Christianity: Major Gospel Part 2 Series
Religion: Christianity Part 2 – The Gospel of Mark
Mark the Evangelist is also known as John Mark, named in the Acts of the Apostles as an assistant accompanying Paul and Barnabas in their missionary journeys and the writer of the Gospel, according to Mark. He was also known as Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, and was known as Peter’s interpreter in transliterating the Aramaic language to Greek. He also transliterates Paul’s speeches and writings. Mark’s knowledge about Jesus Christ could probably come from Peter, and as a disciple, he may have gained knowledge of the teachings of the Lord Jesus. When Mark walked with Paul on his journeys, he may also have learned about Paul’s newfound religion, which caused Barnabas to split from him (Paul).
We can not avoid raising the question of why Paul’s preaching differed from the Gospel of Jesus and the Apostles after the ascension of Jesus Christ. Paul’s Gospel (Romans 2.16, 16.25) differed from the Gospel of Jesus, and the Apostles is another study that we should focus on. Jesus’ teaching was about the Kingdom and the Father that sent him, while Paul’s Gospel focused on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ because of our sins—1 Corinthians 15.1-4
Mark’s Gospel was more focused on the gentile audience. Mark was more curious and was inspired by Paul’s preachings to the gentiles. When Peter started to preach to the gentiles in Rome, and Mark, after learning that gentiles were easy to receive the Gospel than the jews, Mark joined Peter. Mark, unlike Matthew, who concentrated on preaching and writing to the Jews, randomly referenced the Old Testament. Mark did not link the genealogy of the Jewishness of Jesus but instead began with Jesus’ baptism, his ministry, and the Old Testament prophecy regarding the coming messenger—the Messiah who was preached by Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist—”prepare the way for the Lord” (Mark 1:3, Old Testament source- Isaiah 40:3).
Jesus was obedient to the Old Testament, and a few passages were recorded in Mark’s Gospel. Mark 7:6, Jesus rebuked the way the Pharisees worship God with hypocrisy. We must worship God in spirit and truth, not from our mouths but from our hearts. God sees our hearts and not the noise made by our lips. We must listen with our heart and not the desire of our flesh; if we are hardhearted individuals, the Holy Spirit will grieve, and not allowing Him (Holy Spirit) to use us could lead to blasphemy. Our faith is measured by how we work, with our responsibility being Christians to help the poor, and God will provide you with more abundant blessing; God promised, “I will bless those who bless you.” Save the lost souls back to God. God wants us to be united with Him and not divided and scattered—Mark 14:27.
Our body is the temple of God, and we should keep our hearts pure without blemish, and our hands must be free from wicked work—Mark 11:15-17; our LORD must be the center of our faith; we call on the name of the LORD, remember we are the church and the not the building that we gathered once a week but free every day of the week to call on the name of the LORD. Mark 12:10-11. The following are the few Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus Christ used and Mark recorded in his Gospel: Isaiah 29:13, Zechariah 13:7, Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11, Psalm 118:22-23.
The Gospel, according to Mark, portrays Jesus as a Servant, the One sent by God, who felt more pain when he was rejected than when he was mocked and humiliated on the way to the cross. He served us his life to complete the plan of our salvation. When he said, “it’s finished,” he turned over the responsibility for us to do what he did. Love God and love one another, the two commandments that will bring peaceful living on this earth and a joyful one in eternity. We do not need to have money to love God, and we do not need money to love our neighbors. Money can buy many things, but we can never buy the love of God. We are servants (Ministers) of the Gospel and do not look to be rewarded with money in exchange but for all of us to be great in the kingdom of God. Jesus laid down His life for us to be free from the slavery of sins so that we can be reconciled to God, our Father.
God is all in all.