The Gospel According To Mark - Carl Johnson 4/15/04

Matthew, Mark and Luke wrote their accounts of the Gospel

from a very similar perspective and a very much in contrast to

the perspective that John takes in his account of the gospel and

therefore Matthew, Mark, and Luke are oftentimes referred to

as the synoptic gospels from the same perspective or from the

same point of view. But while these three accounts

of the Gospel of very similar, there are some things about Mark

that make it unique, or makes it different, for example.

Obviously, just at first glance Mark is much more compact than

Matthew and Luke, Luke is the longest of all the, the gospels.

Luke has 1147 versus Matthew is. Next has 1068, Mark has only

661, and one of the reasons that Mark's gospel is more compact

than both. Matthew.

And Luke is that Markowitz virtually all of The Parables

that Jesus taught. Now I know that you can kind of

classify a parable. Maybe a little differently, but

most everybody agrees that Mark, only recorded about four of The

Parables that Jesus taught Matthew recorded 19, Luke

recorded by far, the most with 27.

Now, in a different, some of these Parables were rather

lengthy. So I think you can see that just

by omitting, the bulk of The Parables that Jesus taught that

Mark was going to be much briefer.

Now, in addition to that of the six or seven sermons, that Jesus

preached that are recorded in the Gospels.

Marc records, only one and that's in Chapter 13.

The sermon about the last days or the last things.

This is also recorded by Matthew of much lengthier in Matthew in

chapter 24 and 25. So, I think you can see that,

just by eliminating most of the Parables that Jesus taught by

eliminating, all of the sermons that are recorded that he

preached with the exception of just.

One, obviously marks account is going to be much briefer, than

those by And Luke. But now, while Mark recorded,

fewer of the sayings of Jesus than, than did Matthew and Luke

Marc records, very many of his Parables and you'll find that

when both Matthew and Luke records, the same pair of our

are the miracle. I should say, whenever Matthew

and Luke record the same miracle that Marc records, usually Mark,

relates it in more Vivid detail, go and that's one of the things.

About Mark that really I think is unique and that is his, the

vividness of his style notice. For example, Matthew, and Mark,

both tell us about Jesus taking the little child and set him in

the midst, in Matthew, 18 and verse to Matthew says, and Jesus

called a little child unto him and set him in the midst of

them. Marco adds one detail that just

lights up the whole scene in Mark 9, verse 36, he says, and

Mark 9:36

he took a child And set him in the midst of them.

And when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them.

Now in the touching Narrative of Jesus and two children, Jesus

rebuked his disciples for keeping the children from him.

Only Mark finishes with these words in Mark 10 and verse 16.

And he took them up in his arms, he put his hands upon them and

he bless them. So it's these little touches of

detail. These Vivid flashes, if you

will, that just makes the the tenderness of Jesus, come alive.

I don't think the vividness of of marks writing is any more

apparent though, than in the story of the stilling of the

storm. Now, this was recorded in a mark

for beginning at verse 35. It's also recorded in Matthew

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8, beginning at Verse 18 and in Luke chapter 8, beginning

Luke 8 · chapter mention

at verse 22, I want to reach you though, 10 phrases that are

taken from Mark's narrative about the stealing.

Storm and I would read just these these phrases to you sort

of like a list, listen. When the evening was come, they

sent away the multitude. They took him even as he was,

there were also with him. Other Little Ships waves beat

into the ship in the hinder part of the ship on a pillar carest.

Thou not peace, be still. Now if you're familiar with that

story at all, you know, they're just the whole scene.

Scene comes to mind just by raising those reading those ten

phrases in list form, you know, what is remarkable to me,

though, is not really that. Mark use such vivid detailed in

describing that event, but what is remarkable?

Is that both? Matthew?

And Luke tell the same story and they use.

None of these phrases. Another characteristic of Mark,

that adds to the vividness of his account is his use of what

is called, the historic present tense of Herbs.

Now I can illustrate that for you suppose that I told you that

I knew a man. Who walked up to a house, he

knocked on the door, he opened the door, he walked inside, he

looked all around, he walked over to the window, he opened

the window. Well I think you can pretty well

picture that scene in your minds as something that might have

happened as some point in the past.

