From Bible4Today.com
Mark Part 1
By
Apr 25, 2004
Input - The Gospel of Mark
Mark's Gospel is the shortest and earliest of the reports on the life of Jesus. It does not attempt to give a day-by-day diary of the life of Jesus, but is full of 'eye witness' realism and 'vivid newscasting'.
It seems to have been written to answer the most urgent questions the second generation of Christians had to face. What should we eat? How should we regard the great Jewish religion and all its regulations? How did Jesus deal with Roman overlords, with disease and with people driven by evil spirits?
Mark the Man
Read-Acts 12, verses 12 and 25,
Acts 13 verse 13
Acts 15 verses 37 to 40 and
Mark 14, verses 51 and 52 Autobiography?
Then piece together a portrait of Mark:
One early Christian reporter (Papias) said that Mark became the interpreter of Peter, working with him for years.This would account for the 'eye-witness' evidence, and would make Mark into "The Gospel according to Peter".
Note the Shape of Mark's Report
Phase I (Chapter 1 verse 1 to Chapter 8 verse 26)
Beginning with John the Baptist's Testimony (Chapter 1, verses 1 to 12), Mark gives vivid instances of Jesus the Teacher (Chapter 3 verses 13 to 21), the Exorcist (Chapter 5 verses 1 to 9), the Healer (Chapters 2 and 3) and the Contraversialist (Chapter 7 verses 1 to 23).Through all this section Jesus is an undercover Messiah.
The Great Turning Point (see last weeks' diagram) arrives when Jesus begins to define the kind of Messiah he is (Chapter 8 verses 27 to 30).The remainder of the story is centered on the supreme sacrifice of the Messiah, covering the journey to Jerusalem and the last few days leading to the Cross and Resurrection (Chapters 11 to 16).
Output
Upon meeting Jesus, people were awe-struck and astonished. Why?
Some examples, if required: Chapter 1 verses 22 and 27; Chapter 4 verse 41;
Chapter 6 verse 51; Chapter 10 verses 24 to 26)
If you were able to read right through Mark, say what struck you the most.
How important to God is what we eat and drink?
Don't forget to pray together.
© Copyright 2004 by Frank Cooke