Gospel of Mark

Gospel of Mark

The Gospel According to Mark, one of the four Gospels in the New Testament which talk about the life of Jesus Christ, contains some of the heaviest usage of figurative language in the Bible. Whether making comparisons of normal folk, or describing God in allegorical ways, the use of metaphors and figurative language in general is very frequently seen.

The best and most discernible example of use of metaphor is in chapter 4 of the Gospel According to Mark. As Jesus Christ teaches by the sea side to a vast number of people, he taught them in parables with common usage of metaphors. When Jesus says "Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side...But when the sun was up, it was scorched...and it withered away", he later explains to the confused people that the sower is sowing the message of God, but when they hear it, Satan will come and take away the message that lies in their hearts. By usage of metaphors, Jesus is teaching the people about the message of god, by using a sower and his seeds as an example. This is one of the best examples of figurative language in the Gospel According to Mark. Later, when Jesus continues on and says "is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick?", he is speaking of the message of god and how it should be told and spread among the people, instead of being kept to themselves and hidden away. Lastly, when Jesus says "Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God, or with what comparison shall we compare it," his usage of figurative language as a simile by saying in response "it is like a grain of mustard seed, which when sown in the earth...it growth up, and becometh greater that all herbs..." proves to be another instance of the apparent usage of figurative language in the Gospel According to Mark.

Of the four Gospels in the New Testament, the Gospel According to Mark has significant usage of figurative language. In the teachings of Jesus Christ in this Gospel, he uses metaphors and similes in the form of parables while speaking to the people. Such figurative language usage is noteworthy because of the age of the text and is an example from which the origins of figurative language can be traced back to.