Now I want to change it and put it in the present tense I don't

you to see the difference that it makes in the narrative.

He walks up to the house, he knocks on the door.

He opens the door, he walks inside, he looks all around, he

walks over to the window, he opens the window you see by

putting the narrative in the present tense.

It's as though, you put yourself right there in the middle of the

scene and that this scene is unfolding before your very eyes.

Well, that's what distinguishes marks, narratives from both

Matthew, and Luke, Mark uses this It's 151 times and he also

uses the imperfect tense very often and it gives the same

effect. It's as though you're right

there in the middle of the scene as it unfolds before your very

eyes. Now in addition to that Mark

uses the, the adverb immediately very often in his narratives and

sometimes is translated. Straightway sometimes is

translated for With with sometimes Anon.

But these four different translations come from the very

same word. And, you know, the one were most

familiar with is the word immediately, but what he does is

he will give you a, he will relate a very Vivid narrative

and then at the end of a narrative, he will say and

immediately, and then he'll begin another narrative.

And at the end of that narrative, he'll say and

immediately, and then at the end of that narrative and so on, and

he does that over 40 times in his Of the gospel and that is

more than that. Word is used in the rest of the

entire New Testament combined. Now what that does is it gives

us the impression that regardless of how varied and

detailed the Lord's Mission must have been that.

He was always hurrying to some destination that he could see

that other people could not see. Now in addition to that, it

makes the narrative move rapidly, it demands the

audience's attention. Tension.

It is perfectly suited, for those with a short attention

span, you know, very probably Mark's account of the Gospel was

initially written for the Romans and the Romans were a very busy

aggressive. People that really were not all

that impressed with people's words, but they were impressed

by decisive action. And for that reason, Mark

doesn't record a lot about what Jesus said.

He doesn't record. His his lineage because the to

the the Romans were not impressed with Jewish lineage or

ancestry. He doesn't put much from the Old

Testament, they had no understanding of that.

But what he does is he focuses in upon the decisive actions of

Jesus, his powerful Miracles. And this is something that was

impressive to the Romans, and should be impressive unto us

today. Mark, portrays Jesus as being

Incessantly active during his ministry, we mentioned the other

evening. And mark, the third chapter Mark

is the only one of the writers of the gospels who points out

that Jesus was so immersed in his Galilean Ministry.

In Capernaum, teaching the people Healing The Sick, causing

the blind to see the lame to walk.

Cleansing lepers casting out demons and so long that word

filtered back to his folks in Nazareth, his mother, his

brothers and his sisters Jurors that he wasn't eating.

And that he wasn't sleeping and that he was beside himself.

You know, I get amused. I see some of these poor Trails

of the Lord, on television about this time of the year of rev.

Do, you know, story books to Children about the life of

Jesus. And so often Jesus is portrayed

as someone who just sort of, you know, a peripatetic teacher just

kind of casually and slowly strolled along and and would

passively leaned against a rock or sit down in the boat and

instruct his disciples who set a trap detention I'm riveted to

every word that fell from his mouth.

Well that's not the way that Mark portrays the life of Jesus

at all. You know what I think about

really when I think about marks portrayal here, I've seen a I've

seen a Movie on television, I don't know half a dozen times, I

guess I've seen parts of it. Anyhow half a dozen time.

I think I've seen it enough times that about got it all put

together but it's it's called the Raiders of the Lost Ark and

you I know you've heard of it. It's about a fellow whose

archaeologist and he's searching for, he's searching for

archaeological treasures. And first time I ever saw that

it was, he was in a cave at the very beginning of the program of

the film and he was in there in search of archaeological

treasures. And This this place had booby

traps at every turn and I mean, he would just narrowly escaped

one booby trap, and before he could, you know, kind of catch

his breath, he would be confronted with another and he

would just narrowly escaped that one and he would be confronted

with another. And it was just like that

repeatedly, he was almost crushed by a gigantic Boulder.

