Theme of Mark Part 1
The Theme of Mark Part 1
Matthew presents Christ as King.
Mark presents Christ as a Servant
Luke presents Christ as the perfect Man.
John presents Christ as God.
This fourfold presentation of Christ in the Gospels was indicated in the Old Testament.
1st Christ is introduced in the Old Testament by the word “behold”
Zech. 9:9 – behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he [is] just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Isa. 42:1 – Behold my servant
Zech. 6:12 – Behold the man
Isa. 40:9-10 – Behold your God!
The Old Testament describes four different aspects of The Branch.
Jeremiah 23:5 …I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign…
Zechariah 3:8 …I will bring forth My Servant the BRANCH…
Zechariah 6:12 …Behold the Man whose name is the BRANCH…
Isaiah 4:2 ..In that day shall the Branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious.”
Not only did Old Testament prophecy point to four Gospels but the Old Testament types also foreshadowed a fourfold division.
Exo 26:31 And thou shalt make a vail [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
Exo 26:32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim [wood] overlaid with gold: their hooks [shall be of] gold, upon the four sockets of silver
Here you have the veil made of four colors.
Purple is the color of kings and that corresponds to Matthew.
Scarlet is the color of sacrifice. The color of a servant. This corresponds to Mark
White is the color of purity of righteousness. Christ was the only pure, sinless, and righteous man. This corresponds to Luke.
Blue is the color of heaven, and that corresponds to John
The Cherubim that were embroidered on the tabernacle were made of these same four colors and they had four different faces.
One was like a lion. The lion of the tribe of Judah. This corresponds with Matthew
One was like a calf. The ox was the chief animal of service in Israel, this corresponds with Mark
So in the Old Testament you have a fourfold presentation of the Branch, and a 4 fold presentation in the colors in the Tabernacle, and a 4 fold presentation of the faces of the Cherubim. You also see that in the vision Ezekiel had.
The men that God used to write the Gospels were well fitted for the specific gospel that they were to write.
Mark presents Christ as a Servant. Mark was well fitted for this. Mark was not one of the apostles. He was a servant of an apostle. The one who wrote of our Lord as the Servant of God was himself one who ministered to others.
It was written by John Mark. He was a cousin of Barnabas. Col 4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas…
Mark was the son of the Mary of Jerusalem. Act 12:12 And when he had considered [the thing], he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
Mark was not one of the twelve Apostles.
Mat 10:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James [the son] of Zebedee, and John his brother; Mat 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James [the son] of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Mat 10:4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
Mark is not in that list.
Mark was taken on a missionary journey by Barnabas
Act 15:37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Act 15:38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
Act 15:39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
In verse 38 we see that Mark quit on the first journey. This upset Paul so bad that he would not take Mark next time.
But God did a work and Mark grew.
2Ti 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
By the time Paul is in prison Mark had grown so much that Paul considers Mark profitable in the ministry. Notice Mark is profitable to Paul. Mark is a helper. He is a servant to others.
And Mark goes on to write the Gospel that shows focuses on Jesus as a Servant.
The key verse is 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.
The theme of Mark is to present Jesus Christ as the suffering servant.
The book was written sometime between 50 -55 A.D.
What’s different about the book of Mark?
In Mark we find no Genealogy, no mention is made of His birth. A servant’s genealogy is not important. Nothing is said of the visit of the wise men. A servant has no kingdom. The Sermon on the Mount is missing because a servant makes no laws. Mark says nothing about the Householder hiring laborers for His vineyard and claiming the right to do as He wills with His own.
Missing is the parable of the Marriage of the King’s Son, and the parable of the Talents. As God’s Servant He does not give talents nor rewards for the use of them.
The first 30 years of the life of Jesus on earth are passed over in silence. Mark immediately introduces Christ at the beginning of His public ministry. Mark presents Christ serving.
The book of Mark describes more miracles and fewer parables. This lines up with the purpose of the book. Service consists more of deeds than teaching. More doing and less speaking.
And the parables that are in Mark have to do with service.
In the book of Mark the hand of Christ is frequently mentioned. The hand is an instrument of service.
We can learn a lot from the book of Mark by taking notice of how Christ served. If you want to become a better servant of Christ, then study how He served and then follow His example. That is what we will look at next time.
In Mark we see Jesus the servant give His life in service and we see Jesus the servant give His life in sacrifice.
See more lessons from the Gospels