<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Gospel According to Mark (Greek: τὸ κατὰ Μᾶρκον εὐαγγέλιον, to kata Markon euangelion), is one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels . It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to his death and burial and the discovery of the empty tomb--there is no genealogy of Jesus or birth narrative, nor, in the original ending at chapter 16, any post-resurrection appearances . It portrays Jesus as a heroic man of action, an exorcist, a healer, and a miracle worker . Jesus is also the Son of God, but he keeps his identity secret (the Messianic Secret), concealing it in parables so that even the disciples fail to understand . All this is in keeping with prophecy, which foretold the fate of the messiah as suffering servant . The gospel ends, in its original version, with the discovery of the empty tomb, a promise to meet again in Galilee, and an unheeded instruction to spread the good news of the resurrection . </P> <P> Mark probably dates from 66--70 AD . It appears as the second New Testament gospel because it was traditionally thought to be an epitome (summary) of Matthew, but most scholars now regard it as the earliest written gospel . Some also reject the tradition which ascribes it to John Mark, the companion of the apostle Peter, and regard it as the work of an unknown author working with various sources including collections of miracle stories, controversy stories, parables, and a passion narrative . </P> <P> The Gospel of Mark is anonymous . Early tradition commencing with Papias of Hierapolis links it to John Mark, a companion and interpreter of the apostle Peter, and hence its author is often called Mark, but most scholars are content to identify the author of Mark's gospel as an unknown first - century Christian . It was probably written c . AD 66--70, during Nero's persecution of the Christians in Rome or the Jewish revolt, as suggested by internal references to war in Judea and to persecution . The author used a variety of pre-existing sources, such as conflict stories (Mark 2: 1--3: 6), apocalyptic discourse (4: 1--35), and collections of sayings (although not the Gospel of Thomas and probably not the Q source). </P>

Which is the oldest gospel in the bible