Mark 2:23-3:6

Context

Authorship of Mark

Mark’s account of the story of Jesus is commonly held to be the earliest of the four canonical Gospels. Early church tradition identifies the author as Mark (or John Mark), one of Paul’s coworkers (Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37, 39; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24) and a close associate of Peter (1 Peter 5:13). From the early church father Papias (c. AD 60-130), we learn that Mark had faithfully collected the teachings and memories of Peter and then arranged them into this account; thus Mark’s Gospel is essentially Peter’s eyewitness testimony about Jesus.

Two Stories About the Sabbath

Our text (2:23-3:6) is made up of two short stories that close out a…