Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000063S
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00:01 - Today, we're gonna pick up with our series
00:02 on the four Gospels, 00:03 the four historical accounts we have 00:05 of the life and teachings of Jesus, 00:07 four different witnesses, 00:09 and I think I've got a little bit 00:11 of a surprise for you today 00:12 because one of these gospels might be written 00:15 by somebody you didn't expect. 00:18 [energetic guitar music] 00:39 Today, we're gonna come back to the series we're doing 00:41 on the four Gospels, who wrote them, why they wrote them, 00:45 and what you should be looking for when you read them. 00:48 Now, if you're joining us for the first time, 00:50 you might want to go back and listen to parts one and two 00:53 so that you get a more comprehensive experience, 00:55 a better overview of what we're trying to accomplish. 00:58 Today, we're gonna have a look at the earliest 01:01 of the four accounts, which carries the name of Mark. 01:04 We're pretty sure this was the first 01:06 of the Gospels to be written, 01:07 and a lot of Bible scholars actually suspect 01:10 that Matthew and Luke used Mark's Gospel 01:13 as an outline for their own, 01:14 taking his rather bare bones account and expanding it 01:18 with more detail when they thought 01:19 a broader picture might be useful. 01:22 Mark's Gospel was likely written sometime in the 60s AD, 01:26 fairly close to the time of the Apostle Peter's death, 01:30 which took place during the reign of Nero in 64 AD. 01:34 After being held in the Mamertine Prison 01:36 right beside the ancient Roman Forum, 01:39 Peter was taken out of the city to Vatican Hill 01:41 where they crucified him. 01:43 Now, legend says that when the great Apostle saw his cross, 01:47 he began to cry, not because he was afraid of it, 01:50 but because he thought the cross was too good for him. 01:54 "That's the way Jesus died," he said. 01:55 "And I really don't deserve that." 01:58 So the Romans obliged him and crucified him upside down. 02:03 That's the reason you see upside down crosses 02:05 in the Mamertine Prison to this day. 02:08 Now, Jesus actually predicted how Peter would die, 02:12 and you find it in John 21. 02:14 Right after Jesus forgives Peter for betraying him, 02:17 this is what he says, 02:19 "Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, 02:22 you girded yourself and walked where you wished, 02:25 but when you were old, 02:26 you will stretch out your hands 02:27 and another will gird you 02:29 and carry you where you do not wish." 02:32 So of course, some of you are wondering 02:35 what in the world that has to do with the Gospel of Mark? 02:38 Well, actually it might have a lot to do with it 02:40 because even though the author of the Gospel 02:43 is identified as John Mark, 02:45 we have a good deal of evidence 02:47 that the content came from Peter. 02:50 Historically, we believe that John Mark 02:51 probably lived in the house where the Apostles 02:54 met in the upper room shortly after the resurrection 02:58 and it became a center for the first Christian church 03:01 in the city of Jerusalem. 03:02 In fact, there is some speculation 03:04 that Mark was the young man 03:06 who fled naked into the night on the evening 03:08 that Jesus was arrested. 03:11 After the disciples abandoned Christ on that fateful night, 03:14 the Gospel of Mark records this, it says, 03:17 "Now a certain young man followed him, 03:20 having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body 03:23 and the young man laid hold of him 03:25 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked." 03:28 So what most people think is that Mark was living 03:31 in the house where the last supper took place, 03:34 and when Jesus and the disciples left the premises, 03:38 he was curious enough to get out of bed, 03:40 wrap himself in a sheet and follow them. 03:43 But when trouble broke out 03:44 and the disciples suddenly disappeared, 03:46 the arresting party grabbed Mark instead. 03:49 So he escaped their grasp by slipping out of the sheet 03:52 and running back home. 03:55 And I guess the reason most people think it was John Mark 03:57 is because it's such a random incident 04:00 and it doesn't appear to be related 04:02 to the rest of the story. 