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The JourneyChronicles of a Follower of Christ
ByJeff Miller,Teaching Pastor, Trinity Bible Church,Richardson, Texas
This series is in progress, new lessons will be added as they are completed. Also included will be mp3 audio files for each sermon.
Series Introduction and Background
What follows is a 16-week sermon series from the Gospel of Mark entitled “
The Journey;Chronicles of a Follower of Christ
.” Because of the way Mark wrote his Gospel, it is appropriate tocover it at a brisk pace with a view to grasping the book as a whole rather than dissecting its individualcomponents. I encourage you to begin your study of Mark by reading through the entire book in onesitting; this will only take about 40 minutes. Then, to gain the most benefit from our study, I suggest youread each chapter on your own prior to listening to/reading these lessons. Before we begin in chapter one,I thought I would whet your appetite for the things we will be encountering in this Gospel along withsome background information.
Author
: John Mark was related to Barnabas and traveling companion of Paul (see Acts 15:37; Colossians4:10; and 2 Timothy 4:11). He received his instruction from Peter, who referred to Mark as “my son” (1Peter 5:13). Thus most think Mark recorded Peter’s perspective on Jesus’ life.
Date & Setting
: Mark was probably written in the early/mid 60’s. Possibly written to Christians in Romeduring the severe persecution by Nero beginning in
A
.
D
. 64. Mark frequently translates Jewish words andcustoms for his Roman (Latin-speaking) audience (see Mark 3:17; 5:41; 7:3-4, 11, 34; 12:18; 14:36; 15:6,16, 22, 34, 42).
Purpose:
The purpose of Mark’s Gospel is to evoke from the reader a lasting response in word and deedto the true identity of Jesus (much, much more on this in the lessons that follow).Outline:
 Jesus’ Galilean Ministry (1:1-8:26) Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem (8:27-10:52) Jesus’ Jerusalem Ministry (11:1-16:8)
Noteworthy Characteristics
(look for these during your personal study time):
•
Mark is very much a tell-it-like-it-is sort of Gospel, and actions speak louder than words. The book reads like any 30-minute show on primetime TV: It is fast-moving and action-packed(“immediately” is used 41 times by Mark, and only 19 times in the New Testament outside of Mark).
•
Mark is heavily weighted toward Jesus’ miracles rather than his teachings.
•
Six of sixteen chapters is dedicated to the final eight days of Jesus’ life.
•
Mark’s Gospel is the most chronological of the four Gospels.
•
Mark was probably the first written of the four Gospels.
•
At sixteen chapters and 661 verses, Mark’s is the shortest of the four Gospels.
•
Matthew and Luke repeat all but 31 verses of Mark (all but 55 in Matthew).
© The Biblical Studies Foundation (www.bible.org
 
