Mark Intro

It’s so good to be back with all of you! I’ve missed you. I’ve missed this. I’ve missed worshiping together, catching up over coffee, seeing all your littles. It’s a New Year. The year of the GOAT. No I don’t mean Chinese Zodiac, I mean the greatest of all time, #23, not Lebron James, #23 Michael Jordan. I think it would be fitting to start the year off with a message called, “New Year, New Me,” or “The Year of Greatness.” I jest. We are actually going to start the New Year off in the only way that makes sense, and that’s talking about Jesus. In fact, we are going to talk about Jesus for the rest of the year. Heck, we might even talk about Him next year if you stick around long enough!

This morning, we are going to start a new series in the book of Mark. The gospel of Mark. The good news of Jesus as written by Mark. Let’s set the stage just a bit with a little history surrounding the book. 

Author: Believed to be John-Mark, the same man we see accompanying Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey, but then left early to Jerusalem. If you remember, this eventually led to conflict between Paul and Barnabas. Mark was Barnabas’ cousin, and before Paul’s 2nd missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them, but Paul didn’t want to because he had seemingly abandoned them when things got tough. Paul and Mark would eventually reconcile. 

A really important piece of authorship is that Mark and Peter were very close. We see Peter calling Mark his “son” in 1 Peter, and it is believed by most scholars that Peter was Mark’s source to the writing. Mark was not one of the disciples, and didn’t have the first hand account of His ministry like the others did. So Mark wrote out of the first hand account of Peter. 

Date: It’s also believed that Mark’s was the first gospel written out of the 4, coming in the late 50s to early 60s AD. 

Location and Audience: It’s widely believed that Mark wrote the gospel in Rome and to the church in Rome. This would make his target audience primarily non-Jewish, or Gentiles.

This gospel is fast-paced and action packed, focusing in on the works of Jesus more than His teachings. Each of the gospels portrays Jesus in a unique way, and Mark chooses to present Him as God’s Servant.

This morning, I want to look at the key verse found in Mark 10. It’s a verse that encapsulates all of the stories and truths that we find within. Everything Mark writes points to this truth, and this truth points us to the cross. This will set the stage for the whole of our time together in Mark. Go ahead and open to Mark chapter 10. Here is the key verse:

Mark 10:45 - “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” 

I want to unpack this, but first I want us to look at the context around this statement by Jesus. So let’s start in verse 35, and let’s read the account that leads Jesus to say this. 

Read Mark 10:35-45

Big Idea: Jesus set the example of servitude by lowering Himself to the position of a servant, and giving His life as a ransom for many.

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, with crowds following Him, and as they are walking He is having somewhat private conversations with His disciples. Right before this, Jesus pulled the 12 aside to tell them why they were going to Jerusalem, so that the Son of Man would be delivered to the religious leaders and condemned to death, being mocked, spat upon, flogged and killed, and then would rise on the 3rd day. Now, James and John have the audacity to approach Jesus and ask Him, first, to do anything they ask Him to do. Then, when Jesus asks for their request, they ask if they can sit in THE place of prominence in glory, one on His left, and one on His right. 

It’s important to note here that this question wasn’t as far out of left field as we might think. See the disciples didn’t fully understand what was all going to take place. Some still believed that Jesus was setting up an earthly kingdom. Here’s some historical context from one commentator: 

“Their request reflects the common practice of ancient rulers to elevate their highest ranking, most intimate family members and associates to the places of honor on either side of them.” 

So this request, while bold and prideful, had some cultural context behind it. Now, this request also disregarded the other 10 disciples that were following Jesus. And for this reason, Jesus responds the way that He does. Look again at verse 38. Read vs. 38.

The cup and the baptism. Jesus is referring to all of the suffering that He is about to endure. Do you remember what He prays to the Father in the garden in Matthew 26? “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.” Again, without really understanding what Jesus is talking about, James and John are like, “YES! Wherever you go we are there. We will follow you to the end!” So Jesus responds, “actually, you will taste of this cup.” 

