The evangelist Mark seems to prefer "Christ" and "Son of God"; Jesus more often calls himself "Son of Man"; other characters in Mark's Gospel frequently call Jesus "teacher" or a variety of other titles.
In Mark, Jesus is occasionally also identified as "the carpenter," the "son of Mary," and as being "from Nazareth."
Christ (the “Anointed One”; although Mark only uses the Greek Christos, modern English Bibles sometimes translate this as “Messiah”)
1:1 – Mark: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
8:29 – [Jesus] asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” (cf. parallels)
9:41 – Jesus: “Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.”
12:35 – Jesus: “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?”
13:21-22 – Jesus: “If anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’ – do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.”
14:61 – High priest: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
15:32 – Authorities: “Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.”
Son of God and related terms (caution: do not assume this means "fully divine" yet):
1:1 – Gospel opening: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, [the Son of God].
1:11 – At Jesus' Baptism: And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
1:24 – At the first Exorcism: and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
3:11 – Evangelist's summary: Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!”
5:7 – Gerasene demoniac: And he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
9:7 – At the Transfiguration: Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
12:6 – Parable of the Wicked Tenants: “He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' ”
13:32 – Apocalyptic Discourse: “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
14:60-62 – At Jesus' Trial: Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” / But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” / Jesus said, “I am; and 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,' and 'coming with the clouds of heaven.' ”
15:39 – At the Crucifixion: Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God's Son!”
Son of Man ("son of the human being"? - used only by Jesus, as quoted directly or indirectly by the Evangelist):
2:10-11 – “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” --he said to the paralytic-- / “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.”
2:27-28 – Then he said to them [Pharisees], "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
8:31 – Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
8:38 – “Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
9:9 – As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
9:12 – He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt?
9:31 – …for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.”
10:33-34 – “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; / they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.”
10:45 – “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
13:26 – “Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.” (cf. Dan 7:13)
14:21 – “For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”
14:41 – He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
14:62 – Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’” (cf. Dan :13; Ps 110:1)
Teacher (the most common title other characters in Mark's Gospel use to address Jesus):
4:38 – But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
5:35 – While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?”
9:17 – Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak;...”
9:38 – John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
10:17 – As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
10:20 – He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
10:35 – James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
12:14 – And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”
12:19 – “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ‘if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’...”
12:32 – Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’;...”
13:1 – As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”
14:14 – “and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ”
Rabbi & Rabbouni (another common title of respect, lit. meaning "my great one"):
9:5 – Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
10:51 – Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher (rabbouni), let me see again.”
11:21 – Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
14:45 – So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
Some uses of Kyrios clearly refer to God (11:9; 12:29-30; 13:20), others to Jesus (7:28), and still others to human beings (12:9; 13:35; translated “master” or “owner”).
Sometimes, however, the use of kyrios is ambiguous, possibly referring to God and/or to Jesus (1:3; 5:19; 11:3).
The combined title/name “Lord Jesus” is used only once, in the later ending of Mark (16:19).
1:3 – “…the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”
2:28 – “…so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
5:19 – But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.”
7:28 – But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
11:3 – “If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’”
11:9 – Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
12:9, 11 – “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. / Have you not read this scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; / this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’?”
12:29-30 – Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; / you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”
12:36-37 – “David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ / David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight. (cf. Ps 110:1; Matt 22:44; Luke 20:42; Acts 2:34)
13:20 – “And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days.”
13:35 – “Therefore, keep awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn,”
[16:19-20 – So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. / And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.]
Son of David (directly attributed to Jesus only by Bartimaeus; is it a "royal" or "messianic" title?):
10:46-48 – They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. / When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” / Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
12:35-37 – While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? / David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘ / David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
See also Mark 11:10 – “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (cf. parallels)
(cf. Matt 21:9 - "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!")
(cf. Luke 19:38 - "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!")
(cf. John 12:13 - "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord-- the King of Israel!")
15:2 – Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.”
15:9 – Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”
15:12 – Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?”
15:18 – And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
15:26 – The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”
15:32 – “Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.
6:3 – [Townsfolk in Nazareth]: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Note: Jesus is never called "son of Joseph" or "son of the carpenter" in Mark's Gospel; nor is Joseph or any earthly father of Jesus ever mentioned.
1:9 – [Narrator]: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
1:24 – [Man with an unclean spirit at Capernaum]: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
10:47 – [Bartimaeus]: When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
14:67 – [Girl in the high priest's courtyard]: When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”
16:6 – [Young man to the women at the Empty Tomb]: “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.”