04:03 I mean it doesn't even mention the young man's name, 04:05 which makes it really unlikely 04:08 that it was one of the 12 disciples. 04:10 So one of the most reasonable conclusions 04:12 is that John Mark slipped this cameo into the story 04:16 because it was his only involvement 04:17 in the life of Jesus before the resurrection 04:21 and the birth of the Christian church. 04:23 And the fact that he left his name out of the story, 04:25 only heightens the suspicion that it's him, 04:27 because it wasn't uncommon in those days 04:31 to humbly skip your own name 04:32 when you were writing about yourself. 04:35 So who really knows? 04:36 John Mark might just be the streaking evangelist. 04:40 Now, as a young man, 04:42 John Mark became intimately involved 04:44 with the work of the apostles, 04:46 joining Paul and Barnabas 04:47 during their first missionary journey. 04:49 [calming flute music] 04:50 Acts 15 tells us there was a falling out 04:53 between Paul and Barnabas, 04:54 and so they parted company 04:56 and Mark went with Barnabas to Cyprus. 04:59 Later on, he went to work for Peter 05:02 who ended up in the city of Rome. 05:04 And John Mark served as a translator, because of course, 05:07 Peter was uneducated. 05:09 So what we think happened is that the Christians in Rome 05:12 became concerned that Peter was getting older, 05:15 and when Peter was gone, 05:16 his sermons which were full of stories about Jesus, 05:19 well, those sermons would disappear. 05:21 And of course, that would be a huge loss. 05:24 So we think the believers urged John Mark 05:27 to write these stories down, 05:28 which gave us the Gospel according to Mark 05:31 or maybe more accurately, 05:33 the Gospel according to Peter. 05:37 Of course, it's quite a leap to just assume 05:39 that Mark was recording Peter's thoughts 05:41 and preserving them in Greek, 05:42 but the record of history seems to confirm this idea. 05:46 Eusebius in his fourth century "History of the Church" 05:49 said this about Peter's preaching. 05:50 He wrote, "And so greatly did the splendor of piety 05:54 illumine the minds of Peter's heroes 05:56 that they were not satisfied 05:58 with hearing only once and were not content 06:00 with the unwritten teaching of the divine Gospel, 06:04 but with all sorts of entreaties 06:05 they besought Mark, a follower of Peter, 06:08 and the one whose Gospel 06:09 is extant that he would leave them a written monument 06:12 of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to them, 06:16 nor did they cease until they had prevailed with the man 06:18 and had thus become the occasion of the written Gospel 06:21 which bears the name of Mark." 06:24 The early church father, Irenaeus, 06:27 writing in the second century 06:28 said pretty much the same thing. 06:29 Here's what he wrote, 06:31 "Matthew composed his Gospel among the Hebrews 06:33 in their own language, 06:35 while Peter and Paul proclaimed the Gospel in Roman 06:37 founded the community. 06:39 After their departure, Mark, 06:41 the disciple and interpreter of Peter, 06:43 handed on his preaching to us in written form." 06:46 Now those are hardly the only accounts we have. 06:49 Clement, Origen, Tertullian, Justin Martyr, 06:53 it seems as if the unanimous understanding 06:56 of the early Christian church 06:58 was that Mark's Gospel is really Peter's Gospel 07:01 and that Mark was working as Peter's secretary. 07:05 And sure enough, 07:06 when you read the letters that do carry Peter's name, 07:08 you find him mentioning John Mark with a note of fondness. 07:12 I mean, just listen to how Peter's first letter ends. 07:14 He writes, "She who is in Babylon." 07:18 And that was code for the city of Rome back in those days. 07:21 "She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, 07:24 greets you, and so does Mark my son." 07:28 Now, it wasn't his literal son, 07:29 but it gives you an idea of how much Peter prized 07:31 this gifted, young writer. 07:33 And when you read the account that Mark left behind, 07:37 it certainly seems to match Peter's personality 07:40 and it does it perfectly. 07:42 It's a gospel full of action, 07:43 much like the hotheaded disciple was himself. 07:46 It focuses on what Jesus did more than what Jesus said, 07:51 and it appears to be aimed at non-believers 07:53 trying to convince them to consider the claims of Christ. 07:58 And the book does contain another little hint 08:01 that this might actually be the teaching of Peter. 