31 avsnitt
Mark: He Came to Serve Ray C. Stedman
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- Religion och spiritualitet
The Gospel of Mark, the second book in the New Testament, is 16 short chapters long, the briefest of all the Gospels, and therefore easy to read in one sitting. Its brevity is probably the reason it is the most often translated book of the New Testament. The Wycliffe translators, I understand, almost invariably begin their translation work with the Gospel of Mark because it is so short and gives the whole story in one brief compass.
This Gospel has a completely different atmosphere from the Gospel of Matthew. If you go on to read Luke and John, you will see that they are still different from Matthew and Mark, Matthew, Mark and Luke are more similar to each other than any of these three are to the Gospel of John. Nevertheless, they are all different.
There is a reason for this, designed deliberately by the Holy Spirit. We make a mistake if we think these four Gospels are four biographies of the Lord. They are not biographies at all, they are character sketches, intended to be different, intended to present different points of view. Therefore, they constitute four distinct views of our Lord and of his work.
The Gospel of Matthew is written to present Christ as the King. The Gospel of Mark presents his character as a servant. The Gospel of Luke presents him as the Son of man -- as man in his essential humanity. The Gospel of John presents him as the Son of God, that is, his deity, and there you find the greatest claims for his deity.
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A Day in the Life of Jesus (Mark 1:16-39)
It is a popular literary style today to trace through the events of one day in the life of a person. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has given us a remarkable book in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Perhaps you have read some of Jim Bishop's books, like The Day Kennedy Died or The Day Lincoln Died.There is something similar in the gospel of Mark, as Mark traces for us A Day in the Life of Jesus.
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By What Authority? (Mark 11:27 - 12:27)
In our study of our Lord's visit to Jerusalem -- that last, climactic and fatal week of his life -- we see the Lord in confrontation with various authorities of the area. He is dealing with the central issue of all time, the basic question of everyone's life: What is the final authority of life? Should I obey the state, or should I obey my conscience? Which is higher, the church, or the secular government? Should I walk by reason or by faith? Should I follow science or religion? These are questions every one of us must face, and we are helped greatly by the words of our Lord in this account.
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Do you Not Yet Understand? (Mark 7:31 - 8:21)
In the section of his Gospel we have been studying, Mark is dealing with our Lord's training of the twelve disciples, as he seeks to instruct them who he is. Last time we saw how he left the nation of Israel and went into Gentile regions, into Tyre and Sidon on the coast of Palestine. In the passage we come to now there is further ministry among the Gentiles. Perhaps it is startling to realize that Jesus spent almost a third of his three-year ministry among Gentiles. This fact has been obscured by the emphasis upon his ministry among the Jews. But obviously he was seeking to impart to his disciples some sense of his mission and ministry to the Gentile world as well as to the Jews.
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False Forces (Mark 3:7-35)
We are beginning the third natural division of the first half of Mark's wonderful picture of the Servant who rules and the Ruler who serves. We have seen that the first division describes the authority of the servant -- the tremendous command Jesus exercised in many realms. The second division brought before us his knowledge of our humanity -- the penetrating, incisive understanding of man Jesus exhibited.
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Jesus Came (Mark 1:9-15)
We are studying Mark's record of what happened when Jesus came to Israel. Those two little words, "Jesus came," are always a formula for dramatic and radical change. I spent a delightful evening this week listening to a man tell about what happened in his life -- the changes in his home and family -- when Jesus came into his heart.
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Jesus and the Priests (Mark 14:53-72)
These studies in Mark's gospel have taken us to the action packed week of our Lord just before the cross and the resurrection. To some of you, these events that occurred 2,000 years ago and so far away may seem rather remote from your own experience. Sometimes we are so caught up in our daily lives that these events seem rather dull because of their familiarity, especially in contrast to the exciting events of this week, such as the capture of Patty Hearst, the continuing trend of inflation, the events of the Middle East, and the visit of the President to our community. But all these current events will be nothing but a dim memory ten years from now. Just think back to the things that were happening ten years ago and how unimportant they seem to us now. Little will be changed by what happened to us this week.