One of the things that I've wanted to do for a long time here on the blog is to go through one of the Gospels in its entirety. We have studied through a lot of different books of the Bible here on the blog, and I've done several series such as the parables of Jesus and the miracles of Jesus. However, I've never had the chance to go through an entire Gospel from beginning to end. So, that is what we are going to start for this new year. We are going to go chapter by chapter and verse by verse and see what the Lord has to teach us in the Gospel of Mark.
With that said. let us start today by looking at the Gospel of Mark as a whole. First of all, who wrote this Gospel. There is no reason to believe that anyone other than Mark himself wrote this book. He knew Jesus when He was on this earth. Mark also started out on a missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas, but Mark turned back part of the way through. This didn't set well with Paul, and Paul didn't want Mark to go with him on other journeys, but Barnabas did, and they then traveled together. Later on, Mark is associated with the Apostle Peter.
Church tradition holds that Mark wrote this Gospel based on information given to him by Peter. Mark would have known some things himself. But, Peter was there all along, and would have been a witness to all of the things that the Lord Jesus taught and did.
There is a small debate on when Mark was written. It is certainly the first of the Gospels that was written. Most scholars believe that Luke and Matthew used information from Mark when writing their Gospels.
Some believe that Mark was written after 70 AD and the destruction of the Temple. This is important, because Mark records Jesus as predicting the destruction of the Temple. Many scholars say Mark is putting this prediction in after the fact. However, most scholars I know, and I believe this as well, believe that Mark was written about 68 AD. This is before the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple's destruction. This means that what Jesus predicted came to pass. This is important because it is a reason to trust all that Jesus had to say. He was proven definitively to be correct. Because of this, one can trust the other things that He has to say.
Mark is the shortest of the Gospels, but it has so much in it. Some have called it the Gospel of action. Jesus is going about doing things throughout. Often, the disciples don't show much true understanding of what Jesus is saying, but the Gospel reveals that eventually they slowly came around to an understanding of the way of Jesus.
Mark starts out in verse one by saying, "The beginning of the good news about Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God." This verse tells us a lot. First off, Mark is bringing us a message of good news. In this book we will see the good news that Jesus brings about life and salvation. Jesus brings us the good news that we are loved by God and that we can have forgiveness and a new life through Him.
We are also told that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the anointed one. The Messiah was the one who was foretold of in the Old Testament. He was the one who would come and save His people and redeem them. Jesus was this promised one. He had come to show all of us the way. He had come to redeem creation. He had come to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
Also, Mark tells us that Jesus was and is the Son of God. Jesus is divine. Jesus is fully man and fully God at the same time. He is divine, and Jesus has come to let His divine light shine in to our hearts if we will put our faith and trust in Him.
In the weeks to come, we will see more about the good news brought to us by the Lord Jesus. I hope that you will journey along with me in coming to know more about Jesus through Mark's Gospel. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray for me. I have not been feeling well at all. I really need your prayers. Thank you.
Let us keep praying for peace. Sometimes I know that we look around at the world's situation and it is discouraging. But, the Lord told us to not give up and lose heart. So let us keep praying for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti and Myanmar. And let us pray that there is not some crazy invasion of Greenland.
Remember to pray for those suffering as a result of natural disasters. Pray for those in California, Washington, the Caribbean and Wales. Pray that people will get the aid and the help that they need.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Iraq and Eritrea. Pray that many will come to know about the love of Jesus.
Next week, we will continue in Mark. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.
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