The Gospel of Mark emphasises that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus announced the Kingdom of God, healed the sick, and died as a ransom for sinners. In addition to Jesus, Mark features three main groups of people: the disciples, the crowds and the religious leaders, none of whom understood Jesus. When the time came for Jesus to go to the cross, the religious leades arrested him, the disciples abandoned him and the crowds jeered him. Only when he died alone on the cross did a Roman centurion recognise that he was the Son of God. Though the book is anonymous, tradition identifies John Mark (Acts 12 v 12) as the author. He may have based his Gospel on Peter's preaching, writing sometime in the 50s or 60s AD. (Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers)