Portraying the Person of Jesus Christ in Action
(An Introduction)
The meaning of Mark's Gospel can best be understood as we bear in mind the purposes for which it was written.
Uppermost in Mark's mind, surely, was the conviction that he was led by the Holy Spirit to produce a dependable and authentic written record of the life and work of his Lord for the edification and instruction of the Christians of his day and especially, perhaps, for the Christians in and around the city of Rome.
Mark had no way of knowing that his story would be preserved through the ages, by the providence of God, as a part of the sacred Scriptures. Nevertheless, he had the conviction born in his heart by the Holy Spirit that his words would reveal the truth about Jesus Christ to those who read them and would thus lead them to a knowledge of Christ as Savior and Lord.
Mark not only felt the leadership of the Spirit; he also sensed the real need for a written record of the earthly ministry of Jesus. Up until that time, the followers of Christ had to depend very largely for their knowledge of the story of Jesus on "oral tradition," although there were some written records available at a very early date, as Luke indicates in the opening words of his written Gospel ~ Luke 1:1. For the most part, however, in those early days groups of believers would hear the story from the lips of one of the apostles, perhaps. They would pass the message on to others; and these, to still others.
It is reasonable that Mark sensed the fact that the wonderful stories of Jesus might undergo change and distortion in the constant retelling through the years, if someone did not make a permanent and dependable record of them. And indeed, there would doubtless be occasions when certain groups would have no one in their midst who was intimately acquainted with the basic facts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ the Lord. If Mark could provide a written record for the use of the churches in that day, it would make the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God more easily accessible to a larger number of people.
There was a growing apprehension among the early Christians concerning the martyrdom of the saints. They doubtless were constantly asking, "Why do God's good servants have to die such cruel deaths?" The widely heralded executions of Paul and Peter were quite fresh in the minds of the Christians of that day. Besides, many of them had been stunned by the ruthless slaughter of their own relatives and friends, for reason that they were Christians. In addition to all of this, Jesus himself, the Son of God, had sufered death on a cross. How could these things be? The early Christians needed a strong word of encouragement and explanation.
In his Gospel, Mark undertook to give the needed word. Jesus died, Mark declared, because of the hatred and antipathy of the religious leaders of his day. Jesus would not compromise the truth nor stand aside from his divinely appointed mission, even though it should mean his death on a cross. By the same token, Mark would say, that Christians of every generation must stand firm and unafraid in the face of the most brutal persecution. The way of the Christian is the way of the cross, the way of self-renunciation, and self-sacrifice ~ Mark 8:31; Mark 9:31; Mark 10:32-34.
Mark also reveals in his Gospel that Jesus died because he chose to die. For that very purpose he came to earth ~ Mark 10:45. Christ died for the sins of the world. Though he knew that his last journey would terminate in his crucifixion, he nonetheless boldy went forth to meet his enemies there. The death of Jesus was not simply a tragedy. It was all in accordance with God's purpose to overcome the evil one and effect redemption for sin.
In recording all of this, Mark leaves the clear inference that suffering saints also have a place in the plan and the purpose of God, though to a far less degree. In truth, the blood of the martyrs would become the seed of the church. In their suffering and dying, the saints of that day were lighting a lamp that could never be put out.
With such a purpose in mind, Mark proceeded to describe Jesus as the Son of God who answered the challenge of his critics with mighty deeds and, at the same time, met the crying needs of the multitudes with miraculous works of love and compassion. It has properly been pointed out that Mark's story of Jesus is more of a record of the deeds than of his words.
It is noteworthy that the extended passages of the teachings of Jesus that occur in Matthew 5 (the Sermon on the Mount) for example, and in John 14-17, do not appear in Mark's Gospel. Mark is concerned with what Jesus did in his public ministry and especially with what he did in giving himself for the sins of the world on the cross of Calvary. The Gospel of Mark is predominantly the story of God's action in the middle of a sinful world.
The Gospel of Mark may be divided into five main sections, which we will further divide as we proceed with our study.
Mark begins his book by linking his story with the Old Testament.
The Old Testament saints through the centuries had looked for a coming Deliverer whose advent was to be announced by a heaven-sent messenger. By identifying John the Baptist as the promised messenger, Mark indicates that Jesus was the fulfillment of these prophecies.
