Augustine said, “Where Scripture speaks, God speaks.” God speaks through His written Word to us. We are never to take it flippantly or lightly. The Bible is God-breathed and is oh so profitable for us – indeed it is to be our life. Scripture tells us:
45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you--they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32:45-47 (NIV)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
“Our claim is that God has revealed Himself by speaking; that this divine (or God-breathed) speech has been written down and preserved in Scripture; and that Scripture is, in fact, God’s Word written, which therefore is true and reliable and has divine authority over men.” John Stott
In that light, when we study the Scriptures we should constantly be telling ourselves it is speaking to me and for me. The Holy Spirit transforms our hearts as we study and apply God’s precious Word. Head knowledge is not enough. It must go from the head to the heart to the hands. It is what God uses to transform us. God is in the process of conforming us into the image of His Son and He uses His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this great task.
“The rabbis spoke of the text being like a gem with seventy faces, and each time you turn the gem, the light refracts differently, giving you a reflection you haven’t seen before. And so we turn the text again and again because we keep seeing things we missed before. When you embrace the text as living and active, when you enter its story, when you keep turning the gem, you never come to the end. Inspired words have a way of getting under our skin and taking on a life of their own. They work on us. We started out reading them, but they end up reading us.” Rob Bell
Scripture tells us we are to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and please Him in all that we say and do and think. It also states that we are to walk as Jesus did:
6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6 (NIV)
How greatly important it is then for us to study the Gospels which tells us how Jesus walked on His sojourn here on this dusty earth! He is our example. He is God made flesh to dwell among us to show us what God is like.
The Gospel is the good news that God has kept His promise to send a Messiah, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Indeed, in the Gospel of Mark the first verse states:
1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark 1:1 (NIV)
For Mark, the beginning of the gospel was the historical facts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Mark was written to Romans telling them that Jesus is the Suffering Servant who actively ministers on our behalf and gives His life as a ransom for many. The Gospel of Mark is fast moving and hard-hitting. Indeed, he seems to fly through it at break-neck speed. The narrative moves swiftly from one stirring scene of Jesus’ ministry to another without interruption. Written in the present tense, it is an account full of action. Immediately is the word that comes to mind. One can’t help but notice the breathless speed of the narrative. The rapid pace can be seen in the frequent use of the transitional Greek word “Euthus” meaning “immediately” or “at once”. He goes from one account to another of Jesus’ miracles and works, wanting his readers to know more and more of what Jesus did. He did not give a full account of Jesus’ sermons as did Mathew, rather he wrote chiefly on His miracles and His works and ways. Many remarkable circumstances are added to the stories related in Matthew, but not many entirely new matters.
Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels and it is noted as much for what it omits as what it includes. There is no genealogy of Jesus, there is no miraculous birth narrative, no childhood at Nazareth or visit to the Temple, there is no Sermon on the Mount, and few parables. Mark recorded, in rapid-fire succession, specific events from the life and ministry of Jesus to prove to a Roman audience that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Who served, suffered, died, and rose again as the Suffering Servant of the Lord depicted by the prophet Isaiah who states:
1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:1-11 (NIV)
Marks account of Jesus’s life is presented to us in two symmetrical acts: His identity as King over all things (in Mark Chapters 1-8), and His purpose in dying on the cross (in Mark Chapters 9-16).
Of the Gospel of Mark Spurgeon states:
“In Mark’s Gospel, after Jesus endured the wilderness temptations, He commenced His ministry by announcing two leading commands: ‘Repent and believe the Good News!’(Mark 1:15). This is the sum and substance of Jesus Christ’s whole teaching – the Alpha and Omega of His entire ministry. And, coming from the lips of such a One, at such a time, with such peculiar power, we are to give heed to His two-fold command. To “repent” is more than a mere change of mind. There must be sorrow for sin and hatred of it in true repentance, for the repentance Jesus proclaimed was in keeping with ‘the good news.’ Thus we have the second half of His command: ‘Believe the good news.’ The repentance we ought to proclaim is one connected with faith. Repentance and faith must be proclaimed together, for the repentance Jesus commanded is the result of faith. It is the repentance that ejects sin as an evil tenant and the faith that admits Christ to be the sole Master of one’s heart. This was Jesus’s message, and it should be that of His followers.”
Read: “A Holy Calling” Spurgeon (Inserting the below passages)
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)
1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. Hebrews 3:1 (NIV)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
Mark wants us to see that the coming of Jesus calls for decisive action. Jesus is seen as a Man of action, moving quickly and decisively from event to event. In Mark we see our Savior doing.
