
. 
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27:52 saints . . . were raised:
Apart from Matthew's Gospel, history is silent regarding this event and the OT personalities involved. No indication is given as to
who
was raised, how
long
they remained, or what
kind of body
these saints possessed; yet there would be no reason for Matthew to record it, except that witnesses from Jerusalem verified the facts (27:53). Theologically, it is essential to note that these OT saints were raised after (27:53) Easter morning, since Jesus was the first to be resurrected in glory (Col 1:18). 
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27:65 a guard of soldiers:
Probably Roman military personnel, since they sought refuge with the Jerusalem priests after verifying the empty tomb (28:11). This was to keep them "out of trouble" with Pilate (28:14). The consequences of Jesus' disappearance for these soldiers would have likely involved capital punishment (cf. Acts 12:19; 16:27). 
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28:1 first day of the week:
Sunday, the day following the Jewish Sabbath. To commemorate Christ's Resurrection, the early Christians called it the "Lord's day" (Rev 1:10) and designated it a day for sacred assembly, eucharistic worship, and prayer (Acts 20:7; CCC 2174). 
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28:6 he has risen, as he said:
Jesus predicted his Resurrection six times in Matthew (12:40; 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19; 26:32). Historically, the miraculous fact of Jesus' Resurrection is central to the Christian faith and provides the ultimate proof of his divinity (Jn 10:17-18). The event is not a mere resuscitation of Jesus' body but a glorification of his humanity, body and soul. Christ's Resurrection anticipates the general resurrection of all people before the Last Judgment (cf. Jn 5:28, 29; 1 Cor 15:20-24; Rev 1:5; CCC 638). 
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28:15 this story:
A desperate fabrication by the Jerusalem leaders. Their bribe of the Roman soldiers illustrates how willful blindness hardens the heart to resist uncomfortable truths, even in the face of evidence (cf. Rom 1:18-21). 
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28:18 All authority:
The Father vindicates Jesus at his Resurrection and gives him full dominion over creation (cf. Dan 7:13, 14; Eph 1:19-22). Jesus confers his authority on the apostles to preach the gospel and "make disciples" (27:19) as witnesses of his Resurrection (cf. Lk 10:16; Acts 2:32).
See note on Mt 24:30
. 
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28:19 Go therefore:
Christ's commission to evangelize kilkJ and catechize the world fulfills God's covenant oath to Abraham that "all the nations" would be blessed (Gen 22:18; Gal 3:8). His outline for the Church's mission is threefold:
(1)
Evangelizing
all nations
involves more than winning individuals; it entails the conversion of entire cultures. Every area of life must be brought under the Lordship of Christ and in line with the gospel.
(2)
The administration of the sacraments is essential to the Church's mission and our response.
[B]aptizing
new converts is the first step in a long process of sanctification and participation in the life of the Church.
(3)
The transmission of all that Christ taught necessitates the assistance of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church to proclaim the gospel infallibly (cf. Jn 14:26).
See note on Jn 16:13
. • The Sacrament of Baptism incorporates Christians into the divine family of the Trinity as children of God (cf. Gal 3:26, 27). The single
name
of the
Father, Son,
and
Spirit
reveals the unity of God's inner life and the oneness of his nature. This expression has become the normative baptismal formula for the Church (CCC 849, 1122, 1257).
See note on Mt 3:11
. 
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28:20 I am with you always:
Jesus' parting words further elucidate Isaiah's prophetic name for the Messiah, "Emmanuel . . . God with us" (1:23). The risen Christ's ongoing presence in the Church is both ecclesial (18:20) and eucharistic (26:26-28); he thus directs and empowers the world-wide mission of the Church throughout history (CCC 860, 2743). 
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INTRODUCTION TO

