In the book of Acts, we’re told the Apostle Paul preached at Troas, and he preached so long that a man went to sleep and fell out of the window. When the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth - their sermons lasted so long that the congregation apparently placed a large hourglass on the pulpit to remind the preachers how long they were preaching. And, even then, most sermons lasted from 2 to 3 hours. But the longest sermon on record was preached on February of 1955 by a man named Clinton Lacy. His sermon lasted 48 hours and 18 minutes. (E. Eugene Williams)
After hearing about the length of this sermon, someone quipped that he thought there ought to be another beatitude added to Scripture: “Blessed is the preacher whose TRAIN of thought… has a CABOOSE.”
In the early church at Jerusalem, it was job of the Apostles to preach about Jesus. And there’s a strong possibility that the Gospels we have in our New Testament were the results of a some of those sermons. The fact that each of the Apostles would not only have preached their sermons (but would have listened to the sermons of the others) probably explains why the first 3 Gospels have so much in common. If so, they were probably really loooong sermons. But in the culture of that day, long sermons probably were not all that uncommon. You get the right preacher preaching the right message… and I’ve seen preachers hold an audience’s attention for 3 hours or more, and people wondered where the time went.
Now each of the 4 Gospels had an audience they focused on.
MATTHEW was probably the 1st of the 4 Gospels (see footnote #1) – and targeted a Jewish crowd. Matthew started out telling about Jesus’ genealogy and then spent a lot of time with Old Testament prophecies declaring that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Those 2 topics would have intrigued a Jewish audience.
Most scholars believe LUKE was focused on a Greek audience (Luke was a Greek convert) and he spent time talking to eye-witnesses of Jesus’ ministry. He may have talked to Mary, Lazarus, several of the Apostles and many of the 500 witnesses of Jesus resurrection. And his writings focused heavily on Jesus’ teachings and that would have appealed to the Greek mindset.
JOHN is thought to have tailored his sermon/Gospel for the world at large. In fact, to this day, many evangelists will advise their students to read John because its message is so universal. John was a close friend of Jesus - he saw and heard things that others had not. He told stories about Jesus’ life that the other Gospels didn’t have.
My point is - each of the Gospels seems to have had a target audience in mind. And that brings me to the Gospel of Mark. Who did Mark compose HIS sermon for? There’s strong reason to believe he wrote it for a Roman audience. (footnote #2) In his very 1st sentence Mark stated that he was going to focus on Gospel of Jesus
Mark 1:1 says “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
From that point on, Mark set off on a non-stop, action–packed description of things that Jesus did, and it bounces from one event to the next with words like ““immediately”, “at once”, “without delay”, and “quickly.” Mark wrote a short, fast-paced gospel where he didn’t seem to be so much concerned with what Jesus taught (although he did tell about Jesus’ teachings) but he seemed to focus more on what Jesus DID. And that apparently appealed to the Roman mindset.
So now, we’re going to take a look at that 1st verse and examine it because - in that one statement - Mark tells us WHY he wrote his Gospel the way he did.
(PAUSE) Matthew and Luke started THEIR Gospels – telling of Jesus’ birth, with all the angels, and shepherds, and wisemen, and such. But Mark skips all that and begins with Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. And he did that, because (as Luke 3:23 tells us): After His baptism “Jesus… began his ministry.” So, Mark starts his Gospel declaring that he’s going to tell us about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry - the beginning of the stuff He did in his life (which included Jesus’ death/burial/ and resurrection).
The 1st verse says – “The GOSPEL Of Jesus Christ, The Son Of God.” That word “GOSPEL” simply means “GOOD NEWS.” Remember that Mark’s primary audience was the Romans, and he started out his Gospel to the Romans declaring that JESUS WAS THE SON OF GOD. Mark was saying - Jesus wasn’t just a good teacher; and He wasn’t just a moral man - Jesus was GOD in the flesh. Now… why tell the Romans THAT? Why tell them that Jesus was God in the flesh? Well, because Rome had gotten into the habit of thinking of their leaders as GODS! I did some research and found that 5 of Rome’s greatest Emperors had temples built to honor them after they died Julius Caesar (49 to 49 B.C.); Augustus (27 B.C.); Claudius – (41 to 54 A.D.); Vespasian – (69 to 79 A.D.); and Titus – (79 to 81 A.D.) (https://ancientromelive.org/becoming-a-god-the-deification-of-the-roman-emperor/#:~:text=Read%20More,that%20was%20down%20to%20Vespasian). Their temples still exist to this day, and Mark wrote his Gospel right in the middle of the time period of those Roman ‘gods.’
