text: 1. Ok, I'll go out on a limb and we'll see where it goes. In my view, the Twelve remained "hidden" for many years after Jesus' death, while Paul and his companions proclaimed a highly theologized and minimally historical Jesus as Messiah, savior and Lord. When Paul dies (in Rome?), the unknown author known to us as Mark writes his narrative, filling in the blanks Paul's proclamation had left and, more importantly, answering questions posed by those who challenged the validity of Paul's version of the gospel. Among those questions was why Jesus died as he did, executed as a common criminal, charged with rebellion -- a description that could easily have applied to John as well, especially if we take Josephus half seriously. Mark "cleaned up" their reputations, portraying them as exclusively spiritual, and therefore as misunderstood by their companions and especially by the Jewish authorities and Romans. When Mark's gospel was only partially successful, Matthew and Luke took up the cause.