MY SHORT REPORT MARK
The link that brought you to this page and the page title are a bit of a misnomer, because this short report is not long enough to cover so many chapters of the Bible. What the link and the title do, however, is track where we are in our plan to read through the entire Bible in 1 year. May each report pique your interest and help you to draw near to God. The Bible, James 4:8, tells us if we do so God will draw near to us. Works cited are at the end of the report. Internal links provide additional information.
BIBLE READING—WEEK 42—THE GOSPEL OF SAINT MARK: Last week’s report provided some additional information about Matthew and his Gospel, and focused on the term Kingdom of Heaven. In this past week’s readings we read the Gospel of Mark. This week’s Short Report provides background information about Mark and his relationship with Paul and Peter, and challenges Biblical Criticism of the Synoptic Gospels, particularly the belief that Matthew used Mark’s Gospel. It also looks at some of the themes in Mark’s Gospel, especially how the persecution Jesus faced was an example for others, including Paul, Peter, Mark and the Christians of the church in Rome in the persecution they faced under Nero.
Biblical Criticism is, unfortunately, something Bible reading Christians run into whether they sit in the pew, stand at the pulpit, teach in the seminary, or write the commentaries and handbooks we refer to in order to gain more insight on a Bible book or subject. Not surprisingly, Biblical Criticism takes a few shots at the Gospels. One theory (the Markan or two-source hypothesis), is that Mark was written early and the other Gospel writers copied from him, but that is ridiculous. First and foremost, all Scripture is written by the inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16), that alone renders many of these man-made theories as nonsense.
Second, Matthew, one of the 12 and an apostle, had no reason to copy from Mark, who was a student of Peter, and to a lesser degree of Paul. In week 40, for instance, we showed that Matthew was not only an eyewitness to Jesus’ 3 year mission, he was educated and probably wrote in shorthand in order to be a tax collector that kept exact records for the Roman Government. Such a man may have kept records of his time with Jesus for the pure enjoyment of record keeping, much as an artist may sketch an idea on paper before painting a masterpiece on canvas. Third, because Matthew, who wrote his Gospel from Jerusalem to the Jews, does not reference the destruction of the Temple (70 AD) and Mark, who wrote to Christians from Rome after Paul and Peter were martyred (c. 64-66 AD), there is little time in a world before the printing press and modern forms of travel for Matthew to acquire a copy of Mark’s Gospel for his personal library so he could “borrow” information from it to write his own Gospel. Again, the whole ideal is nonsense.
The Eerdmans Bible Commentary says, “In fixing the date of the second Gospel, opinion differs widely within the limits of 35 years from AD 40 to 75. But it is now almost universally agreed that Mark’s Gospel is the earliest of the four” (Guthrie, 851). Such an early date is utterly ridiculous . One reason is Mark, also called John or John Mark (Acts 12:12), lacked maturity to the point where he turned away from Paul and Barnabas on Paul’s first missionary journey (13:13) so that Paul would not allow Mark to travel with him on his second mission (15:37-39) (50 AD).
In Halley’s Bible Handbook, Halley writes, “About 62 A.D. Mark appears in Rome with Paul (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). 4 or 5 years still later, Paul, just before martyrdom, is asking Mark to come to him (II Timothy 4:11). Thus, it seems that Mark, in his later years, became one of Paul’s intimate and beloved helpers” (p. 457).
We can come to an understanding then, that while Mark found missionary work too difficult in his youth with Paul, he grew under Peter’s tutelage. In fact, in 1 Peter 5:13 Peter calls Mark his spiritual son and references Babylon. My first thought was to turn to the General Epistles - People’s Bible Commentary for an answer to what Peter was saying, but Mark A. Jaske overlooks the verse to the point of leaving this part of Scripture (1 Peter 5:12-14) out of his commentary. Thus he covers the whole book, minus the last 3 verses.