And finally, he's got the archaeological treasure and he

runs and Dives out of the cave. Just saving his life by the skin

of his teeth, and he rolls over. And before he can catch his

breath, he looks up and he's surrounded by a bunch of

hostile. Natives that have got bows and

arrows and Spears pointed at him and when it gets away from them

and he runs and dives into the water where an amphibious plane

is waiting for him. He barely gets on it before it

lifts off and just as he starts to climb into his seat, he comes

nose-to-nose with a gigantic boa constrictor.

I mean, it was like that all the way through by the time that

film was over. I was exhausted.

Austin. I mean there was never a point

where you could catch your breath.

I mean, one narrow Escape after another and then he was

confronted with another still. Yeah, well, that's the way,

Mark, portrays the life of Jesus.

At least his Galilean Ministry when he was in Capernaum.

He was, he was mobbed by multitudes.

We've already pointed out in Chapter 2, he was in a house

teaching some people, the crowd was so thick so great that it's

surrounded. The place.

There were four men who came carrying a policy Man in hopes

of getting them in there to the master whom I could heal him,

and the crowd was so great. They couldn't get to him, not to

be denied, he went up on the roof and tore a hole and lowered

him down through the roof. When his parents, when his

mother and his brothers and sisters went from Nazareth up to

Capernaum to get him. When they heard that.

He wasn't eating, he wasn't sleeping.

They got there. He was teaching a multitude of

people in the crowd was so great.

They couldn't even get in the building and had to send word

through the crowd, the Bible Port points.

Out there in in Galilee. Well, it was sort of like, you

know, what you see on newsreels today about some rock star who's

being mobbed by a group of people.

That's the way it was for our Lord in Galilee.

He there were, there were mobs of people that were constantly

demanding of him, pleading with him, grasping at him asking

something. There were those who were

demon-possessed, who repeatedly would run and fall.

At his feet and in order to get from one point to another point,

he would have to push through the crowd and step over people

and around people. And that's the reason that he

had his disciples keep a boat out there at the Sea of Galilee

in the ready all the time. So that just to get a little

relief, he could go out and get in the boat and shove it away

from the shore and get a little distance.

One time he went out and got in the boat, he talked to the

multitudes who assembled on the seashore for a day at the end of

the day, he was exhausted and he knew that if he went back to

shore, he would be mobbed again with demands and pleadings and

requests. And he told his disciples, he

said, let's go to the other side of the of the sea just to try to

get a little respite and they saw what he was doing and the

multitudes ray. And around the northern shore of

the Sea of Galilee and beat him to the other side and were

waiting for him when he got there.

One writer said that to read the gospel in a single sitting is to

feel him. Then by the crowds, we read by

their demands and besieged by the attacks of demons.

Another characteristic of Mark is that he very often retains

the very Aramaic words that Jesus spoke.

Now, the New Testament is written in Greek, but Jesus

actually spoke Aramaic, which was a dialect of Arabic or a

dialect of Hebrew actually. And oftentimes in marks account,

he retains the actual Aramaic words for example, in Mark 5 and

verse 41, he said to Jay irises dead daughter He said, talitha

koum, I which means damsel or a little girl arise get up and she

did in chapter 7 and verse 11, the dedicated gift became core

bomb in chapter 7 and verse 34. Jesus said to the deaf man who

had an impediment in his speech Etha, which means be loosed in

the garden. 14:36 he said, aww. Which means father and then in

chapter 15 and verse 34 on the cross, he cried aloha.

Aloha, why Lama sabachthani Then another thing about Mark, that

makes it unique is its abrupt beginning and also its abrupt

ending. It ends just about as abruptly

as it begins, but these 16 chapters really are pretty much

divided into two general divisions, two major divisions.

And the first major division is an effort to establish the

identity of Jesus. You know, it's really

interesting to me that you can and turn over to acts the 10th

chapter and take a look at the outline of the sermon that the

Apostle Peter, preached at the household of Cornelius.

And then go back over and look at the arrangement of Mark and

it's almost identical to the outline of Peters sermon to the

household of Cornelius. And it's, you know, it's sort of

like a you've got to establish the identity first because if

you don't, I establish his identity as the Son of God, then

really his death is inconsequential.

