The BOOK – Servant of God

When you read the Gospel of Mark, we can easily determine its objective – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” – Mark 10:45. Mark was not trying to prove certain statements and prophecies concerning Jesus. His only object in writing was to tell clearly certain facts about Jesus: That Jesus is the Son of God. He proves this not by declaring how he came to earth, but by showing what he accomplished during His brief period on this earth.

John, whose surname was Mark, is the writer of this Gospel (Acts 12:12,25). He was the son of Mary, and cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). He accompanied Paul and Barnabas to Antioch and was the cause of a serious disagreement between them (Acts 12:25; 13:5). Finally he became a great help to Paul (Colossians 4:10-11; 2 Timothy 4:11).

There is no introduction in Mark. The other Gospels have lengthy openings, but there is none in Mark. The opening verse says, “Gospel of Jesus Christ”. He adds, “Son of God”, to show Christ’s divine glory. Miracles have a leading place in Mark, as parables have in Mathew. Twenty miracles are given in Mark in detail. These miracles of Jesus were proof of his mission from God. Through his miracles, Jesus inspired faith in many of those who saw and heard him.

An important thing we find in Mark 1:35 is about Prayer. “He arose very early and went out of the city to a lonely place and prayed”. If the son of God needed to pray before he undertook his work, how much more should we pray. Perhaps if we lack success in life, it is because we fail at this point.

From Mark 8:31 to Mark 15:47, we see Christ’s direct claim to be King and the suffering and rejection he had to go through because of that. Jesus tells his disciples that he is to be rejected by elders, chief priests and scribes (Mark 8:31), he is to be delivered by treachery (Mark 9:31), he is to be put to death by the Romans (Mark 10:32-45), and he is to rise again the third day (Mark 9:31).

In Mark 16, we see Christ being exalted and his words that his disciples are to take his place, and he will serve in and through them (Mark 16:20). The command rings with urgency of service. Not a corner of the world is to be left unvisited; not a soul to be left out.

The greatest sin of every age is the rejection of Jesus Christ. Everyone who had heard the Gospel must either accept the Lord as Saviour or trample him underfoot. There are people who made their choices right by accepting him. But the ones who accepted him should show his characteristics.

I pray that you accept Christ and live with his fruits and gifts to bring others to salvation.