Laws Publishing

MARK: AN OVERVIEW

JIM LAWS

Mark gives us a picture of Jesus as the faithful Servant of God. It is for that reason the book tells us so much about the work and activity of the Lord. It brings to mind the statement about the Lord from the book of Acts, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him" (Acts 10:38). The work of Jesus proves who he was. For that reason there is no genealogy, as in Matthew, nor is there an account of the birth of Christ. Mark arrives in chapter one what Matthew takes eight chapters to cover. Omitting portions of what Jesus said, Mark gives the work of the Lord special emphasis. It comes as no surprise that the key word of the book of Mark is the word "eutheos" most often translated "straightway, immediately, forthwith." This is a word that particularly applied to a servant, found about eighty times in the New Testament; it occurs in Mark alone about forty times. Since that is the case, Mark 10:45 is a helpful verse in understanding this aspect of the work of the Lord, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Therefore, one is justified in saying that the book of Mark is the presentation of Jesus as the tirelessly, working Servant of Jehovah. He is the man of action and power. That is why Mark does not discuss the Lord's childhood or youth, for these things are not important in the account of a servant's life.

The book itself may be outline in a variety of ways; however, it falls neatly into six major divisions. First, Mark presents an introduction (1:1-13); the second section emerges presenting the Lord's work in preaching in eastern Galilee (1:14-7:23). The third section reveals Christ's ministry in northern Galilee (7:24-9:50). Section four presents Jesus in Perea (10:1-31); section five reveals Christ's last journey to Jerusalem and his death (10:32-15:47). Then, there is the final section of the book, which discusses the Lord's resurrection and ascension (16:1-20).

Because Mark 10:45 speaks so directly to the matter of service, it has been called by many the key verse to the book of Mark. It comes within the context of our Lord's journey to Jerusalem (Mark 10:1-52). It gives us insight as to the true nature of discipleship. The passage is saying that the meaning of discipleship is not privilege, as we would first suppose, but rather, service, and Jesus exemplifies the type of service that disciples should have.

Mark 10:45 also mentions the ultimate act of service, giving one's life as a ransom for many. The idea that Jesus gave his life as a ransom is mentioned not only here in Mark, but in other passages, as well. Paul refers to Jesus as the one "who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (I Tim. 2:6). Galatians 6:4 states, "Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God our Father." John makes the statement, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). This is the ultimate act of God's servant. It is God's way of saying that Christ is God's action to rescue people, who are helpless to save themselves from the power of sin. Mark presents the Christ as God's suffering servant who came, not to be ministered to, but to minister -- even to the extent of giving his life for mankind on the cross. In doing this, Jesus gives great dignity to service.

 MARK continued

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