The gospel of Mark was penned by John Mark, a Jew from Jerusalem, who was an associate of both Peter and Paul. Mark wrote his gospel while he was in Rome as a disciple of the Apostle Peter. Mark never knew Jesus but wrote the account of His life based on the teachings of Peter as he preached to the Jews and Gentiles in Rome. Since Peter was an illiterate fisherman it fell to Mark to record the eyewitness testimony of Peter about the life of Jesus. Mark did this at the request of the Christians living in Rome. Mark wrote his gospel in Greek, which was the universal language of that day.
The consensus is Mark was written around 55 AD, give or take a year or two. The Encyclopedia of the Bible says 60-70 AD, Nelson’s Bible Facts says 60 AD, and the Bible Handbook says 50-60 AD. There is consensus that Mark was the first gospel written and it was used as a reference for the writers of the other gospels. Mark is a synoptic gospel, which is just a fancy way of saying it chronicled the life and actions of Jesus Christ. Matthew and Luke are also considered synoptic gospels. Mark was written to help the Christians in Rome witness to unbelievers. Mark was also active in the church in Jerusalem from the early days.
Mark was a disciple of Jesus in his own right and went on to preach the gospel of Christ to the nations just like the Apostles. For his preaching in Alexandria, Egypt, Mark was martyred by being drug through the streets of the city by a team of horses. Mark’s focus was showing Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah foretold in Scripture. Anyone who openly declared themselves to be God in those days would be stoned to death as required by the law. Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man to hide His identity from the Gentiles. The Jews understood that moniker was the one used in the book of Daniel to describe God coming to earth on his Shekinah glory cloud looking like, “a Son of Man.” The Bible uses this term in Daniel to say God will look like a human being when he arrives in His glory.
Jesus was saying He was God but not in a way that would get Him stoned to death. Jesus was also making reference to His Second Coming when He called Himself the Son of Man, which the Jewish people never understood. Mark shows Jesus as a suffering servant of the Lord and a man of action. Mark focuses on three main points, the Galilean ministry of Jesus, Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem and the passion week leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem during the Jewish Passover. Mark spent more time on the last eight days of Jesus’ life than any of the other gospels. The purpose of Mark was to call on all people to repent of their sins and follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.