And what Mark was saying was this: The Emperor/gods of Rome were nothing compared to Jesus. Jesus was THE God who had come down out of heaven and who proved who He was by His power and miracles. Mark’s Gospel tells about Jesus casting out demons; healing people of leprosy, blindness and deafness and disfigurement; cleansing the Temple; feeding the 5000, and later Feeding another crowd of 4000 people. He Walked on water and He Calmed the Sea with just a word of power.
Jesus wasn’t just God - He was a god who did stuff, and he did stuff for people. And that was good news. And the fact that Jesus is a God who does stuff for you and me … well, that’s good news too.
ILLUS: I recently heard about a 27-yr-old man whose mother had been raped. She got pregnant and wanted to have an abortion, but his grandmother was a Christian who told the girl – “ABSOLUTELY NOT.” It was wrong for her to have endured a rape, but it would be worse to take the life of an unborn child. And so 27 years ago, his mother gave birth … to him. He lived because his grandmother refused to allow an abortion. And then he said: that was… good news. Because his grandmother followed Jesus, that boy is now alive (PAUSE) And that was GOOD NEWS! That boy had a story that pointed to God’s working in his life. His story said “I’ve got good news because God has done stuff in my life.
So, what’s your story? What has God done in your life? What can you tell others that would make them see your God has good news? I mean - that’s what Mark did. He figured out what Jesus had done, and then he shared it saying: “I’ve got good news that will convince you that Jesus is the Son of God!”
(PAUSE) Now, I believe that EACH OF US has a story to tell. Each of us has a story that tells of stuff God has done in OUR lives. Each of us has a story, that declares God’s glory. And this is the cool part: Your story has the potential to make people want what you’ve got because your story and mine is literally GOOD NEWS! We’ve just got to figure out a way to do what Mark did. Just like Mark, we need to tell people “I’ve got a GOOD NEWS about Jesus, and let me tell you about it!”
ILLUS: A discouraged salesman was telling his friend how few sales he’d made. After he shared his sad story, he shrugged his shoulders, and said, “I guess you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” His friend smiled and said, “Son, your job’s NOT to make them drink. Your job is to make them thirsty.”
Our goal should be to use our stories about God to make people thirsty. To make them jealous of the God you belong to. And it’s not that hard to do because all you gotta do is ask: “Did I ever tell you about the time that God did THIS?” You’ve got a story to tell… SO TELL IT! Tell your good news.
Now, there is YOUR good news… and then there is GOD’S good news. YOUR good news is your story about what God has done for YOU; but GOD’S GOOD NEWS is about what He’s done for ALL of mankind.
Remember – Mark wrote “The beginning of the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Later, in I Corinthians 15:1-8, Paul described what this Gospel was all about. “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the GOSPEL I preached to you… for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”
You see - the Gospel of Jesus Christ - is literally all about His death, burial, and resurrection. Without that part of the story… we really don’t have anything. Without Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection we’re just like all the other religions of the world - We can identify your sins, and we can help you deal with your sins, but we can’t take away your sins. If Jesus didn’t die for you… and if He didn’t rise from the dead - we’re still dead in our sins. Our sins IDENTIFY US. Our sins are like “badges” that condemn us.
ILLUS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOd38L9ck5I&t=3s (Time stamp 0:00 thru 2:38)
What’s your name? - “Terry.” Terry, what’s the biggest sin you’ve ever committed, Terry? “Well, I love stuff. I just love stuff.” (Filling out a badge) Coveter, Coveter (slaps the badge on the chest)
OK, what’s your name? - “Juanita” - Juanita, what’s the biggest sin you’ve ever committed, Juanita? “Oh, I can’t tell the truth.” (Filling out a badge) Liar, Liar (slaps the badge on the chest)
OK, what’s your name? - “Peter” - Peter, what’s the biggest sin you’ve ever committed, Peter? “I take things from people.” (Filling out a badge) Thief, Thief (slaps the badge on the chest).
