Mark: Part 1
Many Miracles
As we move on to our next study, we will now be taking a look at the gospel of Mark. The one word that comes to mind when reading Mark’s gospel is work. Mark’s sole focus in this writing is to convince everyone who reads this book that Jesus was who He said He was because of the works that He accomplished. This is why this book is filled with what Jesus did far more than what He said. This also explains why Mark is the shortest of the gospels. Being just 16 chapters long, Mark’s gospel is short, sweet, and to the point when it comes to the actions of Christ. As The Bible Project notes, “The structure of Mark’s Gospel provides the key to the author’s purpose. The first half of the Gospel concerns the identity of Jesus as the mighty Messiah and Son of God. The second half concerns the mission of Jesus.” Throughout both of these halves, one thing that is certain is that we can see the works of Christ proving His identity and revealing His mission that He was placed on this earth to fulfill. Mark’s gospel may not be the one that has the most accurate timeline or records the most events or even lists out all the miracles Christ performed. But one thing Mark’s gospel is certain of is that the acts that Jesus Himself performs are acts that only the Son of God could do. This is why this gospel, while short, is one that definitely packs a punch. With this in mind, let’s dive into what Mark has to reveal to us about our savior.
The Baptism
To begin, we don’t need to look far to see what type of actions Mark found worthy to record in his gospel. Right away in chapter one, Mark records the baptism of Jesus and shows us just how amazing this event was. Mark 1:9-11 says, “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him; and a voice came from the heavens: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” What an incredible event to be able to witness! Picture yourself here for a second if you can. You’re just an innocent bystander watching this claimed Messiah get baptized when all of a sudden, a spirit descends on Jesus from above while you hear a great voice proclaim their pleasure towards this claimed Messiah. Any doubt that you once had would be immediately evaporated! How could anyone witness what happened here and think that this was just a coincidence or simply didn’t happen!? This is Mark’s whole intent with this story and it’s why this story is right at the beginning. And it doesn’t go downhill from here either. Chapter one goes on to tell us about Simon’s mother-in-law being healed, chapter two tells us of a paralytic being healed, and chapter three even goes on to tell us of a man that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. All of these instances were not just random healings that Mark noticed, they were divine, planned miracles from God that our Lord used in order to verify that Jesus was who He said He was to the doubters. And this is exactly why Mark records these events. Mark knows that not everyone was able to witness these events and that those who are born after Christ would not be able to witness these events either, so he records these miraculous events in hopes that those who hear them would believe.
However, Jesus doesn’t just have authority over nature and mankind, but He also has authority over spirits and demons as well. This is what Mark reveals to us in chapter five. In this chapter, Jesus comes to a man who is possessed by many demons and is uncontrollable and wreaking havoc all over town. Mark 5:9-13 goes on to tell us “And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged Him earnestly not to send them out of the region. Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding nearby on the mountain. And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us into the pigs so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.” Not only does this story reveal to us how powerful these demonic spirits are, but it also shows us that these spirits are no match for the Son of God. Jesus continues His ministry and goes forth doing many more miracles through the next few chapters and continually proving that He is the Christ wherever He goes.
The Overall Goal
This brings us to chapter eight where Jesus feeds the four thousand, another amazing miracle. But we’re not going to focus on this one miracle, rather, we’re going to focus on Peter’s response to this miracle. After the multiplication of food happened, Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter responds correctly claiming that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus then closes this chapter sharing what every Christ-follower must know if they are to follow Jesus. Mark 8:34-38 says “And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel will save it. “For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? “For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” This is the true goal of these miracles that Jesus performed and Mark wants us to understand this. The goal of these miracles wasn’t just so that we could understand who Jesus is, but so that we would truly know who Jesus is. In other words, these miracles weren’t simply done for us to admit that Jesus is God, even the demons know that. These miracles were done so that we may know and believe with our lives. I hope and pray that as you continue to read through Mark’s gospel, you will be encouraged as a Christian by the many signs and acts that confirm Jesus’ deity to you. And for the non-believer, I pray that these miracles would show you that Jesus is not just some historical figure to know about, but rather, He is the one true Messiah to believe in.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Strauss, M. L. (2024, December 10). Mark: The Gospel of the Servant-Messiah. BibleProject. https://bibleproject.com/articles/mark-gospel-servant-messiah/
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