Musician and theologian Michael Card examined the gospel of Mark and wrote a book titled .
Who is the Mark?
• Mark was a young follower of Christ during Christ’s lifetime but not one of the disciples.
• Mark and the apostle Peter had a close relationship. In 1 Peter, Peter refers to Mark as “my son.”
• Michael thinks there’s a very good chance the Lord’s Supper took place at Mark’s house.
• Mark was the cousin of Barnabas, another important leader in the early church.
• He traveled with Paul and Barnabas on one of their missionary journeys.
What makes the gospel of Mark unique?
• Scholars believe Mark was the first gospel written.
• The gospel of Mark was written by Mark from the apostle Peter’s account of the life of Christ.
• The gospel or Mark shows a lot of Jesus’ emotional life. We see the extremes of Christ’s anger, from being righteously angry to being filled with compassion.
• Mark showcases the unpredictable side of Jesus. In this account it’s apparent that Jesus doesn’t act according the people’s expectations for how he should pray or how he should observe the Passover.
Micheal touches more on the depth of emotions showcased by Christ in Mark. He emphasizes that sadness, contriteness and righteous anger are not wrong or bad emotions for Christians to have. Biblical writers, particularly of the Psalms, often lamented before the Lord in a worshipful manner.
“In a passage that begins with ‘love must be sincere,” Paul tells us to weep with those who weep. We just need to do a better job with that.”
Michael Card delves more into the background of Mark and takaways from that account of Jesus’ life in the rest of his chat with Susie.
Key Scriptures: Mark 1:35-38