)2003
 
•
The disciples serve as comic relief in Mark, characterized as severely dense.
•
Jesus gets alone with his disciples about 20 times in Mark (see 3:7; 3:13; 4:10; 4:34; 4:35; 5:37;6:7; 6:31-32; 7:17; 8:10; 8:27; 9:2; 9:28; 10:10; 10:23; 10:32; 10:42; 11:11; 12:43; 13:3).
•
In Mark, one must have the right confession (“Jesus is the Son of God”) and the right response(following Him).
•
People respond to Jesus with amazement or astonishment about 20 times. Incidentally, largecrowds frequently seek out Jesus, but these usually do so out of amazement rather than devotion(more on this in chapter one).
•
Twice we will see individuals go from sitting on the sidelines to standing, walking, and followingJesus (Levi and Bartimaeus). Are you on the sidelines? We will repeatedly see the necessity of notonly starting well, but finishing well. Have you started well? What is your plan for finishingwell?
•
The notion of “wanting” (
qevlw
) occurs 24 times in Mark, coming to a head with Jesus’ wordsin the Garden of Gethsemane: “Not what I want, but what You want.”
•
Mark’s Gospel is heavily characterized by action-reaction. Mark the cameraman zooms in whileJesus teaches or performs a miracle, then he zooms out and pans the audience for their reaction.One almost gets the impression that the response of the audience is as important to Mark asJesus’ action that provokes it.
Markan Motifs
(see if you can begin to identify these in your reading before I point them out):
•
Messianic Secret: Jesus’ tendency—especially in the Gospel of Mark—to command people not totell anyone who He is (see Mark 1:25; 1:34; 1:43-44; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26; 8:30; 9:9; 9:30).
1
•
Passion Predictions: Jesus predicts His own suffering and crucifixion in three famous passages inMark (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34). “Passion” is a technical term (borrowed from Latin) describingJesus’ sufferings, especially the crucifixion.
•
Individual Encounters: Jesus affects roughly 20 individuals one-on-one. If you stick with me youwill certainly see yourself somewhere in this text.
•
Following Jesus: The term “follow” appears 17 times in Mark.Those who “follow” (
ajkolouqevw
)—or refuse to “follow”—Jesus:
•
Peter and Andrew (1:18)
•
Levi (2:14)
•
Tax collectors and sinners (2:15)
•
A crowd from Galilee (3:7)
•
Large crowd (5:24)
•
His disciples (6:1)
•
Any who wish to come after Jesus (8:34)
•
Invitation to the rich young ruler (10:21)
•
Peter et al (10:28)
•
Those going to Jerusalem with Jesus (10:32)
•
Bartimaeus (10:52)
1
Matthew S. DeMoss and J. Edward Miller,
 Zondervan Dictionary of Bible and Theology Words
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2002), 150-51.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation (www.bible.org
 
)2003
 
•
Those at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (11:9)
•
Peter, at a distance (14:54)
•
Mary, Mary, and Salome (15:41)In characteristic form, Mark anxiously tells his readers the answer to the riddle in the first verse of the book. Who is Jesus? He is the “Son of God.” In fact, the Gospel has this creed as bookends for emphasis—the centurion by the cross confesses in Mark 15:39, “Truly this man was God’s Son” (NETBible). Enjoy your journey with the Son of God through the Gospel of Mark.
A Follower’s ResponseMark 1:1-45
Introduction:
I think I speak for most men when I say that there are very few redeeming things about shopping. Infact, I can think of only two: 1) the electronics department, and 2) the food sample tables. Have youlearned about the sample tables? These are tables—seen all over many large supermarkets—manned byone individual cooking sample foods on the spot and inviting you to partake. Now the host’s goal for thesample table is different from my goal for the sample table. Their goal is to get me to purchase something;my goal is to fill up on free samples. Sometimes I’ll go to the supermarket just to get a free meal. I’ll tour the sample tables in a strategic circuit over and over again until I begin to receive threatening glancesfrom those manning the tables. Then I move on to the electronics department.We sometimes treat Jesus like a supermarket sample table. We partake for our own good, but we’renot interested in “buying in” to the product itself. Why do you follow Jesus? Is it for self-interest or divineinterest? The Gospel of Mark compels us to answer the question, “Do I follow Jesus because of who He is,or because of what He can do for me?”Mark chapter one provides a multiple choice question for the reader: How have you responded toJesus? Mark provides us with four possible responses, challenging us to determine which response to Jesusmost resembles our own. Mark wishes to quickly establish why we are following Him, because if we arefollowing for the wrong reasons, ours will not be a lasting response.
How have you responded to Jesus?
1. An Exemplary Response to Jesus (1:1-13)
2
1:1
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
1:2
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,who will prepare your way,
1:3
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord,make his paths straight.’” 1:4 
In the wilderness John the baptizer began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
1:5
People from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalemwere going out to him, and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
1:6 
John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around hiswaist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
1:7 
He proclaimed, “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals.
1:8
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
2
Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are taken from The NET Bible.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation (www.bible.org
 
)2003
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