The Gospel of Mark pointedly opens with the statement the beginning of the gospel. This raises
the question: What does 'the gospel' ( GammaGamma ni) mean to Mark? Traditionally an
explanation has been found in the so-called 'religious use' of the notion of the 'messenger on
the mountain' in Isa 40:9 and 52:7 paving the way for an understanding of Jesus's death as a
sin sacrifice connected to Isa 53. Under the influence of recent postcolonial and or
anti-imperial reading strategies however Mark's gospel notion has rather been understood as
tailored to counter a Roman dressing of the emperor as 'gospels' to the world. Morten Hørning
Jensen re-investigates the entire concept of 'gospel' and concludes that Mark uses the concept
to communicate the 'epoch-making victory' he finds to be the product of the life death and
resurrection of Jesus.