Halley provides an answer saying it is code for Rome and explains, “In those times of persecution, Christians, for prudence’s sake, had to be careful how they spoke of the ruling power” (pp. 662-663).
Harold E. Wicke, in Mark - People’s Bible Commentary, supports that answer when he writes, “Mark surfaces again with Peter in Rome. The situation is an entirely different one. Peter—writing from “Babylon” to the Christians…sends greetings from the Roman congregation” (p. 6).
The ruling power was Nero, Emperor of Rome until 68 AD. Many Romans believed he was responsible for the Great Fire of Rome. Wikipedia reports, “He was said to have seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and burned them alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice but by personal cruelty.” We are also told he committed suicide “when he learned that he had been tried in absentia [while not present] and condemned to death as a public enemy.”
Wicke further states, according to tradition, “Peter was put to death in Rome shortly after the great fire of A.D. 64” (p. 6). Guthrie agrees saying, “Peter went to Rome (‘Babylon’ at 1 Pet. 5:13) and died as a martyr there under Nero. He was later called a founder (with Paul) and a bishop of the church in Rome, but it is unlikely he was recognized as either during his lifetime.“ Likewise, Guthrie attributes Paul’s death to Nero’s persecution of Christians in Rome in 64 AD, “not with the apostle’s case that began in Jerusalem” (p. 818).
Michael P. Middendorf, in Called by the Gospel, also agrees with this train of thought. He first acknowledges there was some violence against Christians in Jerusalem during the revolt (68-72 AD), but looks at the oppression of the church in Rome under Nero as the “only known persecution of Christians.” He then tells his readers that Paul and Peter were likely put to death during this time and there is historical evidence to suggest that some Christians submitted to the authorities by “betraying other Christians.” Middendorf closes this part of his commentary by imagining himself among the survivors in Rome and saying they would be inflicted with uncertainty, indecision, and fear. In addition, he tells his readers, “The gospel likely was written during or shortly after Nero’s persecution and the deaths of Peter and Paul” (p. 267).
In the NIV Bible Commentary Walter W. Wessel also arrives at a later date for Mark’s Gospel. He is as blunt as he suggests Mark is when he says: "Evidence within the gospel seems to support a date for the gospel after Peter’s death in A.D. 64. Mark is very frank in pointing out the failures of Peter—a frankness more easily understood if Peter had already been martyred and had achieved a leading place in the affection of the early church. No recitation of his past failures could then threaten his high position. It could, however, be used to encourage and strengthen a suffering church, itself facing martyrdom" (p. 137).
Stopping to consider this, I can see what Wessel means about Peter. After all, Peter is a leader, perhaps the leader among the 12. No doubt his leadership would come to the forefront no matter the group he was with. He would for this and other reasons, such as knowledge and his love for God, be well respected at the church in Rome. Accordingly, he stands out, so does his humanity (sinful nature), like when he speaks out against the very thought of his Jesus going to the cross. It is not one of Peter’s best moments when Jesus must reproach him, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mark 8:33). Certainly this can serve to encourage and strengthen a suffering church. For example, they would understand, that if anyone of us was to stand next to the Son of God, like Peter did, that person would fall well short of His glory just like Peter. It would not be an occasion to look down on Peter, but a time to look up to God. They can also see that to have the mind of Christ is to set one’s mind on the Kingdom of Heaven, not the desires of the flesh. Here, too, they see that Christ did not waiver in His God-given mission. His mind was set on the cross. Although He did not want to drink from this cup of God’s wrath, He was willing to endure the suffering, the shame, and the pain to remain faithful to His calling, to save His people.
These were troubled times and the last days of Paul and Peter, and the time when Mark’s faith was tested by fire, literally and spiritually. After Mark saw or became aware of the death of his beloved mentors and the persecution his fellow Christians and the church in Rome, he knew he had a story to tell, one he learned from Peter. We know that story as the Gospel of Saint Mark.
