The Gospel of Mark is the secon of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a synoptic gospel. It is anonymously written but traditionally ascribed to Mark the Evangelist (also known as John Mark), a disciple of Peter. The gospel narrates the life of Jesus of Nazareth from John the Baptist to the Ascension (or to the empty tomb in the shorter recension), but it concentrates particularly on the last week of his life (chapters 11-16, the trip to Jerusalem). Its swift narrative portrays Jesus as a heroic man of action, an exorcist, a healer and miracle worker. It calls him the Christ (the Greek translation of Messiah), the Son of Man, and the Son of God.