To you, for that reason, the first half of Mark focuses upon

the powerful workings, the miracles of Jesus that

established him as the powerful Son of God.

And then, after having established his identity, then

the second half of the Gospel deals with the passion.

Now, these two major divisions can be subdivided into seven,

very brief subdivisions, the first subdivision is in chapter

one. And it go is the first 13 versus

you. Take a look here, you'll see

that there is no genealogy. The preaching of John is stated

in his bare elements of the Temptation is not narrated

narrated in detail, the entire section deals with the

credentials of Jesus. He's baptized of John anointed

by the Holy Spirit and tested in the wilderness.

Then the second section begins at 1:14 and runs through. 6:13.

And at first glance this, second section here, looks like a just

a list of unrelated Miracles that Jesus performs, but you

take a little closer look and you'll see that what Mark has

done here. Is he has listed these miracles

in order to establish the authority of Jesus as being

Divine. The Son of God notice in Chapter

2. For example, I mentioned this a

moment ago, he healed the palsy A man that was brought to him in

Capernaum. They lowered him down through

the roof to Jesus below but the very first words that Jesus

spoke to him were thy sins. Be forgiven thee.

Now, the leaders of the religious Pete Jews, they were

there on that occasion when they heard those words ever shocked

and they thought to themselves who can forgive sins, but God

only and they were convinced, he was guilty of blasphemy, but

what he was doing was establishing his authority to

forgive. Sayings.

Then in Chapter 2 toward the end of the chapter, Jesus gets into

a debate with the Pharisees because his disciples were

eating Grain on the Sabbath day. And then at the first part of

chapter 3, he heals a man in the synagogue, on the Sabbath day, a

man, with the withered hand and he gets into it with the

Pharisees over that. And you remember that he he

tells them in conclusion that he is the Lord of the Sabbath, what

he was doing there was establishing his authority to

regulate religion, then in chapters 3 through chapters

fight. Chapter 5, there are several

examples of his casting out, demons a casting out, evil

spirits and this establishes his authority over Satan in chapter

4. We have the narrative about his

calming, the wind up on the Sea of Galilee The Tempest and that

demonstrates. His power over nature, and then

in chapter 5, we have his raising Jay irises daughter from

Death, back to life, demonstrating his power over

death. So, all of these examples very

carefully, establish his authority, to forgive sins, to

regulate religion his authority over Satan, his power over

nature and his power over death. Now, in chapter 6, we come to

the third section, beginning at verse 14, and it runs Through

8:26. Now in this third section, we

have the introduction of conflict.

John, the Baptist is beheaded by Herod Antipas.

Jesus can feel the very real threat of Antipas as well.

It's also, in this section, when Jesus fed the multitude on the

eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, you know, with the

Loaves and Fishes, a multitude of over 5,000.

And you remember on that occasion that the people were so

thrilled. And so impressed by this

powerful Miracle display their ready to make him their King

right there. Jesus however, though, recognize

this as the same Temptation that the devil had made to him,

rioters, baptism in the wilderness.

The idea that he could be the king without having to go to the

cross. And then, in addition, he gets

into it with the Pharisees over their traditions and he

denounces their traditions because they actually violate

the law of God. Now, in this section, on two

occasions, Jesus withdrawals, or he Retreats from confrontation,

and he tells his disciples, the reason is because the time is

not yet, there's going to come a time when he was not going to

retreat, and he was going to have a conversation.

Aaron tation with his enemies and it was going to result in

his crucifixion. But the time was not yet, then

the fourth section. And really, this is the pivotal

Point as far as Mark is concerned in his account of the

Gospel. The fourth section begins at

8:27 and it runs through 10:52. Now, it is at this point that

Jesus takes his disciples about 30 miles up north of the Sea of

Galilee to a region called caesarea Philippi Far away from

Jerusalem, far away, from the temple away from the threats of

Herod Antipas away from the constant demands of the

Pharisees, the Sadducees, a very Hellenistic region, he takes his

disciples up there. And for the first time he

questions them, specifically about his own identity.

