The Gospel of Mark, Pt. 1 - An Introduction

I want you to consider for a moment what it might be like to be an eyewitness to a life-altering, world-changing, cataclysmic event before the age the modern technology and social media and global access to information.....how would you remember the event? And following that question.....how would you ensure that the story of the event would live on?

Well, history tells us that for the majority of human history, those major, impactful events of life were kept in one’s memory by telling the story over and over again. Combine that with the fact that for the majority of human history, the average human was illiterate, story-telling would be a vital determining factor as to whether or not the remembrance of a particular event would stand the test of time.

And so in some sense, to study human history is to study the stories that have been passed down from generation to generation and across centuries and millennia to help preserve the memory of certain events and the impact they had on the lives of those who lived to tell the story from the very beginning.

Now, again, imagine being that eyewitness of that spectacular event, and as time passes, you and the many eyewitnesses get older.....and some begin to die off.......at that point, how do you preserve the authenticity and accuracy of the story once all the eyewitnesses are long gone?......someone has to write the story down.

And in many respects, that’s how we got the first four books of the New Testament which are referred to as the gospels of.....Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You see, as I previously mentioned, the vast majority of human history has included cultures dominated by oral tradition - they passed on their stories and cultural and religious customs and traditions through oral presentations - stories. While a few had the ability to read, the rest of humanity had to memorize if they wanted the stories to live on.

And the nation of Israel as well as the Roman empire in the first century AD were no exceptions. So as this man named Jesus of Nazareth comes onto the scene and who’s life culminates with the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection from the dead, the stories of these events would live on as the eyewitnesses of these events would remain faithful to tell the truth of the stories.

Furthermore, those first followers of Jesus and those in the early beginnings of the Christian church believed that Jesus was going to come back for them in their lifetime, so they had no need to preserve the events surrounding the life and ministry of Jesus for centuries to come.

But then as time passed, and those expectations were not met, and the eyewitnesses began to age out and die, whether through natural means or through martyrdom, the necessity to write down these stories grew evermore pressing.

And it seems to be the opinion of a majority of NT and Bible scholars that Mark, or more officially, John Mark, was the first to compose a biographical narrative of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

And over the next many, many months to come, we’re going to be taking a verse by verse journey through Mark’s gospel that will give us a tremendous look into the life of the most important human to have ever walked this earth, a man that Christians for the last 2,000 years have proclaimed to be God in human flesh.

And today, I’d like us to begin by briefly answering three basic questions related to the gospel of Mark, which are three of the most important questions we could ever ask about any book in the Bible.

We’re going to examine who wrote this gospel letter and to whom was it written, when was it written, and what was the purpose of writing this letter. So the who, when and what of the Gospel of Mark.

So, first of all....... who wrote the Gospel of Mark? Well, tradition and early church testimony and historical data reveals that a Roman Jew by the name of John Mark wrote this letter. We don’t know too much about Mark, other than he was the son of a woman named Mary who lived in Jerusalem. When Peter was rescued from jail by the angel of the Lord in Acts 12, we read in verse 12 that (SLIDE) Acts 12:12 “... he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.”

So by this account, Mary must have been wealthy enough to afford a home that could accommodate many people at once, and she must have been highly regarded and influential as well. Furthermore, Paul writes in Colossians 4:10 that Mark was cousins with Barnabas, the famous sidekick of Paul on his first missionary journey.

Not too much more is known about Mark, other than he was partly the reason for the separation of Barnabas and Paul in Acts 15, however he eventually got back into Paul’s good graces as a fellow co-worker for the gospel.

Mark is believed to have been the youngest of the gospel writers, and unlike Matthew and John, but like Luke, Mark was not a disciple of Jesus. Rather, scholars believe that Mark primarily drew his content from the testimony of Peter. Early church fathers and historians like Papias, Tertullion, Origen, Irenaeus and many others make mention of such connections between Mark and the apostle Peter. Likewise, we know that Mark and Peter had a uniquely special relationship, according to what we see in 1 Peter 5:13 “She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.” Here we see that Mark was not a physical son, but a spiritual son of Peter, maybe being a direct convert and disciple of the major apostle.

