Essay The Mission of Jesus as Described in the Gospel of Mark

In other words, what the disciples did not understand; while Matthew focuses on Peter’s spiritual gains, or what the disciples learned. Matthew also portrays Peter in an abrogating way. For instance, when Jesus asks Peter why he puts forth doubt in his leader in 14:31 Matthew is portraying him as someone who doubts his leader, who is almighty and powerful. Jesus does not question Peter’s faith in Him in Mark. However, Jesus presents some positive light in Matthew as

Mark’s gospel begins with Jesus’ ministry, leads up to, and ends with His crucifixion. The gospel stresses the importance of Jesus’ divinity and discipleship. There are different examples throughout the gospel of this. Discipleship is shown on Mark’s gospel when Jesus first calls his disciples to repent and believe. In chapter two verses twelve to seventeen Jesus calls sinners to repentance when he has supper with tax collectors. This calls the sinners to follow Him. The best example of discipleship is in chapter eight verse thirty-four when Jesus says take up your cross and follow me. He is asking people to live as He does and commit their whole lives to Him even if it means dying in order to deliver God’s message. He says whoever loses their

The Gospel according to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. The story explains how the Messiah, Jesus, was refused by Israel and finally sent the disciples to preach the gospel around the whole world. As Matthew wrote for his fellow Jews, he wrote his Gospel in the language Jesus spoke, Aramaic, which led early Church Fathers to believe Matthew’s was the first Gospel. On the other hand, the Gospel of Mark teaches that Jesus is the Son of God who assumed human nature. Mark wrote the gospel in Greek for a Gentile-Christian audience, which was undergoing persecution, perhaps in Rome. A central theme is that following Jesus often means that a Christian must suffer like Jesus did. Mark’s Gospel points out that Jesus accepted this important title, but that he was reluctant to let people know his identity. (Matthew 26:26-30 and Mark 14:22-26 )

The roles of disciples play a very important part in developing the message of the gospels due to their close relation to Jesus throughout the stories. To start to understand the importance of the disciples first you have to understand the main purpose of the Gospels. The Gospels are written in order to describe Jesus’s life on earth before Heaven. They give people insight to who Jesus was and create a stronger basis of belief in Jesus and God. In order to bring the Gospels to life they use the students of Jesus or Disciples to project his teachings and stories. The disciples take on many different roles in the varying gospels. They are students, friends, witnesses, observers, and worshipers of Jesus. Disciples come in many different forms of people as well. During the stories of the Gospels, Jesus is essentially walking along picking up new followers and experiencing new things with them. Throughout the experiences, Jesus teaches the disciples and they grow and learn and as a result the reader grows and learns as well. That is why the disciples play such a pivotal role in the comprehension of Jesus and him as a person. It becomes evident when analyzing the different Gospels that Jesus’ relationship with the Disciples is slightly changed in the varying texts. A noticeable difference in the development of the disciple 's relationship to Jesus is present specifically in the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Thomas.

Jesus was contradicting many of the Jewish teachings and proclaiming himself to be the son of God. They wanted to stop the spread of his message and a potential uprising of the Jews. Jesus’s talents of miracles, parables, and speaking to crowds made him a powerful influence on the people and a great threat to the

“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) is one of the most fundamental questions that Jesus asked his disciples. It is a question, from my personal viewpoint, that has a simple answer. Jesus is Lord! Needless to say, there is more to the identity of Jesus, but it is my belief that Jesus is the Messiah, the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the promised Savior foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. There is an endless list that gives Jesus titles such as Ruler and King, Master and Teacher, Savior and Christ, but in Acts 2:36 Luke writes, “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus is the one who went to the Cross to bring humankind forgiveness, redemption, and salvation.

When the writer of the gospel of Mark says “The beginning of the good news”, 1. it is obvious from his opening sentence that he is writing about news he thinks will benefit people. The good news is not only that there is a God, but is about God`s action and is connected to Jesus who is the Messiah and Son of God. 2. It is about hope and fulfillment of hope. Mark alludes to Malachi and Isaiah where the mention of wilderness and exile, symbols of need and expectation. They reinforce the claim that the good news meets such hopes and expectations. In Mark 1:15 ``The time promised by God has come at last!`` he announced. ``The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!`` The call to repentance must be understood. People should repent in preparation for the coming of the Lord. In Mark 2:10 ``So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins`` The good news is that in Jesus’ ministry he will baptise with the Holy Spirit. Jesus with the Spirit faces the powers of evil. 3. The good news is about God’s action which reaches fulfilment

The third chapter of Mark's Gospel, is the most monumental part of the gospel at this point. The first being to recognize Jesus is revealed. Every time an unclean spirit, or demon, would see Jesus, they would bow down and exclaim, "You are the Son of God" (Mk. 3:11). Jesus was appalled by this and asked that they do not reveal his name. Mark states that Jesus is very serious in hiding his identity by saying, "He warned them sternly not to make him known" (Mk. 3: 12). Jesus made this remark in a very authoritative fashion.

Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior. During his life, Jesus taught of God and Christianity. Most of his teaching was through speeches. His ministry began when he was thirty years old. Jesus traveled from village to village spreading the Good News of God. Jesus had twelve apostles, or special followers, that helped him teach about God. One time when he went to Jerusalem, everybody welcomed Jesus as the Messiah. The chief priests in Jerusalem denied that he was the Messiah. Pontius Pilate was concerned that Jesus was teaching against Roman authority. Pilate said that Jesus was to be crucified. Jesus was crucified and died on the cross. After he died, he was put in a tomb with a heavy stone in front so no one could go in it. Two days after he died,

John’s message was urgent as he explained to Israel that the kingdom of heaven is near and that is why they should repent. John announced a literal kingdom here on earth under the personal rule of God’s covenant Messiah. John’s announcement generated a widespread response, because the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and willingly submitted to John’s baptism (Mark 1:5).

And yes, the disciples did heal, they did preach and they did cast out evil. "The apostles returned and met with Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught" (Mark 6:30) and "They went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them" (Mark 6:12-13). Both of these quotes show us that the disciples followed instructions and did them well.

The concept of ‘seeing’ the ways of Jesus and that He is the Messiah, is to truly understand the message being portrayed throughout the Gospel, and not the surface meaning that is being represented literally. This concept was very significant to Jesus and his followers as to interpret the meaning without being said, most parables being related to the Kingdom of God and Jesus’ miracle stories. Times were harsh and difficult to spread and teach the words of Jesus, as Mark’s community would face persecution. The disciples of Jesus could ‘see’ more than other believers could perceive, from being apart of Jesus’ life with close relationships, as they were taught the fundamentals from Jesus himself to understand his teachings in much more depth and fluency than others. There were many similarities among Jesus’ twelve disciples and Mark’s community, as both groups share the strong faith in Jesus and God’s power by spreading the good news to others as well as experiencing hardships caused by arrogant hierarchy and society. According to Mark, Jesus was known for his parables and

Mark: The Gospel of Mark tells the story of Jesus Christ’s life from when he was baptized by John the Baptist until the days of his death, and his resurrection. Mark was the second of four Gospels although some Scholars argue and insist Mark was the first Gospel written 1. Mark was written by John Mark in AD 65, with a target audience of Roman Christian beleivers 2. Mark was written in a unique manner in regards to literary genre, as it contains figures of speech, and portray life situations in a passionate story like setting that can make the reader feel as if he is there 3. The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, however it is written in a manner that emphasizes more so on Jesus’s works than Jesus’s words 4. The key theme in Mark is to portray the life of Jesus Christ as the son of God 5, and the purpose was to show the human qualities and emotions that Jesus displayed from anger (Mark 3:5), and compassion (Mark 1:41). Some of the key events of Jesus Christ’s life in the Gospel Mark include his miracles, his entrance into Jerusalem, the last supper, his arrest and trial, his crucifixion, his resurrection, and his ascension 6. The Gospel of Mark ends with his instruction to the eleven Apostles “And he said unto them “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:16), and his ascension into Heaven (Mark 16:19).

Mark presents Jesus as a compassionate savior who through his acts of service and acts of suffering summons unbelievers to become disciples and so that believers would understand what it means to be committed followers of Jesus. In Mark's account of the Passion of Jesus Christ, Jesus dies alone.Jesus only speaks once from the cross stating "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" and dies. Mark acknowledges that after Jesus' crucifixtion that people believed in Jesus being the true Messiah, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (15:39).

1. In the Gospel of Mark, there are many important features that define Jesus. One point to make notice is his caring character. There are multiple instances where Jesus feeds an abundant amount of people. He was thankful that people were there to see him, so he did not want them to go home hungry. With seven loaves of bread and a few fish, Jesus fed four thousand people. He also did this again with 5 loaves and 2 fish, and he was able to feed five thousand people because he was compassionate towards them. These situations show that Jesus cared for his people and did not want them to suffer.