Before I continue, I mean the community of Bible scholars no disrespect. That they examine Holy Scripture to enhance the understanding of all without adding to or subtracting from God’s Word is a good thing. On the other hand, that they build elaborate theories around Scripture to “prove” how many authors “really” wrote the book of Isaiah, or where Matthew got his material can cause some to doubt or even extend the grey areas found in their theories to Scripture itself, so I draw a line.
No matter the theories the community of Biblical scholars present themselves with surrounding the Bible, we know they come from the imagination of men, not the Word of God. While we can put together timelines from historical facts like Nero and the destruction of the Second Temple, we cannot say with certainty that Mark wrote his Gospel years ahead of Matthew, so that Matthew and Luke could have copied from him. In fact, the timeline I pieced together from the historical data and Bible verses listed above could just as easily suggest Matthew and Mark wrote their Gospels independently of each other in the latter half of the first century, and by the standards of the day, worlds apart. Moreover, if Middendorf is correct in his assessment: “The gospel likely was written during or shortly after Nero’s persecution” (p. 267, my emphasis), and Nero took his own life to avoid being assassinated in 68 AD the odds of my suggestion being correct greatly increase and does great harm to the Markan Hypothesis.
Moving forward I want to keep in mind that Mark more than likely wrote his Gospel after his mentors, Paul and Peter, were executed during Nero’s persecution of the Christians at Rome, or shortly after, and the surviving church in that area and at that time, not years before or later, was his primary audience. This coincides with Middendorf’s understanding of why Mark wrote his Gospel “The preaching of Peter was crafted into a gospel for such a time and place” (p. 267). Rome was the place and the time was when Christians were being persecuted and executed for their faith.
Like the other Gospels and larger books in the Bible, Mark’s instructions to the Church cover a lot of themes. Early in the first half of Mark we see four themes are clear: 1) Jesus is the Son of God, 2) with Divine Powers, and 3) Jesus is the Son of Man—thus Jesus is both True God and True Man—and 4) there is resistance to Jesus from the scribes, Pharisees, and the Herodians.
Mark starts by announcing that Jesus is the Son of God (1:1) and then tells his readers that God Himself said these very words about Jesus, “You are my beloved Son” (v. 11). By the 21st verse we learn Jesus has the power to heal a man with an unclean spirit, “He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (v. 27). Before the chapter ends Jesus has selected His first disciples and we hear several more times that Jesus healed and preached and cast out demons to the point that the “people were coming to him from every quarter” (v. 45).
This continues through chapter 2 and into chapter 3 where additional disciples are called, and we are told “Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” In chapter 4 Mark shares a few of Jesus parables and then teaches his Roman readers Jesus can even control nature, “even the wind and the sea obey him” (v. 41).
Before looking at chapter 5, I want to share some insight from Wicke. He writes in his introduction to Mark’s Gospel that Mark’s readers were Gentiles that needed him to “translate all Aramaic expressions and to explain Hebrew customs.” In addition, Mark uses “Latin words and expressions” that would be improper if he was writing to a church outside of Italy (p. 3).
There is such a translation in chapter 5, after we see that Jesus’ power is so strong that a woman is healed just by reaching out to touch His robe (vv. 28-29). But more than that, Mark tells his readers, who have be under persecution and lived in the fear of death, and perhaps knew people that had died for their faith that Jesus has power over death. He can resurrect the dead! The Son of God said, “’Talitha cumi,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ And immediately the girl got up and began walking.” As you can imagine, Mark tells us that the witnesses that doubted Christ’s Divine Power “were immediately overcome with amazement” (vv. 41-42).
In chapter 6 there is a slight shift in themes. In previous chapters we have seen continued resistance to Jesus, especially when He performs a miracle, but the theme of resistance comes more front and center when Jesus is rejected by His hometown of Nazareth, we are told, “[Jesus] marveled because of their unbelief” (v. 6). A second story of resistance is the death of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Son of Man. John was a prophet of God. His imprisonment was no less than religious persecution, so, too, was his execution (v. 27). Contrary to the unbelief of the town of Nazareth, John died in his belief. In addition, there are more signs of Jesus’ Divine Power as He heals more people, feeds the 5000, and walks on water. These signs continue throughout chapter 7.
