In this paper I will be arguing that, the gospel of Luke was well written than the gospel of Mark.

I will do this by analyzing the gospels of Mark and Luke. I will be looking at the differences and

similarities in terms of what was said and what was not said in both texts. I will also identify who

Jesus is in both texts and the historical context in which they were written, as well as the major

features of both gospels.

The author’s overall message in the gospel of Mark concerns the coming of the Kingdom of God

(Mark 1:15). This Kingdom is realized not through conquest but through sacrifice – Jesus the

mighty messiah surprisingly suffers as a ransom payment for the sins of his people (Strauss,

200). In Luke, the author’s overall message was the arrival of God’s salvation, available now to

people everywhere. A new dawn has arrived and the gentiles can now benefit from the salvation

that was meant for the Jews.

The presentation style of the gospel of Mark and Luke by the authors is quite a unique one. The

gospel of Mark begins the narrative with “the beginning of the gospel about Christ Jesus, the son

of God” (Mark 1:1). Mark wastes no time on introductions but rather plunges immediately into

the ministry of Jesus. Mark’s gospel has a vivid, fast- moving style which draws the reader into

the events of the story. The author goes straight to the point and emphasizes the words of Jesus

Christ as a source of encouragement to the believers. The Greek word euthys, an adverb often

translated “immediately” appears forty-two times in Mark whiles, it appears once in Luke. The

author of Mark also uses “historical present tense1” 151 times in the gospel of Mark and 11 times

in the gospel of Luke (Strauss, 173).

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God (Mark 1:1) is how the author of the

book of Mark chose to start the writings of the gospel. Luke however, begins with a prologue

1 In linguistics and rhetoric, the historical present or historic present is the employment of the
present tense when narrating past events. It is widely used in writing about history.
(Luke 1:1-4) which sought to lay out the reason for the writing and the modus operandi. I believe

Luke was trying to let his readers believe that, his work was not just a guess work but rather a

work that can be trusted. Luke then goes ahead in chapter 1:5-80 to talk about the promised birth

of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ which Mark does not talk about. Luke again talks about the

genealogy of Jesus Christ in Luke 3:23-38 which Mark does not talk about. Luke alone talks

about the circumcision and presentation of Jesus Christ in the temple (Luke 2:21-38). Even

though Mark and Luke talked about John the Baptist and his ministry, Luke gives more

information about the preaching of John the Baptist. Mark and Luke both writes about the

baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22) and also about the

imprisonment of John the Baptist (Mark 6:17-18; Luke 3:19-20). Even though both Mark and

Luke talks about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, Luke goes further to narrate the

sequence of the various temptations (Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13). In Mark 1:14-15 and Luke

4:14-15, both authors talked about the return of Jesus into Galilee to begin his ministry. Even

here, Luke goes further to make his readers know that, Jesus became famous quickly within the

community he was ministering and the venues he was using. Jesus’ ministry in Nazareth is

recorded by both Mark and Luke (Mark 6:1-5; Luke 4:16-30) with further and better particulars

from the author of Luke. Interestingly, only Mark recorded the calling of the disciples Simon,

Andrew, James and John by the sea of Galilee. The healings of the demoniac and Peter’s mother-

in-law as well as the healing of all those were brought to him are recorded in both Mark and

Luke’s gospels. Jesus’ departure from Capernaum and his preaching tour in Galilee are both

recorded in Mark and Luke (Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44). The miraculous catch of fish that led

Peter to bow before Jesus is recorded by only Luke (Luke 5:1-11) while the cleansing of the

leper is recorded by both Mark and Luke (Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16). Both Mark and Luke
narrates a story of a man who was let down through a roof to receive a healing of his paralytic

condition (Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26) while following immediately with the call of Levi by

Jesus as a disciple (Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32). Jesus’ teachings on salt and light are both

recorded by Mark and Luke (Mark 4:21, 9:49-50; Luke 8:16, 14:34-35). The author of Luke talks

about several parables and life stories that Mark does not talk about. Some of the parables are

“the parable of the house built on rock and sands (Luke 6:46-49)”, “loving one’s enemies (Luke

6:27-36)”, “the Beatitudes (Luke 6:1-23)”, “the parable of the narrow and wide gate (Luke