08:03 [energetic classical music] 08:04 It doesn't waste much time 08:05 trying to preserve Peter's reputation. 08:08 The other gospels mention the restoration 08:10 of Peter on the beach, 08:11 how Jesus forgave him for the betrayal. 08:15 But in this account, we only have the story 08:17 of the betrayal itself 08:19 and the restoration is never mentioned. 08:22 So if Peter is the real author of this book, 08:25 he appears to be downplaying his own importance, 08:28 which makes a lot of sense. 08:30 But now, it's time for a quick break 08:32 so you can run and get a copy of the Bible 08:34 so you can follow along and I'll be right back after this. 08:38 [transition whooshing] 08:41 [dragon growling] 08:42 - [Narrator] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 08:44 [cheerful classical music] 08:46 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 08:51 If you've ever read "Daniel a Revelation" 08:53 and come away scratching your head, you are not alone. 08:56 Our free Focus on Prophecy guides 08:58 are designed to help you unlock 09:00 the mysteries of the Bible and deepen your understanding 09:03 of God's plan for you and our world, 09:05 study online or request them by mail 09:08 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 09:12 - When we started this series on the four Gospels, 09:14 I mentioned an ancient church tradition, 09:16 an understanding that Christians used to have, 09:19 that the Four Evangelists, 09:21 the four Gospel writers represent the four faces 09:24 you find on the cherubim 09:26 in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. 09:28 Matthew is the face of the lion 09:30 because he demonstrates the kingship of Christ 09:33 and proves that Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. 09:36 Luke zeroes in on the humanity of Christ, 09:39 which makes him the face of a man. 09:42 John unpacks the deity of Christ and takes his audience 09:45 up to the heavens and that makes him the face of the eagle. 09:49 But then Mark or we think Peter, 09:51 gives us a careful study of what Jesus did. 09:54 How he patiently labored for humanity 09:56 like an ox in the field, 09:58 which makes this Gospel the face of the ox or the calf. 10:03 The Gospel of Mark is a brief record of the acts of Jesus, 10:06 which means you'll find a lot less of what Jesus said. 10:09 So if you happen to have a red letter edition of the Bible, 10:12 you'll notice there's less red ink in Mark 10:15 than there is in Matthew or Luke. 10:18 And the story starts at the beginning of Jesus' ministry 10:20 with his baptism 10:22 at the moment when Jesus starts doing things. 10:25 There's no Christmas story in Mark's Gospel, 10:28 no mention of Christ's birth, 10:29 no genealogy like you find in Luke or Matthew. 10:32 There's just a lot of action. 10:35 In fact, there were 18 miracles 10:37 recorded in Mark's book and only four parables 10:41 and one major sermon. 10:42 When you compare that to Matthew, 10:44 you'll see what I mean when I call this the action gospel. 10:48 There's a popular preacher in England 10:49 that I sometimes like listening to, 10:51 and he points out that there is an interesting 10:54 geographical component to the Gospel of Mark. 10:57 The story starts at the Jordan River, 10:59 one of the lowest points in Palestine, 11:01 and then it slowly moves uphill to Galilee 11:04 and then up to Mount Hermon 11:06 until it finally brings us up 11:08 to Caesarea of Philippi 11:10 where we find the biggest moment in Mark's account, 11:13 the turning point of his whole narrative. 11:17 Caesarea Philippi had a shrine dedicated 11:20 to the pagan god, Pan, 11:21 you know the character that was half man and half goat, 11:24 and played a set of pipes. 11:25 [calming piano music] 11:26 And this shrine was located by a natural spring 11:29 that came out of the mountain. 11:31 Pan was the pagan god of desolate places, 11:34 and it was said that he came down to earth 11:36 in the form of a man. 11:38 Now, in later years, one of Herod's sons, Philip, 11:41 put a statue of the Roman Caesar in this same spot, 11:45 which is why they called it Caesarea Philippi 11:48 because it's where Philip was honoring the Caesar. 11:51 And of course, the Caesar to Roman understanding, 11:54 was a man who claimed to be a god. 11:57 So in this one spot, we have a pagan god who becomes a man, 12:00 and then we have a man who thinks he's a god. 12:03 And this is where Jesus chooses 12:05 to ask his disciples a really important question. 