Expecting "Good News"

The gospel of Mark opens very unceremoniously. Being a man of few words, he lets those who are reading know, that he is writing about the "good news" of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.   Jesus is good news.  Think about what it feels like when you receive "good news."  Good is something that is desired and approved of.  Good is morally right, and righteous.  Good news is something we all want to hear and experience.

The reason Mark wrote this Gospel was to share the "good news" of the Messiah.  The Messiah was the anticipated one of the Jewish people.  They wanted a Savior to deliver them from their captivity and oppression of  theRomans.  They also wanted a leader that could secure their liberty and restore what was taken from them.

The only problem was he wasn't what the Jews excpted.  They wanted boldness, and Jesus was humble.  They want force and Jesus was gentle.  They wanted wanted a spokeman that the Roman Empire would fear and respect, and he taught in parables.  How disappointed they must of been.  Their messiah had come, but they did not recognize him, because he did not look like or act like what they were expecting.

Jesus did not come to save them from the Romans, but from their own sins.  Once they accepted Him, and learned His ways, they would of been able to take care of the Romans themselves.  Jesus not only saves, but he restores, he teaches and he enables to do things that we could never imagine.

How many things do we miss our on because it doesn't fit with our agenda, idea, dreams, hopes and desires?  How do we handle the disaapointment in our lives?  Are we simply being selfish or can we step back from what we want, and have a serving heart like Jesus and share the "good news" of the Word of God?

 

The Gospel of Mark - Who was Mark?

Mark's account of Jesus' life fits right in with our mobile social media society. We text instead of call,  we "Like" our "Friends" "Timeline"  on Facebook, we post pictures on Instgram, we Tweet in 140 characters or less,  but we very seldom take the time to talk with each other face-to-face.   The Gospel of Mark was written by a man that seemed to be in a hurry. He did not include a lot of details or elaborate.  He also did not exsaggerate anything.  He was very basic and to the point.  His gospel, for many years, was considered the least informative of the four, until it was discovered it may have been the oldest, and the others were referenced using it.

So who was Mark?  He is also referred to as John Mark. There are only ten verses in the Bible that refer to him.  He was a young man during Christ's ministry.  He was the son of Mary, who provided the early Christians with a meeting place, and the cousin of Barnabas.  He and Barnabas traveled with Paul during his first missionary journey, but left early for Jeruselum. He was the source of conflict between Paul and Barnabas when Paul refused to take him on a second missionary trip because he left the first one early, so he and his cousin went on a mission trip on their own and Paul went with Sila and later he reconciled with Paul and became a coworker in spreading the gospel. He also becomes like a son to Peter, one of Jesus' disciples.

Mark knew all the right people and made all the right connections, even after he disconnected for a while.  He was able to do a hard reset and get back "online" and carry out God's  purpose in his life.

I have been greatly inspired by the gospel of Mark and invite you to join me in a indepth study of this book in the Bible.  I believe we will be blessed.