2) Christology expressed in ACTIONS that Jesus performs:
Jesus Preaches the “Reign of God” (basileia tou theou)
1:14-15 – Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, / and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
4:11 – [Jesus to his disciples]: “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables;”
4:26 – He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground…” [The parable of the seed growing by itself]
4:30 – He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?” [The parable of the mustard seed]
9:1 – [Jesus to a crowd & disciples]: “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
9:43, 45, 47 – [Jesus]: “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. / And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. / And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell…”
10:14-15 – But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these thatthe kingdom of God belongs. / Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
10:23-25 – Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enterthe kingdom of God!” / And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enterthe kingdom of God! / It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enterthe kingdom of God.”
12:34 – When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
14:25 – [Jesus to his disciples at the Last Supper]: “Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
15:43 – Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Note: Jesus and others also speak of earthly "kingdoms" in 3:24; 6:23; and 13:8.
Compare what the crowds say as Jesus enter Jerusalem in Mark 11:10 – “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Jesus Acts with “Authority” (exousia)
Jesus teaches, forgives, and performs exorcisms, healings and other miracles:
1:21-27 – They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. / They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. / Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, / and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” / But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” / And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. / They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching--with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
2:10-11 – “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—/ “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.”
2:28 – “…so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
4:39-41 – He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. / He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” / And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
9:25 – When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!”
Jesus also gives "authority" to his apostles:
3:14-15 – And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, / and to have authority to cast out demons.
6:7 – He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
cf. 13:34 – “It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch…”
Jesus argues with the religious authorities, besting any human "opponents"
2:1—3:6 – A cycle of five controversy stories
11:15-19 – The "Temple Incident"
11:27-33 – Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him / and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” / Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.” / [Jesus asks them about John the Baptist] / So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
12:1-44 – Another cycle of controversy stories
Jesus displays human emotions
Mark portrays Jesus as completely human, with a full range of emotions and reactions; but these comments in Mark about Jesus’ emotional states are often omitted in the parallel stories of Matthew and/or Luke:
1:41 - compassion
1:43 - strong displeasure
3:5 - anger & grief
4:40 & 6:5 - amazement at disbelief
6:34 & 7:29 - compassion
8:12 - sighing deeply
10:14 - indignation
10:21 - love
14:33-34 - distress & grief
14:48-49 - questioning
Jesus foretells & accepts his upcoming suffering
3:6 – The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
8:31 – Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
9:9-13 – As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. / So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. / Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” / He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? / But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.”
9:30-31 – They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; / for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.”
10:32-34 – They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, / saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; / they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.”
10:38-39 – But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” / They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized…”
11:18 – And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.
12:1-12 – Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. / When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. / But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. / And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. / Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. / He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ / But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ / So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. / What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. / Have you not read this scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; / this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’?” / When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.
14:1 – It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him;
14:22-25 – While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” / Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. / He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. / Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
14:32-36 – They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” / He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. / And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” / And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. / He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”
3) Summary: WHO knows and professes WHAT about Jesus in Mark’s Gospel?
Characters in the Narrative:
John the Baptist:
1:7-8 – “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals./ I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Voice from heaven:
1:11 – At Jesus' Baptism: And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
9:7 – At the Transfiguration: Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
Unclean spirits & demoniacs:
1:24 – At the first Exorcism: and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
3:11 – Evangelist's summary: Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!”
5:7 – Gerasene demoniac: And he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
Apostles & disciples:
"Teacher" & "Rabbi" (see above)
Syrophoenician Woman: 7:28 –“Kyrie (Sir? Master? Lord?), even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Peter: 8:29 – “You are the Christ.”
Bartimaeus: 10:47 & 48 – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Bartimaeus: 10:51 – “My teacher (rabbouni), let me see again.”
Jesus' family:
3:21 – “He has gone out of his mind!”
Jewish authorities:
Scribes in Capernaum: 2:7 – “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Scribes from Jerusalem: 3:22 – “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”
Anonymous opinions: 6:14-15 – Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” / But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
Herod Antipas: 6:16– “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
Pharisees & Herodians: 12:14– “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth...” (their honest opinion, or a trap?)
High priest: 14:61 & 64 – “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” ... “You have heard his blasphemy!”
Authorities: 15:32 – “Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.”
Roman authorities:
Pilate & Soldiers: 15:2-26 –“King of the Jews” (see above)
Centurion: 15:39 –“Truly this man was God's Son!”
The Evangelist and the Readers:
The Evangelist as author - as an omniscient narrator, gives readers hope and encouragement through "inside knowledge"
1st-century readers - a religious minority (persecuted & ostracized), encouraged to persevere through difficulties
21st-century readers - great variety, from different cultures, living in great varieties of places and circumstances
