“The Restored Disciple” Mark 1:1-13

TRANSCRIPT

Date: February 26, 2023 Author: Wayne J. Edwards

Dear Heritage Family, While all four gospels tell us the same life-changing message of Jesus, each writer viewed the same facts through the lens of their own heart and eyes, and therefore, they each wrote from a different perspective. Mark focused on the physical suffering Jesus endured to obtain our eternal salvation. In Mark 8:31, Mark said Jesus “began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be killed, and after three days to rise.” Since Mark’s writing coincided with the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D., perhaps Mark’s motivation was to encourage those first-century Christians to remain strong in the face of the persecution and martyrdom they were experiencing . The primary message of Mark’s gospel is clear. Just as Jesus’ physical suffering was the means of our reconciliation with God, physical suffering may also be the means of our effective witness to others. While it is not always in our purview to understand, it is still imperative that we trust His plan, for God assures us that the hardships we are called to endure today, for His honor and His glory, will not be in vain. Ma n y prophesy watchers believe the persecution of Christians in the last days of the church will equal, in not exceed, that of the first day s . Sadly, that truth is not preached in most churches. In fact, m ost Christians today don’t believe a loving God will allow us to suffer, but they will soon face their error. That was the intended timeless truth of this series of sermons , “The Suffering Servant,” We pray that the Holy Spirit has guided your learning to that important truth. Please feel free to pass these sermons on to those you believe would be interested in hearing them, and as always, let us know how we can be an encouragement to your spiritual growth. Pastor Wayne

Download the following translated Sermon guides:

Old Testament Reading – Isaiah 51:1-16 New Testament Reading –Acts 15:36-41

The above picture is an artist’s rendering of what Mark may have looked like when he wrote his gospel around AD 50-AD 60.

Mark grew up listening to the nightly discussions between Jesus and His disciples as they met in his mother’s home. Acts 12:12

Mark said two things about the gospel we must understand, or this study will not mean much to us.

In the days of this writing, when a king traveled from city to city, a messenger would go before the king to prepare the people for his coming and the roads for his travel.

Jesus did not “need” to be baptized, for He had no sin to be repented of or forgiven. Jesus was baptized to identify with the multitudes who would be baptized as outward evidence of their inward faith in Him.

Mark said Jesus moved from heaven’s testimony to hell’s test in less than one day.

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