Introduction to Mark

Introduction to Mark

Introduction

· We love to share good news (examples) – so why do we tend to not share the best news of all

o Gospel = “The Good News of Jesus Christ”

· There’s a downward trend of Christians to not know the Gospel and not share the Gospel with unbelievers – Share who Jesus is and what He’s done

· John Stott quote: “Nothing hinders evangelism more than the widespread loss of confidence in the truth, relevance, and power of the Gospel.”

· Alistar Beg quote: “Withing the present framework of contemporary Christianity, there has been and continues to be an erosion of conviction on the parts of those professing faith as it relates to the exclusive claims of Jesus and as it relates in essence to the truth, the relevance, and the power of the Gospel

· Our mission statement is, “Sharing Jesus as we engage our community one relationship at a time”

o If we hold this as important, then we must change this trend

PRAYER

Beginning our series on the Gospel of Mark

Goals for Gospel Study

· 1st - Teach the Gospel who do not know it

· 2nd - Since the Gospel is the power of salvation – Those who have yet come to faith in Jesus will

· 3rd - my goal is that as we study the Gospel of Mark, it will rekindle the fire we once had for the transformational power of the Gospel

o For the mercy and grace we received from God through Jesus for redemption and salvation

· Last – To give us a heart for the lost and share this message with them

Today: An introduction to Mark

Our Purpose is:

To Build a foundation for our study of Gospel from a 10,000 foot view

· Look at the context, purposes, themes, and literary features of Gospel

o Knowing this helps us to understand, interpret, learn, and apply what we study

· Even in an introduction, there are things we can learn and apply to our lives

Sermon Body - OVERVIEW

· JOHN MARK IS THE WRITER – But he wasn’t a disciple or apostle of Jesus

· PETER WAS THE SOURCE OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK AS HE SPENT TIME WITH HIM

· Application: Like Mark being discipled by Peter

· We must seek to learn how to be a disciple of Jesus from mature Christians

· And mature Christians are to invest time with young Christians

· Mark is the 1st Gospel and the shortest Gospel

· The Gospel of Mark is a historical eye witness account of the life and ministry of Jesus

· Provides an accurate account of Jesus; Who He is, what He taught, and what He’s done

· The Gospel was written for both Jews and Gentiles

· They consisted of both followers and opponents of Christ

FEATURES OF MARK’S WRITING TO PAY ATTENTION TO

· It is written as a narrative that involves the reader emotionally and mentally in the events and confronts us with commands as disciples of Christ

· Application: So, when studying, try to place yourself in the book – as if you were there with Jesus during His Public Ministry

· The Gospel is very fast paced, action oriented – “Immediately…”

Mark 1:12

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness

Mark 1:21

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching

· The Gospel contains many miracle stories showing Christ’s authority over:

o Creation

o Nature

o And demons

· Contains Parables of Jesus – A story or illustration that teach moral and spiritual principles

· Contains teachings on what a disciple is and does

Mark is filled with CHRISTOLOGY

· Jews expected Jesus(The coming Messiah) a Davidic, political King who would free the Jewish people from Roman oppression

· Jesus reveals His true identity as God’s Messiah who was to die and be raised from death as the Eternal King

· Christ came to free His chosen people, but freeing them from the slavery of sin and death that leads to redemption and salvation

· So, Jesus is the Savior

· Jesus is the suffering Servant described in Isaiah

· Jesus is the eternal Son of God sent to accomplish God’s overarching plan of redemption and salvation – The running storyline of the whole Bible

o Expresses Jesus’ divinity

· Jesus is the Son of man – Expresses Christ’s humanity

· Jesus is Lord – The proper name of God

Mark Makes Use of OT references

· To show how it all points to Jesus, that He is the fulfillment of OT prophesy

o The fulfillment of what God promised through his prophets long ago

o That the Messiah will come as prophet, priest, and king

Mark 1:1-3 – He starts by going back

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way,

3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight,’ ”

· Jesus is the culmination of God’s overarching plan of redemption and salvation that started with the nation of Israel

· God’s redemptive acts in the OT were a shadow (picture) of the real redemption fulfilled by Jesus

o Example – Sacrificial lamb

LET’S TURN TO THE PURPOSE OF GOSPEL

· To provide an accurate account of Jesus - His identity, what He’s done, and what He taught

· To show us that Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God

· It also presents Jesus’ call to discipleship

o Mark returns to this theme often – When Jesus reveals a Biblical truth OR an event that happens – Jesus follows it up by teaching what it means to be a disciple

Example

o VS 9:33-34 (Event) – Disciples arguing who is the greatest among them

VS 9:35-37 – Jesus teaches that a disciple must be unlike the world – That the 1stmust be last and a servant of all

· Application: When we recognize these in the Gospel, it teaches us to be better disciples of Jesus

· Discipleship in Mark is essentially a life-giving relationship with Jesus

o Our relationship with Jesus results in godly living - Walking in a manner worthy of the Gospel/Jesus

o Fellowship with Jesus includes=

§ Coming into a saving faith in Jesus

§ Learning from Him

§ Confessing and proclaiming Him (evangelism)

§ Imitating Him

§ Being shaped by Him

o This is the core of a disciples’ life.

LET’S END WITH THEMES TO KNOW AND LOOK FOR – SIMILAR TO WHAT WE’VE ALREADY SAID

· Jesus is the Son of God that came to bring everlasting salvation

· Jesus inaugurates the Kingdom of God on Earth that will be finalized with His 2nd coming

· The theme of discipleship

· And Christ’s authority over all creation

CONCLUSION

Again, our purpose for today was to build a foundation for our study of Mark

· To help us understand, interpret, learn, and apply this Gospel

Goals for our series in Mark – BULLETIN

· 1st - Teach the Gospel who do not know it

· 2nd - Since the Gospel is the power of salvation – Those who have yet come to faith in Jesus will

· 3rd - my goal is that as we study the Gospel of Mark, it will rekindle the fire we once had for the transformational power of the Gospel

o For the mercy and grace we received from God through Jesus for redemption and salvation

· Last – To give us a heart for the lost and share this message with them

How we will study this series

· Given you an outline of the book that breaks up the major sections and what they focus on

· I will give you the next week’s reading at the end of each sermon

· Please take the time to read it so you will be prepared

· I can’t spoon feed you the Bible – We must be students of Scripture ourselves

· Every potluck Sunday we will do a topical sermon to break up the series

Next Week’s Reading

· Mark 1:1-15