Mark 1

The four gospels present Jesus with emphasis on different parts of His identity. These 4 aspects also have parallels with the symbols presented elsewhere - especially the 4-headed creatures.

Mark was an associate of Paul, but they had a falling out (Acts 15:36-39), and they eventually reconciled. Mark served as Peter's interpreter and scribe. There is no stated author of the gospel of Mark, but it is thought to be Mark's compilation of Peter's teachings about Jesus.

Mark does not have a genealogy of Jesus because a genealogy served no purpose in the life of servants. Only people with a claim to inheritance needed a genealogy as proof of their claim.

The gospel of Mark is more action oriented, and does not record any lengthy teachings. It portrays Jesus as constantly serving, healing, and casting out demons.

It starts out with John the Baptist proclaiming the coming of the Lord, then he baptized Jesus. The entire 40 days that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness are summed up in two verses. Then Jesus gathered a few disciples and got straight to work casting out demons, healing, praying, and preaching.

Mark is the working man's gospel. There are parables and teachings in it, but you will notice that the story moves along pretty quickly.