Good News About Jesus

6y ago, the 2019 Toronto Raptors won the championship. ~2M people gathered in Toronto to celebrate the victory with a parade. Do you remember or are you too young?

Some day we’ll see a victory parade for the Maple Leafs. I’m too young to remember the last one.

ευαγγελιον = good news

I mention victory parades because the word Mark uses for “good news” usually means news of victory. ευαγγελιον = good news or gospel: victory in sports, in battle, in politics. If you come home from a competition and announce, “we won,” that’s an ευαγγελιον.

Mark calls his book an ευαγγελιον, a “gospel”, good news. What victory does Mark celebrate in his gospel?

Let’s back up.

Who is Mark?

He has 2 names: His Greek name is Mark; his Jewish name is John.

John Mark is a cousin to Barnabas – Paul mentions the connection in Col. 4.

From what we can piece together from church history, Peter married John Mark’s cousin.

Mark is well connected within the early church.

When that Peter was arrested, as reported in Acts 12, the Christians gathered for a prayer service at the house of Mark’s mother Mary. When an angel of the Lord released Peter from prison, and it dawned on him that he was free, that’s the 1st place Peter headed:

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)

In Acts 12, you can read how John Mark went to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas after the Council at Jerusalem.

When the HS sent Paul and Barnabas on their 1st church-planting trip, John Mark went with them as their helper.

We hear about John Mark elsewhere in the NT travelling with Barnabas, Paul, and Peter. There’s a tradition in the western church that Mark wrote this gospel in Rome. A tradition in the Coptic churches of Egypt and Ethiopia says Mark was born in Africa and was involved in planting and pastoring churches in Alexandria in Egypt.

It seems that John Mark spent much of his life proclaiming the good news, announcing Jesus’ victory. In fact, if it’s true Mark was the first to write a gospel, he invented a whole new genre “the gospel” to describe Jesus’ victory.

Some scholars think that the first line of Mark’s gospel holds the key to understanding the whole book: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1).

Jesus

–Triumphant entry in Mark 11.

Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” [= The Lord Saves!] “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Mark 11:9 (NIV)

The Messiah

– Turning point of the gospel is when Jesus asks his disciples:

“Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Mark 8:29 (NIV)

Once his disciples recognize he’s the Messiah, Jesus unpacks what it means.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31 (NIV)

Big promise: Jesus said he will die and rise again. OT test of prophets: if what they says comes true, they are from God.

Son of God

- At Jesus’ baptism

A voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:11 (NIV)

Mt of Transfiguration

A cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Mark 9:7 (NIV)

If this is good news, an ευαγγελιον, what victory does Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God win?

Mark introduces John the Baptist. Rough man in camel hair and leather belt. What did he eat? Locusts and honey.

It’s not how we usually envision a messenger of God. Yet John fits the description of earlier prophets in the OT. He came to prepare the way of the Lord. Not just any lord. The Lord God Almighty was coming!

And Jesus came – truly God and truly human. Both John and Jesus called people to repent. Confess disobedience to God.

Cadets, what is your verse?

“If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15 (NIV)

What commands?

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Mark 12:29–31a (NIV)

How’s that going for you? I struggle to have God as #1.

It’s hard to love neighbour – siblings, cousins, friends like you love yourself.

Mark’s victory message

is that Jesus has obeyed these commands 100%.

What’s more, Jesus has authority over evil forces. The forces of evil threw everything they could at Jesus, arrested him, convicted him for saying he was the Son of God. It’s the big Q at Jesus’ trial:

The high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

“I am,” said Jesus. Mark 14:61b–62a (NIV)

That’s why they crucified him. He died and was buried. Even in his death, he was recognizable as the Son of God:

When the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39 (NIV)

Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave victorious over sin and death. His resurrection guarantees that by faith in Jesus we too will be raised to life.

That is the ευαγγελιον, the good news of Mark. Jesus is victorious over sin and death! By faith in Jesus, by obeying Jesus, we are adopted into Jesus family as his brother or sister. By faith in Jesus, you can be baptized for forgiveness of sins and with the power of the HS.

In power of HS, we celebrate Jesus’ victory in word & deed.