Mark 1:1-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Acts 12:25; Acts 15:36-41; 2 Timothy 4:11

Summary: This is the first of a series of messages on Mark’s account of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, focusing on the background, theme, purpose, and testimony of those who were changed by the message and compassion of Jesus, both then and now.

The testimonies of the Early Church Fathers (A.D. 100-400) affirm that the man known as John Mark, first introduced in the book of Acts as a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul and his associate Barnabas, was the author of the Gospel that bears his name. John Mark was also known as the member of the mission group who abruptly left them to head back to Jerusalem without giving a reason. Barnabas’ desire to give Mark another opportunity in accompanying him and Paul on another missionary journey resulted in an argument that split them as a team and them going their separate ways (Acts 12:25, 13:13, 15:36-41).

In his final days, Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark with him when he comes to Rome (2 Timothy 4:11). Mark had by now matured both in age and faith, demonstrating his effectiveness, commitment to the Lord Jesus, and his “usefulness for ministry.”

Most Bible scholars and the aforementioned testimonies of the early Christians tend to put the writing of Mark’s Gospel somewhere between A.D. 50-60, which was the time in which Matthew and Luke’s accounts were written, mainly for the fact that Paul and Peter’s martyrdom had not occurred, and that Mark’s account was the primary source for the other Gospels.

The first three Gospels are known as the Synoptics because of similarities found in all three accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. This is certain proof that what we have in Scripture is a solid and verifiable record of the events, persons, and situations that happened — along with the witness of the hundreds of individuals to whom the Lord Jesus appeared to after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 2 Peter 1:19-21) — along with the testimony of Paul himself while on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-6) — along with the conversions of Jesus’ half-brothers James and Jude (Matt.13:55; Mark 6:3; John 7:3-5; 1 Corinthians 15:7).

James ended up being the author of the letter that bears his name in the New Testament as well as the pastor of the Jerusalem church until his martyrdom around A.D. 62. Jude also wrote a short but salient letter to the church concerning the rise of false teachers and their heresies.

When you read Mark’s Gospel, one of the things that gets attention is the way it is written, as if it were an action story without diversions or subplots. The pace is rapid and to the point. One of the common words Mark uses is “immediately.” Much of what Matthew and Luke tend to put into detail, such as the ancestry and birth of Jesus (Matt.1:1-25; Luke 2:1-20; 3:23-38), the ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3; Luke 3), and the temptations from Satan in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13), Mark either does not mention or gives just a brief mention (Mark 1:1-13) of these events. Why?

Think for a moment. When Mark wrote this Gospel, all of the apostles, except for James, the brother of John (Acts 12:2), were living and spreading the story of Jesus throughout Judea and the Roman Empire. With this story also came the birth narratives and other early works of the Lord Jesus that were preached to the people. Luke began his travels with Paul and heard the gospel from both him and the other apostles, along with the stories of people who had been healed by Jesus, or delivered from demons, or had heard His teachings, as well as the accounts from Jesus’ own family, such as His mother Mary (Luke 1:26-38, 2:19, 34-35).

Mark allowed Matthew and Luke to furnish the details and background as directed by the Holy Spirit. He wrote his Gospel primarily for the Romans, who were people of action and not really prone to long detailed messages or background material. Mark’s Gospel gets to the point and does not waste words in describing the life and ministry of Jesus. It keeps your interest, as do the other Gospels, and gives the reader a well-constructed synopsis of the purpose of Jesus’ ministry; that was to show the reader that He was here to bring salvation to His people and to present and defend His universal call to discipleship.

This Gospel gives the briefest account of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which ends abruptly. Bible scholars have written and taught that the resurrection narrative is so blunt and precise that the actual conclusion may have been lost, thus the necessity on the part of later scribes to add verses 9-20 at the end of what would be Chapter 16. It is an interesting concept and apparently an ending that met with the approval of God, since He forbade anything to be added or deleted to what He presented in His Word (Revelation 22:18-19).

There is also the possibility that the Gospel originally ended with what would be verse 8, keeping in line with the method of writing Mark used. It could be summarized as “Jesus rose from the dead like He promised and would meet everyone in Galilee later. The End.” There is no post-resurrection narrative here. To put it in modern terms, “Jesus is the Savior of the World. His words and work proved it. So did His resurrection. What more do you need?”