12:08 Here's the story as you find it in Mark 8. 12:12 "Now, Jesus and his disciples 12:13 went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi, 12:16 and on the road he asked a disciples saying to them, 12:18 'Who do men say that I am?' 12:20 So they answer John the Baptist, 12:22 but some say Elijah and others, one of the prophets. 12:25 He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'" 12:28 And it's right here that Peter 12:29 actually gets the right answer. 12:31 Peter answered and said to him, "You are the Christ." 12:34 Peter, the loudmouth disciple is finally starting to get it. 12:39 Jesus is the godman, the long awaited Messiah, 12:42 and he says so out loud, 12:44 but that doesn't mean he really understands what it means, 12:46 because within a matter of minutes, 12:48 he gets the wrong answer. 12:50 Here's the way the story continues down in verse 30, 12:53 "Then He." 12:54 That's Jesus, 12:54 "Strictly warned them that 12:56 they should tell no one about him." 12:59 Now let me pause there for a moment, 13:00 because this is a pretty big thought. 13:03 Even though his own disciples 13:04 are starting to recognize who Jesus is, 13:06 he warns them to keep their mouth shut. 13:09 This is something that Bible scholars refer to 13:12 as the messianic secret. 13:14 Mark is giving his readers a really clear picture 13:16 of who Jesus is. 13:17 But at the same time, 13:19 we see Jesus revealing himself very slowly to the disciples. 13:25 In Mark 1, when some demons recognize Christ, 13:28 he tells them to be quiet. 13:30 When Jesus heals a leper, 13:31 he warns him not to tell anybody how he was healed. 13:35 When he raises the daughter of Gyrus from the dead, 13:37 he tells the ruler of the synagogue 13:39 to keep the miracle quiet. 13:42 What we find is a steady progression of understanding 13:44 with people becoming more and more aware 13:47 that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. 13:49 [calming piano music] 13:50 And that's really the primary task of Mark's gospel. 13:53 It's designed to convince you of the same thing 13:56 and the author wants you 13:57 to come to the conclusion for yourself. 13:59 So it's a gradual progressive revelation, 14:02 the same way the story slowly goes uphill. 14:06 But back to the story now where Peter has just confessed 14:09 that Jesus is the Christ at Caesarea Philippi, 14:12 the very place where pagans celebrated 14:15 the blending of human and divine. 14:17 The story continues now in verse 31. 14:20 "And he began to teach them that the Son of Man 14:23 must suffer many things 14:25 and be rejected by the elders and chief priests 14:27 and scribes, and be killed. 14:29 And after three days, rise again, 14:32 He spoke this word openly." 14:35 This is the turning point in Mark's Gospel. 14:38 The story started down in the lowlands by the Jordan River, 14:41 and it continually moves uphill to this point 14:43 where Messiah is finally revealed, 14:47 and that's where the story starts going downhill again. 14:50 Because after this, Jesus starts moving toward Jerusalem, 14:54 the place where he's going to suffer and die. 14:57 So try to imagine the impact. 15:00 Peter has just figured out who Jesus really is, 15:02 and now he's being told that Messiah 15:05 is going to suffer unbelievable humiliation. 15:08 The story continues in verse 32. 15:10 It says, "Then Peter took him aside 15:12 and began to rebuke him." 15:14 So now he's bawling out Jesus for saying 15:16 such a horrible thing. 15:18 But when he had turned around and looked at his disciples, 15:21 he rebuked Peter saying, "Get behind me, Satan, 15:24 for you are not mindful of the things of God, 15:26 but the things of men." 15:29 Now, when Matthew tells this same story, 15:31 he includes the bit where Jesus tells Peter 15:34 that he is a rock. 15:35 It's a redemptive moment, 15:36 a slightly more positive recollection of what happened. 15:40 But Mark leaves that out, 15:41 which only strengthens my suspicion 15:43 that this is really Peter's Gospel 15:45 because it really doesn't have a lot of good 15:48 to say about Peter. 15:49 It demonstrates the humility 15:51 that Peter eventually developed. 