Hi! Welcome back to One Book At a Time. This week we’ll be looking at the Gospel of Mark for our overview.
Mark is in the New Testament and is actually the second book in this section of the Bible. The book of Mark is thought to have been written by a man named John Mark, who just went by Mark (shocker!). He was not one of Jesus’ disciples, but instead a friend of one of the disciples. He was a friend of Peter, who we often see mentioned throughout the New Testament. Mark wrote this book based on Peter’s stories of Jesus’ life and what He did.
I thought we would start with a summary of the book of Mark. The Gospel starts out
talking about Jesus’ ministry with the Galileans, where Jesus cast out demons and worked miracles. An important verse at the beginning of the book is Mark 1:15.
The verse says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near: Repent
and believe the good news!” This verse is talking about how the Old Testament promises are being fulfilled through Jesus Christ coming in the New Testament. Knowing that Jesus is coming means it’s urgent to believe and accept now, because with Jesus comes the kingdom of God. Jesus is fully man and fully God in flesh. The only response to his presence is to repent and believe.
In Mark, Jesus goes on a journey to Jerusalem where he heals blind men on the way
there. When Jesus gets to Jerusalem, it becomes obvious in scripture that Jesus’ life is nearing the end. Mark spends more time focusing on the last days of Jesus’ life than the other Gospel books. Jesus being in Jerusalem made religious leaders of that day in church at the time not happy. They didn’t want him there, because they believed he was a false prophet and a liar. Through Jesus’ mistreatment, we see him give the disciples the responsibility to carry his name with them and to share about him before and after his resurrection.
Mark 6:7 says, “He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave
them authority over unclean spirits.” In this verse, Jesus is giving the disciples power to do something only he can do, but they are doing it THROUGH him. That verse took place before Jesus’ resurrection.
Mark 16:15-18 takes place after Jesus’ resurrection where the disciples had been
unbelieving that Jesus had really risen from the dead. It is essentially the Great Commission worded differently. The verse says, “Then he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snacks; if they should drink anything deadly, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.” In these verses, he’s asking his disciples to continue to preach the gospel wherever they go.
Mark shares his purpose for writing the book at the beginning in Mark 1:1. He says, “The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” This means that the book of Mark starts at the beginning of the work of Jesus. The very first subtitle you see is the baptism of Jesus where Jesus is baptized, the spirit declares his identity, and then he is immediately tempted by Satan. The intention of this book is to call for people to repent and respond in faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In Mark 10:45, he says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark placed a large emphasis on Jesus’ servant acts and miracles. Even though Mark is calling for people to believe in Jesus, he also shows them through writing of Jesus’ life and actions what to do after they repent and believe. After you’ve repented and believed, you are saved. When you’ve been saved, you live and love like Jesus. Live in such a way that everything you do brings glory to the Lord and multiples the kingdom of God through an attitude of servanthood and love.
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