Intro to the Gospel of Mark (Mark 1:1)

The gospel of Mark is filled with action, and from the first verse Jesus is at the center of it all. If you wrote a book about what mattered most, what would be the first verse?

The Book

• The NT begins with four “gospels”
• These are biographies of Jesus from 1st century
• Each one has a different audience / different purpose
• Taken together → give us a thorough picture of Jesus
• Who he was / why he came
• The Gospel of Mark is the shortest gospel
• Probably the earliest - around 55 AD or so
• Mark writes with a sense of urgency = “immediately,” - 40x
• “Immediately” urgency, gospel in action.
• 1:16-17 (ESV) Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
• It’s an “action” gospel → least amount of Jesus’ teaching of all 4
• Its description are very vivid 
• Engage: it’s a great gospel for today’s reader because it moves quickly like scenes from a movie. 
• Engage: This is why when missionaries start to translate the Bible in different languages, they usually begin with Mark. It’s the simple basics: a great place to begin.

The Author

Early church unanimously believed this account was written by John Mark 

• Early Xians writers tell us → Mark gathered info about Jesus from Peter 
• From Peter’s preaching / memoirs
• Organized it all into a coherent story
• Engage: Imagine what it would be like to sit at Peter’s feet, hearing all these amazing stories about Jesus!
• Illus: kind of like all the photos I have laying around of my life / family. Maybe someday someone will compile them all into albums that tell a story. That’s like what Mark did with Peter’s info.
• Meet him in book of Acts
• First mentioned in Acts 12:12
• When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
• Cousin of Barnabus Col 4:10
• Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him),
• Traveled with Paul and Barnabas as a young man
• Helper on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:5) but then left them
• Acts 13:13-14 (NLT) Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.
• Caused some conflict between P & B for second missionary journey
• Acts 15:36-40 (NLT) After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care.
• But Mark later became Paul’s co-worker → encouragement to him
• 2 Timothy says Paul called for him as “useful” for the gospel!
• 2 Timothy 4:11 (NLT) Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry.

The Audience

The original audience → probably Gentile Christians, perhaps in Rome

• Mark explains Jewish customs
• The Romans were practical, action-oriented people
• Kind of like Americans are today
• Possibly written during a time when persecutions threatened the church
• That’s why Mark emphasizes what it means to live as a sold-out disciple of Jesus
• Presents Jesus as Messiah / Savior / Son of God
• If that’s who he is → that calls us to live a certain way
• Even when the powers that be resist & oppose Jesus
• Mark relates to us today bc we’re not Jewish either
• We might be facing increasing opposition to Xianity in our generation
• We all have to decide if Jesus is who he claims to be
• If so, we all have to decide if we’re going to follow him fully

The Aim

Mark wrote this account to show the world who Jesus is and what he has done.

The central theme of Mark is outlined from the very start → 1:1 says it all

Mark 1:1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

• Good News 
• The gospel
• Jesus is the Savior
• The name “Jesus” or Yeshua in Hebrew means: “Yahweh is salvation.”
• Angel told Joseph, “You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt 1:21)
• This is “Good News” because we need rescue from our sins → forgiveness, etc.
• Jesus is the Messiah
• The Messiah was the expected ruler / deliverer of Israel
• Elaborate…
• Throughout Mark → Jesus challenges / corrects what people, including his own most loyal followers, thought the Messiah would be
• This is “Good News” because it shows God keeps his promises / takes care of his people
• Jesus is the Son of God
• Explain / elaborate… Makes Him God, 2nd person of the Trinity, Nicene Creed, John 1
• This is “Good News” because…
• Rest of the book, Mark does two things with this claim to Jesus’ identity
• First: provides evidence for these claims.
• Demonstrates his wisdom & authority in his teaching
• His authority / power in healing & freeing people from spiritual darkness
• Demonstrates his compassion
• Second: shows us how people respond to these claims.
• Some accept him as Messiah and follow him
• Mark helps us understand what that looks like
• Often → radically different from what people expected
• Some are confused - at times that includes those who follow him!
• Some oppose him outright
• Showing us these responses → Mark invites us to think about our own response to him

Q. If you wrote a book about what mattered most, what would be the first verse?