Open English Translation MARK Introduction

Introduction

Author

This account about Yeshua’s activities and teachings was written by Markos (typically shortened to ‘Mark’ in English), the son of a Jewish family who lived in Yerushalem/Jerusalem. His mother was named Miryam/Mary (Acts 12:12).

Many people think he was Yohan/John Markos, a cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10) who accompanied Paulos on his first long-distance trip to spread the good message about Yeshua the messiah (Acts 12:25, 13:13). We also know that Markos accompanied Kefa (1 Peter 5:13), and some consider that it might have been Kefa who narrated to Markos what Yeshua had done and taught.

This account

This account seems to have been written for non-Jews, especially perhaps those familiar with Romaios customs. So he didn’t use as much ink as Matay or Lukas explaining prophecies from the Jewish scriptures but he does however, take time to explain Jewish customs to help non-Jewish readers.

Markos explains here that Yeshua came to serve both God and the people, and he often refers to him as ‘the son of humanity’ (traditionally translated very literally from the Greek as the ‘Son of Man’). We can see that especially in 10:45: “Even the son of humanity didn’t come to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom to set many people free.” Markos wants his readers to know that Yeshua did incredible things, but especially focuses on Yeshua’s teaching. Markos confirms Yeshua’s power and authority by telling about the miracles that he did, his healing of the sick, and his exorcism of demons.

The ending of this account is often disputed, and scholars are still debating about whether or not the longer ending (16:9-20) is original to Markos. The OET includes the disputed longer ending, but displays it in a lighter colour to indicate its debatable status.

This is still an early look into the unpolished text of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check the text in advance before using in public.