Home > Jesus is God in Mark's Gospel
The Gospel of Mark starts with the gospel of Jesus Christ and calls Jesus the Son of God.
Mark 1:1 - "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
John Mark was companion of Peter and Paul. He was not an Apostle. The strongest case for Markan authorship comes from the writings of early church leaders who lived shortly after the apostolic age. Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian: Both early fathers echo the same tradition: the Gospel of Mark is essentially the recorded preaching of the Apostle Peter.
Mark opens his gospel with a direct and unambiguous statement that sets the theme for the entire book. The phrase "Son of God" is missing in the original hand of Codex Sinaiticus (325–360 AD), though it is present in Codex Vaticanus (300–350 AD).
Even without the phrase, the Father’s voice from heaven (v. 11) confirms His Sonship.
Mark 1:11 "and a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased."
While some argue the omission of "Son of God" in Codex Sinaiticus suggests a later addition, most scholars note that the phrase is consistent with Mark’s "Secrecy Theme"—where the identity of Jesus is hidden (such as using parables) from humans but known to God, demons, and finally revealed to the world at the Cross.
E. Tod Twist, “The Best Kept Secret,” in Study Like a Pro: Explore Difficult Passages from Every Book of the Bible, ed. John D. Barry and Rebecca Van Noord (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
Adela Yarbro Collins and Harold W. Attridge, Mark: A Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007), 172.
Mark Allan Powell, Fortress Introduction to the Gospels (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1998), 53–54.
In Mark, Jesus uses "Son of Man" more than "Son of God." The audience would have been far more familar with this Messianic title.
Daniel 7:13–14 "I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
In a 1st-century Jewish context, this title was a claim to a divine, heavenly figure who receives worship and an everlasting kingdom.