(We are beginning a journey through the Gospel of Mark. Our intention is to let Mark speak for himself, with the Spirit's inspiration of course. In other words, we will not do a lot of comparisons or contrasts with the other Gospels. We are currently studying Mark with out church family and have completed through Chapter 8. It may be that at some point we will need to take a break. This is my fourth time teaching Mark's Gospel and am finding, as always, things I missed previously. May the Lord use this in all our lives.)
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As you probably know, Mark’s gospel begins uniquely without any reference to Jesus’ birth or eternal existence as in the other Gospels. He just, in essence, gives the title of his work (v1) and then begins the story. The one connection with “earlier times” is with the Old Testament prophets. He specifically refers to Malachi (3:1) and Isaiah (40:3), both of which are prophecies concerning the forerunner (John the Baptist). Jesus first appears in 1:9, coming from Nazareth to be baptized by John in the Jordan. And with that, we are into Mark’s description of Jesus’ years of ministry. Let’s consider Mark’s use of the term “gospel.”
In 1:1 Mark refers to “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” What is this “beginning?” Certainly, John’s description of Jesus “in the beginning” (Jn. 1:1-18) contains much “gospel” truth. So also, Matthew (Mt. 1-2) and Luke (Lk. 1-3) contain much “gospel” truth from their descriptions of His birth. So Mark doesn’t deny that. He is just saying, “here is where I am beginning with my account of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” As always, the “gospel” in Scripture is about Jesus. Mark’s first comment on Jesus comes from the Baptist: “There comes One after me who is mightier than I.”
In 1:14-15, “Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.” The “content” of this good news is in v15. What is good is that “the kingdom of God is at hand.” And, as the gospel always implies a response, the response if to, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” This had been John the Baptist’s message (Mt. 3:1-2). Now Jesus says the same. This good news was for the Jewish people. Their King had come, and they needed to receive Him as King. Receiving Him was a spiritual matter required that they turn from all other “kings” and but their faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In 8:35 and 10:29 Mark refers to two times Jesus referred to the gospel as He called people to be His disciples. First, “but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Second, He speaks of those who have left all behind “for My sake and the gospel’s.” There is such a clear connection between Christ and the gospel that a disciple is one who lives his life for the sake of both.
Lastly, in 13:10, 14:9 and 16:15, Mark quotes Jesus as He refers to the preaching of the gospel to the whole world. Before He returns “the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.” The story of His anointing by Mary will be told “wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world.” He instructed His disciples, after His resurrection, to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” In the beginning of His ministry, it was the gospel of the kingdom. By the end of the story, it had become “the gospel of the grace of God” (Ac. 20:24), or, most often in the NT, simply “the gospel.”
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