Mark
Key Learnings Sunday School
May 2024 - Present
The Gospel According to Mark
Mark's glad news of salvation is, based on the contextual evidence, said to be written for a Gentile readership. For example Mark seldom refers to the Old Testament, and he explains Jewish things. For Mark, Jesus proves himself to be the Christ, God's Son, by his mighty teaching and deeds and then by teaching and enduring the Passion which is followed by the Resurrection.
Mark Introduction
- John Mark
• Missionary (Acts 12:25)
• Quitter (Acts 13:13)
• Cousin (Colossians 4:10)
• Companion (1Peter 5:13)
• Writer
• Naked Man (Mark 14:51-52)
Mark 1 Part 1
- John the Baptist - A Nazarite.Wore the attire of the old testament prophets.
- Baptism - to wash, to be set aside for a purpose.
• John the Baptist’s baptism was different from the sacrament of Baptism.
• Jesus’s Baptism, foreshadows the sacrament of Baptism. All three persons of the Trinity were present. Jesus was set aside, anointed to be Savior
• Holy Baptism - Means of Grace; Connects us to the Work of Christ; forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, gives eternal salvation. Set aside to be Children of God (1Peter 3:21)
• Baptism unto Moses - the people emerged from the waters of the Red Sea a new people, saved from slavery (1Corinthians 10:2).
Mark 1 Part 2
- Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15)
• The appearance of the Christ
• The good news is that word became flesh and dwelling among us.
- Kingdoms of God
• The Universe/creation (kingdom of power) [Psalms 103:19]
• The Church on earth (kingdom of grace) [John 3:5]
• The Church Triumphant (kingdom of glory) [2Timothy 4:18]
⁃ Saved by faith alone
⁃ Declarations of Divinity
• Forgiving of sins; accusation of blasphemy
• Son of Man - Messianic title; Greater than David
⁃ Sabbath
• Leisure; to celebrate with God
• We celebrate on Sundays because of Easter
• Gladly hear and learn God’s Word
⁃ The Pharisees (religious leaders) and the Herodians (civil leaders) team up against Jesus
⁃ Jesus’ family seeking to protect him?
⁃ Sins of man will be forgiven; sin against the Holy Spirit nope
• Rejecting the Holy Sprit; Whose work is to create faith
• Messianic message
• Demonic condemnation
⁃ Beelzebub - Lord of the Flies
Mark 4 Part 1
⁃ Parable of the Sower
• Comfort; not within our abilities to grow faith in others
• Revelation; not within our ability
Mark 4 Part 2
⁃ Parable of the Sower; God’s Word shared that creates faith
⁃ Parable of the Lamp; God’s Word to be heard and seen
⁃ Parable of the Growing Seed; God’s Word grows faith although we known not how
⁃ Parable of the Mustard Seed; God’s Word provides grace to include all nations
⁃ Account of Calming the Storm; Jesus, the Word of God, the object of our faith
⁃ Grace is all inclusive (men, women, and children)
⁃ Christ is the object of faith
⁃ No one (human) is beyond hope
- 9/10 Movie demons are all named Legion
- Demons know who Jesus is and yet do not have a plan of salvation
⁃ Trouble in understanding who Jesus is and what he is about
⁃ Reason can be an obstacle to faith
⁃ Typical reactions: astonishment, disturbance, amazement, fear
⁃ Jesus is the source of life, not John the Baptist or some other prophet
⁃ Faithfulness
⁃ Baptize: To wash with water: immersion, pouring, or sprinkling; to clean
⁃ Adiaphora: Things that are neither forbidden nor mandated by Scripture
⁃ Traditions are fine until we supersede them over Scripture - Our congregation has our own traditions.
⁃ Corban - Left untranslated;
• In context it is used as a condemnation of an apparent loophole to withhold resources for your own selfish gain.
⁃ Purpose of cleanness rules:
• Made access to the sanctuary possible
• Taught about impurity
• Taught about the holiness of God
⁃ Pharisees shifted the focus from what the rules taught to focusing on simply keeping them
- Cheap grace: Forgiveness without repentance. Using grace to justify our sins (c7)
Mark 8 Part 1
⁃ The key question is “Who is Jesus?”
⁃ Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees: Not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man
• Pharisees sought to “protect” the people
• Peter sought to “protect” Jesus
⁃ 1st notice of the Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection
Mark 8 Part 2
⁃ It is tempting for us to justify our actions within the context of the numbers instead of the context of the Cross
• Symbolic interpretation of numbers has little place in a sound system of hermeneutics
• The numbers seem to mean something but there isn’t enough context
⁃ Healing of the blind man is a microcosm of what is happening up to now
⁃ There will never be enough signs or proof for some
Mark 9 Part 2
⁃ Appearance of Moses and Elijah - Elijah who came was John the Baptist
⁃ 3rd and 4th warning about the Passion of the Christ
⁃ The object of our faith is Christ
⁃ Disciples focus shifts to themselves with predictable results
⁃ The impossibility of fulfilling the Law (cutting off hand, foot, and eye)
Mark 9 (Supplemental)
- Moses - Law; Jesus fulfills the Law
- Elijah - Prophecy; Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy
- Object of faith must be Christ Jesus and not on the strength of our belief in Him
- The power of prayer is God. Prayer in and of itself has no power.