And so that’s a brief look at who Mark was, but now we need to consider who the intended audience of Mark’s gospel was. Remember, the audience of the biblical text will reveal alot about the purpose and meaning of the text, and we see these characteristics in Mark’s gospel. To this point, many scholars believe that a brief mention of a man named Rufus in Mark 15:21 may very well be the same Rufus reference by Paul in Romans 16:13. And if that’s the case, then it is likely that Mark was writing to the church in Rome.

This is also confirmed by other internal pieces of evidence within Mark’s gospel. For one, its the shortest of the four gospel letters. It is comprised of 16 jam-packed, quick chapters that focus more on the actions and works of Jesus, rather than the teachings and philosophies and doctrines of Jesus. This makes sense within a Roman context, because unlike their Greek counterparts who were the philosophers of the day, Romans were much more respectful of actions. And so if Mark is wanting his Roman audience to really grasp the truths of Jesus, it would make sense for him to focus more on his works than his teachings.

Furthermore, as we make our way through Mark’s gospel, we’re going to see him explain certain Jewish customs and traditions and even familiar landmarks to the reader, which makes sense within a Roman context, but would have been quite odd had his audience been Jewish. And lastly, Mark often used Latin terms to explain certain Greek words in the original text, or he would use the Latin equivalents of certain common words as well.

Secondly....... when was the gospel written? Well, that’s a much more difficult question to answer and would take up much more time and brain power to wrap our minds around all the details and varying data, but in general, it seems that when you compare the nature of the relationship between Mark, Matthew, Luke and Acts, Mark seems to have been the first gospel written which was then used by Matthew and Luke to influence their gospel letters. For instance, something like 93% of the information in Mark is directly referenced in Matthew and Luke.

And if you study the dates of other certain books in the Bible and consider the deaths of certain apostles like Paul and Peter, most of the data points to quite early writing of Mark’s gospel, somewhere between 55 and 65 AD. and some scholars will date Mark as early as 35-45 AD. So needless to say, Mark’s gospel was very early, which points to its authenticity and reliability of an accurate account of the life of Jesus.

And lastly, we turn to the what.....what is the purpose of Mark’s gospel. Every book of the Bible has an intended audience and an initial purpose for having been written.

Luke reveals his purpose in the opening words of his gospel letter (SLIDE) Luke 1:1–4 “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.”

John explains his purpose for writing his gospel letter in (SLIDE) John 20:31 “...but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Now in one sense, all the gospels, and all 66 books of the bible for that matter, have the same purpose - to reveal the truth of God and of Jesus Christ. However, each book then purposes to accomplish that revelation in a variety of ways.

So when we come to the gospel of Mark, we want to consider that question....what was the purpose of Mark’s letter about the life and person and ministry of Jesus? Again, we take our cue from the content and the way in which Mark chose to compose the letter. Rather than offering some long introduction into the family origins and events leading up to the birth of Jesus like we see in both Matthew and Luke, or rather than building some theological and philosophical case for the identity of Jesus like we see in John’s gospel, Mark’s letter is book-ended with a powerful identification of Jesus, and in between is filled with a detailed description of the ministry of Jesus.

So surely, Mark is concerned with who Jesus is. His gospel starts with this proclamation in Mark 1:1 (SLIDE) “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” And near the end of his letter, in Mark 15:39, we see the first confession of any bystander or witness that mirrors that same identification of Jesus.....(SLIDE) “And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!””

And then in between those two statements is a detailed record of Jesus’ ministry that would help provide great evidence of that type of identification. And this evidence that provides us with a look into the purpose of Mark’s letter culminates with Jesus’ own declaration for his purpose of coming and the purpose for his ministry in Mark 10:45 (SLIDE) “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark quoted a prophecy in Isaiah 40 and applied it to John the Baptist being the forerunner of the Messiah. And as we see through Mark’s gospel, Jesus is the fulfillment of the suffering servant in Isaiah 52-53, about whom we read in Isaiah 52:13 (SLIDE) “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.”