13:23-24)”, “the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29-37) and “knowing people by their

fruits (Luke 6:43-45). On healings and miracles, both authors record the same events except the

healing of the widow’s son at Nain which only Luke recorded (Luke 7:11-17). Only Mark

recorded the death of John the Baptist (Mark 6: 17-29) and also Jesus walking on the water

(Mark 6: 45-52). Both Mark and Luke captures the anointing of Jesus by a woman in Bethany

(Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-50) which created controversy among the men who were present in the

room. The triumphant entry into Jerusalem by Jesus is also recorded by both authors of Mark and

Luke (Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-40). The gospel of Luke narrates the cleansing of the Jerusalem

temple (Luke 19:45-46) while the gospel of Mark narrates the cursing of the Fig tree (Mark

11:12-14). Concerning the appearance of Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection, the authors

of Mark and Luke narrates them differently. In Luke 24:36-43, when Jesus appeared to the

disciples, Thomas was absent while in Mark 16:14-18, when Jesus appeared to the disciples, they

were around the table having dinner.

The gospel of Mark was written to a Roman audience. This gospel was probably written before

AD 59 and definitely before the sack of Jerusalem in AD 72. This period was saddled with war

in Jerusalem. This historical context may be the reason why the gospel is written in the past pace
manner. Tradition relates that Mark wrote the account from verbal instructions from the apostle

Peter.

The gospel of Luke was written to a Greek audience. It is explicitly addressed to the most

excellent Theophilus apparently a Greek of high social status. As the book of Acts the

companion book to the Gospel ends before the death of Paul it had to been written before the

execution of the apostle Paul by Nero in about AD 52. This historical context explains how the

author wrote the gospel – the use of Hellenistic literally devices.

The question of who Jesus is, is answered in both Mark and Luke’s gospels. Mark 1:1 begins

with ““The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God”. Mark therefore informs his

readers that Jesus is the son of God. The gospel of Luke in 2:11 sees Jesus as the savior of all

mankind and the messiah.

Mark however makes the abrupt appearance of Jesus on the scene no accident of history. He is

the one spoken of by the prophets in Exodus 23:20, Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. Mark also uses

almost half of the narrative to portray Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God of power and

authority (Mark 1:14 – 8:26). Mark also talks skillfully about the mystery and awe that surrounds

Jesus’ identity within the framework of the “messianic secret” (Strauss, 181). Luke however,

begins with a formal prologue similar in style to the Hellenistic writers of the first century. The

prologue sets out the purpose of the work, which is to confirm for Theophilus the truth of the

gospel. The central theme of Luke’s birth narrative is the arrival of God’s salvation and the

fulfilment of his promises to Israel. While Mark doesn’t talk about the virgin birth and the

resurrection of Jesus, Luke gives detail accounts of those. While Mark was written to the Roman

Christians (Strauss, 202), Luke was written to an individual (Theophilus) and Christians in
general (Strauss, 290). Mark and Luke at times use exactly the same words (Mark 2:10-11; Luke

5:24). At other times, they say essentially the same thing using different words (Strauss, 47).

Mark and Luke coalesce very well because, most the narratives in Luke seems to come from the

gospel of Mark. This makes them narrate the same stories and events employing different

literally styles. These results from the authors’ interests and purpose. In the gospel of Luke, the

author goes further to add comments to the events whiles in the gospel of Mark, the author

narrates the events as they are.

I find it hard to believe that Jesus will call a woman dog (Mark 7:27). This is because,

throughout all the gospels, Jesus is seen as one who uplifts and brings worthiness to women.

He’s the one who stands for women and redeems them from the oppression of men.

Comparing and contrasting the gospels of Mark and Luke, I found the following interesting. First

and foremost, whiles Mark sought to focus on the power and authority of Jesus through his

miracles, signs and wonders, Luke sought to present an orderly account of the life and ministry

of Jesus. In Mark, I find more emphasis on doing than being and more on application than

theology. Mark’s gospel contains less parables than in Luke’s gospel. In Mark, scenery changes

quickly and stories begins and ends abruptly than in Luke.

I personally prefer the gospel of Luke to Mark. With my science and legal backgrounds where

crossing the “Ts” and dotting the “Is” are important, Luke comes across as a well composed

document. Apart from presenting the events as they occurred in Jesus’ time, Luke goes further to

explain why that event and its significance. That makes Luke a better read.
Bibliography

Mark L. Strauss, Four Gospel, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels (Zondervan, 2007)

Bible: The New Revised Standard Version