- The squabble over greatness; What is the object of your faith?
- Jesus is all inclusive
Mark 10 Part 1
⁃ God accepts us by grace through faith in Jesus, not through obedience or status, just like children receive love they did not earn.
⁃ Another warning about the Passion of the Christ
⁃ Jewish Groups
• Sadducees - Levites, the priests
• Pharisees - Anyone, hedge builders around of the Law
• Scribes - Arbitrators in matters of the Law
⁃ Inerrancy of Scripture; Sola Scripture; without errors or contradictions, reliable
⁃ The Pharisee question of divorce
• Permissible over weak charges?
• Permissible only in shameful conduct?
• Marriage between a man and a woman
• Lifelong, committed relationship
Mark 10 Part 2
⁃ Child like faith - as children are dependent on their parents for survival, we are dependent on Christ for our salvation; a faith that receives
⁃ Childish faith is a baseless faith.
⁃ Saved by Faith Alone; You cannot buy your salvation neither can you obtain it by poverty. The feeble plans of men.
Mark 10 Part 2
⁃ Theology of the cross - God’s power is hidden in the form of weakness.
• Theology of the Cross is about Jesus.
• Theology of Glory is about you
⁃ Bartimaeus - the last healing mentioned in Mark
• Spiritually blind vs literally blind
• Object of faith must be in Christ
⁃ That Donkey: We are sent to preach to the stubborn
⁃ No salvation in the Law; Salvation only in the Gospel
⁃ If you say have Faith then your faith is producing fruit
• Fig Tree without fruit; a false faith
• A corrupted faith (Money Changers) = a dead faith
• Focus on the things of God
⁃ Will of God: Name Kept Holy among us; His Word taught correctly; That others may come to have faith; that we live godly lives.
Mark 12 Part 1
⁃ Parable of the Tenets
• Kill the servants (Prophets)
• Kill the Son (foreshadowing of Jesus death)
• Pharisees saw themselves as the tenets
Mark 12 Part 2
- Paying Taxes
• The Dilemma
• No then rebellion and the Roman's take action
• Yes then riots and the Roman's take action
• Give to God what is Gods
• Give to Caesar what is Caesars
- Asking about the Resurrection
• God is a God of the living
• There is a Resurrection
Mark 12 Part 3
⁃ The Great Commandment
• Love God, Love Neighbor
• Only Jesus kept the entire Law perfectly
• The kingdom of God is near, because here is Christ
⁃ Whose Son is the Christ
• Psalms 110
• Fully Man,Fully Divine
⁃ Beware of the Scribes
• Don’t be full of yourself
• Religious piety isn’t the same thing as faith
⁃ Widow’s Offering
• Giving out of Wealth or Poverty
• Wealth has a way of owning us
Mark 13 Part 1
⁃ The fall of the Temple in 70AD is used to date the New Testament being written prior to it’s sacking.
⁃ Amillenniaism - all the signs of the end times have been fulfilled.
⁃ Signs of the end times: False Messiahs; Wars and rumors of wars; Earthquakes; Famines; Gospel to be proclaimed to all nations
Mark 13 Part 2
⁃ The Abomination of Desolation
• NIV Commentary: Mark 13:14 most difficult verse in the NT to understand
• 168 BC false idols and swine sacrifices in the temple (Abomination)
• Christ’s crucifixion
• The fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD (end of temple sacrifices)
• A future event to come
⁃ Conviction of the Disciples all but one have a martyr’s death
• Charles Colson, President Nixon’s special council, converts to Christianity based on his experience in Watergate and the conviction of the Apostles
• Bartholomew was flayed alive - his religious icon has him holding his skin
⁃ The Lesson of the Figtree : The signs are there if you know what to look for.
⁃ Amillenniaism - Mark 13:30 - All the signs have been fulfilled.
⁃ This End Times chapter comes before the crucifixion as a means to prepare the reader for what is to come - The crucifixion of Christ.
Mark 14 Part 1
⁃ Sadducee and Scribes not, the Pharisees & Herodians implement the plot to kill Jesus.
• A direct result of the warning against the Scribes?
⁃ Detail omissions
• At Bethany without the Lazarus account
• Lazarus, Mary, or Judas not named at Bethany (Unless Simon the Lepard is Lazarus)
• The name of disciple cuts off the guard’s ear
• Healing of the guard
⁃ Detail inclusions
• Instructions to the upper room
• Sung a hymn after dinner
• Naked man
⁃ The tomb was open so that we could see in.
⁃ The total number of Greek and Latin Manuscripts of the New Testament validates the reliability of Scripture.
⁃ Mark did not actually intend to end his gospel at Mark 16:8.
• A book that purports to be the “good news about Jesus Christ” can not end with the women being afraid
• The early church felt so strongly about the lack of completion, as witnessed by the insertion of the longer endings (Holy Spirit still at work even if it wasn't Mark's original work)
• Without an end, the book records no fulfillment of Jesus’ promised resurrection appearances to Peter and the other disciples (cf. Mark 16:7)?