We start a new sermon series today with the Gospel of Mark. First, just some background information about the Gospels and the author Mark.
The Gospel simply means Good News! The 4 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, of course are good news because it tells us about Jesus Christ; God who became man to save people from their sins. Jesus Christ Himself stated in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Good News is there is a way for everyone to go to eternal heaven but it is only through Jesus Christ! And so, God had the Gospels written so that we can know who Jesus Christ is! We have 4 Gospels in the Bible. Why only 4 Gospels?
Why one by Mark? Who was Mark? What do we know about Mark??
- was not one of the 12 Disciples
- likely John Mark (cousin of Barnabas)
- went on 1st Missionary journey but left
- Paul refused to take him back but Barnabas took him
- But later became an important coworker with Paul
God preserved 4 Gospels to give us a complete picture of the Good News of Jesus Christ through 4 different people! Matthew and John were 2 of the first 12 disciples of Christ who spent almost everyday with Jesus for 3 years! Luke was an educated man, a physician, a historian, and a missionary for the early Christian church.
The gospel of Mark was written by an ordinary young man who was initially excited about his Christianity then struggled with his Christian life; but with the help of the Holy Spirit and close relationships with godly Christians, Mark, an ordinary person, matured and was called by God to write a concise truth about the Good News of Jesus Christ! We can learn a lot from the Gospel of Mark because Mark is just like many of us!
Let’s start with the first 11 verses of Mark…. Open your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark….. read along with me v1-11…
v1: What an awesome introduction!
- It is a gospel (good news)!
- About Jesus the Messiah (Hebrew) = Christo (Greek) = The Anointed One!
- Son of God! ??
What does this mean? Was God married to someone and the wife had a baby named Jesus? Nowhere in Scriptures do we read God being married. We read over and over again that God is self-sufficient! We read in Scriptures that Mary, a human being, was a virgin but Jesus Christ was physically born from her with the power of God the Holy spirit! Here’s what we read in Hebrews 1:1-3 - In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
We read in John 10:30-33…
And we can note Galatians 3:26 -So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.
Sons and daughters of God refer to a relationship. Let us also note that a capital S is used for Son of God Jesus Christ. We can sum it up this way: Jesus Christ is God who became a human being but have a special relationship with God; Jesus Christ is God, the Son, a designation for the Second Person of the Triune God who is One!
Now, going back to our text in Mark 1; we have an awesome introduction of what the writing is all about, the Good News of God Jesus Christ, then Mark gives us the details of this good news. Think of it this way as we learn from this Gospel of Mark; I can tell you this is a cellphone, created to be able to communicate with other people far away; then I can explain the details for you of why it is a cellphone; the electronics inside, how electromagnetic waves can go back and forth in the air and carry information, and so forth and so forth…
Verse 1 of Mark 1 is sufficient truth for us!! But God gives us further details, so we do not have blind faith! We have facts and truths about God and our relationship with Him!
So, Mark tells us that he is talking about the Good News of Jesus who is God who became a human being because He is the Anointed Savior; then He tells us specific facts to support this truth! These truths are what we will learn as we study this Gospel of Mark.
God tells us through Mark that the Good News is not new! God has been telling people that He will restore the relationship between a Holy God and a sinful people. God has been stating that there will be a Savior Messiah ever since people sinned by disobeying God. Mark cites God’s prophet Isaiah, according to the New International Version; The King James Bible actually just states prophets (both Isaiah and Malachi were cited).
In any case,
v2: People were already told of the coming of Savior Messiah Jesus! (Malachi was written over 400 years before Christ and Isaiah even earlier). We’ll talk more about John the Baptist next week. Let us close this morning with this question: After the first man and woman disobeyed (sinned against) God, how soon did God promise a Savior??
Genesis 3…..
Let us close with an application to our lives today.
1. Why were the Gospels written and preserved for us??
2. Why did God give us Jesus Christ??
John 3:16…
3. Have we truly received this love from God and is real in our lives?
We have special relationships with family, relatives, and friends right? And we think about them and do things with them often right?
If we truly have a relationship with God Jesus Christ, how often do we think about Him?
How often do we do things with Jesus Christ?
Our time and thoughts with Jesus Christ indicate how close we are to God!
4. Ephesians 1:15-23…..
What should we Christians be doing based on this passage??
Take a moment to quietly pray about these things….