Mark’s Gospel is not a multi-volume biography or omnibus of everything the Lord Jesus did and said (John 21:25). The Sovereign God of All Creation, who is the Author of our salvation, has provided in all four gospels everything we need to not just be informed about the Lord Jesus, but to show that His love for us is such that He does not want anyone to perish in their sins, nor be ignorant of the free offer of redemption, forgiveness, and restoration (Matthew 11:28-30) that He provides to anyone who will come and bow before Him as Lord and God, as millions have done in the progression of history.

When we see Him face to face at the promised “Blessed Hope” (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10), we can talk to Him about the other things He did and said, but I would rather just be embraced by Him and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I am sure that the Gospel writers and everyone else in heaven would agree.

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We have looked at how Yahweh often reaches people out of the Biblical Canon box. This article looks further into how Yahweh uses quotations and references from other written sources. Note, however, that a quote from another source does not necessarily mean an exact word-for-word citation, nor does it place those outside sources on the same par as scripture. Even Yeshua and the apostles often “quoted” the Older Covenant scriptures using different words. For instance: in Luke 4:18-19, Yeshua combines elements of Isaiah 42:7 and 61:1-2. In Acts 2:17-21, Peter combines elements from Joel 2:28-31 and others. In both instances, we say that Yeshua and Peter were simply quoting scripture.

Quotes and/or References from Enoch by Yeshua [1]

Yeshua referenced or quoted from The Book of Enoch in several places. Below are a few samples:

Matthew 5:5 – “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Enoch 5:7 – “But for the elect there shall be light and joy and peace, and they shall inherit the earth.”

Matthew 19:28 – “You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Enoch 108:12 – “To those who love my holy name, I will place each of them on a throne of glory.”

Matthew 19:29 – “Everyone who . . . will obtain eternal life.”

Enoch 37:4 – “eternal life has been given to me.”

Enoch 40:9, 50:3, 58:3 – “those who will inherit eternal life.” “the elect in the light of eternal life.”

Matthew 26:24 – “It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

Enoch 38:2 – “It would have been better for them had they never been born.”

Luke 6:24 – “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already had all the comfort you will get!”

Enoch 94:8 – “Woe to you who are rich, for in your riches have you trusted; but from your riches you shall be removed.

Luke 16:26 – “Between us and you there is a great chasm has been fixed.”

Enoch 22:9-12 – “Three separations have been made between the spirits of the dead . . . their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgment.”

John 4:14 – “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Enoch 48:1 – “in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness Which was inexhaustible: And around it were many fountains of wisdom; And all the thirsty drank of them, And were filled with wisdom, And their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect.”

John 5:22 – “The Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the son.”

Enoch 69:27 – “And the sum of judgment was given unto the Son of Man.”

Enoch 43:3 – “On that day Mine Elect One shall sit on the throne of glory And shall try their works.”

John 12:36 – “That you may be called the children of light.”

Enoch 108:11 – “I call the spirits of the good from the generation of light.”

Other Quotes and/or References from Enoch

Frequently in the Newer Covenant scriptures, Yeshua is called the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We find this title in 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, and Revelation 19:16. Lord of Lords is only applied to Yahweh (Deuteronomy 10:17 Psalm 136:3). In the Older Covenant scriptures, the king of kings title is also applied to Artaxerxes and Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 7:12, Ezekiel 26:7, Daniel 2:37). These titles can also be found in The Book of Enoch (Enoch 9:3; 84:2).

Jude 1:14-15 is virtually a direct quote of Enoch 1:9, a theme repeated in Deuteronomy 33:2-3; Job 5:1; Psalms 16:3 & 34:9; and in Zechariah 14:5. The phrase, “And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam,” which begins Jude’s verses, is found in Enoch 60:8, which says it this way: “my grandfather was taken up, the seventh from Adam.”

There are many phrases in our scriptures that come from The Book of Enoch. Numerous verses call Yeshua the chosen one (Isaiah 42:1; Luke 9:35; 23:35; etc.). The word chosen (eklego ἐκλέγω [G1586]) can be literally translated elect.

The phrase “Elect One” is found throughout The Book of Enoch, as is the phrase “Son of Man.” Nothing is hidden from Yahweh – he knows all things (Enoch 84:3; Mark 4:22; etc.)

