TBU 18- Mark
January 7, 2025
Introduction
• John Mark knew he had disappointed his cousin and angered his traveling companions. To this day we don’t know what happened to cause the problem, but through his disappointment God developed a strong and forceful personality. He would go on to be the first to write down the words and events of Jesus: what we know as the Gospel of Mark.
• I’m Brent and this is the Bible Unplugged podcast. In this episode we explore the life and ministry of Mark, a young protégé of Peter and a man whom God used to inspired millions of believers throughout history.
When Gospels Collide ad
• Let you know about one of my books that can be helpful as you follow along with the Advent Unplugged.
• When Gospels Collide combines the four Gospels into one continuous narrative. As you read through the book you get the details from all of the sources without having to flip back and forth through different books of the Bible.
• This may be especially helpful in this series since the complete story of Jesus’s birth is in more than one gospel
• When Gospels Collide is available on Amazon. Here is a link: When Gospels Collide
Who was Mark
• What we know of Mark comes from references in other New Testament books and from traditions passed down in early church history.
• In Acts 12:12 we learn that his mother’s name was Mary and that he went by the name “John Mark.” John is his Jewish name and Mark is his Roman name. This is common among people who travelled and worked outside of Israel.
• We know that Barnabas, a man who worked and ministered with Paul, was Mark’s cousin in Colossians 4:10
• Although Mark does not give us a name, he may have referenced himself in Mark 14:51-52. This is the story of Jesus’ arrest. Mark says “a certain young man” witnessed the event and fled the scene when othes tried to arrest him. It’s common in the New Testament for writers to reference themselves anonymously in the stories about themselves.
• This tells us that Mark may have been an eye witness to at least a part of Jesus’ ministry.
• Peter calls Mark his son in 1 Peter 5:13. We have no direct evidence that Mark was Peter’s biological son. Early church historians say that Peter was Mark’s mentor.
• Much of what Mark writes in his gospel probably came from Peter’s recollection of his life with Jesus.
Mark gets in trouble
• Much of what we know about Mark comes from a time when he caused a conflict between the Apostle Paul and his cousin, Barnabas.
• In Acts 13, during Paul’s first missionary journey, we have a seemingly insignificant reference to John Mark leaving the group and returning to Jerusalem.
• The text doesn’t place any meaning to the event, but this caused a problem.
• We don’t know why John Mark left them. Speculation was that he was homesick or he didn’t have the strength and courage. Sea travel in this part of the story was difficult and potentially dangerous, so maybe Mark didn’t want to continue with the challenges.
• Whatever the reason, Mark’s choice to leave caused such a serious conflict between Paul and Barnabas that the went their separate ways in Acts 15.
• We believe that Barnabas mentored Mark and believed in him enough that Barnabas wanted to take Mark on their second missionary journey. Paul didn’t trust Mark and refused.
Mark’s Redemption
• While we don’t know a lot about what happened to Mark after this conflict, we know that he matured and grew stronger afterwards.
• In fact, Paul has a change of heart about Mark in his later years. In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul tells Timothy to bring Mark with him when he visits Paul because Mark “is useful to me for service.” Mark obviously proved himself to Paul.
• As a side note, we find an interesting comment by Paul’s other letter to Timothy. In 1 Timothy 4:11 which says, “Let no man despise your youth, but be an example to thos e who believe.” I wonder if Paul was thinking of his experiences with Mark when we wrote that?
Uniqueness of Mark’s Gospel
• Mark likely wrote his gospel before Paul asked to see him again. This shows how much he grew during this time in his life.
• The Gospel of Mark was written between 50 and 70 AD making it the first account of the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament.
• Much of Mark’s material likely came from his association with Peter who was an eye witness to the events in Jesus’ life.
• It is the shortest of the four Gospels and wa likely used as source material for Matthew and Luke.
• About 95% of Mark’s account appears in the Gospel of Matthew and 60% is found in Luke’s writings.
• Mark focuses on Jesus moving quickly through his ministry. The word “immediately” appears more than 40 times to drive the narrative forward.
• Mark puts a greater emphasis on the actions of Jesus, including miracles and healings, and less on sayings and teaching.
• Mark show the emotions, struggles, and leadership style of Jesus.
• We see Jesus being moved with pity and compassion when he healed a leper in chapter 1 and when Jesus fed the 5,000 in chapter 6.
• Jesus expresses frustration with the disciples in chapter 4 when they were afraid they would die in a storm. Jesus said, “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”
• Jesus expresses anger at the Pharisees. In chapter 3, Jesus “looked around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their heart.”
• Mark shows how Jesus was distressed and troubled at the Garden of Gethsemane when he said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.
• We see Mark’s personality and experiences coming out in his writing. He likely felt some guilt over the conflict he caused between Paul and Barnabas. His personal growth from that event may have made him more sensitive to how he and others felt about challenging events in their lives.
What we learn from this
• Disappointments and crises are not forever. Whenever we face a painful time in life God can uses your experience to build stronger character and help you grow closer to him.
• Personal conflicts don’t have to be the end of a story. Being in conflict with someone else gives both of you the opportunity to learn and grow. In any personal conflict, pray for the other person asking God to help them heal and grow from the experience.
• God wants you to mature and grow in your faith, but the process will not always be easy or inspiring. Be willing to learn and grow in your relationship with God.
What do we do with this
• Think about the peole in your life who have disappointed you. Better yet, think about the people you have offended. Ask God to give you compassion and love for those people. Praying for their well being is the best way to heal yourself.
• Read through the book of Mark and find the actions and feelings of Jesus that resonate with you. Our savior expressed his painful feelings, you have permission to express your difficulties to God.
• When you interact with someone younger and less experienced that causes you frustration remember, you were there once. Be patient and kind. Show compassion and support them in their growth. God may be developing a modern version of Mark, a young man who went on to help change the world.
The conclusion
• Well, the music in the background means this episode is coming to a close, but I’ll show up soon with more to talk about.
• I hope this has been helpful. If so, give this podcast a high rating and share it with others.
• You can also subscribe to my newsletter and receive notices of new podcasts and other content at powerloveandmiracles.com
• Future episodes will continue our focus on how God worked through the other gospel writers, Luke, and John, to give us a complete view of the life and work of Jesus.
• My prayer for you is that you will see that God worked through an immature man like Mark and he can work in and through you to create a life of strength and purpose.
• Have a blessed week
The disclaimers
• Just to let you know
• All opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don’t… keep listening, you may learn something
• All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible which is a public domain work
• Our show theme song is “Awesome Call” by Kevin MacLeod and is available under a Creative Commons license
• The content of this podcast is copyrighted 2024 by J. Brent Eaton
• This has been a Power Love and Miracles production
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