FOREWORD

"Jesus of Nazareth, a Biography, by John Mark," recognizes the author
of the second Gospel as that "John, whose surname was Mark" (Acts
15:37), whom Barnabas chose as companion when he sailed for Cyprus on
his second missionary journey. In making use of the new title, the
plan of the Editor is to present "The Gospel: According to Mark" as it
would be printed were it written in the twentieth rather than the first
century.

Mark's Gospel has been chosen for this purpose to make available in
more readable form this timely portion of the Bible. In John Mark the
missionary is revealed a man of action. This characteristic influences
strongly the point of view and style of his writing. As John, the
beloved disciple, in "The Revelation" beholds the victorious Christ as
"the Lion of the tribe of Judah," foretold by the prophets, so Mark
sees Jesus of Nazareth as the strong, vigorous man of action; he writes
of His mighty works in swift narrative at times so vivid it flashes
like a burst of flame, as though the facts presented must have been on
fire in the heart of the author. Written for the practical, energetic
Roman, the Editor feels that this biography of Jesus of Nazareth
exactly fits the mood of our own time, with its emphasis upon the
practical and its insistence that the man of action, the doer, is the
man for the hour.

Printed like a modern book, but in the fine old King James' version, it
is believed that all Bible lovers will welcome their old friend, "The
Gospel: According to Mark," in its new literary dress; it is hoped,