Jesus is that suffering servant who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And in summarizing Mark’s gospel letter, we’re given a description of three primary aspects of Jesus’ ministry as a servant who came to save.

First, we’re informed about the (SLIDE) ministry of the servant. Marks gospel is easily recognized by the emphasis of highlighting the miracles of Jesus during his three years of public ministry. In fact, its been estimated that of the over 40 miracles attributed to Jesus in the gospel letters, half are found in Mark’s gospel alone.

And in fact, 17 of those miracles are found in just the first 8 chapters, which represent the first half of the gospel of Mark. Again, unlike his gospel-writer counterparts of Matthew, Luke, and John, Mark wasted no time getting to the meat of Jesus’ public ministry.

And so what we’ll see throughout Mark’s gospel, again, writing to a Roman audience who would appreciate work and effort, is an intentional, rapid-fire listing of the many works and miraculous healings of Jesus that both established his divine identity as the Son of God, but also the purpose for why he came.

Furthermore, because Mark’s gospel is so intent on building the case with the works of Jesus in as little time as possible, another feature that is unique to Mark’s gospel is the speed with which we’re introduced to each story. And this speed is marked by a word that appears quite frequently in Mark’s gospel letter - the word “immediately.”

Depending on the translation you might be reading, Mark uses the word “immediately” over 40 times, adding to the spirit with which Mark is attempting to present Jesus as a man of action and one who has come to get things done!

And so for instance, in Mark 1:16, we see Jesus pass alongside the sea of Galilee and call out to Simon and Andrew to follow him, and the text says that they immediately left their fishing nets and followed him. Then he sees James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and immediately called out to them as well, and they followed. And then in verse 21, we’re told they all went to Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath, Jesus entered the the synagogue and began to teach and he also healed a man with an unclean spirit. And then in verse 29, Jesus immediately left the synagogue to heal many others. And this pattern of describing Jesus ministry like a rapid-fire healing and miracle campaign continues through the first half of Mark’s gospel.

So we see the ministry of the servant, and then secondly, we learn about (SLIDE) the message of the servant. Beginning in the latter half of chapter 8 and continuing until chapter 14, this is where we have the bulk of Jesus’ actually teaching in Mark’s gospel. Here he teaches on a variety of subjects like discipleship, the necessity of faith, humility and proper judgment. He teaches on hell, marriage, personal wealth, prayer, and certainly talks about his impending death and resurrection as well as his second coming and things pertaining to the last days.

And in typical Jesus-fashion as a good rabbi and Teacher, he often taught these principles using parables and object lessons. He uses a fig tree to teach about the power of faith in prayer, he uses the parable of the tenants to teach about how the Son of God would be received and rejected by those he came to save, and he used a Roman coin to teach about personal tribute and devotion.

But just as he does with the ministry descriptions, Mark’s treatment of the teachings of Jesus are quick and to the point and don’t include a tremendous amount of dialogue or conversation. Again, its rapid-fire exposition......Jesus said this....then he taught on that......then they moved on to hear and taught on that.......He certainly did answer some questions of both the disciples and his opponents in the scribes and Pharisees. But as we’ll see throughout the narrative, the teachings and instructions of Jesus almost seem as if they’re provided on the go...while they’re moving from place to place.

And then lastly, Mark’s gospel concludes with the last three chapters focusing on (SLIDE) the mission of the servant. As is revealed in all four gospels, the action and events of Mark’s gospel come to climax with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And as we know from the entire witness of the gospel letters, Jesus’ mission was simple - to seek and save the lost.

He made it quite clear in Mark 9:31 (SLIDE) “...for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.’” But as we know from this account and from the other gospel accounts, Jesus’ disciples had a hard time understanding what he meant by that, and they were even too afraid or embarrassed to ask him.

And maybe part of their confusion or misunderstanding of Jesus’ mission was due to the fact that they misunderstood who Jesus was. Not only was Jesus the Son of God as revealed both in the very beginning and at the end of Mark’s gospel, but especially in Mark’s gospel, Jesus predominantly refers to himself as the Son of Man. Throughout this gospel letter, Jesus is referred to by others as the Son of God, the Son of the Most Hight God, the Son of David, and Teacher, but pointing to himself as that messianic figure in Daniel 7 who will have all power and authority, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man in Mark 2:10, 2:28, 8:38, 9:9, 9:12, 9:31, 10:33, 10:45, 13:26, twice in 14:21, 14:41, 14:62, for a total of 12 times.