We talked about this the other night he said whom do men say

that. I the son of man a.m. now he had

been in his his Earthly Ministry two-and-a-half to three years at

this point. And multitudes had seen his

incomparable Miracles. They had heard his incomparable

teaching, his authoritative teaching.

They shook their heads, in amazement and they said we've

never heard anybody talk like this man.

Jesus wanted to know that anybody out there seen in Me,

God. And he said, whom do men say

that? I, the son of man and well, his

disciples spoke up and said something that you're John, the

Baptist, something that you're Elijah others.

Think your Jeremiah, or one of the prophets and then, he asked,

whom, do you say that I am? And Peter said it the cold and

Oracle, he said, Thou Art the Christ in Matthew's account.

He says, Thou Art the Christ, the son of the Living.

God, Jesus accepted that confession from Peter and

blessed him for it. You know, right after that he

took Peter James and John up down up on are probably Mount

Hermon up on a mountain anyway and there he transfigured

himself, he gave him, gave them a glimpse of his glorious nature

and that sort of galvanized, the confession that Peter had made

establishing his identity as the Christ, the son of the Living

God and it was only after they had that.

He told his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and

suffer, many things at the hands of the chief priests, the elders

and the scribes and be killed and raised again, the third day.

Well, the fifth section chapters 11, 12 and 13 in here.

We have The Narrative of the dramatic return of Jesus to

Jerusalem his Triumphal entry into the holy city, you know,

there's not going to be at this point.

There's not going to be any more Retreats, there's not going to

be any more withdrawals, but in fact Jesus is going to force the

action. It's sort of like he throws Down

The Gauntlet. The time is now he's going to

die but he's not going to die in some remote obscure or corner of

Galilee. He's going to die in the holy

city of Jerusalem before thousands of jerusalemites.

And thousands of pilgrims who have come from all over the

world for the Passover. And he allows his disciples to

do something that he had never allowed them to do before he

allowed them to give a public demonstration in his armor.

He sent a couple of disciples over to Beth veggie and they got

the Colt of a donkey. They brought it back to him and

had never been written before. Didn't have a saddle.

And so, a couple of disciples took off their clothes, their

Road, their coats, and put them over the back of the donkey made

sort of a makeshift saddle. And Jesus climbed this prattle

of it, donkey and began to make the two mile Trek from Bethenny

over the Mount of Olives into the holy city.

Now, the disciples knew that this was a strategic moment in

the history of Israel, but they didn't really fully understand

at that time. What this was all about, you

know what they thought. Rome had been in Palestine with

occupational forces, 100 years? And the Jews.

Absolutely despised it. I mean, everywhere, they looked

they saw Roman occupational forces and that was bad enough.

If something that chafe them even more than that was, the

fact that they had to pay taxes to Rome, they had to pay a

poll-tax and there were many of them that believe, that, that

was unlawful. And what they had in mind was

that Jesus was going to be a deliverer sort of like Moses.

Who had freed their ancestors from the oppression of the

Egyptians who had now come as going to free them from the Yoke

of Roman oppression. That just seen him raise a dead

man, Lazarus and Bethany. They were convinced that this

powerful Prophet who could perform Miracles that he was

going to go over into the city of Jerusalem that he was going

to oust the Romans he was going to sit down on the throne of

David and re-establish the world Prestige of Israel.

They were out of their minds with enthusiasm and

anticipation. The Bible says that, that

someone took her clothes off and threw him down on the ground

before the donkey. That was carrying the Savior,

others pulled green leaves off of trees and made sort of a

carpet of green before the That Again, Usher him toward the

summit of the Mount of Olives, they broke out into spontaneous,

singing and praying. They cried for Santa to God.

And that really is a prayer. And it means Lord, Save us.

What they were asking, was God to use the powerful Prophet to

remove the boot of Oppression from their throats.

They reached the summit and descended toward the other side.

Whether it already been a pilgrims that have gone into

Jerusalem, that is seen Jesus raised Lazarus over in Bethany.

They would have learnt old. The people that the great

prophet From Galilee is en route right now.

