Mark

At first, nobody wrote down the stories about Jesus. And it was the same with the things that he taught. People in the Early Church spoke them instead. The book of Mark could be the first Gospel that somebody wrote down. And most people think this. It was probably about 65-67AD. That would have been about 30 years after Jesus Christ went back to heaven.

There is a tradition about this Gospel. Papias recorded it. He said that Peter gave all the information about Jesus to Mark. Then Mark wrote down all the things that he remembered. It was an accurate account. But he did not write things down in order.

Papias was a bishop (church leader) in AD 130. A more modern writer is H. M. Hunter. He described this Gospel too. He said that Mark's Gospel is facts about Jesus. And Peter told the facts to his friend John Mark. Notice something about Peter. Mark did not say much about him. But the things that he did say were the bad things. (Read 8:29-33; 14:29-30, 37, 66-72.) And Peter must have repeated the details of these events. But when Mark wrote the book, it would have been different. People would not want to think about the bad things that Peter said or did. They would remember Peter's service and his death for Jesus (John 21:18-19).

There are many attractive things about the book of Mark. One thing is that he recorded the details carefully. And this makes events very clear to the reader. (Compare 5:1-20 and 9:14-29 with accounts in Matthew and Luke.) Mark's account of Christ's life gives excitement. Notice the word ‘immediately’. Mark used it many times.

The book shows that the Lord Jesus was a real man. Here are some examples:

• He became angry (3:5). (People's wrong attitudes made him angry.)
• He felt surprise (6:6). (People's lack of faith surprised him.)
• He felt pain and despair. He was sad (14:33-40).
• He had limits to his knowledge (13:32). (He did not know when the world would end.)

In this study, we will use Mark 10:45 as the most important verse. This shows Christ as a Servant. It reminds us about Isaiah's account of the Suffering Servant. (Read Isaiah 53:11 and 12.) There are four Servant Songs. (Read the study of Isaiah in the Bible Guide.)

The five sections of this Gospel remind us about those four Songs.

The Servant's Service: Mercy that did not Fail (Chapters 1-5)

This section is the introduction. It speaks about the Servant-Messiah:

• The messenger gave a welcome to him (1:1-8) [Note: A messenger is someone who has a message to give.]
• The Father identified him (1:9-11)
• The enemy tempted him (1:12-13)

Then Jesus:

• announced his message (1:14-15)
• chose his friends (1:16-20)
• proved his authority (1:21-34)
• told his secret (1:35-39)
• showed his pity and his great sympathy (1:40-2:5)
• met those who opposed him (2:6-3:35)
• taught those who followed him (4:1-34)
• proved his power (4:35-5:43).

These chapters show the gentle Servant. And it reminds us about Isaiah's first Servant Song (42:1-4). Notice especially Mark 1:11 and Isaiah 42:1.

The Servant's Service: Love that Affected Other People (Chapters 6:1−8:30)

These chapters remind us about the second Servant Song of Isaiah. This is the Servant who would be a missionary. (Read Isaiah 49:1-6.) The passage speaks about one who would bring back God's people. But he had another task. God spoke to his special Servant. He said, ‘I will make you a light for all nations. You will be my way to save all the people that are on earth’.

This section of Mark begins in Nazareth (6:1-6). This was where Jesus lived when he was a child. But his own people refused to accept him. Then he showed that he was eager to be a missionary. He sent his men out to the villages. There they were very successful (6:7-13).

There is something important here. It is for those who try to tell other people the truth. Two groups of people will oppose them. There will be those who do not believe (6:14-29). Then there will be some religious people. Tradition will be the most important thing to them.

There was more work for a missionary to do. A cry for help came from a Gentile woman (7:24-30). (A Gentile is a person who is not a Jew.) The good news was for ‘the entire world’. And this was the beginning. (Read Isaiah 49:6.) In the book of Mark, there was another tour for a missionary. And it started immediately after this event. It was in a town in Gentile territory. It was the area of the Ten Towns (7:31-37).

Then the passage reminds us about some events. This was when Jesus fed hungry crowds. And it happened more than once (8:1-9, 19-21). This section ends with some great words from Peter. He believed that Jesus was the Messiah (8:27-30).

The Servant's Service: Determination that did not Change (Chapters 8:31−13:37)

Christ now told his men that he must die. But they would not accept the truth. He also explained something about those who wanted to follow him. It would be hard for them too. They would suffer. And they would have to do difficult things.

There is one main subject here. It is the Servant with determination. And it reminds us about the third Servant Song of Isaiah (50:4-9).

We can divide this section into four parts:

Jesus and the disciples (8:31-9:50). The disciples did not understand about his cross. But something great happened to them. They saw Christ's glory (9:1-13). Yet they were still unable to use his power (9:14-29). He taught them about being humble (9:30-37). He taught them about love (9:38-41) and about discipline (9:42-50). But they were slow to obey his teaching.

Jesus and the inquirers (people who inquire) (10:1-52).

There were different types of inquirers. We see those who:

• were not genuine (10:1-12)
• were wealthy (10:17-31)
• were selfish (10:32-45);
• were determined (10:46-52). They refused to give up.

Jesus and the enemies (11:1-12:44). Then were people who were not inquirers. They were enemies. (Read especially 11:18, 27-33; 12:12.)

Jesus and the future (13:1-37). This is a famous talk. We read that the enemy would ruin Jerusalem. We also read about the return of Christ.

The Servant's Service: Sacrifice that was his Choice (Chapters 14−15)

There is an introduction to the story about Christ's death. It is a wonderful account. It was a generous act of love (14:3-9). The writer put it here on purpose. It is next to the account about the priests. They were greedy. They wanted Christ's life (14:1-2). Then there was Judas, who was also greedy. He wanted money (14:10-11).

But Jesus Christ did have friends. We do not know the name of one friend. But he was glad to let Jesus use a room (14:12-16). And we should be like this. The disciples were eager to be with Jesus too (14:17-25).

The rest of the story reminds us about the Suffering Servant. This is the Fourth Servant Song of Isaiah (52:13-53:12). People laughed at the Servant. They refused to believe in him. And it was the same for Jesus. Even his disciples left him (14:50-72).

But there were some bold helpers. There was Simon from Cyrene (15:21). And we, too, should share Christ's suffering. There was Joseph (15:42-46). We should be brave like him. Then there was the army officer (15:39). We should declare in public that Jesus Christ is God.

The Servant's Service: Success that was the Result (Chapter 16)

The garden (16:1-11). Some translations end with verse 8. It shows two of the church's greatest problems. They are silence and fear.

[Note: The ‘church’ refers to people who are believers, not to the building.]

The road (16:12-13). This passage shows another problem. It is lack of faith. (Read verse 11 again too.)

The room (16:14-18). Christ blamed the disciples for their lack of faith. He ordered them to stop being silent cowards.

The throne (19-20). Our Lord Jesus is with God. He was successful. He proved that he was right. He is sitting on the throne. He is king. Because of this, we can obey his command. We can share with everyone his great message. It is a message of salvation and of life.