Page 8...The Portland Observer...February 26, 1992
Portland Observer ■■■—
RELIGION
Insight on the Word: The Beginning of the
Good News: The Gospel of Mark
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY,
Dean of North Portland Bible College
The Bible text fo r next week’s Sun
day School lesson in March 1:1-15.
Beginning with this lesson, our
Sunday Schools will be studying
through eight weeks on the Gospel ac
cording to Mark. Naturally we will only
be hitting the high points of the book,
but I believe the eight texts chosen by
the International Committee do give an
accurate summary of the whole book,
and help us grasp its contents. Most
importandy, these lessons remind us of
the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus
Christ, culminating in his death and
resurrection, which we will be studying
around Resurrection Sunday (“Easter”).
So this is a perfect time to recall
some basic information about the Gos
pel of Mark; things that will help us
understand more about the work of
Jesus Christ, ,and appreciate this Gos
pel all the more. I encourage any Chris
tian who really wants to grow in his
spiritual walk this year to read through
the whole Gospel of Mark between now
and April 19. Let the Lord reveal him
self to you in the Word.
W hat is a “ Gospel”? The word we
translate gospel means a message of
good news, like the announcement of a
military victory or the birth of a king’s
first son. The four books we call “Gos
pels [note the capital G for book titles]
are all messages about the good news of
the coming of Jesus Christ, and the
establishment of the Kingdom of God
March 1:14-15. The Gospels may have
elements of history or biography, but
they are primarily announcements of
the person of the strong Son of God. So
many things you would expect to find in
a biography of Jesus simply are not
found in the Gospel according to Mark.
W ho is M ark? The Gospel itself
does not identify its author, but the
early church leaders unanim ously
agreed he was John Mark, first named
in Acts 12:12 as a cousin of Barnabas.
He was a helper of Paul at various
points of his evangelistic journeys (Acts
13:5; 15:37; Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11).
Later he was a beloved associate of the
Apostle Peter, apparently when they
were both in Rome (1 Pet. 5:13).
How and where did he write?
According to a respected church father,
Papias, John Mark took down the
preached accounts of Peter and wove
them into a powerful testimony of the
“good news” of Jesus Christ. Others
concur that Mark was very close to
Peter at the end of his life, and that the
Gospel reflects Peter’s eyewitness ac
counts.
This would mean that Mark wrote
first of all to the church in Rome. This
is confirmed by the mention of Simon
of Cyrene, and his sons Alexander and
Rufus (Mark 15:21), for we know that
Rufus and his mother lived in Rome
(Rom. 16:13). This would explain why
there are a lot of Latin terms used in this
Gospel, more than in the other Gospels.
And yet, there are also more Aramaic
terms (the spoken language of the
apostles) in Mark than in the other
Gospels, reflecting the background and
style of Peter, Mark’s main source.
W hen and why did he write this
Gospel? Our general knowledge of his
tory in the first century would lead us to
put Peter’s death around A.D. 65-70, in
Rome, in the middle of a great persecu
tion started by the Emperor Nero. Very
likely John Mark completed this Gos
pel about the same time.
The disciples of Jesus Christ were
in the midst of crisis. The Roman au
thorities were imprisoning them, tor
turing them to uncover others, and kill
ing many in public display and ridicule.
Within their circle, the disciples heard
many saying that the Christ was not
truly a man, and did not really experi
ence the sufferings of the cross.
Mark recorded the “good news”
for these troubled disciples, that Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, did undergo all
the persecution, betrayal rejection and
death that they faced-and that he faced
it faithfully to the end and overcame all
his enemies by the resurrection. The
Christ did not “cop out” as a spirit,
leaving Jesus to suffer as a man, alone.
Jesus was and is the Christ.
What makes this Gospel spe
cial? Several things could be noted.
(1) The death of Christ, and the
events which lead up to it, take up over
40% of the book much more than Mat
thew or Luke. On the other hand, he
doesn’teven mention Jesus’ birth, fam
ily, or upbringing—until his baptism by
John in the Jordan.
(2) The actions of Jesus are em
phasized far more than his words, and
Mark often gives more vivid (eyewit
ness) details in his accounts than the
others do. His writing style is rough,
often with poor Greek grammar, but
quite understandable if he was record
ing spoken messages and remem
brances.
(3) The presence of great crowds
as Jesus taught, especially in Galilee, is
noted continually in chapters 1 to 10.
and yet Mark also emphasizes Jesus’
concern for secrecy, in the face of these
multitudes, so that his message and
purpose would not be misunderstood
(1:44).
(4) The very word “gospel” Mark
emphasizes in his writing, as the title of
his work (1:1), as the essence of Jesus ’
preaching (1:14-15), as worthy of the
disciples’ sacrifice (8:35; 10:29), and
as the message to proclaim to all people
(13:10; 14:9).
Why does M ark begin with John
the Baptist? Because John was the one
who prepared the way for the Lord
(1:3; quoting Isaiah 40:3), in the Per
son of Jesus Christ. Mark was very
selective in his opening words here. He
did not tell us anything about John’s
ethical preaching, his condemnation of
the religious leaders, or his attack on
King Herod which led to his imprison
ment (see Matt. 3; 11; Luke 3).
Mark docs tell that John pro
claimed the impending arrival of the
long-awaited Christ. John’s baptism is
a sign of repentance, and of their faith
that God would “remit” or forgive their
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n r i s
M a tth e w
FU N ERA L
Sunday School
M orning UUorship
Tuesday Bible
Study and Prayer
Denise P. Bell, Pastor
Cleodus Vann
Dr. Lawson s church has experienced
15-23% growth each year since being
involved in the 1989 Arkansas Cru
sade. He will encourage those local
churches present to maximize the ben
efits of involvement in the Crusade
here.
