Transformed Lions

TRANSFORMED LIONS!

Mark’s gospel is one of the four gospel (i.e. good news) accounts of the New Testament. The word “gospel” in biblical Greek is εὐαγγέλιον (yoo-ang-ghel'-ee-on). If you’re a research person you can look up “Strong’s Greek 2098” and find out more about that word. εὐαγγέλιον is where we get the term “evangelize,” the verb meaning: to share/spread the gospel or “good news” of Jesus Christ.

Mark, the gospel writer, is historically recognized as John Mark. He is Paul’s traveling partner from Acts 12:25: “When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them.”

Something happened along the way causing John Mark to abandon the group. We don’t know the specifics, but from Acts 13:13 we know he left abruptly: “From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.”

John Mark’s departure was not received well by Paul. We know this because later, when Barnabas wanted John Mark to rejoin their team, Paul refused. John Mark’s departure created a rift between Paul and Barnabas, which actually led to a split. Paul and Silas went one way, while Barnabas and John Mark went another. In Acts 15:37-40 we read:

Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark. But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left...

What happened to John Mark between the time that he “deserted” his friends and became one of only four men whose gospel accounts were chosen by God to be included in the New Testament?

I don’t know the specifics, but it was clearly something incredibly profound. Maybe something on the level of Saul/Paul’s Damascus Road experience (Acts 9)?

As one of only four legit gospel writers, John Mark, was used by God to paint a unique portrait of Jesus, His ministry, and the Passion.

With Easter Sunday fast approaching, let's peer into some cool elements of Mark’s gospel.

The first of those elements is Mark’s use of the Greek word εὐθέως (yoo-thoos), which is commonly translated as “immediately,” “straightaway,” “at once,” or “first thing.”

Here are just a few examples of some of the 40+ occurrences of εὐθέως in Mark’s gospel:

• 1:10 “And immediately going up from the water, he saw the heavens tearing open…”

• 1:18 “And immediately, having left the nets, they followed Him.”

• 5:30 “Immediately Jesus was aware that power had gone out from Him.”

• 9:24 “Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe…”

• 9:15 “And immediately the whole crowd, having seen Him, were greatly amazed…”

Mark uses the word εὐθέως, or “immediately” approximately 42 times (if I counted correctly?). That word is only used about 80 total times in the New Testament, which means that Mark (shortest of the four gospels) uses εὐθέως more than the rest of the all the New Testament writers and books combined. The idea of immediacy is clearly critical to Mark’s story.

Along with Mark’s ominous undercurrent of immediacy driving, propelling, pushing, compelling, and urging Jesus ever forward to the Cross - there is also a strong emphasis on geography and geographic markers.

Mark uses geography to graphically depict Jesus’ steady and continual push closer and closer toward Jerusalem and Calvary, i.e. the place where Christ was crucified.

Why did John Mark use the word εὐθέως, “immediately” so much in his short gospel account?

John Mark, or just Mark, uses the Greek word εὐθέως, frequently translated “immediately” throughout his gospel account, in order to convey, impart, transmit, and depict a sense of absolute URGENCY for the audience - that’s us.

In addition to using εὐθέως frequently throughout his gospel, Mark also uses verbs in what is referred to the “historical present.” This usage of εὐθέως along with strong geographical markers and the “historical present” gives Mark’s gospel an incredibly authentic and strikingly sober aura of REALITY - as if the audience were actually present for the events being described!

Mark Strauss’ book, Four Portraits - One Jesus, does a fantastic job of describing the differences between each of the four different gospel accounts. I agree with Strauss’ analysis of the central theme of Mark’s gospel: “Jesus, the mighty Messiah and Son of God, obediently suffers as the Servant of the Lord to pay the ransom price for sin, and as a model of suffering and sacrifice for his disciples to follow” (p. 172).

In addition to the relentless, dauntless, and unyielding forward-driving Jesus in Mark’s gospel, we also find another interesting theme, which is frequently referred to as the “Messianic Secret.”

People frequently think of the term “Messiah” as synonymous with “Savior,” but that’s not really an accurate description or definition. “Messiah” throughout the Old Testament is more accurately articulated as “King.” One of the first places we see this idea of who the Messiah will be - comes in Genesis 49:10. “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes to whom all tribute belongs and the obedience of the nations shall be his.”

From that point on the reader recognizes the need to track/follow the tribe of Judah for the arrival of the Messiah/King to whom all tribute and obedience belongs. Clearly, the only one who could possibly fulfill that criteria (i.e. “to whom all tribute and obedience belong”) is God Himself. Therefore, from Genesis 49:10 on we see: 1) the fulfillment of God’s promise (Gen 3:15) to personally crush the head of the serpent and thus redeem humanity from our sin; and 2) personally fulfill His promise (Gen 22:8) to provide “the lamb” as the offering for humanity’s sin.

Following the fall of the Northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC to the Assyrians, and the fall of the Southern kingdom of Judah in 586 BC to the Babylonians, it looked as though God’s plan had… (wamp-wamp-waaaaah) fizzled and failed. In that 400 year period of time (from the close of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament) things were indeed beyond grim.

Then Yeshua, Joshua, Jesus (name means “The Lord Saves!) was born in a feeding trough of a woman who could trace their heritage back to the line of King David (to fulfill another of God’s promises from 2 Samuel 7:16), which perfectly fulfilled God’s blessings and promises dating back to Eden, Noah, Abram, Judah, David, and countless others.

For the most part, the Jewish people were anticipating a King who would come as primarily a military king to wipe out the Romans and restore the nation of Israel to its former glory. The Jewish people never fully understood that the Messiah would not come to simply deliver Israel from foreign occupation and provide earthly prosperity, but that God Himself would come to deliver ALL OF HUMANITY from Satan’s occupation and to provide eternal prosperity. Heralding, adorning, and ushering in the Messiah was their role dating back to Exodus 19:6, “And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.”

Throughout Mark’s gospel we read passages like:

1:44 ““See that you don’t tell this to anyone.”

7:36 “Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone.”

8:30 “Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”

Consider the major characteristics of Mark’s gospel we’ve discussed thus far:

• John Mark deserted his friends in the middle of a mission journey.
• John Mark uses the Greek term εὐθέως more than all the other N.T. writers combined.
• John Mark places a HUGE emphasis on Jesus as the suffering Messiah.
• John Mark incorporates the “Messianic Secret” into his gospel

As you reflect on these historical and literary facts it is important to recognize that God had/has a reason to choose and inspire John Mark to write this particular gospel account.

Mark’s gospel opens with, “as written in Isaiah the prophet.” I’d never really considered the book of Isaiah as one of the “gospels” before I began an intense study of Mark’s gospel. But from the opening line of Mark’s gospel, we see that Isaiah is, in fact, a “gospel” (announcement of the good news) of the coming Messiah, Christ, King. Isaiah is also very clear about what kind of Messiah this would be:

From Isaiah 42: “Here is my servant… I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”

From Isaiah 49: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

From Isaiah 53: “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain… he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our sickness and bore our suffering, yet we dismissed him as punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.But in reality he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the sin of all humanity.”

Consider the fact that Isaiah was written approximately 700 years before Jesus’ birth. Consider that this prophet wrote about Jesus, God, the Bible’s anticipated Messiah, Christ, King, and what kind of life He would live as an unassuming, humble, altruistic servant of the LORD.

So when Mark opens his gospel with “This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, which began as the prophet Isaiah had written…” what Mark is doing is vividly demonstrating the undeniable connection and fulfillment of Isaiah’s “gospel,” which eagerly anticipated the promised King of Heaven. The King who would come to serve - serve - serve ALL of humanity (not just the Jewish people).

Our Messiah, Christ, King would do this by opening our sin-blinded eyes, sin-riddled lives, and sin-petrified hearts in order to free us from our hopeless captivity to sin’s prison and to release us from that dungeon of perpetual darkness of eternal separation from our Creator.

Our SERVANT KING came and would ultimately serve by suffering - unto a death - being PIERCED, CRUSHED, PUNISHED, and eventually DIE at the Cross in our place. Just as Isaiah foretold.

The Cross is profoundly significant, but apart from the empty tomb… the Cross would mean nothing. As Mark’s gospel closes we read about two women named Mary who went to Jesus’ tomb to pay their respects. When they arrived something incredible and supernatural happens:

As they approached the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were terrified. “Don’t be alarmed,” the “young man” said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him..."

What did happen to John Mark in the midst of his mission journey? What caused him to abandon and desert his friends? We don’t know. But we do know that it was something profound. Something turn (or “turnt”!) this chicken-hearted “Sir Robin” deserter into what Judges 6:12 would call a “mighty man of valor!”

God blessed John Mark with the gift of faith - not something of or from himself, but a transcendent gift from God Almighty. Mark realized - not just in his head, but in his very being - that Jesus was, in fact, the one whom Isaiah had written about. Mark came to the realization that Jesus was, in fact, the seed of Eve who came and crushed the Serpent’s head and gained eternal victory for humanity. Mark finally understood that Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God was the LAMB whom Abraham had said God would offer up instead of Isaac... and “He has RISEN!”

Jesus didn’t “just” bear our sin at the Cross of Calvary. No, as Psalm 103:12 tells us, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Easter is a joyous celebration of Christ’s victory and eternal significance of that empty tomb. “He has RISEN!”

Our King came to serve us, and He did so perfectly. He didn’t stay in that tomb as a martyr or example of righteous living. The angel told those two women - as the gospel of Mark informs us, “He has RISEN!”

Easter is about egg hunts, happy kids or a “feel good” day in an ocean of others that suck. Our God, our Savior, our glorious and wonderful Servant King has RISEN, and He invites His followers to get immediately, intimately, and personally involved as His personal ambassadors of the the Good News.

Does your life truly herald that profound reality that our King has RISEN? Is Easter an authentic celebration of that reality - or just an excuse to wear pastels, eat cream filled eggs, or make your semi-annual trip to a religious ceremony?

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” -John 4:23

God doesn’t want pew potatoes or marshmallow-hearted chickens. He wants people of valor, i.e. transformed lions - and He wants them immediately!

Blessings!

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com