This Sunday we are beginning a new sermon series on the Gospel of Mark. I’ve titled this series “Immediately” because Mark uses that word 42 differently times in his Gospel. 42! Although we won’t look at each and every last one of the verses that have “immediately” in them, we’ll certainly be covering a lot of them.
Mark’s Gospel is often referred to as one of the three Synoptic Gospels, along with Matthew and Mark. Synoptic is just a way of saying that when you read the 3 Gospels you get a “common view.” They cover many of the same events in Jesus’ life, especially the last 18 months or so of His ministry, and present them in pretty much the same order. All of the parables of Jesus are found in the Synoptic Gospels.
Just because Mark’s Gospel is similar to Matthew and Luke, however, doesn’t mean that it isn’t distinctive in many ways! It is generally believed that Mark wrote his Gospel first, although there are scholars who believe that Matthew wrote first. Marks’ Gospel uses a fairly limited vocabulary (hence the 42 uses of the same word –euthys- which gets translated as “immediately” or “at once” in our English translations), especially when compared to Luke and John.
Mark’s writing is considered to be rough and unpolished, and he didn’t always use proper grammar when he wrote in Greek. His writing is also very forceful. The action continually keeps moving in Mark and there is much less emphasis on the teachings of Jesus in his Gospel. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why Mark’s Gospel is also the shortest of the four.
So why did God give us four Gospels? Why didn’t He just inspire one person to write everything down? Well, we have to keep in mind that when God inspired all of the authors of the books of the Bible, He did so in a way that allowed for each of them to write with their own backgrounds, personalities, audiences, and purposes. By doing so we get a much richer and deeper picture of God’s redemption plan and a much deeper and richer picture of the person and ministry of Jesus.
Let’s briefly look at each of the authors of the Gospels. Matthew was Jewish tax collector for the Romans who became one of Jesus’ disciples. He wrote his Gospel to the Jews and used many references to the Old Testament to present his case to the Jews that Jesus was the long-expected Messiah. In fact, Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ role as our King more than the other three.
Mark was probably the youngest of the four authors. He ministered alongside both Peter and Paul and may have been an eyewitness to at least some of the events of Jesus’ life. Mark wrote his Gospel for the Gentiles (specifically the Romans), and so he doesn’t emphasize the Old Testament. Mark sought to present Jesus as the Suffering Servant and emphasized Jesus’ role as our Savior.
Then we have Luke. Luke was co-laborer with Paul. His primary audience was the early Church, particularly those who were Greeks. He sought to provide those early Christians with a detailed and accurate account of Jesus’ life so that they could trust that Jesus really lived, really died, and was really resurrected. Along with being the only doctor among the authors of the Bible, Luke is also the only Gentile! Luke presents Jesus to us as the Son of Man.
Finally we have John. John, of course, always refers to himself as the disciple that Jesus loved. John’s Gospel, covers events of Jesus’ life that aren’t found in the other three and is much more theological in nature. Because most scholars believe that John wrote his Gospel well after the others, it has been commonly held that one of John’s purposes was to “fill in the gaps” of Jesus’ life. Scholars have suggested that John’s audience was the “world” because he writes in John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world…” John emphasizes Jesus’ role as the Son of God.
When we put all four Gospels together, we get an amazing understanding of the life and ministry of our Savior. I am looking forward to our study of Mark, and I imagine that we’ll pull in some context from the other three Gospels from time to time.
Here’s what’s happening:
- This Sunday 1/15/23 I will be using the Sunday School hour to give something of a “State of the Church” address. I’ll be discussing some of the strengths and realities of our church and offering some goals for 2023. I would really, really, really encourage you to attend, even if the 9 o’clock hour isn’t a normal part of your Sunday morning. There will be a Sunday School class for the younger children that morning.
- This Sunday is also our brief congregational meeting after the worship service for the purpose of holding a vote of affirmation for the 2023 budget.
- Senior High Youth meet on Sunday, January 22ndright after the worship service till 1 pm for lunch and the normal youth group time. We will be done in time for the football games should a certain team from Philadelphia be playing that afternoon!
- We will be having a fellowship meal after the service on Sunday, January 29. More information to follow.
- Junior Youth next meet on Sunday, February 5 after church.
- Please note – there will not be a Men’s Breakfast this month, as Hometown Kitchen is closed for remodeling.
This Sunday we are going to be looking at Mark 1 and Jesus’ baptism. The picture of Jesus coming up from the water as the Holy Spirit descends on Him like a dove has been depicted for us in innumerable works of art. Our focus, however, will be on what is said at that moment and what that means for us today. It’s going to be a great morning of worship…ask a friend to join you at the Bridge on Sunday!
P.S. – I will be preaching out the ESV for the Mark series.