Preface

Preface The Holy Gospel of Mark was written in Rome ten years after the Ascension of Christ. This Mark was a disciple and follower of Peter, whom Peter even calls his son, spiritually of course. He was also called John; he was a nephew of Barnabas; he accompanied the Apostle Paul. But for the most part he was with Peter, with whom he was also in Rome. Therefore the faithful in Rome asked him not only to preach to them without Scripture, but also to set down for them the deeds and life of Christ in Scripture; he barely agreed to this, but nevertheless wrote. Meanwhile it was revealed by God to Peter that Mark had written a Gospel. Peter testified that it was true. Then he sent Mark as bishop to Egypt, where by his preaching he founded a church in Alexandria and enlightened all those living in the southern land. The distinctive features of this Gospel are clarity and the absence of anything difficult to understand. Moreover, the present evangelist is almost identical to Matthew, except that he is briefer, while Matthew is more expansive, and that Matthew mentions at the beginning the Nativity of the Lord according to the flesh, whereas Mark begins with the prophet John. From this, some not without reason see the following symbolism in the evangelists: God, seated upon the cherubim, whom Scripture depicts as four-faced (Ezek. 1:6), gave us a four-formed Gospel, animated by one spirit. Thus, each of the cherubim has one face called like a lion, another like a man, a third like an eagle, and a fourth like a calf (Ezek. 1:10); so it is also in the matter of the Gospel proclamation. The Gospel of John has the face of a lion, for the lion is an image of royal authority; so too John began with royal and sovereign dignity, with the Divinity of the Word, saying: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God" (John 1:1). The Gospel of Matthew has the face of a man, because it begins with the fleshly birth and incarnation of the Word. The Gospel of Mark is compared to an eagle, because it begins with the prophecy about John, and the gift of prophetic grace, as a gift of keen sight and foresight into the distant future, can be likened to an eagle, of which it is said that it is endowed with the sharpest vision, so that it alone of all creatures gazes upon the sun without closing its eyes. The Gospel of Luke is like a calf, because it begins with the priestly service of Zacharias, who offered incense for the sins of the people; at that time a calf was also offered in sacrifice. So then, Mark begins the Gospel with a prophecy and a prophetic life. Listen, then, to what he says!