We know because of church history that 10 of the 12 disciples were martyred except for John and Judas. They all died because they didn’t back down from their faith in the face of persecution. 

And while they will experience a similar metaphorical cup and baptism, Jesus shows His submission to the Father by letting them know, “hey, that decision is not up to me. It’s already been determined who will sit on my left and on my right.” The other disciples catch wind of what James and John are asking of Jesus, and start to get really frustrated. This is where Jesus brings them all close to use it as a teaching moment. 

Look again at verse 42. Read vs. 42.

What is the cultural norm? Those in authority use their position of power to press down on those below them. They lord it over those under their authority, in other words they take advantage of their power to force submission in a domineering way over those who are weak. This is what is normal. This is what’s expected from a leader. This is what they are used to. 

Read vs. 43.

“Not so with you!” says Jesus. “In fact it’s the opposite. If you want to be considered great in MY kingdom, then you must become the servant. You must place yourself below others, and serve them. THEN, will you be considered great.” And then He expounds on that. Verse 44. Read vs. 44.

It isn’t just your brothers and sisters you are called to serve, but Jesus says it is “all.” 

So the world says, “Hey! You wanna become someone great? Focus on bettering yourself and showing real leadership. Be the loudest voice. Leave others behind if they are dragging you down. Do what’s best for you!”

And Jesus says, “Hey! You want to become someone great? Focus on others and lead by example. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Make sure everyone is good and no one is suffering or struggling. Do what’s best for others even if it requires great sacrifice!” You see the difference there?

And then here it is, look again at vs. 45.

Even the Son of God, the One Who deserves a position of authority, is not excluded from this principle. He MUST set the example of humble servitude so that others will follow. And the road of service will inevitably lead to suffering. So not only are we called to serve, but we are called to serve and be ready to give ourselves sacrificially for others. This doesn’t mean that we will die a martyrs death like Jesus did, like the disciples did, like many have and still do. But the sacrifice that we are called to is one of self-emptying and other’s elevating. 

Let’s get back to Jesus, the Son of Man. He came to serve and to set the example of serving, but, most importantly He came to give His life a ransom for many. Humanity is held captive by our sin. We were created in perfection for relationship with God, but sin entered the world and our destiny is now one of eternal separation from God. But, God doesn’t leave us there, He wants to “buy us back” from our captivity and reinstate us into His family. 

That ransom must be paid by the sacrifice of One who is perfect. The ONLY one who is able to make that purchase is Jesus. The only sufficient act is the shedding of His blood. And this is what the whole book of Mark is pointing to. It starts with John the Baptist paving the way. Then we see Jesus performing miracles, healing the lame, the blind, the sick. Serving those who have been forgotten and thrown out. And ALL of it on His way to Jerusalem, willingly, to take on excruciating suffering on the cross. 

I’m sure if we went around the room this morning and shared our New Year’s Resolutions, there would be many that are similar, many that are perhaps different. I don’t know about you but I’ve seen a whole lot more people out running these last few weeks. We’ll check back in next month :) What if. What if, our resolutions for the year were centered on more of Jesus? What if we resolved to spend more time in the Word? What if we resolved to spend more time in prayer? What if we resolved to serve people in our lives more? And make it specific! One of the ways we get ourselves in trouble is by setting unreasonable and maybe unattainable goals. Like, I’m going to read the Bible every day this year for 30 minutes. Going from not a lot to every day is really difficult. What if you started with 3 times a week, with the goal of finding a healthy, daily habit of Bible intake?

What if we resolved to serve the community once a month as an individual, couple, or family? What if we found a local organization to serve? What if we looked at our neighborhoods as our mission fields? What if we actively looked for opportunities to serve our neighbors? 

The beautiful thing about the book of Mark is that, most weeks, we’ll learn how to interact with and serve others. We’ll learn how to live out the gospel. We’ll see Jesus intentionally pursuing the broken, sick and hurting, and we’ll be compelled to do the same.