Why does the Gospel of Mark begin as it does?

"External circumstances: Descent--in praise: the ancestors from whom he is sprung; if he is of illustrious descent, he has been their peer or superior; if of humble descent, he has had his support, not in the virtues of his ancestors, but in his own. Education--in praise: that he was well and honorably trained in worthy studies throughout his boyhood."

C. Nepos, DE VIR ILL. XV, Epam. 1, 4

"Therefore I shall speak first of his family (genus), then of the subjects which he studied (disciplinae) and his teachers, next of his character, his natural qualities, and anything else that is worthy of record. Finally, I will give an account of his exploits, which many writers consider more important than mental excellences."

Theo, PROGYMNASMATA 78, 26 (on the diegesis) and 110, 2-5 (on the enkomion)

"Inseparably connected with the `character' are: race (genos), gender, training (agoge), disposition, age, fortune, motive, action, speech, death, what is after death"

"Among the external qualities, the first good quality is good breeding (eugeneia), and that in two senses: the good breeding of city, race, and good government, and the good breeding of parents and other relatives; then, education (paideia), friendship, reputation, public office, wealth, the blessing of children, an easy death"

This brief survey, summarized in the accompanying table, confirms that biographies ("lives") were supposed to begin by telling the subject's ancestry and education. This is exactly what Matthew and Luke do at the beginning of their Gospels (Neyrey: 90-105). Despite the brevity of these references, their agreement indicates that this pattern was well accepted and soon became widespread. It was, therefore, likely to be known by Mark. Now, if Mark knew the customary way to begin a biography, the question of why he did not follow it becomes all the more intriguing. Was it perhaps due to a lack of data? It seems not. Mark knew Jesus came from a Galilean town called Nazareth (Mark 1:9) and considered him a Galilean (Mark 14:70). He was familiar with his mother's name as well as his brothers' and sisters', although he did not know his father's name (Mark 6:3). He might know something about his education, since we are told that Jesus was a tekton, that is, a craftsman who worked with wood, stone and similar materials (Meier: 278-85) and in that culture fathers were supposed to teach their trade to their children (MacMullen: 97-98).

With all this information, Mark could have begun his work dealing with Jesus' ancestry and education, as rhetoricians taught. Yet, he did not do so, and we may suppose why by closely analyzing the information he was acquainted with. Mark knew that Jesus' origins were a source of puzzlement and even criticism among his contemporaries. Nazareth was an insignificant town from which nothing good could come (Jn 1:46), and Jewish people had a negative view of Galileans (Jn 7:52). Had Mark introduced Jesus as a townsman of Galilee, nobody would have guessed his honor or status (Neyrey: 56-57). On the other hand, it is surprising that Mark calls Jesus "the son of Mary" (Mk 6:3) and not "the son of Joseph," as the other two Synoptic Gospels do (Matt 1:16; Lk 4:22). The mention of Mary's name has led many to think that the name of Jesus' father was unknown to Mark. Some authors have suggested that by referring only to his mother, Mark could harbor some doubts concerning Jesus' legitimacy; however, this is not necessarily so (Ilan: 23-45). Lastly, we know that the trade of a non-specialized craftsman was unsuitable for a noble person. Cicero, who can be taken as a representative of the views of most learned people at his time, mentions in his treatise DE OFFICIIS (1, 150) a long list of crafts, and places among the most dishonorable ones those in which people work for others with their own hands: "illiberales autem et sordidi quaestus merscenariorum omnium, quorum operae, non quorum artes emuntur"). This is the same mentality evident in some pejorative comments in the Gospels: "Is this not the son of the carpenter?" (Matt 13:55).