Author
The earliest manuscripts of the second Gospel are titled "According to Mark" (Gk.
Kata Markon
). This heading summarizes the Church's uniform tradition that Mark, a disciple of Simon Peter, wrote the second Gospel. Although Mark did not write as an eyewitness of Christ's public ministry, he was a channel of apostolic tradition through Peter, who was his primary source of information about the life of Jesus. His association with Peter is evident in both the NT and the testimony of the early Church. (1) Within the NT, Peter refers to his companionship with "my son Mark" in 1 Pet 5:13, and interpreters have noted that the general outline of Mark's Gospel is similar to Peter's presentation of the gospel in Acts 10:36-43. (2) Outside the NT, several Church Fathers insist that Peter's authority stands behind the second Gospel. Papias (
A.D.
130) describes Mark as the "interpreter" of Peter, while Irenaeus (
A.D.
180), Clement of Alexandria (
A.D.
200), and Tertullian (
A.D.
200) echo this tradition.

Few details exist about the life and character of Mark. He is known principally by his Roman name "Mark" (Lat.
Marcus
) but is sometimes called by his Jewish name "John" (Acts 12:25; 15:37). He is the cousin of the missionary Barnabas according to Col 4:10. More significantly, he was an associate of the Apostle Paul (Acts 12:25) and a welcome companion on Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 13:5). For reasons unstated, Mark withdrew prematurely from the mission (Acts 13:13), creating an awkward situation that later became a source of contention between him and Paul (Acts 15:36-41). At some point, however, Mark was reconciled with him and again became active in his ministry, since he is later present with Paul in Rome (Col 4:10; Philem 24), and, according to the apostle's estimation, "he [Mark] is very useful in serving me" (2 Tim 4:11). Tradition states that after the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, Mark was the first to establish churches in Alexandria in northern Egypt.

Date
Two factors suggest that Mark completed his Gospel before
A.D.
70, within one generation of the events he records. First, the Gospel itself points us in this direction. In Mk 13, Jesus prophesies the imminent destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. This was fulfilled in
A.D.
70, when the Romans violently destroyed the Holy City. Mark, however, makes no mention of this as a past event, nor does he give detailed information about the catastrophe that would indicate he was writing after the fact. Second, prominent traditions in the early Church date Mark's Gospel in the 60s
A.D.
, or even earlier. Both a second-century document, called the Anti-Marcionite Prologue, and Irenaeus (
A.D.
180) state that Mark wrote soon after Peter's martyrdom (c.
A.D.
67)—a tradition that still allows for a date in the late 60s. Clement of Alexandria (
A.D.
200), on the other hand, maintains that Mark wrote his Gospel
before
Peter's death. Still another witness, Eusebius (
A.D.
340), fixes a date for Mark during the reign of the Emperor Claudius between
A.D.
41 and 54. Although these varying traditions make it impossible for us to assign an exact date for the Gospel, they together suggest that Mark published his work sometime before
A.D.
70. Many modern scholars likewise place the composition of Mark just before
A.D.
70, though some put it just after this critical date.

Destination
Mark wrote his Gospel primarily for Gentile believers in Imperial Rome. This is suggested by several considerations. (1) Mark regularly explains Jewish customs that would be unfamiliar to his readers (7:3-4; 14:12); (2) he translates Aramaic words and phrases (3:17; 5:41; 7:11, 34; 15:34); (3) he at times uses Latinized terms instead of their Greek equivalents (12:42; 15:16); (4) his story climaxes with a confession of faith by a Roman soldier (15:39). It is also possible that Mark's audience in Rome was the target of fierce persecution at the time of composition (the Neronian persecution ran from about
A.D.
64 to 68). His Gospel, then, may have been written to remind Roman believers of the suffering endured by their Lord and to encourage them to remain faithful during their own time of trial.