In his introduction Mark omits reference to the birth and childhood of Jesus and introduces him in his baptism, showing that at the very outset of his public ministry, God the Father acknowledged Jesus to be his Son.
Mark follows a brief mention of the baptism with an equally brief reference to our Lord's temptation. He does not go into the meaning of this experience. He mentions it and then records the calling of the first disciples.
After his brief introduction, Mark launches out on a description of our Lord's great Galilean ministry, which possibly extended over a period of about a year and a half. This section of Mark's Gospel begins, after the story of the calling of the first disciples, with an account of several miracles of healing brought by Jesus (Mark 1:21 to Mark 2:12) and continues with a description of the almost immediate opposition to him by the religious leaders (Mark 2:15 to Mark 3:6)
After telling of the calling of the twelve (Mark 3:13-19), Mark discusses the response of the certain groups to the ministry of Jesus - Mark 3:20-35 records a few of the parables of Jesus that had to do chiefly with the nature of the kingdom of God, describes further miracles, and relates the mission of the twelve.
With the death of John the Baptist at the instigation of Herod Antipas (Mark 6:14-29), the dark storms of opposition gathered rapidly. Jesus decided to withdraw from his native province of Galilee to avoid facing a crisis at that stage of his public ministry. Besides, he desired to get away from the crowds in order to devote more time to the special training of the twelve. It was during this period that Peter made his Great Confession, after which Jesus was transfigured. This section concludes with an account of the last journey to Jerusalem, through Galilee (Mark 9:30-50) and Perea and Judea (Mark 10:1-52).
The dramatic entrance into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-10) brought Jesus into immediate conflict with the religious leaders. He left the city after a long day of controversy, to spend his final hours before the crucifixion with his friends and his disciples.
The final section of Mark's Gospel deals with the arrest, trial, and crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. The entire story moves steadily towards these crowning events, recorded as the supreme evidence of Jesus's devotion to the purpose for which he was sent of the Father to dwell among men.
Questions are bound to arise as to how Mark's Gospel differs from the other three Gospels. Does the book of Mark have ceratain distinguishing characteristics? It certainly does. Some of these may be listed as follows:
Mark's Gospel is by no means a theological discourse. It is the simple story of the activities of Jesus throughout his public ministry. In keeping with his purpose, Mark's style is direct and pictorial. He invariably adds a touch of detail here and there that never fails to brighten up his story.
Mark seems to steer clear of an interpretation of the outstanding events in the life of our Lord. In the case of the temptation of Jesus, for example, he does not dwell at length on the significance of this experience in the ministry of Jesus, although it was of tremendous significance. Mark merely records the facts and leaves his readers to make their own interpretation. In the most dramatic and direct way, he tells what happend - but he refrains from going on to tell what these happenings mean for the followers of Jesus Christ throughout the ages. It is partly for this reason that Mark's Gospel is the shortest of the four.
Mark wrote, immediately, for the Christians at Rome and the surrounding areas.
To be sure, many of them were converted Jews, but many of them were Gentiles. For that reason, there are several instances in this Gospel where matters of particular concern to the Jews are omitted and matters that would be of interest to Gentile believers are included. Also for this reason, Mark quotes the Old Testament sparingly and, quite unlike Matthew, he makes scant mention of the fulfillment of prophecy.
He speaks in the language of the common man. His style is much less literary than that of the other three Gospel writers. The Gospel of Mark has often been called "the people's Gospel."
The mystery of the incarnation is, of course, that Jesus was both human and divine. In Jesus, God tabernacled in human flesh. Mark places great emphasis on the deity of Jesus. At the beginning of his ministry, Mark records, God acknowledged Jesus to be his Son. God repeated this acknowledgment on the Mount of Transfiguration, at the height of Jesus's ministry.
Mark points out, over and over again, that the multitudes who listened to Jesus were profoundly impressed with his uniqueness as a teacher and as a worker of miracles. In every situation, Mark portrays Jesus as the Son of God, with power over all the elements, over demons, over all manner of evil, over his enemies, and finally, with power over death.
Mark also recognized the humanity of Jesus. Mark has a great deal to say about the human emotions of Jesus -
According to Mark, the incarnation was very real. Jesus was, of a truth, both God and man.