Mark
Mark is generally accepted as having been written before the other three gospels. Though the gospel of Thomas is not and should not be considered scripture, it is an interesting document which shows evidence of having been written later than Mark.
There are two prominent declarations in Mark: Peter's proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (Mk 8:29), and the centurion confession that Jesus is the Son of God (Mk 15:39). The first is the confession from the Jewish world, and the second from the secular world.
This gospel was the first one written as a collection of sermon notes from Peter. The main point of Peter's preaching was that Jesus was the Son of God, and the evidences that demonstrated such as prophesied in the Old Testament.
- Mr 1:1 ¶ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
These are the evidences that the Father revealed to Peter prior to his declaration.
The focus of Peter's preaching was the revelation that the Father had given to him concerning the identity of Jesus before his death:
- Mt 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
- Mt 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Peter, familiar with scripture, had correlated the things Jesus did, with the prophecies of scripture, to arrive at his conclusion. His revelation from the Father, through the guiding of his memory of scripture, was a subtle as the process God used to write prophecies of Christ in puns, riddles and double entendre. The same Spirit of prophecy that produced the scripture guided him to interpret it.
- 2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
Although the 'sermon notes' don't always include reference to the scriptures being interpreted in light of Christ, Peter and his Hebrew audience would have known them well.
Rather than look for an outside source (such as Q) for Mark, perhaps a closer look at the scriptures available to Peter in is order.
Marks gospel was widely circulated. It became the core teaching of the gospel. With time, as the apostles learned to read the 'mystery which was hidden from the beginning' their gospel supplemented Mark with additional insights they had gained as they studied to show themselves approved.
Mark started with John the baptist's testimony, and Matthew pushed the beginning of the story back to Abraham as he saw the hidden shadows of Christ. Luke pushed the beginning of the story back to Adam, seeing Christ in the scriptures preceding Abraham, and John pushed it all the way back to Ge 1:1. John had the greatest insights into the mystery, having the most time to study before writing his gospel. John sees the Word hidden in the first word of the verse.
Marks narrative demonstrates the least insight into the mystery, and has many direct references to fulfilled scripture. The differences in the material in the gospels is instructive in the methods they used to interpret the scriptures. And can be studied to learn their methods. Their exegesis can be reproduced when seen in the light of a learning process over time as they shared new insights.
- Mr 1:1 How Peter inspired John.
