GOOD NEWS PRESENTED BY MARK
Study of the Gospel According to Mark
As you read Mark, be aware that you are reading the very first written account of the ministry of Jesus – a fact well documented by credible Bible scholars. Quite naturally, we want to know who Mark was, and we find that he is mentioned frequently in the New Testament.
What we know about him is that he was the son of a very well-to-do woman in Jerusalem; her name was Mary, and her home became the center of early church get-togethers. So, you can imagine that Mark was there when Jesus’ closest followers came to his mother’s house for a “church council” meeting. Peter the chief elder referred to Mark affectionately as “my son.”
Mark was also the nephew of Barnabas who talked Paul into letting the youngster go with them on one of their missionary journeys - which, you may recall, resulted in Mark’s falling out of favor with Paul by leaving and going back home. However, it’s interesting to note that, years later, when Paul was in prison, facing execution, he asked Timothy to bring Mark with him, “for he is a most useful servant to me.”
I suppose Paul saw in this young man a Christian who had the ability to write; and, apparently having redeemed himself, he could now be counted on to carry out Paul’s wishes. This explanation is plausible because Mark had served as Peter’s scribe and, as such, had written much of what Peter related to him about his eye witness account of the ministry of Jesus.
MARK SERMON VI – MARK 8:11-33 . . .
THE GREATEST OF ALL DISCOVERIES ELIMINATES DISTRESS
Most of us, I presume, would rather not call attention to ourselves unless we are certain of what we are talking about, or at least we are acquainted with an expert who can verify the truth of our claims. If not, we could find ourselves embarrassed or in trouble with the authorities.
Having been sent into the world by Father God, Jesus knew what He was talking about when He declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except by me.” However:
His speaking and acting with such divine authority got the attention of the Jewish hierarchy who wasted no time regarding Him as a political threat to their self-righteous system of perceived superiority. The religious political group that most hated the popularity of Jesus was known as “the Pharisees”.
The ruling class in Jerusalem – the Sanhedrin - set out to discredit Jesus by dispatching Pharisees to engage Him in theological arguments designed to “trip Him up” and in that way, create doubt in the minds of His followers; or at least they wanted to embarrass Him. Such a political tactic was nothing less than a form of harassment intended to stop the “Jesus movement”.
One such confrontation occurred right after Jesus had performed a second miracle of feeding a crowd that had gathered to hear Him teach --- Mark 8:11-13 . . .
Wouldn’t you think that the miracles of Jesus should have been sufficient evidence of His deity? But, no, the Pharisees demanded “a sign” of a cataclysmic kind – obviously unwilling to endorse His messianic role no matter what He did; and of course Jesus knew this and therefore He used the occasion to raise a very
important question: “Why does this generation (of skeptics) demand a sign?”
It’s as if the Lord was asking why He should demonstrate His divinity with some kind of cataclysmic upheaval when nothing would satisfy those whose minds were closed to the truth . . . whose hearts were hardened. He was not about to be drawn into “playing games” with skeptics! Neither should we! No matter what we say, some folks are not going to be swayed.
People have a choice between receiving spiritual truth and rejecting it. We are talking about a life or death choice insofar as our eternal relationship to God is concerned . . . a choice between eternal life with God and eternal separation from God . . . a choice between heaven and hell. Not a game of chance! A guarantee that one’s choice determines one’s eternal destiny!
Folks, I for one do not intend to miss the choice God has given me, through His Son Jesus Christ, to be saved and go home to be with the Lord. Others may shun God’s invitation, but I choose to accept!
Having accepted Jesus as Savior, I have no need to worry about my eternal destiny; and, having accepted Him as Lord of life, I have learned a great lesson through experience, and it is this: If Jesus is my constant companion, why should I fret about the mundane things of life?
This principle of “fret not” I think is what Jesus had in mind when He asked His disciples that probing question having to do with their getting so stressed out over forgetting a loaf of bread --- Mark 8:14-21 . . .
Most folks today live under some form of economic stress. Mortgage payments, gas prices, childcare, senior adult care, everyday living expenses – all of that - has taken its toll on folks in every walk of life.
