Mark

Canonical Acceptance

Though the external testimony to the canonicity of Mark’s Gospel is not so abundant as that for the Gospel of Matthew, yet it is sufficient to establish this beyond a shadow of doubt. It is quoted by at least two of the apostolic fathers, by Justin Martyr and by the three great witnesses of the end of the second century, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian, and is referred to as a part of the Word of God by several others. We find no expressions of doubt in the early Church.

Significance

The special purpose of this Gospel in the canon is to show us Christ in his divine power, destroying the works of Satan, and conquering sin and death. More than other Gospels it places prominently before us the work of Christ in behalf of those that are bound by the shackles of Satan and are suffering the consequences of sin. We here see the Lion out of the tribe of Judah, conquering and ever to conquer. Mark is the only one of the evangelists that speaks of the future Kingdom of God as coming with power (9:1). In that way this Gospel has special significance for the Church of all ages. It gives her the blessed assurance that her future is entrusted to One who has shown himself a mighty Conqueror, and who is abundantly able to save to the uttermost all who believe in Him.

Resources

Books

David Issac Lewis, Purity/Impurity and the Lordship of Jesus in the Gospel According to Mark.

Articles

Charles L. Quarles, Matthew 27:51-53: Meaning, Genre, Intertextuality, Theology, and Reception History, JETS 59/2 (2016), 271-86.

David L. Turner, Matthew Among the Dispensationalists, JETS 53/4 (Dec. 2010), 697-716.

G. K. Beale, The Use of Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15: One More Time, JETS 55/4 (2012), 697-715.

Parables in the Gospel of Matthew, SBJT 13.3 (Fall 2009).

Robbie Booth, God as the Agent of Kingdom Growth: An Argument for Divine Passives in Matthew 13:32, 33, JETS 62.4 (2019), 705-19.

Videos

Craig Keener, Dr. Craig Keener, The Gospel of Matthew (19 Lectures).

David Platt, Matthew with David Platt.