Who is Jesus? How do we know? What is it about this man, what is it about the stories about him that we find so fascinating?
Over the next few weeks we’ll be searching out the answers those questions by looking at just one particular source: The Gospel of Mark.
Now, “Why Mark?” you may be asking. Why focus in on just one of the Gospels? I mean, if you’ve read one Gospel, you’ve read them all, right? Because after all, they just tell the same stories about Jesus . . . there’s no need to talk about just one Gospel.
So, that’s true, eh? If you know one Gospel you know them all? Think you know Mark? Let’s put it to a little test. Without opening your Bibles, answer the following questions. You can mark the answer down in your interactive sermon sheet.
True or False: The Gospel of Mark is a letter written to a specific person.--Luke
True or False: The Gospel of Mark was intended for private study.
True or False: The Gospel of Mark was written by one of the Apostles.
True or False: The Gospel of Mark opens up with an account of Jesus’ birth.—Matthew, Luke
True or False: According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ earthly father was a carpenter by trade.—not mentioned at all
True or False: All Twelve of the Apostles are featured prominently in the Gospel of Mark.—All twelve names are only mentioned once
True or False: In the Gospel of Mark, great crowds of people follow Jesus and put their faith in Him.—most people greatly misunderstand Him
True or False: In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ last words on the cross are, “It is finished!”—Eloi, Eloi . . .
True or False: The Gospel of Mark concludes with Jesus’ triumphant resurrection from the dead.—This is difficult (and yes, tricky!), but in actuality there’s good evidence that the resurrection account, vs 9-19, were not written by Mark at all.
Okay, time’s up, quiz over, put down your pencils and let’s grade this! They are ALL false. That’s right . . . every single question is false. Really!
See, there’s a reason why we have four Gospels; they each give us a little different picture of who Jesus is. We need each of the four Gospels in order to understand Christ more fully. By focusing in on Mark over the next few weeks we hope to uncover some of the unique riches that this Gospel has to offer.
Why do we need to study the Gospel of Mark? One of my seminary professors once said that the Gospel of Mark is possibly the most significant writing in the history of Western literature. Why? Because it deals with the basic issues of Christianity. In Mark 4:41 a group of Disciples, first terrified because of a great storm and then even more terrified that Jesus has silenced the wind and the waves with just a word, asks, “Who is this man?” They ask the fundamental question of the Gospel of Mark. Who is Jesus Christ?
We need to study Mark because Mark deals with the basic issues of discipleship. In Mark 9:24 a frustrated father, desperate for healing for his son, cries out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe! Help me in my unbelief!” What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? How do I live as a follower of this amazing, one-of-a-kind man?
Before we start digging right into the text, though, let’s begin this week by understanding the book as a whole. It’s always a good idea to have some understanding of what you’re getting yourself into before you jump right in, so let’s first go into a bit of the background of this Gospel. We’re going to move pretty fast, so stay alert and jot down some notes. You can always ask questions later if you missed something.
To begin with, who’s this “Mark” guy? He doesn’t sign his name anywhere, so how are we supposed to know who he is? There’s about four different “Marks” that show up in the New Testament. One is a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. In Colossians there is a Mark listed as a cousin of Barnabas. Another is a man known by Timothy. And then in Acts 12:12 we have a man named John but who is also called Mark. But in the end, not a single one of the Scriptures says that any of these Marks wrote a Gospel.
However, the early church fathers were pretty consistent in their agreement that the author of Mark was a man who hung around with Peter, who listened to Peter’s stories of Jesus, who listened to Peter’s preaching, and then set down to write an account of Jesus’ life. And though we’ll never have 100% hard evidence, I tend to favor John Mark of Acts 12:12 as being that man
2nd item: Mark wrote his account of Jesus with a specific audience in mind. As you read through the book you’ll notices that Mark is writing first to people who are already Christian, they are already believers. They know and are familiar with the basic story of Jesus Christ and they understand basic Christian themes and concepts, such as persecution and the work of the Holy Spirit, for instance, but they didn’t know much of anything about Jewish customs. They knew the Greek language and were fairly well versed in Latin, but were very weak on Hebrew and Aramaic. And so, if we put all this together, we get a picture of Mark’s audience; Mark is writing to a group of Greek-speaking Gentile believers that could possibly be living in Rome.
Now, the point of that little exercise is so that you can imagine yourself as that person. You’ve heard of the Jews but don’t know anything about their habits. You understand that Jesus Himself was a Jew, but that He is also Savior of the Gentiles, of people like you. You’re doing your best to trust in Christ, but still you tend to have some doubts in your mind. And even though you believe in Christ for your salvation, when the alarm clock goes off in the morning and you pull on your toga and head to the public baths you’re still not quite sure what it means to be called a “Christian.”
That’s you; that’s who Mark is writing to. And Mark has just one point that he’s trying to drive home. At the end of the day, Mark just wants you to know who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. In Rick Warren’s words, he just wants you to know Jesus a little more and love Him a little better.
Who is Jesus? How do we know? Mark understands that there is more to Jesus than we could possibly even begin to understand. Trying to describe Jesus with words is like trying to grasp the wind, it’s like trying to explain how beautiful your wife is. It’s something you know . . . but try and put it into words? It’s just too big.
So Mark tells us who Jesus is not by writing volumes of Christology, but by showing us what Christ came to do. Mark’s Gospel is a Gospel of action. Jesus is always going somewhere, He is always doing something. The word “immediately” is big for Mark! Immediately Jesus went from there . . . immediately Jesus answered . . . immediately Jesus made them get into a boat . . . and immediately the rooster crowed.
As we walk with Jesus through the first 10 chapters of Mark as we circle the Sea of Galilee, we see Him demonstrating His power over Satan by casting out demons. We feel Him reach out in compassion to heal the sick. We hear Him challenge the traditions of man and the established religious system. And we observe His frustration at those who’s hardened hearts will not let them believe in Him and be freed.
We sit with Him as He feeds five thousand people from a five small loaves of bread and a few pieces of fish, and we gather up twelve baskets from the leftovers . . . but we do not truly understand what it meant. In terror, we rouse Him from His slumber so that He can save us from the storm . . . and yet we’re utterly mystified when He actually does it. We mutter to ourselves when Jesus speaks in the code of a parable, but even when He explains it to us we’re still not sure what He said.
Even as we begin the trip with Him to Jerusalem we are mystified and frightened. Why is He going to the city? Won’t He be killed? What will become of us? How can He protect us if He’s dead? How can we follow a man whom we don’t understand?
With the crowds we shout His Hosannas. With the Pharisees we feel the sting of His rebuke. At the home of Simon the Leper we anoint His head with perfume in preparation for His death. With the Twelve we receive His body and blood at the Last Supper. And with Peter we deny Him three times.
At the cross we watch from a distance. And at the tomb we tremble, bewildered and afraid, wondering what the empty tomb could possibly mean.
Who is Jesus? How do we know? R.T. France says, “To understand who Jesus is, for Mark, is primarily to understand what he has come to do, how he fits into the ongoing story of God’s dealing with his people . . .” We know who Jesus is by coming into contact with Him through the Gospel of Mark, by seeing what He does and allowing Him to break into our dull, dry, daily routine.
The Gospel of “is about how twelve ordinary men met Jesus and entered into a new dimension of living.”(France, pg 28) The Gospel of Mark is about Jesus breaking into our lives and about us trying to make sense out of One who defies explanation.
Who is Jesus and what does it mean to follow Him? Just like Mark, I’m not going to give you any easy answers. You’re going to have to listen to the whole story in order to understand it. And we’ll continue the story next week.
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