Reverend Sammy, Staff member
at predominantly black Maranatha
Church, says having this event at their
facility will send a strong message to
black religious leaders that pastors city
wide want to get together. "I believe
that nay time you have a cooperative
effort in ministry, the Lord chooses to
bless it," Reverend Sammy says.
Church leaders interested in at
tending the complimentary continental
breakfast should make reservations with
the Pacific Northwest Billy Graham
Crusade office at (503)232-4992.
ThePrudential
Jìm Werner
District Agent, 19 Years Service
11300 N.E. Halsey, Suite 100
Portland, OR 97220
Residence: 503-771-6113
Jesus Loves You!
A ll en Temple
CME CL upch
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4236 NE Eighth Avenue
(corner of 8th t Skidmore)
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503) 287-0261
Phillip S. Nelson Pastor
M allory
C hurch
3908
of
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10:45 am .
M en’s Training Leadership
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A diversity of color will be an
apparent feature of what will be one of
the largest m ulti-cultural religious
events since the black/white "Recon
ciliation Sunday" which occurred last
March at the Portland Convention Cen
ter.
On Sunday, February 29. at 8:30
am , a leadership breakfast at Maranatha
Church, 4222 NE 12th Avenue, will
bring together an estimated 1500church
pastors and lay leaders representing
different cultural groups and churches.
The breakfast is part of preparations for
the Pacific Northwest Billy Graham
Crusade scheduled for September 232-
27 at the Civic Stadium in Portland.
Breakfast will be served at 8:30 am
followed by a program of singing,
praise, prayer and a message by Dr.
Steve Lawson, Senior Pastor of The
Bible Church of Little Rock, Arkansas.
5:00 pm.
Evening Worship
126 N .£ Alberta t Portland. OR 97211 t (503) 288-5173
fttapiisi
1500 Expected at Church
Leadership Breakfast
VANN & VANN
"Come to me oil you who ore
weary and heavy laden and I
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Inter-raciol Congregation
Romans 2:1-4
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9:45am
11:00am
7:30pm
sins (Mark 1:4-5), but his message
em phasized the coming M essiah.
People naturally expected that this
meant that the Day of the Lord, the
judgment day, was at hand, and they
were eager to get ready for the Lord.
Why did Jesus receive a baptism
front John? Unlike the others, Jesus
was not demonstrating his repentance,
nor confessing his sins. (John’s reluc
tance to baptize him is noted in Matt.
3:14-15.) Mark again keeps this epi
sode very brief and pointed: the bap
tism was an occasion for Jesus to show
his commitment to God’s plan for his
life, and “straightway” (usually trans
lated “immediately” in KJV) the Fa
ther gives a public testimony to John
and the others around.
“Thou art my beloved Son”: The
Father gave his official recognition of
Jesus’ Sonship, as a man would pub
licly declare his heir. “In whom I am
well pleased”: The Father further ac
knowledged his love for his Son, and
his endorsement of the work which
Jesus would be doing on earth.
Who is this Jesus? That is the key
question of the Gospel of Mark, and the
key issue of all life. The world is trying
to make Jesus a good example, a won
derful teacher, a New Age guru, an
Islam ic prophet, or any number of other
things. And that’s nothing new; people
in Mark’s day were trying to confuse
the same issue in many similar ways.
But Mark cuts through all the hype, and
emphasizes the simple truth: “Jesus
Christ, the Son of God.”
The Jews and Palestinians who
heard Jesus’ teachings had no doubt
that Jesus claimed to be the divine Son
in human form. The Romans knew he
meant he was equal in authority with
God the Father. Now what about us?
Are you willing to confess him as Lord
and God, and to give your life to follow
in his steps, even when they are pain
ful? As we study Mark, he will con
tinually confront us with Jesus’ claims
on our lives. I urge you to make up your
mind about Jesus today.
Scripture o f the ^eef^
Study Phon«: 2 8 9 -1 9 1 1
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Bible Study
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Evening Service
7 :0 0 P.M.
Jesus Christ Is Salvation
Union Avenue Baptist Church
5029 N. E. MLK Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
Telephone Number - 287-8344
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Them e: W h a te v e r you're going to do
fo r th e Lord, do it now
Minister Gregory Fobbs
and bible study
7:30 pm.
Radio Ministry Each Sunday, 11:00 AM - KBMS
28
1092
RESTORING
NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
5211 N. W illia m s P o rtla n d , Or. 97217
He that is too good to realize that he need to be saved, cannot be
helped. But he that recognize he has a need, can be helped.
Parrar Pev James C E. Faulkner
6:00 pm.
Attended nursery for all
services
W ednesday prayer meeting
Are you a friend of Jesus?
Do you want Jesus to be your friend?
We want to be your friend and would love to have you as our
friend.
Everyone is welcome to this church, (the body of Christ).
There is a place and a work here for you.
I Peter lv .1 1
Rev. A. G. May, Pastor
mt O livet
baptist C hurch
Has moved Sunday services to
Stone Tower Church,
N.E. Sandy Blvd. & 30th
Worship Services 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Church School 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 116 N.E. Schuyler
10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:00 a.m. on KBMS
A Teaching Church With A Reaching Ministry
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
Church Office 116 N.E. Schuyler St.
(503) 284-1954
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