OK, what’s your name? - “Juliet” - Juliet what’s the biggest sin you’ve ever committed, Juliet? “Well, I’ve slept with other men.” (Filling out a badge) Adulterer, Adulterer (slaps the badge on the chest)
OK, what’s your name? - “Adrian” - Adrian, what’s the biggest sin you’ve ever committed, Adrian? “I keep losing my temper and I hurt people.” (Filling out a badge) Murderer, Murderer (slaps the badge on the chest)
And Mary, what’s the biggest sin you’ve ever committed, Mary? “Oh, I like idols.” (Filling out a badge) Idol Worshiper (slaps the badge on the chest).
What’s your name? “Jesus” And what’s the biggest sin you’ve ever committed, Jesus? NONE (pause) Ok, what the littlest sin you’ve ever committed? NONE (pause) None - (slaps the badge on the chest)
(Speaking as Jesus) “Peter give me your badge (slaps the badge on His chest); “Juanita, give me your badge (slaps the badge on His chest); Juliet, give me your badge; “Terry, give me your badge; I’ll take your badge. I’ll take your badge. And I’ll take all of your badges.” (slaps His chest again and again and again)
That’s what Jesus did for us. He took our BADGES of sins and bore them on His body on the cross.
CLOSE: Lastly, remember that Mark’s Gospel is a Gospel sermon, and as with all good Gospel sermons… it has to have an offer of salvation. And sure enough, in one of the last sentences of Gospel tells us this: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:16
Why would we be condemned if we haven’t appealed to God for our salvation? Well, because if we don’t have Jesus, we are without God; without salvation; without hope in this world. And without Jesus, we’ll still have OUR badges/OUR sins… and we will die in our sins.
INVITATION
Footnote #1 – In the late 1700s, a Bible scholar and textual critic named Johann Jacob Griesbach developed fifteen critical principles for determining which texts of the Bible are likely the oldest and closest to the original. One of Griesbach's rules was “lectio brevior praeferenda”: "the shorter reading is preferred." This was based on the idea that scribes were more likely to add to a text than omit from it, making shorter texts more likely to be older. Mark is the shortest of the four gospels with only 661 verses.
Latin scholar Albert C. Clark challenged Griesbach’s principle in 1914. Based on his study of Cicero, Clark argued that omission was a more common scribal error than addition, saying "A text is like a traveler who goes from one inn to another losing an article of luggage at each stop." (The Descent of Manuscripts, Oxford, 1918) Clark's claims were criticized by those who supported Griesbach's principles—which was pretty much everyone. Clark responded; disagreement continued.
Nearly eighty years later, the theologian and priest James Royse took up the case. After close study of multiple New Testament papyri, he concluded Clark had been right. (Scribal Habits in Early Greek New Testament Papyri, Berkeley, 1981). Scribes were more likely to omit portions of text than add to it.
No one had ever bothered to check before. Greisbach invented his principles based on what he thought was logical. It turns out they may be logical but not actual. According to New Testament scholar E. P. Sanders, "There are no hard and fast laws of the development of the Synoptic tradition. On all counts the tradition developed in opposite directions. It became both longer and shorter, both more or less detailed, and both more and less Semitic. ‘Even the tendency to use direct discourse for indirect, which was uniform in the post-canonical material which we studied, was not uniform in the Synoptics themselves...’ (Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People. Fortress Press, 1983).
Footnote #2 – In “Church History Book Five”, chapter 8:1-3, Eusebius quotes from the beginning of the third book of Irenaeus’ “Against Heresies” (where Irenaeus seems to rely on Papias’ writings): “Matthew published his Gospel among the Hebrews in their own language, while Peter and Paul were preaching and founding the church in Rome. After their departure (???d??), Mark the disciple and interpreter of Peter also transmitted to us in writing those things which Peter had preached.”
