Mark
OUTLINE
I. The Title (1:1)II. Introduction: The Preparation for Jesus’ Public Ministry (1:2–13)A. Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist (1:2–8)B. Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist (1:9–11)C. Jesus’ temptation by Satan (1:12–13)III. Jesus’ Early Galilean Ministry (1:14–3:6)A. Introductory summary: Jesus’ message (1:14–15)B. Jesus’ call of four fishermen (1:16–20)C. Jesus’ authority over demons and disease (1:21–45)D. Jesus’ controversies with Jewish religious leaders in Galilee (2:1–3:5)E. Conclusion: Jesus’ rejection by the Pharisees (3:6)IV. Jesus’ Later Galilean Ministry (3:7–6:6a)A. Introductory summary: Jesus’ activity around the Sea of Galilee (3:7–12)B. Jesus’ appointment of the Twelve (3:13–19)C. The Beelzebub accusation and Jesus’ identity of His true family (3:20–35)D. Jesus’ parables depicting the character of God’s kingdom (4:1–34)E. Jesus’ miracles demonstrating His sovereign power (4:35–5:43)F. Conclusion: Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth (6:1–6a)V. Jesus’ Ministry in and beyond Galilee (6:6b–8:30)A. Introductory summary: Jesus’ teaching tour of Galilee (6:6b)B. Jesus’ sending forth of the Twelve and John the Baptist’s death (6:7–31)C. Jesus’ self-disclosure to the Twelve in word and deed (6:32–8:26)D. Conclusion: Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ (8:27–30)VI. Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem (8:31–10:52)A. The first Passion prediction unit (8:31–9:29)B. The second Passion prediction unit (9:30–10:31)C. The third Passion prediction unit (10:32–45)D. Conclusion: The faith of blind Bartimaeus (10:46–52)VII. Jesus’ Ministry in and around Jerusalem (11:1–13:37)A. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (11:1–11)B. Jesus’ prophetic signs of God’s judgment on Israel (11:12–26)C. Jesus’ controversy with the Jewish religious leaders in the temple courts (11:27–12:44)D. Jesus’ prophetic Olivet Discourse to His disciples (chap. 13)VIII. Jesus’ Suffering and Death in Jerusalem (chaps. 14–15)A. Jesus’ betrayal, the Passover meal, and His disciples’ desertion (14:1–52)B. Jesus’ trials, crucifixion, and burial (14:53–15:47)IX. Jesus’ Resurrection from the Dead near Jerusalem (16:1–8)A. The women’s arrival at the tomb (16:1–5)B. The angel’s announcement (16:6–7)C. The women’s response to the news of Jesus’ resurrection (16:8)X. Disputed Epilogue (16:9–20)A. Three of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances (16:9–14)B. Jesus’ commission to His followers (16:15–18)C. Jesus’ Ascension and the disciples’ ongoing mission (16:19–20)The Theme
The theme of the Book of Mark is to encourage his readers to persevere through suffering and persecution. The Book of Mark tells the Gospel of Jesus as the Servant-Messiah and the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins and the miracles that Jesus performed.The Authorship
The author's name wasn't given, but there are external evidence and internal evidence that identifies the author of this book. The external evidence is information that was passed on from words of mouth. That is how they used to keep information in those days until they learned that Jesus wasn't coming back in their generation. The early church thought that the second coming of Jesus Christ would take place soon. As people began to die, the church realized and decided that they needed to preserve the records. The second proof of the authorship is given internally within the book of Mark. So, the unanimous testimony of the early church fathers was that Mark, an associate of the Apostle Peter, was the author of the Book of Mark.Who was Mark
Mark was not an eyewitness follower of Jesus. He accompanied the Apostle Peter and heard Apostle Peter's preaching, and he accurately wrote down all the things that Peter remembered of Jesus's words and works. Mark was the cousin of Barnabas. Mark abandoned Paul on his missionary journey but was later "useful" to Paul (Acts 15:36-40).The Date
This book has two types of periods: an oral period and a written period. The oral period is between AD 33-66. They used to preach the word of God. So, all the things that Jesus has said and done were circulated orally. (Acts 8:4).The written period is between 60-70 AD. The early church thought Jesus would return in their generation, so they didn't see a need to keep a written record. However, as people began to die, the early church wanted to persevere the Gospel of Jesus for the next generation. So, they begin to write down everything.Overview
The Gospel of Mark gave us fast pace news of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mark is also known as the "urgent" Gospel because it is the shortest of all the four Gospels of Jesus Christ. I've learned that the other Gospels used scriptures from the Book of Mark. So, the Book of Mark might be the first Gospel written before Matthew and Luke because only 7% of the content in Mark is unique. The Purpose of Mark
The Book of Mark goes straight into the points and facts that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and the Savior of the world. So, the purpose of Mark is to tell the non-Jewish people (Roman community at that time) and the world about Jesus. He wanted to convince them that Jesus was the Son of God. Mark didn't waste any time explaining to the audience about Jesus. Matthew and Luke open with the genealogy of Jesus, but Mark doesn't. He said, "This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God." The Book of Mark wants the readers to understand the things that Jesus had to suffer for the human race. So, Mark wanted to enable or encourage Christians spread throughout the Roman Empire to endure suffering and persecution for their faith in Jesus. Moreover, Jesus had to suffer for us. Mark recorded much about Jesus's sufferings, and one-third of this Gospel deals with the passion of Jesus. Mark's Gospel was aimed at people who did not have a Jewish background, and that is why Mark didn't use much of Jewish history. The book of Matthew is full of Old Testament passages or scriptures. The Jews knew the Old Testament scriptures, and they had a particular way of thinking about the Scriptures. So, that is why you will find many Old Testament quotes by Matthew in the book of Matthew. Unlike Mark, Mark didn't use much of the Old Testament because his purpose was to write unto people that are not Jewish: The Romans and the rest of the world.Mark gives us a description of Jesus's life, work, teaching, death, and resurrection.This book is also about actions and reactions. You will read about the miracles described in this book and how people reacted to the miracles done by Jesus Christ. People were amazed, puzzled, astonished, and some were even hostile.Some Characteristics of the Book of Mark
Mark wanted his readers to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God and to give their life to Jesus. Mark recorded many intimate details that only an eyewitness could have observed, which he got from Peter. (e.g. 1:27, 41, 43;2:12,; 3:5; 7:34; 9:5-6,10; 10:24, 32)Mark recorded 20 of Jesus's miracles. Mark mainly talked about the things that Jesus has done. On the other hand, Matthew talked more about the major discourses of Jesus. Discourses are the teaching and speeches given by Jesus Christ about His kingdom. So, Mark recorded a smaller proportion of Jesus's teachings and speech, but he recorded more of the works that Jesus did. Mark helps us to understand that Jesus was a Man of action. This book emphasizes Jesus's role as the "Servant of the Lord ( Yahweh)," and it points out the human reactions of Jesus.Below is a video made by Allen Parr. He has some interesting facts that I do not have in my reports. For example, he points out some "literary features" of the book of Mark, the structure of the book of Mark, etc... You can watch the starting point of the literary feature @ 20:13 in the video. Please watch his video. There are tons of information that I did not cover or go over in detail the way he did.
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