It is traditionally considered that John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark. However, this has been met with some opposition in scholarly circles. The book of Mark’s earliest reference occurs around 130-140 CE by a Christian writer by the name of Papias (Harris, 2014, pg. 136-137). Literature contained in the book was written through stories of events that were orally passed down to from individuals that were alive during Jesus’ time. This is to say that the writer of the book of Mark was not a first hand witness of any of the events that occurred. In fact little is known of the author as he did not identify himself within the text, leaving room for speculation. For this reason scholars are unable to definitively say who authored the book of Mark.
