Read through the Gospels in a Year: Mark 1:1-8
Read the New Testament in a Year: 1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Mark is the shortest Gospel. It covers three weeks of Jesus’ actions and twenty minutes of his words. It is the liveliest Gospel; it races from event to event with an air of breathless excitement. It is the urgent announcement of the good news of Jesus Christ.
The fact that Mark wrote with the Romans in mind helps us understand his style and approach. The emphasis in this gospel is on activity. Mark describes Jesus as He busily moves from place to place and meets the physical and spiritual needs of all kinds of people. One of Mark’s favorite words is “straightway,” meaning “immediately.” He uses it forty-one times. Mark does not record many of our Lord’s sermons because his emphasis is on what Jesus did rather than what Jesus said. He reveals Jesus as God’s Servant, sent to minister to suffering people and to die for the sins of the world. Mark gives us no account of our Lord’s birth, nor does he record a genealogy, unnecessary in
regard to a servant.
Recent Comments