15:54 From this point at Caesarea Philippi, 15:56 Jesus immediately goes up to the Mount of Transfiguration 16:00 where three of his disciples 16:01 see him revealed in his full glory. 16:04 So let's have a look at that narrative over in Chapter 9, 16:07 and I'll just read you the whole thing. 16:09 It says "Now after six days, 16:12 Jesus took Peter, James, and John, 16:14 and led them up on a high mountain 16:16 apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. 16:20 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white like snow, 16:23 such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 16:27 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses 16:29 and they were talking with Jesus. 16:31 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 16:33 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here 16:36 and let us make three tabernacles, one for you, 16:38 one for Moses and one for Elijah.' 16:42 Because he did not know what to say, 16:43 for they were greatly afraid. 16:45 And a cloud came and overshadowed them, 16:47 and a voice came out of the cloud saying, 16:49 'This is my beloved son. Hear him.' 16:53 Suddenly when they had looked around, 16:54 they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves." 16:58 So this is the really big revelation, 17:02 the Son of God in all his glory, 17:04 and now the reader knows who Jesus really, really is. 17:08 And from here, 17:09 the story starts going downhill toward Jerusalem, 17:11 toward the cross, and I'll be right back after this. 17:16 [transition whooshing] 17:18 [cheerful piano music] 17:19 - [Narrator] Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 17:21 we're committed to creating top quality programming 17:22 for the whole family. 17:24 Like our audio adventure series, "Discovery Mountain." 17:27 "Discovery Mountain" is a Bible-based program 17:30 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 17:32 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 17:35 from this small mountain summer camp penned down. 17:38 With 24 seasonal episodes every year 17:40 and fresh content every week, 17:43 there's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 17:49 - One of the words that Mark frequently uses throughout 17:52 his Gospel account is another telltale sign, 17:55 at least I think, 17:56 that this is probably the work of Peter. 17:58 It's the Greek word, eutheos, 18:00 which means immediately or straightaway, 18:03 and it emphasizes immediate action. 18:06 If this is the gospel of the ox, 18:08 the gospel of a faithful servant, 18:10 then you'd expect to see a lot of labor and a lot of action. 18:14 And the word eutheos makes a huge splash 18:17 right in the opening chapter. 18:18 Let me show you what I mean. 18:20 At the baptism of Jesus, we read this in Mark 1, 18:23 it says, "And immediately, coming up from the water, 18:26 he saw the heavens parting and the Spirit 18:29 descending upon him like a dove. 18:31 Then a voice came from heaven, 18:32 'You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.'" 18:36 Then right after that, it says, 18:38 "Immediately, the Spirit drove him into the wilderness." 18:41 And then right after that, Jesus calls his first disciples, 18:45 Simon and Andrew, and the text says, 18:47 "They immediately left their nets and followed him." 18:50 Then he sees James and John and it says, 18:52 "And immediately he called them 18:54 and they left their father, Zebedee, 18:55 in the boat with the hired servants and went after him." 18:59 This word shows up again, and again, 19:00 and again, and again, and again. 19:02 And that's because Mark is trying to show us action. 19:06 It's a book with a very fast pace, 19:08 connecting one story to the next in a rapid fire way. 19:11 And it's trying to give us the impression 19:14 that Jesus was very intentional. 19:16 He was working hard to save us. 19:19 [calming piano music] 19:20 I'm convinced that this is one of the reasons 19:22 you find the hand of Jesus mentioned so often 19:24 in the Book of Mark. 19:26 In the Bible, 19:27 the hand is a symbol for work 19:29 like we find in the Book of Ecclesiastes, 19:31 where it tells us whatever your hand finds to do, 19:34 do it with your might, 19:35 for there is no work or device 19:37 or knowledge or wisdom in the grave 19:39 where you are going. 