Richard Bauckham in Jesus and the Eyewitnesses argues strongly for Peter’s perspective behind our gospel “according to Mark”. If you want to get the flavour of this book, a lot of it is online. Papias, writing in the early second century, states that Mark was the “interpreter” of Peter, and that he wrote down (“but not in order”) the stories that he had heard Peter tell in his preaching about the life and teachings of Jesus. Part of our problem is that scholars have increasingly become more and more specialised so that it is rare for a biblical scholar to be competent in early patristics, and so on. We need scholars who can synthesise as well as critique a variety of disciplines together.
Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the evangelist have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