Oftentimes we get so caught up in the struggle to make ends meet that we tend to forget the constant companionship of Christ who enables us to be less anxious about what we don’t have and more focused on the inner peace that is ours because of our relationship to Him, regardless of circumstances.
This is not to say that we never give thought to daily bread or other necessities of life; it is to say that, in the process of meeting physical needs, we do not neglect our need for spiritual food. We don’t just “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die” but we also feast upon the bread of life so that tomorrow, if we die, we shall “enjoy” Him forever.
Please understand that when we ask God to “give us this day our daily bread,” He expects us to rely upon the wisdom and guidance He imparts, not only to provide, or plan to provide, for ourselves, but also, to be involved in making sure that others are provided for – physically and spiritually!
Jesus’ closest followers, at least momentarily, failed to learn from personal experience . . . . Which raises the question: “What have I learned from my own experience of receiving Christ as Savior and Lord, and my experience of ‘walking with Him’ each day?” Learning to lean on Jesus!
Mark continues his presentation of the Good News by telling about a blind man who received from Jesus the miracle of eyesight --- Mark 8:22-26 . . .
Once again we see just how considerate Jesus was toward all people whose circumstances had rendered them helpless. And please do not miss the point Mark makes about Jesus taking the blind man away from the crowd to be alone with him. No spectacle to be made of this poor guy! Blind from birth, this fellow was already fearful of his surroundings, so why make it worse by putting him on display?
How truly compassionate of the Great Physician to gradually and gently deal with the victim’s problem in private! Haven’t you found it to be the case in your personal experiences with Christ that learning great spiritual truths takes place gradually rather than suddenly? “Aha! Now I see!”
We see in Mark’s presentation of the ministry of Jesus how Mark focuses on discoveries people made about Jesus - who He was, why He came, and how He ministers to all who call on Him - and we older folks have learned that discovery of spiritual truth is a life-long process!
With the thought of “discovery” in his mind, Mark injected at this point of his gospel presentation what some consider to have been the most significant moment in the entire ministry of Jesus --- Mark 8:27-33 . . .
It’s important to realize that this teachable moment occurred in a territory outside of Galilee – in Philippi, a Gentile stronghold once the center of pagan worship. Even though Caesarea was ruled by Romans at this time, statues of Greek gods were still seen in the city, along with the white marble temple built by Philip to honor the Roman Emperor – considered to be God.
Against this backdrop of paganism, Peter saw in a homeless Galilean carpenter the embodiment of “the anointed One” – Messiah – Son of God!
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Absolute certainty!
Folks, I suppose that when Jesus heard Peter’s confession of faith, He knew at that very moment that He had not failed! I believe that each time a professing Christian declares, in word and in deed, that Jesus is “my Savior and my Lord” God the Father is pleased and Christ the Son honored to have won the heart, mind and soul of yet another person for whom Christ died!
Why were Peter and the others to keep their discovery to themselves for the time being? Simply because there was much more Jesus had to do and the disciples had to learn before going forth to spread the Good News.
The final chapter of God’s Plan was still in the process of enactment; BUT, as for you and me, we know the whole story; and we have our Lord’s permission via the Great Commission to go ahead and reveal what we know.
Be aware, though, that once we declare our profession of faith in Christ, as did Peter, and we share the gospel, as did Paul, Satan tempts us to “water it down” in order to avoid suffering for the sake of the gospel.
Not long after the resurrection, as the disciples went forth to spread the Good News, they learned first-hand that being known as Christians was not easy; some Christians renounced their identification with Christ in order to avoid persecution; but many chose to die for the cause of Christ.
If Jesus appeared to you today and asked you who He is, how would you respond? If a friend approached you and asked why you are a Christian, what would you say? If a stranger came up to you and asked about your religious affiliation, would you identify yourself as a Christian?
The greatest of all my discoveries was when I discovered Jesus Christ. The greatest of all my choices was when I chose Him as Lord and Savior. The greatest of all my decisions was when I decided to follow Jesus. Amen.
