Good News For a Bad World - Studies in the Gospel of Mark - 2
Mark 1:1 (2)
Last time we began looking at the Gospel of Mark and we basically highlighted two things. Mark’s Gospel … It’s Hero - Jesus Christ the Son of God and then It’s Heartbeat - servanthood. How to live not selfishly but selflessly.
Today let me talk about Mark’s Gospel … its Haste and its Hope.
Ok, MARK’S GOSPEL … ITS HASTE.
Mark has 2 favourite words. His first favourite word is the word ‘immediately’. It’s used no less than 42 times. Jesus does everything immediately. He’s full of energy. He’s on the move. He’s a man on a mission.
He’s here to do something, to accomplish something, to impact His generation and every generation not just for now but forever.
That’s why from sunrise until sunset, from morning until evening He’s going about doing good. Teaching and preaching and healing and helping and ministering and giving of Himself. Always ready, always willing. And so He does everything immediately.
I think we need to take a leaf out of His book don’t you? His kind of zeal and enthusiasm and sense of urgency. A desire to work while it’s still day because the night’s coming when none of us will be able to work.
And so, the word ‘immediately’.
His other favourite word is the word ‘and’. Again suggesting haste. Yes, Jesus - as we’ve just said - is a man on a mission, but so is Mark. He just can’t wait. There’s so much he wants to cover that he tries to say everything he can, all at once, in the shortest possible time.
And so as he picks up his pen he writes with great haste and speed and directness. His quill (pen) almost goes into meltdown.
An article here, an article there. A snippet of information and another snippet of information. A snapshot of this and a photo of that. Its all quick, rapid fire. That’s why he uses the word ‘and’ well over 1000 times. 1331 times to be precise. AND!!!!!!
It’s absolutely exhausting at points. Its as if he doesn’t even pause long enough to catch his breathe. He can hardly wait to begin a new sentence and off he goes again.
BUT do you know why Mark’s in such a rush? Because he’s just so desperate to share and spread this marvellous message. He longs for us to quickly catch even a glimpse of this Jesus of his.
He wants us to see Him and love Him and experience the life transformation that only He can bring. That’s what he wants. And that’s the reason for all the ‘immediatelys’ and all the ‘ands’ and all the excitement and all the energy.
Ok Mark its Hero, its Heartbeat and its Haste.
Lastly, MARK’S GOSPEL … ITS HOPE.
Let me give you some background. Mark’s full name was John Mark. The Bible also talks about his mother. Her name was Mary. His uncle’s name was Barnabas, a man who always loved to encourage people. His mentor’s name was Paul, the missionary who blazed a trail for God right across Europe and beyond.
And guess what? Mark left home and along with his uncle Barnabas and his mentor Paul embarked on a missionary journey.
He must’ve been a keen young Christian. He wanted to be a missionary. He wanted to serve God & spread the Gospel. And so he went with these two experienced missionaries on a missionary expedition. And of course at first everything goes great.
BUT then it happened. Mark was smitten by a terrible disease. Not a physical disease but a heart disease. The disease of discouragement. And according to Acts 13:13 he heads home. He turns back. He gives the whole thing up.
Now can you imagine for a moment how he must have felt? He must have felt a complete and utter failure. He’s failed Paul, Barnabas, his family, his friends, the rest of the disciples and Apostles. Failed himself, his Saviour and his God. He’s fit only for the scrapheap. At least that’s how he feels.
But listen. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because although Mark had left the work of God, the God of the work hadn’t left him. And church history tells us, that God in His fantastic providence, brings him into contact with another failure, another recycled believer.
Guess what his name was? Peter. And now here’s Mark and Peter. They meet and become friends. Peter puts his arm around Mark and encourages him.
“It’s not the end, (says Peter). Its nowhere near the end. Its only the beginning of something brand new. Your dreams and hopes and plans about serving God there are shattered and lying in shreds. But Mark, leave them behind. Lay down your dreams and discover your destiny.
Here’s a quill. I’ll dictate. I’ll tell you the story and you record it. Write it down. Be my secretary. And Mark, you and I together - two utter failures, two rejects, but two restored rejects - will compile a book and the book will be the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God and we’ll give it, we’ll give this Gospel, this great news, good news to a bad, broken, bruised and bleeding world”. WOW!
Does that encourage you or what? Failure isn’t fatal and it isn’t final with God. People might write you off but God doesn’t. No. God forgives and restores failures. And remember Mark’s not even an apostle. Not a big shot or a high flyer. A fearful, fear-filled normal guy. And here he is with Peter, the rough and rugged fisherman. And they’re both being used of God to bless the world with the Gospel.
I don’t know where you are today But this I do know, when you come to God, you’ll find Him to be a God of amazing grace. Grace that’s far bigger and better and stronger and higher and wider and deeper than all of your sin and all your faults and all your failures and all your fears and all your past and all your present and all your weaknesses and all your mistakes. And like Mark, you and I can be living ‘gospels’ in this and to this bad world.