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Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45 NKJV |
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Introduction to the Gospel Accord to Mark. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45 (NKJV) In this statement the depth of desire to serve comes to us from the heart of Mark and we will read his account of Christ’s life and explore the depths of service as The Christian Worker’s Spiritual Food studies through this great work of The Gospel Accord to Mark. Mark was the son of a woman named Mary, who allowed the church to meet at her house and there Mark became acquainted with what it is to be a servant of God. In Peter 5:13 Peter refers to Mark as being his own son, a reference that Mark turned his life to the Lord in the presence of Peter. Perhaps he surrendered his life as fruit of the miracle that he witnessed. In Acts chapter 12 we read that James was brutally murdered by King Herod. Herod wanted to send a message to the church and Peter was incarcerated, to be killed next. The Jews were pleased that Herod, again, was doing their dirty work and in secret the church gathered to pray in the home of Mary the aunt of Barnabas, the mother of Mark. During the night an angel of the Lord appeared in the jail and nudged Peter saying, “Arise, quickly” and as he did, the chains and stocks fell to the ground. “Put on your clothes and follow me” the angel said. Then Peter followed him through gates that automatically opened, out through the second ward and through the main gate that led to the city streets. |
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Finding himself on the street, he ran to the house of Mary and knocking on the door, but was refused entry in disbelief it was really Him. Once they let Him in, he told his story of how God sent an angel to deliver. That night, the truth of the protection of God was made known so that servants would serve without fear of their own life; to which John Mark took deep within his heart. John was his Jewish name and as the church blended with the Gentiles John took the name Markus, a Latin name. It could have been that he wanted to stick out a bit more and with so many Johns around, taking on the name Mark made him special for Mark wanted to serve the Lord and be considered worthy to go on missionary journeys with the Apostles. The Lord allowed Mark his desire and Mark was allowed to accompanied Paul and Barnabas on a journey to Antioch and later Mark joined them on Paul’s first recorded Missionary journey. However something bothered Mark on the journey and he departed the group and went back to Jerusalem. This was upsetting to Paul and on a later missions trip Paul and Barnabas argues heavily and even parted company over the subject of whether or not to let Mark come with them. Barnabas ends up taking John Mark and Paul headed in another direction. Yet it was during the time that Mark returned to Jerusalem, that he continued his service by writing his gospel account of Jesus. Its timing was perfect for Mark needed to re-think what it is to be a servant of God for whatever spooked him, John did not render a godly response by quitting. If you look at Acts 13 the last ministry event prior to John Mark leaving was an encounter with a sorcerer – false prophet named Barjesus (The son of Jesus) This man was very tough and tried to turn away the faith of many. However what happened next may have caused John Mark to think twice about what it means to serve the Lord. Peter looked at Barjesus and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." Acts 13:10-11 (NKJV) Blindness struck the man instantly. Mark seeing the power of God and the fearlessness of Peter had to ask himself, “Am I ready to face the devil?” This is a question that every missionary must answer before going into the mission field and as they go, trust in the Lord with all their heart knowing that at times you may have to pull out your faith and use it. Ironically, the separation helped Mark rethink what it is to be a servant of God and he wrote his gospel account of Jesus’ ministry with the focus being how Jesus served others. Later, the apostle Paul would have a complete reversal of attitude towards mark and even later write to Timothy that Mark was profitable to Him in helping him minister. For twelve years Mark would be with Paul and though Paul was in prison, Mark did not fear any longer. Mark would come to Paul with provisions and Paul would send Mark to deliver messages to the church. Mark became a great servant of the Lord. In Marks writings he presents the Lord as an active, compassionate, and obedient servant of God who misters to the physical and spiritual needs of others. He sees Jesus as continuously moving towards a goal; a goal that the other disciples did not see. One thing we will find is the words “straightway” or “immediately” which mark uses more than in the entire New Testament for Jesus as a servant of God, knew His ministry and worked towards completing it without hesitation. Perhaps it was Marks hesitation and turning back to Jerusalem that caused him to see this in Jesus and Peter’s lack of hesitation the scarred Him. Mark sees Jesus never turning back, never hesitating and writes, Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45 (NKJV ) As Mark tells the story of Jesus, with each chapter, Jesus, without fear, moves closer to Jerusalem and closer to fulfilling his mission to die for the sins of the world. This too, spoke to Mark, that he should view the days of his own life with importance towards ministry and working towards the final day. When Mark returned to Alexandria, the people there are said to have resented his efforts to turn them away from the worship of their Egyptian gods and in AD 68 they tied him to horses and dragged him through the streets until he was dead. The life and ministry of Mark are very interesting; however, they only mirror the life of Jesus Christ our Savior. In this time of daily devotion, we will study to be like Christ, in hopes of becoming a servant like Mark, who was a great servant in the first church as portrayed by the Holy Spirit.
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