More signs and wonders and interaction with the Pharisees continue in chapter 8, as well as Peter’s confession of Christ. There is also a major shift here has Jesus openly prepares to go to the cross. This message is meant for all people and all times but is especially important for Mark’s primary audience, right here (Rome) and right now (that they suffer strong persecution).
In many forms, veiled and unveiled, the message of the cross is found in all four Gospels and much of the Bible. We see a hint of things to come in Mark 2:19 where Jesus identifies Himself as the Bridegroom. In verse 20 He adds, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them.” This is an obvious (though veiled at the time) reference to the arrest, trial, and execution of the Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world.
There is no message more important than the message of the cross, especially for a people that suffer through persecution for Christ’s sake, as is the case in Rome. Unlike the Gospel of Matthew, Mark’s Gospel does not have the literal words of the Beatitudes, but the spirit of the words are here. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
The message of the cross is not just about Jesus, His pain and suffering, and what He did and continues to do for us, redeem and sustain us, it is also about what He does through us. With His help we can pick up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). This was an important message 2000 years ago for the persecuted church in Rome, as well as persecuted churches in Muslim and other oppressive countries today.
While Mark continues to enlighten his readers with all aspects of Jesus’ life and Christian living, Christ’s Death at the hands of those who hated and persecuted Him and His Resurrection becomes recurring themes in the latter half of his Gospel, so that we see them openly proclaimed in the 8th, 9th, and 10th chapters. Chapter 11 starts Holy Week, which means Mark’s final 6 chapters are dedicated to Christ’s Passion, Death, and the Resurrection.
What a fabulous message for the church in Rome! Are you suffering? Do you feel persecuted? Are you weak and heavy laden? Take it to the Lord in prayer, of course. But stop and read the latter half of Mark’s Gospel, too. You will feel strength and will be encouraged. And you will give Him the glory. Amen.
In closing, this week’s Short Report provided ample information about Mark and his relationship with Paul and Peter. It also debunked Biblical Criticism of the Synoptic Gospels, chiefly the belief held by some that Matthew used Mark’s Gospel when writing his own. Then, it looked at several of the themes in Mark’s account of Jesus’ life, including persecution and how Jesus was an example for the Christians living in Rome during Nero’s persecution of the Church.
Biblical Criticism is, unfortunately, something Bible reading Christians run into whether they sit in the pew, stand at the pulpit, teach in the seminary, or write the commentaries and handbooks we refer to in order to gain more insight on a Bible book or subject. Not surprisingly, Biblical Criticism takes a few shots at the Gospels. One theory (the Markan or two-source hypothesis), is that Mark was written early and the other Gospel writers copied from him, but that is ridiculous. First and foremost, all Scripture is written by the inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16), that alone renders many of these man-made theories as nonsense.
Second, Matthew, one of the 12 and an apostle, had no reason to copy from Mark, who was a student of Peter, and to a lesser degree of Paul. In week 40, for instance, we showed that Matthew was not only an eyewitness to Jesus’ 3 year mission, he was educated and probably wrote in shorthand in order to be a tax collector that kept exact records for the Roman Government. Such a man may have kept records of his time with Jesus for the pure enjoyment of record keeping, much as an artist may sketch an idea on paper before painting a masterpiece on canvas. Third, because Matthew, who wrote his Gospel from Jerusalem to the Jews, does not reference the destruction of the Temple (70 AD) and Mark, who wrote to Christians from Rome after Paul and Peter were martyred (c. 64-66 AD), there is little time in a world before the printing press and modern forms of travel for Matthew to acquire a copy of Mark’s Gospel for his personal library so he could “borrow” information from it to write his own Gospel. Again, the whole ideal is nonsense.