And there was a multitude that poured out of the Eastern Gate

of the city, went up that side of the slope of the Mount of

Olives waiting palm branches, which was typical of receiving,

a king returning in Victory, Singing and shouting and

praising God, they ushered him triumphantly into the holy city.

but, you know, when it got into the city, He didn't say anything

about a revolution. He didn't say anything about

ousting, the Romans, he didn't organize a militia, he told them

to pay their taxes. This is not what they were

expecting out of him. And then he went out and spent

the night on the Mount of Olives, and he came back the

next morning and he cleansed the temple, he turned over the

tables of the money changers, and the seats of the dove

Sellers, and he drove them out of the temple.

And that infuriated, the chief priests because they were

getting a cut of the profit and it just caused him to redouble

their Ian to put into death. You know, this this part of the

life of Jesus is is narrated by Mark in such vivid detail in

contrast to the earlier part of his gospel.

That a lot of times people have said that marks account really,

is just a passion story with a lengthy introduction in red.

That's pretty accurate. Because this is the part that he

really focuses in on With detail and then in chapters 14 and 15,

of course, he gives us The Narrative of the passion.

He talks about Jesus instituting, the Lord's, Supper

he tells us about his arrest and about his being placed before

the Sanhedrin that had been illegally convened at night

about the mockery of that trial about the temple guards, beating

him to a pulp with her Fists. About him, being turned over to

the Roman cohort. A group of over 600 men who took

him into the common Hall and treated him like a buffoon.

Scourged him within an inch of his wife.

And then made him walk the Via Dolorosa the, the, the trail

from his condemnation to gotha where their Mark in profound

understatement says in chapter 15 and verse 25 and they

crucified him. You know, all of this is

arranged by Mark to leave the reader incredulous. now, I mean

here was a man who never did anything but good, He fed the

hungry. He gave drink to the Thirsty, he

healed the sick. He made the lame walk.

He he caused a leopards to be cleansed.

He cast out demons. He taught them about eternity,

about life Everlasting. He never did anything but good.

How could anybody conspire to kill him?

That's the effect, but the story doesn't end there.

It ends in chapter 16 and we have the thrilling account of

the Resurrection. Mark begins chapter 16 the

talking about the women, who were en route to the tomb to

further anoint, the body of the Savior and remember what was

Paramount upon their minds at that time?

How are we going to roll that stone away?

There is a manuscript of the Bible that dates from the 2nd

Century in the says that it took Joseph of Arimathea and 20

servants, 20 male servants to roll that stone in place and

seal Jesus body in the Tomb in here.

You got a little handful of women frail, women that are

making their way out there and all they can think about is how

we're going to roll a side that stone.

No. But when they got there, early

in the morning upon the first day of the week, the stone had

already been rolled away and the tomb was empty.

Now they've been all kinds of efforts to explain away the

empty tomb since the very beginning.

But I'm going to tell you tonight.

The only explanation that deals with all the circumstances about

which we know is that Jesus did just exactly what he said he was

going to do. And that is early in the morning

upon the first day of the week. He arose from the grave Glory to

God in the highest. The tomb of our founder remains

empty and that's what makes Christianity different from

every other religion in the world.

You can't say that about Buddha. You can't say that about

Mohammed, you cannot say that about Confucius.

The tomb of our founder remains empty.

But I'll tell you after the Glorious.

Resurrection Mark, brings his account of the story very

quickly to a close, he talks about just a couple of things

and then he portrays Jesus gathered with his disciples just

before his sins back to heaven and the Lord tells his disciples

in essence. Now you understand.

Now, you got it all put together, you understand.

Now about my incarnation. you understand about my life, you

understand about my teaching, you understand about my

suffering, my death, my burial, and the resurrection, you

understand it and therefore, I want you to take this message

throughout all the world and I want you to tell it to, every

living person, And whoever believes it and is baptized will

be saved. And then he ascended back to

heaven. Well, friends tonight.

You heard the Gospel According to Mark.

Do you believe it? And if you believe it, have you

acted upon it by being baptized into the name of Jesus Christ

for the remission of sins. If that's not the case, we urge

you to seize the opportunity now.

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