Lesson 01 Ministry Beginnings Mark 1:1-34

The Gospel of Mark: A Serving Savior

Lesson 01 “Ministry Beginnings” Mark 1:1-34

ID: Inductive Questions (Asking the text questions like who, what, where, when, why, & how?”)

CR: Cross References (Comparing Scripture to Scripture, understanding the vague by the clear.)

WS: Word Study (Understanding definition, theological meaning, and usages in other passages.)

The WORD: What does the Bible say?

Context: Read Mark chapter one to help understand the context of this passage. Read Mark 1:1-34 in a more literal or more dynamic translation than you usually use. ReadMalachi 3.1 and Isaiah 40.3which are quoted in this section. Matthew and Luke do not get to the Malachi/Isaiah quote until chapter three. What eventsdo Matthew and Luke include that Mark leaves out?

ID/CR: (1.1-3) What do we learn about who Jesus is in these first verses? (Note who is equated to Yahweh in Isaiah 40.3)
ID/CR: (1.2-8) Who was John the Baptist? What was he doing? What did he look like? (Compare with 2 Kings 1.7-8.) What was his message?
ID: (1.9-13) What two things happened to Jesus as He began His formal ministry? Why do you think it was important for Mark include them?
ID: (1.14-20) What did Jesus preach and say? Who responded?
ID: (1.21-28) What was the key characteristic of Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue? What were the responses? (Trivia: Which book of the Bible uses the name “The Holy One” most often?)
ID: (1.29-34) With what miracles did Jesus initiate His public ministry?

The WALK: What should I do?

John helped prepare people for Jesus. In whose life have you (can you) play the role of John the Baptist? Where is God calling you to be a messenger?
What did Jesus mean by “fisher of men?” Would you describe yourself as a fisher of men?
Have you been in a “spiritual wilderness?” What did you learn?
In what ways did Jesus demonstrate humility in this passage? Which are most meaningful to you? Why?
Where in this passage do we see Gospel truths about God, Man, Christ, and our response?

Going Beyond:

1. In verse 15 we see the first mention of the “kingdom of God” in Mark. We also see his first miracle. Use the sheets provided for this study to list the references to the “kingdom of God” and to keep track of Christ’s miracles in Mark.

2. What areas of theology are touched on in this passage?

 The Bible  God  God the Father  JesusChrist  The Holy Spirit  Man  Salvation  The Church  Angels & Satan  Future Things –

An Introduction to the Gospel According to Mark

by Phil Martin

GENRE:

“It [Mark] is intended to be neither a formal historical treatise nor a biography of Jesus, but a proclamation.”[1] Gospels are similar to biographies in that they focus on one person as the “hero”. This person in the NT gospels is obviously Jesus. The Gospels are not biographies though. The main difference is that the Gospels are not intended to describe every event in Jesus’ life. They are highly focused and emphasize more on Jesus’ role in the plan of salvation than telling his life story. They show how Jesus is the Messiah, God’s son, who came down from heaven and took on flesh in order to redeem us from sin and death.[2]

AUTHORSHIP:

“An unbroken tradition affirms that the evangelist was intimately associated with the apostle Peter and that the contents of this Gospel depend significantly upon the message he proclaimed.”[3] 1st Clements, Papias (as quoted by Eusebius), Justin Martyr, The Anti-Macrcionite Prologue to Mark, and Irenaeus are among the early witnesses to Mark’s authorship of the Gospel. Some specifically make the point that Peter’s preaching was the source of Mark’s material.[4]

JOHN MARK:

Mark’s mother was a well known believer in Jerusalem in whose house the church met (Acts 12:12), and he was possibly the man referred to in Mark 14:51-52. Mark was a companion and co-worker with Peter (1 Peter 5:13). His uncle, Barnabas, was a close associate and fellow missionary with the Apostle Paul (Acts 13:5, 13). Though Mark deserted Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey, he later came to be a partner that Paul found useful (2 Timothy 4:11).

THEME

“Mark wrote for the Romans, and his theme is Jesus Christ the Servant. If we had to pick a “key verse” in this Gospel, it would be Mark 10:45—“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”[5]

CHARACTERISTICS:

Mark could be thought of as a “Reader’s Digest” Gospel or possibly a source for Matthew and Luke. “Mark has 661 verses; Matthew has 1,068 verses; Luke has 1,149 verses. Of Mark’s 661 verses, Matthew reproduces no fewer than 606 . Of Mark’s 661 verses Luke reproduces 320… So the result is that there are only 24 verses in Mark which do not occur somewhere in Matthew and Luke.” [6]

Mark is a fast moving account emphasizing what Jesus did more than what He said. The expression “immediately” or “straightway” occurs some forty times. Dr. Constable notes that Mark used a relatively limited vocabulary, sometimes had rough and ungrammatical Greek, addressed his readers directly, recorded many intimate details that only an eyewitness would observe, and stressed the humanity of Christ.[7]

STRUCTURE

Mark can be divided geographically into four parts: a Galilean ministry (1:14-6:13), the ministry outside Galilee (6:14-8:30), the journey to Jerusalem (8:31-10:52), and the last week in Jerusalem (11:1-16:8). The first two sections climax with Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ (8:29): The second two sections build toward the centurion’s confession that Jesus is the son of God (15:39). This chart adapted from Dr. William Lane[8] shows how the structure of Mark can be organized by Peter’s preaching.

The Gospel of Mark / Acts 10:36-41 (esv)
Mark 1:1 / The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. / 36“The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—
Mark 1:14 / Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, / 37“that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee
Mark 1:4-8 / after the baptism which John preached:
Mark 1:10 / And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. / 38“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,
Mark 1:16-10:52 / dominated by narratives describing healing and exorcism, demonstrating the power of God at work in Jesus’ ministry / who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Mark 11-14 / where Mark presents the Jerusalem ministry and activity of Jesus / 39“And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem,
Mark 15 / which focuses on the crucifixion of Jesus / whom they killed by hanging on a tree.
Mark 16 / with its witness: “He is not here. He is risen, as he said.” / 40Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly…

2015-2016 Tulsa Bible Church Men’s Bible Study – tulsabible.org

[1] Lane, William L. The Gospel According to Mark: The English Text with Introduction, Exposition, and Notes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974. Print. (p.1)

[2]Friend, T.J. "Genre: Gospel." How to Study the Bible. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. <

[3] Lane, William L. The Gospel According to Mark: The English Text with Introduction, Exposition, and Notes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974. Print. (p. 7)

[5] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996, (p. 110)

[6]Barclay, William. The Gospel of Mark. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975. Print.

[8]Lane, William L. The Gospel According to Mark: The English Text with Introduction, Exposition, and Notes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974. Print. (pp.10-11)