This is significant, because it reminds us that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. He has authority to heal sickness.....he has authority to cast out demons......he has authority to forgive sin.....he has authority to calm the wind and waves......he has authority over the Sabbath, because he’s the Lord of the Sabbath, and Jesus’ primary mission on earth showed us that he even has authority over sin and death and proved that by physical rising from the grave three days after his death on the cross.

As we’re going to see in our time in this gospel letter, one of Mark’s primary purposes of writing this gospel, alongside his purpose to present Jesus as the suffering servant who came to save the world from their sins, is to present Jesus’ call to discipleship. And that call to discipleship will be revealed throughout Mark’s gospel as a relationship with Jesus and his people. In other words, discipleship with Jesus always entails others as well....its never just a one-on-one relationship with the Lord.

When we began our series through Ephesians just over a year ago, and then having just finished our series on Church Membership Matters, hopefully you’ve all caught on to the rich theological and biblical support for practicing your faith in Jesus within the context of discipleship and church membership, both of which are rooted in relationship. Its in relationship with Jesus and with one another that we come to more fully understand the ministry, message, and mission of Jesus.....but also, we’ll come to better understand our ministry, message, and mission of being a servant of Christ ourselves.

If you haven’t already, I hope you find your ministry sooner than later within the life of this church and elsewhere you find yourself Monday through Saturday. Your ministry may be at work.....it may be at home.....it may be amongst your friends and family......maybe God is calling you to begin a ministry that be accomplished alongside and in conjunction with the Church and with other like-minded Christian brothers and sisters. But regardless of the place or context, you and I were born again to serve and to be ministers. And we would love to help you find that ministry if you haven’t already done so.

And what is your message? For that Christian....its simple.....the gospel! The gospel is the message that your ministry should proclaim, and the gospel is the message that your life should proclaim on a daily basis. Why do you do you what you do......why are you the person you are today......its all because of the gospel.

Against the backdrop of a culture and society that proclaimed alot of different messages and valued many world ideals, Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 1:22–23 “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,” If your message is rooted in the gospel....you will often be ridiculed....you will often be hated and unliked and rejected.....why? Because the gospel is foolishness to the natural man.

It doesn’t make sense to the world that we’re sinful, man in not generally good, and we’re all in need of a savior. It doesn’t make sense to the world that an innocent man had to die for the sins of the world just to make us right with a Holy God. Its doesn’t make sense that to be great in God’s kingdom, you must consider others before yourself and you must become a servant of all. And both outside of the Church, as well as within the Church today, the simple gospel truths are being attacked and torn down on all sides.

But we must hold fast to our message, especially as we continue to walk in our mission. Again, our mission is simple....its the Great Commission. We see this in the end of Matthew’s gospel, and we see it in Acts 1 which serves in some respect as a continuation of Luke’s gospel. And as we’ll come to see at the end of Mark’s gospel in Mark 16, we’re going to deal with a particular issue regarding the actual ending of Mark, which most scholars believe ends at verse 8, and yet later manuscripts will include verses 9-20, which, again, most scholars believe were not a part of the original text.

Nevertheless, this longer ending in Mark doesn’t present anything unique or contrary to the rest of the gospel accounts, and so the Bible translators have chose to keep it in our bibles for reference. And in verse 15, Jesus is recorded to have said to his disciples, (SLIDE) “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” That’s our mission in life, not matter what we’re doing....proclaim the gospel to the world.

And here at FBCAC, we do that by living for Jesus.....by loving like Jesus.....and by leading others to Jesus. Its the Great Commision!

And so I pray that our time in the gospel of Mark will be both insightful and fruitful for you all....that you will gain a greater understanding of who Jesus is, and as a result you’ll gain a greater understanding of what you ministry, message, and mission as a disciple of Jesus.

Welcome to the gospel of Mark!