Congratulations!
You listened to 50 messages—that’s right, five-zero—from the Gospel of Mark! Well done!
(At least the last twenty or so were in more comfortable chairs!)
But.
Now that our series on the Gospel of Mark is over, I must admit that I’m going to miss it terribly. Below are several reasons why.
THE VIVID DISPLAYS OF JESUS’ POWER
Like any good preacher, Mark tells us what he’s gonna tell us before he tells us: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1).
But after that, Mark doesn’t tell us that Jesus is the Son of God, Mark shows us.
The gospel of Mark is packed with scene after scene showing us the glory & the greatness of Jesus. From healing of the man with the withered hand to raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead, from calming the waves to multiplying a few loaves to feed thousands, scene after scene unveils who Jesus is.
Jesus is the living God. Jesus is the all-powerful Lord. Jesus is the Son of God.
And each scene is precious.
Writing about the gospels, J.C. Ryle has famously said,
“It is well to be acquainted with all the doctrines and principles of Christianity. It is better to be acquainted with Christ himself. Now the Gospels were written to make us acquainted with Christ. Ought not the sheep to be familiar with the Shepherd? Ought not the patient to be familiar with the Physician? Ought not the bride to be familiar with the Bridegroom? Ought not the sinner to be familiar with the Savior? Beyond doubt it ought be so. Surely we cannot know this Christ too well! Surely there is not a work, nor a deed, nor a day, nor a step, nor a thought in the record of His life, which ought not to be precious to us.” J.C. Ryle
What a privilege it has been to slowly study precious scene after precious scene from our Savior’s life!
THE CAREFUL DESCRIPTION OF JESUS’ SUFFERING
Unlike many movies, books, & even sermons describing the suffering of Jesus, the gospel of Mark is incredibly careful.
Mark devotes virtually no time to discussing the physical pain of Jesus’ suffering.
But Mark carefully describes how the suffering of Jesus fulfills the will of God (8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34). Every aspect of the suffering of Jesus was planned before the foundation of the world & worked exactly as Jesus taught ahead of time.
Mark carefully describes how the suffering of Jesus satisfies the wrath of God. The suffering of Jesus is the cup he knew he would drink (10:39), the baptism he knew he would endure (10:39), the agony he anticipated (14:32-42). Each of these metaphors, along with his scream from the cross (15:34), clearly teach us that Jesus is satisfying the wrath of God.
It is not physical pain or shame that Jesus feared & endured, it is the wrath of God stored up for sinners. Stunningly, as author Peter Bolt summarized, “The conclusion must be that, in the cross of Christ, God entered into his own wrath.”
Mark carefully describes how the suffering of Jesus was substitutionary. The death of Jesus was a place-taking death. The death is Jesus is in exchange for ours. Jesus was delivered up—one of Mark’s favorite words!—in our place & we were forgiven & freed in return.
May we never see the story of Barabbas the same way again!
Jesus followed through with what he promised. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (10:45).
Summing up this theme of substitution, John Stott says:
“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be.” John Stott
THE CLEAR CALL TO FOLLOW JESUS
Throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus does not call those who follow him to comfort & convenience. Jesus calls all who follow him to suffer & die.
Following Jesus is a call to leave everything else behind. Like the disciples who left their fishing nets & all their family had ever done, following Jesus means we must leave anything that stands in the way of him behind.
Following Jesus is a call to serve. Even the Son of Man came to serve. How much more should we be ready to serve wherever & whenever?
“The symbol of an authentically Christian leadership is not the purple robe of an emperor, but the coarse apron of a slave; not a throne of ivory and gold, but a basin of water for the washing of feet.” John Stott
Following Jesus is a call to die. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (8:35).
As we noted at the outset of our series on the Gospel of Mark, many of first readers of the Gospel of Mark were severely persecuted just a few years later in Rome. Some were fed to lions. Some were lit on fire. But, they were strengthened as they read of the Suffering Servant & the promise that “the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
How many more of the suffering body of Christ have been strengthened by this gospel? Only in eternity will we know.
We too should be strengthened by the gospel of Mark—regardless of whether joy or persecution, prosperity or adversity, peace or turmoil lie ahead.
But let us not forget following Jesus is also a promise of great reward.
Following Christ is not loss, it is gain! It is not death, it is life! It is not punishment, it is reward!
As Jesus promised:
“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. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Mark 10:29-31
Conclusion
We only have 65 more books to go!
If you missed a message along the way or want to re-listen, our whole series is posted on our sermons page & wherever you go to listen to podcasts.