Quotes and/or References from Greek Works [2]

The Newer Covenant scriptures contain several direct quotes from certain ancient Greek writers. Spencer McDaniel says Acts 17:27-28 “contains two quotations. The first quotation comes from The Kretika by the Greek poet Epimenides of Knossos. The second quotation comes from line five of the didactic poem Phainomena by the Stoic philosopher Aratos of Soloi.” He continues, Acts 26:14 “is a direct quote from line 1624 of the Greek tragedy Agamemnon by Aischylos.”

Titus 1:12 also appears to quote from Epimenides of Knossos. Paul’s description of the body having many parts with different functions in 1 Corinthians 12 may have been inspired by Socrates. 1 Corinthians 15:33 appears to be a quotation from the comedy Thais by Menandros – who may have actually gotten his quote from the tragedy Aiolos by Euripides.

In referencing these other works, Paul is using the technique of “You have heard it said… but I say” to get the people’s attention and then turn their attention away from their own (false) gods to the true God, Yahweh / Yeshua. Yeshua uses this same technique in Matthew Chapter 5 to correct misperceptions about murder, adultery, neighbors, etc.

Quotes and/or References from Deuterocanonical Books [3]

The Newer Covenant scriptures have dozens of quotes and/or references from the Deuterocanonical, or Apocryphal, books, many of which are full of false and unbiblical teachings. Again, this does not place these other sources on the same par as scripture but are examples of how Yahweh can and does use many different means to reach those who do not yet know him. Below are some samples.

Quotes and/or References from The Book of Sirach appear in several places. Sirach 29:11 says, “Lay up thy treasure according to the commandments of the Most High,” similar to Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 6:19; Luke 12:33; and 1Timothy 6:19. Sirach 27:6 says, “The fruit declares if the tree has been dressed,” similar to Matthew 3:10; 7:16; 7:20 and 12:33, Mark 11:13, and Luke 6:44.

Quotes and/or References from The Book of Tobias appear in several places. Tobias 3:8, 3:15, 6:13, and 7:11 all recount the story of a woman who had seven husbands who all had died, similar to the same accounts in Matthew 22:25; Mark 12:20; and Luke 20:29. Tobias 12:15 recounts the story of Raphael, who presents the prayers of the saints before the Holy One – similar to the account in Revelation 8:3-4. Tobias 13:17-18 recounts the Alleluias and foundation stones of Jerusalem, similar to Revelation 19:1-6 and 21:19-20.

The Book of Wisdom is also Quoted and/or Referenced in several places.

Wisdom 2:13-16 speaks of the child who boasts that his father is God, virtually identical to John 5:18. Wisdom 2:24 says envy of the devil caused death to come into the world. Romans 5:12 ascribes this to “one individual.” Wisdom 13:10 describes the works of men’s hands – gold and silver, resemblances of beasts – and calls them false gods. Acts 17:29 says similarly. Wisdom 15:7 says, “of the same clay he makes both the vessels that serve for clean uses, and likewise also all such as serve to the contrary.” Romans 9:21 puts it this way: “Has the potter no right to make from a given lump of clay this pot for honorable use and that one for dishonorable?”

Conclusions

This article lists just a small sample of the many quotes and/or references within the Biblical Scriptures that come from other sources, which scripture uses as a way to get people’s attention, but which does not place those sources on the same par as the Bible.

Today, just as we have tried to limit Yahweh’s ability to reach us to our own conceptions and limitations, we have apparently done the same with the words scripture and prophet. The Bible has a much larger definition of both words. Yahweh has thousands of ways to bring awareness of himself, including using quotes and/or references from other books, plays, philosophers, and many who today’s people would not even consider reading or listening to.

Final Thought

The prophetic signs are burgeoning and not abating. Time is incredibly short – Yeshua Ha’Mashiach is coming soon – so be of great cheer, keep looking up, and keep maintaining an attitude of gratitude. Be sure you are believing The Truth, not The Lie. Be sure Yeshua is your Redeemer, King, and High Priest, and your sins are forgiven.

Further Study

[1] Quotations from The Book of Enoch; The Researcher’s Library of Ancient Texts by Defender Publishing

[2] https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2017/03/09/greek-writers-quoted-in-the-new-testament/

[3] https://apologeticessay.wordpress.com/2017/10/21/deuterocanonical-books-quoted-in-new-testament/

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