[Read more carefully before you criticize the Bible Part 3: Who wrote the Gospel of Mark]
My Comment:
It is important that all Christians, children, young people, and adults learn the evidence that demonstrates that the Bible is true.
When I was in elementary school, perhaps the fourth or fifth grade, I had an outstanding and memorable Sunday school teacher, Mr. Lion. When the class was to graduate to the next grade level, Mr. Lion gave me a most interesting book titled “Mr. Lion.” That was an important learning experience for me. The book, or rather large booklet, with its light blue cover and a line drawing of the face of a lion on its cover, had some most interesting content. It told how to tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator. It told how some insect species are co-dependent for their continued existence on an entirely different species. It may have been about a wasp that laid its eggs in a spider or some other insect. I no longer remember the exact details for I read that booklet in the 1940s and no longer have it. It did teach me things, whether on purpose or not, that ever after have protected my thinking against the mistaken claims of evolutionary biology.
My experience lets me know that we can help even children to learn facts about science and even Bible doctrine that will guard their hearts and minds against mistaken worldviews and objections to the truth of the Bible.
Who wrote the Gospel of Mark?
I made the following claim in my discussion about the historicity of the New Testament concerning Mark’s Gospel:
“Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark and includes an incident that took place when he was present as a young man at the arrest of Jesus where he narrowly escaped capture as he and the other disciples were granted leave by the request of Jesus to leave the scene promptly. To suggest Mark was not a disciple but only joined Peter later on ignores the history of Mark and his family and their continued connection with the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ both before and after His crucifixion and resurrection.”
The author of the Opening Post responded:
The young man running naked during the arrest of Jesus was not identified in the Bible. I don’t get it why person like you claiming to have study the Bible yet believe on unsound statement. Your belief that Mark was a disciple was purely conjecture at its best
Here is my reply:
My claim is based upon a careful study of the New Testament records.
Although it is true that none of the four Gospels directly name their author, each Gospel contains internal clues which identify the author.
The Gospel of Mark is no exception.
The account of the young man running naked with great alacrity as he returned to his home is a rather embarrassing thing to include in the Gospel of Mark. There seems to be no assignable reason to include this account unless it is true and depicts something that Mark himself experienced when quite young. The inner circle of disciples no doubt knew of Mark’s experience, so the inclusion of this event serves to authenticate Mark as the author. No later anonymous writer writing from another place long after this event took place would know of such an embarrassing story and certainly would have no reason to invent it.
The account relates that this unnamed young man had gone out into the night clothed only in his linen cloth (Mark 14:51). That the cloth was linen is an important clue. This was a very expensive bed cloth which points to the fact that Mark’s parents were wealthy.
His parents were wealthy and had their own house in Jerusalem, close to where these events (the arrest of Jesus) were taking place.
Hearing the commotion, Mark evidently got out of bed and ventured out wrapped only in his linen bed sheet. He was very nearly caught in the act.
No name is given because authors frequently when writing of themselves do not give their name, as is true of John in his Gospel.
Mark’s parent’s house in Jerusalem is mentioned again in the New Testament in Luke’s account of the beginnings of the New Testament church in Acts 12:12,
Act 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
They were praying for the safe release of Peter from prison. Note that the house was large enough to accommodate the many who were gathered within, attesting to the fact that Mark’s parents were wealthy. Mark’s parents were intimately connected with the ministry of Jesus and the beginning of the New Testament church. Mark was related to Barnabas, for example, and takes an important part, serving as the person in charge of the Scriptures (Acts 13:5).