GOSPEL OF MARK: GOD’S SERVANT IN ACTION
BEGINNING OF THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
A. Gospel of Mark.
1. Today we begin our Summer Sermon Series on the Gospel of Mark: God’s Servant In Action.
a. Today’s lesson serves as an INTRODUCTION / OVERVIEW of Mark’s Gospel.
b. Next Sunday I will be on vacation, and Ben Noll will be speaking. Then we will pick it up again
the first Sunday in June.
2. Initially, my intention was to PREACH through the entire book of Mark this Summer, as I have other
books of the Bible.
a. But as I began reading through Mark once again, I was reminded of all the GOOD STUFF that this gospel contains about the MINISTRY and MISSION of Jesus that I would be doing our Lord and Savior a disservice by cramming 16 ACTION-PACKED chapters into just 12 sermons.
b. So I decided to preach this sermon series into TWO PARTS: half of the book this SUMMER and the other half starting in January of next year (if the Lord is willing).
3. The verse in Mark’s gospel that summarizes Jesus’ earthly purpose is found in Mark 10:45 (READ).
Jesus came to SERVE and to SAVE.
a. This SUMMER we will look at Jesus as a SERVANT, starting from His BAPTISM up to His
TRANSFIGURATION: Mark 1:1 – Mark 8:30.
b. Beginning in January we will look at Jesus as our SAVIOR, starting with His TRANSFIGURATION all the way to His CRUCIFIXION, RESURRECTION and ASCENSION into heaven: Mark 8:31
through the end of the BOOK.
c. Again, if the Lord is willing, we will conclude the series the Sunday after Easter.
B. The reason I chose the theme, GOD’S SERVANT IN ACTION, is because, unlike the other gospels, Mark
doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on the WORDS of Jesus as much as he does on His ACTIONS.
1. This GOSPEL pictures Jesus ON THE MOVE meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of
the PEOPLE He meets as He travels from one LOCATION to the other.
a. The word “IMMEDIATELY” is used 42 times in the book of Mark, compared with only 12 times
in the rest of the New Testament.
b. Mark wants his readers to know that Jesus CARES for them. ACTIONS speak louder than WORDS.
2. In our New Testament, Mark’s Gospel is placed second after Matthew, but scholars believe that Mark
is actually the first to write down the EVENTS of Jesus’ LIFE.
a. They put the DATE of this gospel between 55 to 65 A.D.—twenty to thirty years after the crucifixion
of Jesus.
b. Mark is writing to a Roman audience—believers and non-believers—who were more interested in
ACTIONS than WORDS.
COMMENT:
So, Mark begins with the MINISTRY of Jesus when He was 30 rather than with His BIRTH and a long GENEALOGY. Right from the start, Mark wants his readers to get EXCITED about what Jesus came to DO for them. He presents Jesus as the MIRACLE PERFORMING, BURDEN LIFTING, DEMON CASTING, ENEMY CONFRONTING Servant and Savior of the world.
C. Now, let me tell you a little bit about Mark.
1. His official name was “John Mark”- Acts 12:12.
a. John was his Hebrew name, which means “grace of God”. And Mark or Marcus was his Latin
name, which means, “Hammer”.
b. We could call him the “Holy Hammer”.
2. In Acts 12:12 we see that Mark was an early disciple of Christ.
a. His mother was name Mary and lived in a large house in Jerusalem where Christians would often
gather for PRAYER.
b. Peter referred to Mark as his “SON” in 1 Peter 5:13, which had led many to believe that Peter was
the one who brought Mark and his family to Christ.
c. Mark was also the cousin of Barnabas. “He joined Paul and Barnabas on their second Missionary
Journey”- Acts 13.
ILLUSTRATION:
It was on this short-term MISSION TRIP, however, that John Mark could not WITHSTAND the RIGORS of the JOURNEY and ABANDONED Paul and Barnabas right in the MIDDLE of their
MISSION during a very difficult time when they NEEDED him most.
“This caused a such great CONFLICT between Paul and Barnabas—these dear FRIENDS—that they BROKE-UP their MISSION TEAM and went their SEPARATE ways”- Acts 15.
COMMENT:
Not a very FLATTERING depiction of the one who WROTE the first GOSPEL of Jesus, is it?
But it wonderfully reveals that we SERVE a God of SECOND CHANCES.
At the close of the apostle Paul’s LIFE while he is awaiting EXECUTION in a Roman prison, in the very LAST LETTER that he writes he says to Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry”- 2 Timothy 4:11b.
3. Mark begins his gospel with these words: “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God”- Mark 1:1. (LET’S BREAK IT DOWN!)
MESSAGE:
I. THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL
A. Again, John Mark is the very first to write down the events of Jesus’ LIFE.
1. Although Mark was not one of the 12 APOSTLES, being an early DISCIPLE, it is likely that he
WITNESSED many of the EVENTS that he writes about.
a. In fact, it is believed by many scholars that he is writing about himself in Mark 14:51-52 (READ).
b. No other gospel writer mentions this incident, so Mark very well could be writing about his own
personal experience. (“HERE I AM, A JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL.”)
COMMENT:
If this is Mark, you may be wondering why he is RUNNING around in the middle of the night
in his LINEN UNDERWEAR.
We can only GUESS, but remember, his mother had a large house in Jerusalem. And it could be that the SOLDIERS are taking Jesus right past their HOUSE making such a COMMOTION that it awakened Mark from his SLEEP. And being a CURIOUS young man, he goes outside and FOLLOWS the SOLDIERS to see where they are TAKING Jesus when he, himself, is SEIZED.
