Jesus in Mark: The Obedient Servant
Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels. It is written to the Romans and reveals Jesus as the obedient servant of God.
The four Gospels reveal different characteristics of Jesus and align with other portions of Scripture such as the four faces of God revealed in Ezekiel: man, lion, ox and eagle.
Ezek 1:10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. NIV
MATTHEW: Jesus is revealed as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah – the King who came to save the world.
MARK reveals Jesus as the “Suffering Servant”, the face of the Ox.
LUKE reveals Jesus as the “Perfect Man”, typified by the face of the Man
JOHN reveals Jesus as the “Divine Son of God”, the face of the Eagle.
Last week we saw how Matthew started with an elaborate genealogy, which is an absolute priority to the Jews. Mark has no genealogy because he’s not writing to the Jews and because the heritage of a servant was of no importance. We begin with Jesus’ baptism and he goes right to work with sick and hurting people.
Mark 1:33-34 The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. NIV
Mark’s gospel ends with the ascension, signifying that the servant’s job was finished and He was returning home.
The absence of serving reduces our faith to argumentative beliefs rather than the demonstration of love. #destinyokc
Sadly, many Christians don’t let the Bible get in the way of what they’ve decided to believe. Clearly, we are commanded to avoid divisive arguments and be submissive to those in authority over us even if we don’t agree with them.
1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. NIV
1 Peter 2:13-17 Submit yourselves to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people... Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. NIV
When we Christians get more interested in winning arguments than loving people we are no longer like Jesus. #destinyokc
At Destiny, our goal is to be OUTRAGEOUSLY LOVING people who PASSIONATELY PURSUE the Lord with IRRATIONALLY GIVING LIFESTYLES aswe CONSISTENTLY SUBMIT to God’s desires and EFFECTIVELY DISCIPLE others to do the same.
GP4RL: Give thank you cards to others this week and look for ways to serve every relationship in your life.
DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY GROUP LEADERS
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this discussion guide.
Icebreaker: If you were asked to describe your top 3 priorities in life what would they be and why? What is important to you in your life right now?
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all reveal Jesus in different ways.
Matthew = King of All
Mark = Servant to All
Luke = Son of Man
John = Son of God
Discussion Question:
• Share some of the ways you reveal Christ to others demonstrating what he has done
in your life.
Because Mark reveals Jesus as a servant his first objective in writing is to immediately open with a discussion about how Jesus is at work among the sick and hurting.
Mark 1:33-34 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. NIV
Mark’s gospel ends with the ascension, signifying that the servant’s job was finished and He was returning home.
Jesus left this earth having finished his work but his work was not yet complete. Now it’s our turn!
Discussion Question:
• It truly is more blessed to give than receive. Share how serving others has been
a greater blessing to you than those you’ve served.
The absence of serving reduces our faith to arguing about our beliefs rather than demonstrating our love.
When we Christians get more interested in winning arguments than loving people we are no longer like Jesus.
1 Peter 2:13-17 Submit yourselves to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people... how proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. NIV
Discussion Question:
• When you hear these verses from 1 Peter what areas do you see where most Christians
tend to miss it? Why do you think this is the case?
It’s always easier to make a point than it is to make a difference. Let’s make it a point to love, give and serve this week making a difference in the lives of others.
GP4RL: Give thank you cards to others this week and look for ways to serve every relationship in your life.
GOING DEEPER:
The first miracle Jesus performs in Mark is the casting out of a demon, demonstrating that the God whom Jesus served was superior to all other gods, a matter of great importance in Rome’s polytheistic society. Mark’s gospel ends with the ascension, signifying that the servant’s job was finished and He was returning home.
Message Bible Introduction: Mark wastes no time in getting down to business - a single-sentence introduction, and not a digression to be found from beginning to end. An event has taken place that radically changes the way we look at and experience the world, and he can't wait to tell us about it. There's an air of breathless excitement in nearly every sentence he writes. The sooner we get the message, the better off we'll be, for the message is good, incredibly good: God is here, and he’s on our side.
The bare announcement that God exists doesn't particularly qualify as news. Most people in most centuries have believed in the existence of God or gods. It may well be, in fact, that human beings in aggregate and through the centuries have given more attention and concern to divinity than to all their other concerns put together - food, housing, clothing, pleasure, work, family, whatever.
But that God is here right now, and on our side, actively seeking to help us in the way we most need help - this qualifies as news. For, common as belief in God is, there is also an enormous amount of guesswork and gossip surrounding the subject, which results in runaway superstition, anxiety, and exploitation. So Mark, understandably, is in a hurry to tell us what happened in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus - the Event that reveals the truth of God to us, so that we can live in reality and not illusion. He doesn't want us to waste a minute of these precious lives of ours ignorant of this most practical of all matters - that God is passionate to save us.
Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels. From the 4th till the 19th centuries it was largely neglected by scholars because it was commonly regarded as an abridgment of Matthew. But by the end of the 19th century the theory that Mark was the first Gospel written gained widespread acceptance. Since then Mark has been the object of intense interest and study.