Structure
Mark's Gospel resists a neat and clear-cut outline. As the narrator, Mark remains tucked behind his story and imposes no artificial structure on the traditions he has received; he is content, rather, to present the events of Jesus' life as he learned them. For the sake of convenience, however, the Gospel may be divided into two major sections and two minor sections (see outline). The two major sections (1:16-8:30; 8:31-15:47) comprise most of Mark's narrative and consist of various events that gradually build in momentum toward a climactic confession of faith. In the first movement (1:16-8:30), the story culminates with Peter's testimony, "You are the Christ" (8:29), a confession that stands out amid the surrounding confusion about Jesus' identity (8:28). Similarly, the second movement (8:31-15:47) ascends gradually and peaks with the centurion's declaration, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (15:39), which also stands in contrast to the surrounding taunts leveled at Jesus (15:29-32, 36). The Gospel's two minor sections (1:1-15; 16:1-20) are small in size but great in importance. The Prologue (1:115) sets the stage for Jesus, narrating the preparations leading up to his public ministry. The Epilogue (16:1-20) crowns Mark's story with the account of Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension, bringing to a climax "the gospel of Jesus Christ" anticipated since the beginning (1:1).

Themes
Mark paints a portrait of Jesus that is vivid and dynamic, focusing most of his attention on Jesus' mighty works. Apart from two lengthy sermons (4:1-32; 13:1-37), Mark depicts Jesus as an active healer and exorcist continually on the move—a feature the evangelist accentuates by using the word "immediately" over forty times in his mere sixteen chapters! In addition, Mark's Gospel engages the Christian reader with a number of rhetorical questions and statements that punctuate the story: "What is this? A new teaching!" (1:27); "Why does this man speak like this? . . . Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (2:7); "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?" (4:41); "But who do you say that I am?" (8:29); "And what I say to you I say to all: Watch" (13:37). These statements address the attentive reader much as they address characters in the story. They invite every believer to look at Jesus with the eyes of faith, embrace him in hope, and imitate his heroic love.

The content of Mark's story revolves primarily around the identity of Jesus. Two aspects figure prominently: Jesus' secret and his divine Sonship. (1)
Secret.
In Mark, Jesus often attempts to conceal his identity as the Messiah because of the great possibility that his contemporaries will misunderstand his mission. During NT times, many in Israel expected the Messiah to liberate them from the oppressive rule of the Romans. For this reason they awaited an outstanding royal and military figure to subdue their enemies and reestablish the earthly kingdom of David in Jerusalem (11:10). Jesus distances himself from these popular, but mistaken, aspirations and instead works to conceal his messianic identity to avoid confusion about his ministry. When unclean spirits attempt to publicize his identity, Jesus silences them (1:25, 34; 3:12). When men try to announce Jesus as a miracle worker or Messiah, he orders them not to (5:43; 7:36; 8:26, 30; 9:9). Far from embracing the role of a political leader, Jesus labors to reconfigure messianic expectations through his example of servanthood and suffering. The true Messiah liberates God's people from the burdens of Satan, sickness, and sin—not the yoke of an earthly empire (1:27, 34, 41; 2:5, 17; 3:5, 10; 5:41; 7:37). (2)
Sonship.
The divine Sonship of Jesus is also a leading theme in Mark. It could be said, in fact, that recognizing Jesus as the divine Son of God is the goal of Mark's Gospel. Ironically, Jesus' Sonship and Incarnation are mysteries hidden from most of the Gospel's characters, despite repeated suggestions and hints pointing in this direction. As the narrator, Mark introduces Jesus from the outset as "the Son of God" (1:1). The demons are aware of it (3:11; 5:7), God the Father twice proclaims it in public (1:11; 9:7), and Jesus himself affirms it in no uncertain terms (14:61-62). Only at the Crucifixion is the Sonship of Jesus fully recognized as he surrenders his life with love to the Father. It is here that a single Gospel character (Roman centurion) confesses Jesus as "the Son of God" (15:39). Mark's Gospel proclaims this mystery of Christ's Sonship in story form and seeks both to inform and to challenge readers with this central truth of the gospel. «