The Gospel of Mark paints an important portrait of Jesus as Israel’s promised Messiah. Mark’s account also makes clear how Jesus’ kingship confounds public expectations by emphasizing his humility, suffering, and sacrifice. This accessible guide is filled with wise reflections on the biblical text and helps us understand what vibrant faith and authentic discipleship look like as we follow a rejected king.
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“What is the gospel? Mark explains that it is the good news of the fulfillment of God’s promises, and the rest of Mark will show how Jesus fulfills yet transforms Old Testament hopes, especially the hope for a coming king.” (Page 11)
“Another layer of meaning, however, connects the title ‘Son of God’ in Mark 1:1 with a whole-Bible trajectory. Adam was ‘the son of God’ (Luke 3:38). Adam failed, however, to walk in obedience to God. God later called Israel to be his ‘son,’ and the Bible even describes God as calling Israel his ‘firstborn’ (Ex. 4:22–23). Yet Israel, too, failed. Jesus, however, was the final Son of God, the true Firstborn, the Son who succeeded where all others had failed (Mark 1:11). Because of his obedient sonship, God is pleased to adopt into his own family those who are united to the Son by faith (Rom. 8:14–17; Heb. 2:10). Mark 1 taps into this whole-Bible theme.” (Page 16)
“Matthew focuses on Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, Luke describes Jesus as the one who welcomes the outsider, and John emphasizes Jesus as the eternal Son of God, Mark focuses on Jesus as the one who ushers in the kingdom of God.” (Page 8)
“To put it in terms of the healing of the leper: The only truly ‘clean’ man who ever lived became unclean on the cross so that you and I, unclean, can be freely cleansed by simply asking for it. Or, as Paul would put it, God ‘made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Cor. 5:21).” (Page 23)
“This is reinforced in Mark 1:3, where ‘prepare the way of the Lord’ (Isa. 40:3) originally referred to Yahweh but is applied by Mark to Jesus. The New Testament teaches that Jesus is included in the divine identity (1 Cor. 8:6; Rom. 9:5; Col. 1:15–20; Heb. 1:3). While there are distinctions of persons within the one Godhead, Jesus Christ is as much God as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.” (Page 16)