Jesus of Nazareth—or, as Christians call him, Jesus Christ—is the most influential person in history.
History is marked by his life & generation after generation continues to increase his influence.
Jesus has more followers now than ever before, making up a greater percentage of the world’s population than ever before. Over 2 billion people today identify themselves as Christians & an estimated 70,000 people worldwide begin to follow him each day. Christianity continues to grow throughout the word, even though it is declining in the United States & much of the western world.
But his influence is not just on those who follow him. Jesus has been the subject of innumerable paintings, sculptures, books, movies, & music. It’s no exaggeration to say he is the most popular person ever, despite John Lennon once saying the Beatles are more famous than Jesus!
No one has affected humankind more.
Yet, all we really know about Jesus comes from the 4 Gospels of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John.
We want to know more about him & to know him. That’s why last Sunday we began a new series on the Gospel of Mark.
BUT FIRST, WHO IS MARK?
Mark was an early follower of Christ & a co-worker of the apostles.
He was known by two names: his Hebrew name John & his Greek name Marcus. Sometimes he was referred to as John (Acts 12:12), other times John Mark (Acts 12:12,25; 15:37), but often just Mark (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11; Philemon 1:24). While there were several famous Romans named Marcus (Marcus Aurelius, Mark Antony, etc), among Christians in the first century there was only one Mark, hence John is dropped in the later letters of the New Testament.
But Mark was not an apostle & was not an eyewitness of Jesus’ death & resurrection. So . . . how did his gospel go on to be received as authoritative by the church?
This is where the story of Mark’s life gets really interesting.
Mark was a close friend & co-worker of the apostle Peter. Peter called him “my son.” And Mark was with Peter in Rome when he wrote his first letter in 62-63AD, which is obvious because Peter passing along Mark’s greeting (1 Peter 5:13). In addition, after hearing his stories from Peter, Mark wrote his gospel from Rome in 65AD or shortly thereafter to share Peter’s stories of all Jesus said & did. Mark wanted to preserve Peter’s eyewitness testimony before he died.
Papias, the bishop of Hierapolis, writing in about 110AD, confirms the accuracy of this statement, saying:
“Having become the interpreter of Peter, Mark wrote accurately—not, indeed, in order—as much as he remembered of the things said or done by the Lord [Jesus Christ]. For he had neither heard the Lord nor followed him, though later on, as I said, [he followed] Peter . . . ” Papias
What this means is: the gospel of Mark—like the other gospels—is not a collection of stories passed down orally through the first century; the gospel of Mark is eyewitness testimony from the apostle Peter.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that Mark mentions Peter more than any other gospel. In fact, nothing happens in the gospel in which Peter is not present.
The gospel of Mark is the record of the apostle Peter’s testimony & is the very word of God.
WHY MARK?
Studying any gospel would give us the opportunity to get to know Jesus better, so why study Mark?
The gospel of Mark seems particularly suited for us right now for several reasons.
First off, the gospel of Mark contains no fluff. No build up. No birth stories. No Gabriel. No wise men. Very little teaching. It gets right to the point & right to the action. It turns from scene to scene quickly, often utilizing the word “immediately,” to unveil all the dramatic things Jesus did.
The gospel of Mark doesn’t tell you Jesus is the King; the gospel of Mark shows you Jesus is the King.
But, the gospel of Mark is also “a pastoral response to stressful times.” The early 60sAD was a stressful time for Christians. The apostles were dying out. Christians were the objects of gossip & slander (1 Peter 2:15; 3:13-16; 4:12). They were accused of all sorts of crimes & were the objects of much suspicion.
In 64AD, things got worse. A disastrous fire swept through Rome on July 13, 64AD & Nero blamed the Christians for starting the fire. The historian Tacitus reported:
“Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost exquisite cruelty, a class loathed for their abominations, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, from whom the name is derived, had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate. . . . Accordingly, arrest was first made of those who confessed [to being Christians]; next, on their disclosures, vast numbers were convicted, not so much on the charge of arson as for hatred of the human race. Every sort of derision was added to their deaths: they were wrapped in the skins of wild beasts and dismembered by dogs, others were nailed to crosses; others when daylight failed, were set afire to serve as lamps by night. Nero had offered his gardens for the spectacle and gave an exhibition in the circus, mingling with the people in the costume of a charioteer or mounted on a car.” Tacitus
So, Christians were facing much tribulation & persecution in the early 60sAD. And in the gospel of Mark, Christians get an up-close look at how Jesus responded to gossip, slander, betrayal, persecution, injustice, & crucifixion.
More than that, Mark’s gospel calls the followers of Christ to take up their cross & follow him (8:34-38). It will cost them much. But it will bring great reward. As our Lord promised the disciples, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (10:29-30).
Right now, we are experiencing stressful times—pandemic, social unrest, political division, & more. The gospel of Mark helps us see how to walk through these stressful days.
WHY KING’S CROSS?
King’s Cross is a railway station in London, England, made famous by the Harry Potter books. But it also wonderfully encapsulates the message of gospel of Mark.
The gospel of Mark is about Jesus the King who takes up his cross. The book breaks up nicely into two large sections: chapters 1-8 & chapters 9-16.
Chapters 1-8 unveil Jesus the King who rules over demons, disease, death, & more, speeding through 3 years of ministry.
Chapters 9-16 unpack Jesus taking up the cross, mainly slowly unfolding the final week of Jesus’ life.
Jesus is the King who takes up his cross.
But Jesus doesn’t just talk about his cross. The gospel of Mark is about Jesus the King who takes up his cross & calls you to take your cross as well.
PREACHING SCHEDULE FOR JANUARY–MARCH:
After the year of interruptions we have had, it would be almost laughable to map out the whole series. So, let’s start small. Below is a preaching schedule for January–March.
January 10 | Mark 1:1
January 17 | Mark 1:1-8
January 24 | Mark 1:9-11
January 31 | Mark 1:12-13
February 7 | Mark 1:14-20
February 14 | Mark 1:21-28
February 21 | Mark 1:29-45
March 7 | Mark 2:1-12
March 14 | Mark 2:13-22
March 21 | Mark 2:23-3:6