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| EYEWITNESS REPORTS |
| Where did Mark get his facts? |
| He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 5:37 |
| When people translate the Bible into a new language, they have alot of explaining to do. How do you convey Christianity to someone who has never heard of Abraham or Moses or the apoltles Peter and Paul? Where do you start? More often than not, translators begin with the book of Mark. Its simple sentences and brief, action-filled scenes allow for easier translation. It reads like a newspaper. And the book seems written for a foreign culture (perhaps the Romans) in the first place: common Jewish customs are explained in parentheses. The Peter Connection Perhaps the most compelling feature of Mark to an unfamiliar reader, though, is its vividness. It has the feel of an eyewitness account. Those who study such things have concluded that Mark probably got his facts from Peter, one of Jesus' intimate disciples. Peter, or someone like him, provided unbelievable, close-up details. Jesus spent his time in the desert "with the wild animals" (1:13). When he went to pray, he got up "very early in the morning, while it was still dark" (1:35) - a memorable detail to Jesus' disciples, sometimes known for their untimely sleeping habits. In the midst of a furious squall Jesus lay in a boat "sleeping on a cushion" (4:38). Whoever told Mark about the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration described Jesus' clothes as "dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them" (9:3). And only Mark tells us that Peter sat with the guards during Jesus' trial, warming himself by the fire. Why Details Matter You can say these details don't matter, and it's true that |