19:41 Mark is the record of Jesus doing his earthly business 19:45 with all his might, with his hand. 19:48 So in this Gospel, 19:49 Jesus takes Peter's mother-in-law, 19:51 it says, "By the hand and heals her." 19:54 He sees a leper, 19:56 a man who has been denied any kind of human touch 19:58 for a really, really long time. 20:01 And it says that Jesus was moved with compassion 20:04 and he reached out and touched him. 20:07 When Jairus pleads for his daughter, 20:09 Jesus takes the girl and says, 20:10 "By the hand." 20:12 And raises her from the dead. 20:14 He uses his hand to heal a deaf man. 20:16 And the same thing happens for a blind man. 20:19 In other words, Jesus is the hand of God 20:23 working in this world to save our broken humanity. 20:27 And then the narrative takes us to the death of Christ, 20:31 an event that occupies one third of this gospel. 20:35 By comparison, Mark skips over the ministry of Christ 20:38 very, very quickly, 20:40 and then he slows down dramatically to focus 20:42 on Jesus' final week 20:44 where the faithful servant does his most important work. 20:48 He takes the sin of humanity on himself. 20:51 He ascends to the cross and he gives his life for us. 20:56 And what's really curious about the story that Mark tells 21:00 is how little space it devotes to what happens 21:02 after Jesus rose from the dead. 21:05 In the other Gospels, 21:07 we have detailed accounts of post resurrection encounters, 21:10 but that's not what you find in Mark's account. 21:13 Now, to be perfectly honest, 21:14 I'm not exactly sure why this is except to say 21:17 that the death of Christ is the focal point for Mark. 21:20 This is where the story was headed 21:22 from the moment he wrote the first words. 21:25 Christ was willing to serve humanity 21:27 to the point of giving his life to save us. 21:30 And curiously enough, of the four faces of the Cherubim, 21:33 the ox is the only clean animal, 21:36 the only one suitable for sacrifice in the temple. 21:40 And I think that Peter really wanted 21:42 to draw our attention to that. 21:44 Over in his first letter, 21:45 Peter writes these words, he says, 21:48 "And if you call on the Father, 21:50 who without partiality judges according to each one's work, 21:54 conduct yourself through the time of your stay here in fear, 21:57 knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptible things 22:00 like silver or gold from your aimless conduct 22:03 received by tradition from your fathers, 22:06 but with the precious blood of Christ, 22:09 as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 22:14 In the second Gospel account, 22:15 we see that the life and death of Jesus 22:17 should make a difference. 22:20 You cannot possibly stand beside Peter and see Jesus 22:23 as he reveals himself and somehow not be changed by that. 22:28 You cannot join Peter, James, and John, 22:31 on the Mount of Transfiguration and see Jesus 22:33 in all his glory and then just go back to regular life 22:37 as if you'd never noticed anything at all. 22:40 I'll be right back after this. 22:42 [transition whooshing] 22:45 [calming piano music] 22:46 - [Narrator] Life can throw a lot at us. 22:48 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 22:51 but that's where the Bible comes in. 22:54 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 22:57 Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 22:58 we've created the Discover Bible guides 23:01 to be your guide to the Bible. 23:02 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 23:05 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 23:08 and they're absolutely free. 23:10 So jump online now or give us a call 23:12 and start your journey of discovery. 23:15 - Well, there I go again. 23:16 I've been yabbering so long 23:18 that I'm starting to run out of time, 23:19 but I don't want to end today's episode 23:21 without focusing on the very end of Mark's Gospel 23:25 or maybe it's Peter's Gospel. 23:28 I think one of the strangest things 23:29 about the way Mark's Gospel ends 23:32 is just how abrupt it seems. 23:35 It looks as if the original version of this book 23:37 ended with these words that you find written in Mark 16:8. 23:41 It says, "So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, 23:45 for they trembled and were amazed. 23:48 And they said nothing to anyone, 23:50 for they were afraid." 23:52 Now, if you look at the marginal notes in some Bibles, 23:54 you'll see that some scholars believe 23:56 that those were the original closing words of this Gospel. 