The Eerdmans Bible Commentary says, “In fixing the date of the second Gospel, opinion differs widely within the limits of 35 years from AD 40 to 75. But it is now almost universally agreed that Mark’s Gospel is the earliest of the four” (Guthrie, 851). Such an early date is utterly ridiculous . One reason is Mark, also called John or John Mark (Acts 12:12), lacked maturity to the point where he turned away from Paul and Barnabas on Paul’s first missionary journey (13:13) so that Paul would not allow Mark to travel with him on his second mission (15:37-39) (50 AD).
In Halley’s Bible Handbook, Halley writes, “About 62 A.D. Mark appears in Rome with Paul (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). 4 or 5 years still later, Paul, just before martyrdom, is asking Mark to come to him (II Timothy 4:11). Thus, it seems that Mark, in his later years, became one of Paul’s intimate and beloved helpers” (p. 457).
We can come to an understanding then, that while Mark found missionary work too difficult in his youth with Paul, he grew under Peter’s tutelage. In fact, in 1 Peter 5:13 Peter calls Mark his spiritual son and references Babylon. My first thought was to turn to the General Epistles - People’s Bible Commentary for an answer to what Peter was saying, but Mark A. Jaske overlooks the verse to the point of leaving this part of Scripture (1 Peter 5:12-14) out of his commentary. Thus he covers the whole book, minus the last 3 verses.
Halley provides an answer saying it is code for Rome and explains, “In those times of persecution, Christians, for prudence’s sake, had to be careful how they spoke of the ruling power” (pp. 662-663).
Harold E. Wicke, in Mark - People’s Bible Commentary, supports that answer when he writes, “Mark surfaces again with Peter in Rome. The situation is an entirely different one. Peter—writing from “Babylon” to the Christians…sends greetings from the Roman congregation” (p. 6).
The ruling power was Nero, Emperor of Rome until 68 AD. Many Romans believed he was responsible for the Great Fire of Rome. Wikipedia reports, “He was said to have seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and burned them alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice but by personal cruelty.” We are also told he committed suicide “when he learned that he had been tried in absentia [while not present] and condemned to death as a public enemy.”
Wicke further states, according to tradition, “Peter was put to death in Rome shortly after the great fire of A.D. 64” (p. 6). Guthrie agrees saying, “Peter went to Rome (‘Babylon’ at 1 Pet. 5:13) and died as a martyr there under Nero. He was later called a founder (with Paul) and a bishop of the church in Rome, but it is unlikely he was recognized as either during his lifetime.“ Likewise, Guthrie attributes Paul’s death to Nero’s persecution of Christians in Rome in 64 AD, “not with the apostle’s case that began in Jerusalem” (p. 818).
Michael P. Middendorf, in Called by the Gospel, also agrees with this train of thought. He first acknowledges there was some violence against Christians in Jerusalem during the revolt (68-72 AD), but looks at the oppression of the church in Rome under Nero as the “only known persecution of Christians.” He then tells his readers that Paul and Peter were likely put to death during this time and there is historical evidence to suggest that some Christians submitted to the authorities by “betraying other Christians.” Middendorf closes this part of his commentary by imagining himself among the survivors in Rome and saying they would be inflicted with uncertainty, indecision, and fear. In addition, he tells his readers, “The gospel likely was written during or shortly after Nero’s persecution and the deaths of Peter and Paul” (p. 267).
In the NIV Bible Commentary Walter W. Wessel also arrives at a later date for Mark’s Gospel. He is as blunt as he suggests Mark is when he says: "Evidence within the gospel seems to support a date for the gospel after Peter’s death in A.D. 64. Mark is very frank in pointing out the failures of Peter—a frankness more easily understood if Peter had already been martyred and had achieved a leading place in the affection of the early church. No recitation of his past failures could then threaten his high position. It could, however, be used to encourage and strengthen a suffering church, itself facing martyrdom" (p. 137).
