Mark: Intro
THE DOORWAY TO UNDERSTANDING
The second gospel, written for the Gentiles around 50-52 A.D. is short by comparison to the other gospels, but is most powerful in its teachings.
The four gospels deal with the earthly life and ministry of the Savior, but each presents Him in an entirely different way. Matthew presents the Lord Jesus as the Son of David, the heir of Israel's throne, the King of the Jews. Luke teaches of the humanity of the Lord, presenting Him as the perfect man, in contrast to the sinful sons of men. John views Him as the heavenly One come down to earth, the eternal Son of the Father made flesh and living among men to demonstrate the final revelation to mankind from above.
In Mark Christ is seen as the servant of Jehovah, the perfect Workman of God, focusing upon His service and the manner of that service during His ministry.
Revelation 4:7 describes the cherubim around God's throne as beings with four faces: a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle. By long tradition, the creature that represents the gospel of Mark is the calf or sometimes known as the ox, a creature of work and service. Mark's gospel shows Jesus as the servant of God, His Workman.
For this reason, Mark is known as a “busy” book. Jesus is almost always busy, working and moving quickly from one event to another. The word “immediately” is found 40 times in Mark. The emphasis is on the deeds of Jesus, more even than His words. Christ in Mark is a man of action.
Tradition says the Apostle Peter is the main source of Mark's writings as Mark was not an disciple nor was sent as an apostle. Peter speaks of Mark as “my son” in 1st Peter 5:13. Mark, also called John Mark in passages like Acts 12:25, was a failure in ministry with Paul (as taught in Acts 15) but his relation with Paul was restored in 2nd Timothy 4. Peter also was somewhat of a failure at times but he too was restored in the end.
Peter's influence in Mark's writing is also seen in the language. Peter spoke Aramaic, and we see Aramaic words used by Mark such as Boanarges (3:17), Talitha Cumi (5:41), Korban (7:11), Ephphatha (7:34), and Abba (14:36).
The early church met in Mark's mother's home in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12).
Since Jesus was presented as a servant, and no one generally cares about the pedigree of a servant, no family history of Jesus is given (as in Matthew & Luke).
Mark is the only gospel to introduce itself as such and it is intended to bear witness to Jesus Christ as the proclaimer of the Kingdom of God, and to challenge readers to follow the Lord. John the Baptist is introduced to prepare the way. Jesus is introduced to be baptized of John and this scene establishes His identity and authority. The Kingdom announced by Jesus is both for the individual and the community.
The themes of Mark all converge around the death of Jesus and they are:
The rejection of Jesus by His enemies
The failure of His friends
The unfolding revelation of His mission
The prophecies fulfilled
His mocking and killing by the authorities
His betrayal by Judas and His being denied by Peter
His burial with a stone sealing the tomb
The stone removed by the angel
The new beginning when He arose
There are several phrases used to depict Jesus and they are:
Christ, the Son of David (Jesus never called himself Christ in Mark)
Son of God (The Father says so at His baptism and even the demons recognize His Sonship in chapters 1, 3, & 5.)
Son of Man (Jesus uses this term in chapters 8, 9, & 10.) (This term is taken from the book of Daniel)
A major focus in this gospel is the matter of discipleship. The relation between Jesus and His disciples is the foundation of the book. While the term Son of man appears 14 times, the word “disciple” appears over 40 times. The first five disciples are chosen by Jesus and immediately cast their entire lives away and follow Him simply by His word of calling.
His disciples fail in both understanding and action more than a few times, which is a type of the modern believer who continually does exactly the same.
The good news of the gospel is that in spite of all their failures (and all ours), He still keeps His invitation open and renews His call daily for those who believe to follow.