The early church agreed unanimously that a man named John Mark wrote this Gospel – Mark being his surname and his common name being John. It is true that Mark was not an apostle, but we still have good reason to think that both he and Luke belonged to the seventy disciples who received a commission like that of the apostles.
Mark’s mother was Mary, whose home in Jerusalem was a meeting place for believers of the early church. I love that his Mother demonstrated faith in action. Acts tells us:
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Acts 12:12 (NIV)
The Hebrew name “John” means “God’s gift.” The Roman name “Mark” means “polite” or “shining”. John Mark, though never mentioned by name in the Gospel, may be the naked boy of Mark 14:51-52:
51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind. Mark 14:51-52 (NIV)
I’m guessing his name didn’t mean courageous! He also was young and most likely fearful. Interestingly, I think it is wonderfully vulnerable and honest to write that about himself in the Gospel!
“To risk reputation and affection for the truth's sake is so demanding that to do it constantly you will need a degree of moral principle that only the Spirit of God can work in you. Do not turn your back like a coward, but play the man. Follow boldly in your Master's steps, for He has made this rough journey before you. Better a brief warfare and eternal rest than false peace and everlasting torment.” C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg
John Mark and his cousin Barnabas accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey, but Mark turned back before the journey ended perhaps immaturity? perhaps fearful? Whatever the reason, his departure irritated Paul and led to such a strong disagreement between Paul and Barnabas (whose name means “Son of Encouragement”) that they parted ways. Paul went with Silas, and Barnabas took Mark. Paul and Mark were later reconciled and Mark became useful to Paul’s ministry as he writes in 2 Timothy:
9 Do your best to come to me quickly, 10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 2 Timothy 4:9-11 (NIV)
Don’t ever underestimate the power and value of encouraging another soul in the faith and all the more so as we see the great day approaching – as Scripture states:
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV)
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
“Encouragement is oxygen to the soul”. John Maxwell
“Encouragement costs you nothing to give, but it is priceless to receive.” Anonymous
The early church affirmed Mark was the apostle Peter’s interpreter or secretary. He recorded Peter’s experiences with the Lord Jesus writing accurately all that Peter remembered. Mark’s account being especially vivid when it involves incidents with Peter supports this view. Indeed, Mark mentions Peter proportionately more than any of the other Gospels. If you go through the Book of Mark, you will see that nothing happens in which Peter is not present. The entire Gospel of Mark, then, is almost certainly the eyewitness testimony of Peter.
Mark also shows the human side of Jesus. In fact, more than the other Gospel writers, Mark emphasizes Jesus’s human side and His emotions. Thus Mark gives a strong picture of both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus.
When we approach the Gospel of Mark (or any Gospel for that matter) we should bring the following presuppositions to our study:
The Scriptures point to Jesus. Jesus tells us in John:
39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:39-40 (NIV)
God promised to send a Savior, a Deliverer, a Messiah. Mark says the time has arrived, and He has appeared, as well as the one God called to prepare the way for His arrival – John the Baptist.
Without wasting time Mark gives the introduction as well as the theme of the entire Book – it is about the good news of Jesus who is the Christ, the Son of God. Something new and exciting has occurred. The word Gospel means a message of good news or of joyful tidings. It speaks of the coming Savior who would provide salvation promised by the prophetic Word. The time of God’s salvation has arrived! God has kept His promise to send a Messiah. “Son of God” reveals Jesus’ unique and unparalleled relationship with God. It is the favorite title of Mark for identifying Jesus, and when Mark was written, it conveyed to the Christian community the idea of both preexistence and deity.
One cannot avoid the inescapable conclusion that Jesus is indeed God. This title appears in Mark at significant points and sometimes from the mouths of some interesting personalities! Perhaps most striking is that the disciples never recognize Jesus as the Son of God in the Gospel of Mark. Yet the demons get it right! Even a Roman centurion understood it. Yet not until after the resurrection did the disciples get it. If Jesus’ disciples failed to see it, there is hope for those who seem the furthest away from seeing it today, amen?
I trust in our study of Mark that we will find the figure of Jesus worthy of our attention: unpredictable yet reliable, gentle yet powerful, authoritative yet humble, human yet divine. Let us seriously consider the significance of His life in our own. Let us learn to delight Him in, follow Him, and love Him further still.
Read: “When Did You First Enjoy God” by David Mathis
Life is a battle against delighting in anything more than we delight in Him.
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.