Hermeneutics: Literary Style of the Action-Packed Gospel of Mark

And…Action!

Immediately, coming up from the water…

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness…

Immediately, while He was speaking, Judas, … with a great multitude with swords and clubs…

If you were looking for dynamic reading, then look no further than the Gospel according to Mark. Of all the four Gospels, Mark emphasized action.  His writing is a paratactic style, “stringing together short, loosely connected episodes, like pearls on a string” (Just). Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the four, filled with a sense of immediacy as noted above (1: 10, 12; 14:43). In fact, his sense of immediacy rings clear in the use of the word “immediately” (Gk. “euthys”) thirty-nine (39) times, along with the word “and” (Gk. “kai”) five hundred and nine (509) times according to the New American Standard translation.