24:01 What we think happened is that in later years, 24:03 another faithful disciple, another follower of Jesus, 24:06 filled in the story with a few extra verses, 24:10 a brief wrap up that includes a couple 24:12 of post resurrection appearances by Jesus 24:15 and a version of the Great Commission 24:17 where Jesus sends his disciples to share the news 24:20 of salvation with the rest of the world. 24:22 But the original version, the oldest one, 24:25 seems to end with an empty tomb 24:26 and some frightened disciples. 24:29 And that's really a very strange place 24:31 to end a story if you think about it, 24:33 because it's not the way that most people would do it. 24:36 If this really is Peter's account of the life of Jesus, 24:40 there's something missing here. 24:42 1 Corinthians 15 tells us 24:44 that after Jesus rose from the dead, 24:46 he appeared to Peter privately, 24:50 almost as if he was finishing the discussion 24:52 that happened at Caesarea Philippi up on the mountain, 24:56 or maybe it was a private meeting to wrap up 24:58 some of the unfinished business 25:00 that came out of Peter's betrayal. 25:03 So if this gospel written by Mark 25:04 is actually Peter's account, 25:06 the way that the earliest church insisted, 25:09 then you'd think that Peter would include 25:11 a meeting between himself and Jesus, but it doesn't, 25:16 and we don't really know why. 25:18 It just ends very suddenly with a note of fear, 25:21 with confused and frightened disciples. 25:24 Now, some people have speculated 25:26 that maybe Mark was suddenly arrested at this point 25:28 and didn't have time to finish off the story. 25:31 Other people think maybe it was designed this way on purpose 25:34 to leave you hanging so that you have to finish 25:37 the story yourself. 25:39 You have to come to terms with Jesus in your own way. 25:42 And the story that Peter started 25:43 has now come to you personally. 25:47 After climbing the mountain 25:49 to see who Jesus really was and then following him 25:53 down the mountain, all the way to the cross. 25:55 Maybe Mark is saying, listen, 25:57 now you have a choice to make just like Peter did 26:00 up on that mountain. 26:01 [calming piano music] 26:03 Everybody who meets Jesus has to respond somehow. 26:07 And there are two ways you can respond. 26:09 Either you read this account of Jesus of Nazareth 26:12 and you find faith, 26:14 or you're confronted by this glorious Jesus on the mountain 26:18 and you succumb to fear, 26:20 and now you have to decide which one you'll be. 26:24 You know, maybe it's been a while 26:25 since you've read a copy of the Bible. 26:27 In this day and age, 26:29 maybe there's a chance you've never actually read it at all. 26:31 If you're going to read it, 26:33 I'd suggest you start with the Gospel of Mark. 26:35 Why? 26:36 Well, it's short enough. 26:38 You could really read this in one sitting. 26:39 It's not very long. 26:41 And by reading it, 26:42 you're going to get a powerful sense of who Jesus is 26:46 or more accurately, who Jesus claims to be. 26:50 And you might just be surprised to find 26:52 what you've been looking for in life. 26:54 You may just find the thing that you knew was out there, 26:58 but didn't know where to look. 26:59 Pay attention to the details in this account. 27:02 Pay attention to how Jesus relates to real, everyday people, 27:07 how he interacts with them, and ask yourself, 27:11 who was this man? 27:13 Was this really just another guru, 27:15 another spiritual teacher like all the rest? 27:18 Is Jesus just another prophet like Elijah or Moses or John, 27:24 or is he the Son of God? 27:27 I mean, if he is, if he really is God in human flesh, 27:33 I'd think you'd owe it to yourself to sit down and examine 27:36 these claims for yourself. 27:38 I know there are a lot of books about Jesus out there, 27:42 and you can find a lot of books about the Bible, 27:45 but this book and this Gospel in particular, 27:48 was written by a man who was willing to die 27:51 upside down on a cross for what he discovered 27:54 on that mountainside, 27:56 and I'd think that would make you more 27:59 than a little bit curious. 28:01 I'm Shawn Boonstra. 28:03 Thanks for joining me for another episode of "Authentic." 28:07 [energetic guitar music] |
Revised 2023-01-18