Stopping to consider this, I can see what Wessel means about Peter. After all, Peter is a leader, perhaps the leader among the 12. No doubt his leadership would come to the forefront no matter the group he was with. He would for this and other reasons, such as knowledge and his love for God, be well respected at the church in Rome. Accordingly, he stands out, so does his humanity (sinful nature), like when he speaks out against the very thought of his Jesus going to the cross. It is not one of Peter’s best moments when Jesus must reproach him, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mark 8:33). Certainly this can serve to encourage and strengthen a suffering church. For example, they would understand, that if anyone of us was to stand next to the Son of God, like Peter did, that person would fall well short of His glory just like Peter. It would not be an occasion to look down on Peter, but a time to look up to God. They can also see that to have the mind of Christ is to set one’s mind on the Kingdom of Heaven, not the desires of the flesh. Here, too, they see that Christ did not waiver in His God-given mission. His mind was set on the cross. Although He did not want to drink from this cup of God’s wrath, He was willing to endure the suffering, the shame, and the pain to remain faithful to His calling, to save His people.
These were troubled times and the last days of Paul and Peter, and the time when Mark’s faith was tested by fire, literally and spiritually. After Mark saw or became aware of the death of his beloved mentors and the persecution his fellow Christians and the church in Rome, he knew he had a story to tell, one he learned from Peter. We know that story as the Gospel of Saint Mark.
Before I continue, I mean the community of Bible scholars no disrespect. That they examine Holy Scripture to enhance the understanding of all without adding to or subtracting from God’s Word is a good thing. On the other hand, that they build elaborate theories around Scripture to “prove” how many authors “really” wrote the book of Isaiah, or where Matthew got his material can cause some to doubt or even extend the grey areas found in their theories to Scripture itself, so I draw a line.
No matter the theories the community of Biblical scholars present themselves with surrounding the Bible, we know they come from the imagination of men, not the Word of God. While we can put together timelines from historical facts like Nero and the destruction of the Second Temple, we cannot say with certainty that Mark wrote his Gospel years ahead of Matthew, so that Matthew and Luke could have copied from him. In fact, the timeline I pieced together from the historical data and Bible verses listed above could just as easily suggest Matthew and Mark wrote their Gospels independently of each other in the latter half of the first century, and by the standards of the day, worlds apart. Moreover, if Middendorf is correct in his assessment: “The gospel likely was written during or shortly after Nero’s persecution” (p. 267, my emphasis), and Nero took his own life to avoid being assassinated in 68 AD the odds of my suggestion being correct greatly increase and does great harm to the Markan Hypothesis.
Moving forward I want to keep in mind that Mark more than likely wrote his Gospel after his mentors, Paul and Peter, were executed during Nero’s persecution of the Christians at Rome, or shortly after, and the surviving church in that area and at that time, not years before or later, was his primary audience. This coincides with Middendorf’s understanding of why Mark wrote his Gospel “The preaching of Peter was crafted into a gospel for such a time and place” (p. 267). Rome was the place and the time was when Christians were being persecuted and executed for their faith.
Like the other Gospels and larger books in the Bible, Mark’s instructions to the Church cover a lot of themes. Early in the first half of Mark we see four themes are clear: 1) Jesus is the Son of God, 2) with Divine Powers, and 3) Jesus is the Son of Man—thus Jesus is both True God and True Man—and 4) there is resistance to Jesus from the scribes, Pharisees, and the Herodians.
Mark starts by announcing that Jesus is the Son of God (1:1) and then tells his readers that God Himself said these very words about Jesus, “You are my beloved Son” (v. 11). By the 21st verse we learn Jesus has the power to heal a man with an unclean spirit, “He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (v. 27). Before the chapter ends Jesus has selected His first disciples and we hear several more times that Jesus healed and preached and cast out demons to the point that the “people were coming to him from every quarter” (v. 45).