2. Furthermore, much of what Mark writes about the LIFE of Christ was probably TOLD to him by
his mentor, Simon Peter, who gave him an eye-witness ACCOUNT of the EVENTS.
3. And let’s not forget, that “All Scripture is God-breathed”- 2 Timothy 3:16.
COMMENT:
Mark, as was all the writers of the Bible, was guided by the Holy Spirit. What he writes about Jesus is TRUE and ACCURATE, and much of it CONFIRMED by Matthew who was there through it all.
B. Mark uses the word “GOSPEL” to describe what is about to UNFOLD in his BOOK.
1. The word itself means “GOOD NEWS”.
a. This WORD to the first-century Jew would most likely have brought to mind the writings of the Prophet Isaiah that they heard read many times about the coming Messiah, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion (Israel), ‘Your God reigns!’”- Isaiah 52:7.
b. To Mark’s audience, the Romans, the word “gospel” is associated with some SIGNIFICANT
EVENT that would change WORLD HISTORY, like the birth of an heir to the Emperor.
COMMENT:
One historical inscription reads like this: “This birthday of Augustus was the beginning for the world of the ‘GOOD NEWS” that come to men through him.”
2. In using this WORD, Mark is wanting to get people’s immediate ATTENTION. In essence he is saying, “You need to listen up, because the man I am going to tell you about will your CHANGE
your LIFE and TURN your WORLD upside down.”
a. No wonder Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL, because it is the power of God for
the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentiles”- Romans 1:16.
b. There is unbelievable POWER in the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ, but sadly MANY are still
AFRAID or ASHAMED to SHARE it with others.
COMMENT:
Our fourth ACTION in OUR MISSION is to “REACH THE LOST”. You can begin simply by INVITING people to come WORSHIP with you.
II. ABOUT JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD
A. Mark, in no uncertain terms, makes it very clear that the man named Jesus was not only the Christ—
the Messiah, but that He is the Son of God. JESUS IS GOD IN THE FLESH.
1. The Roman Christians already BELIEVED that and were faithful FOLLOWERS of Jesus.
a. However, the DISTRUST of Christianity was on the rise in Rome under the Emperor Nero
because of their PREACHING and TEACHING that there was only ONE God.
b. “The Jews had already been targeted by Nero’s predecessor, Claudius, who ordered all the
Jews to leave Rome”- Acts 18:2.
COMMENT:
After Claudius’ death in A.D. 54, the Jews returned and Christianity began to SPREAD throughout Rome. Mark wants to remind the Roman Christians that what they BELIEVE about Jesus is indeed TRUE, and not to be INTIMIDATED by Nero or anyone else.
2. And for the Romans who were not BELIEVERS, Mark’s gospel was packed-full of one MIRACLE after another to try to convince them that Jesus was the one and only GOD-MAN—fully HUMAN
and fully DIVINE.
a. “He cast out demons”- Mark 1:21-28.
b. “He healed the sick”- Mark 1:32-54.
c. “He made the lepers clean”- Mark 1:40-45.
d. “He made a paralyzed man walk”- Mark 2:1-12
e. “He calmed a storm at sea”- Mark 4:35-41.
f. “He brought a young girl back from the dead”- Mark 5:35-43.
g. “He fed 5,000 people with a boy’s small lunch”- Mark 6:32-44.
h. “He walked on water”- Mark 6:45-51.
i. “He arose from the dead”- Mark 16:1-8.
COMMENT:
With one example after another PROVING that this man named Jesus is not some ordinary man but, indeed, God in the FLESH, Mark presents Him as a SERVANT who deeply CARES for
HURTING people.
When Jesus said that “He came not to be SERVED, but to SERVE”, those weren’t EMPTY WORDS. Although He was God in the FLESH, He wasn’t too HIGH and MIGHTY to roll up His
sleeves and get his hands dirty in the SERVICE of others.
No wonder people followed Him by the THOUSANDS.
B. Is the “GOOD NEWS that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” that Mark excitedly wrote about
almost 2,000 years ago, still GOOD NEWS today?
1. What has happened?
a. If it is still GOOD NEWS, then why are so many Christians LEAVING the CHURCH, and,
ultimately, leaving the FAITH?
COMMENT:
If you know WHY people have LEFT this church and what it will TAKE to get them BACK in the PEWS worshipping God, PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
b. If is still GOOD NEWS, then why can’t we CONVINCE our NEIGHBORS that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God who came to SAVE them?
COMMENT:
Do they see a NEED for SPIRITUAL things? Do they KNOW that they are LOST without Christ? Do they CARE? Are we doing a POOR JOB in sharing with our NEIGHBORS the GOOD
NEWS of Christ?
Is Jesus RELEVANT anymore? Is He NEEDED anymore? Do we have to DISGUISE the GOSPEL with ENTERTAINMENT, with FREE STUFF, and other GIMMICKS to get people somewhat interested in the GOOD NEWS of Christ?
2. The truth is, Mark’s GOSPEL is just as NEEDED today as it was when he WROTE those WORDS in the FIRST CENTURY, whether people in 2019 BELIEVE it or NOT.
CONCLUSION:
A. That is what Mark’s GOSPEL is all about.
1. It reminds us that Jesus LOVES the HURTING, the SICK, the DYING, the BEREAVED.
2. It reminds us that we are all TERMINAL, but Jesus the Son of God came to this EARTH to SAVE us from this FALLEN WORLD with all of its PAIN and SORROW and SIN and DEATH, and to PROVIDE for us a WAY to ETERNAL LIFE with our Father in Heaven.