This continues through chapter 2 and into chapter 3 where additional disciples are called, and we are told “Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” In chapter 4 Mark shares a few of Jesus parables and then teaches his Roman readers Jesus can even control nature, “even the wind and the sea obey him” (v. 41).
Before looking at chapter 5, I want to share some insight from Wicke. He writes in his introduction to Mark’s Gospel that Mark’s readers were Gentiles that needed him to “translate all Aramaic expressions and to explain Hebrew customs.” In addition, Mark uses “Latin words and expressions” that would be improper if he was writing to a church outside of Italy (p. 3).
There is such a translation in chapter 5, after we see that Jesus’ power is so strong that a woman is healed just by reaching out to touch His robe (vv. 28-29). But more than that, Mark tells his readers, who have be under persecution and lived in the fear of death, and perhaps knew people that had died for their faith that Jesus has power over death. He can resurrect the dead! The Son of God said, “’Talitha cumi,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ And immediately the girl got up and began walking.” As you can imagine, Mark tells us that the witnesses that doubted Christ’s Divine Power “were immediately overcome with amazement” (vv. 41-42).
In chapter 6 there is a slight shift in themes. In previous chapters we have seen continued resistance to Jesus, especially when He performs a miracle, but the theme of resistance comes more front and center when Jesus is rejected by His hometown of Nazareth, we are told, “[Jesus] marveled because of their unbelief” (v. 6). A second story of resistance is the death of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Son of Man. John was a prophet of God. His imprisonment was no less than religious persecution, so, too, was his execution (v. 27). Contrary to the unbelief of the town of Nazareth, John died in his belief. In addition, there are more signs of Jesus’ Divine Power as He heals more people, feeds the 5000, and walks on water. These signs continue throughout chapter 7.
More signs and wonders and interaction with the Pharisees continue in chapter 8, as well as Peter’s confession of Christ. There is also a major shift here has Jesus openly prepares to go to the cross. This message is meant for all people and all times but is especially important for Mark’s primary audience, right here (Rome) and right now (that they suffer strong persecution).
In many forms, veiled and unveiled, the message of the cross is found in all four Gospels and much of the Bible. We see a hint of things to come in Mark 2:19 where Jesus identifies Himself as the Bridegroom. In verse 20 He adds, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them.” This is an obvious (though veiled at the time) reference to the arrest, trial, and execution of the Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world.
There is no message more important than the message of the cross, especially for a people that suffer through persecution for Christ’s sake, as is the case in Rome. Unlike the Gospel of Matthew, Mark’s Gospel does not have the literal words of the Beatitudes, but the spirit of the words are here. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
The message of the cross is not just about Jesus, His pain and suffering, and what He did and continues to do for us, redeem and sustain us, it is also about what He does through us. With His help we can pick up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). This was an important message 2000 years ago for the persecuted church in Rome, as well as persecuted churches in Muslim and other oppressive countries today.
While Mark continues to enlighten his readers with all aspects of Jesus’ life and Christian living, Christ’s Death at the hands of those who hated and persecuted Him and His Resurrection becomes recurring themes in the latter half of his Gospel, so that we see them openly proclaimed in the 8th, 9th, and 10th chapters. Chapter 11 starts Holy Week, which means Mark’s final 6 chapters are dedicated to Christ’s Passion, Death, and the Resurrection.
What a fabulous message for the church in Rome! Are you suffering? Do you feel persecuted? Are you weak and heavy laden? Take it to the Lord in prayer, of course. But stop and read the latter half of Mark’s Gospel, too. You will feel strength and will be encouraged. And you will give Him the glory. Amen.
In closing, this week’s Short Report provided ample information about Mark and his relationship with Paul and Peter. It also debunked Biblical Criticism of the Synoptic Gospels, chiefly the belief held by some that Matthew used Mark’s Gospel when writing his own. Then, it looked at several of the themes in Mark’s account of Jesus’ life, including persecution and how Jesus was an example for the Christians living in Rome during Nero’s persecution of the Church.