Mark 1:1 Background and Introduction
Take time every day to communicate with God through prayer and Bible study.
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: December 23, 2017 Mark 1:1
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
John Mark grew up in the house where the first church in Jerusalem used to meet. His mother’s name was Mary. When Peter escaped from prison, the first place he went to was John Mark’s house, not to stay but to give them the news. “When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying” (Act 12:12). Peter knew that the believers would be gathering there and praying. He knew that this was the place where the information could flow out to all the other believers in Jerusalem. Although there were no official deaconesses yet, John Mark’s mother seems to have been acting in the role of head deaconess. John Mark grew up with Peter around, and in fact in 1 Peter 5:13, Peter calls John Mark his son. “She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son” (1Pe 5:13). This shows that Mark was with Peter when this letter was written. John Mark went with Paul and Barnabas to the church at Antioch and on the first leg of the first missionary journey. Then, he returned to Jerusalem. Later, he would be in Antioch again when Paul and Barnabas were planning a second journey. His cousin Barnabas wanted to take him along, but Paul did not trust him and refused. The two older men separated over this disagreement, and Barnabas took Mark on a missionary journey with him. Mark evidently won Paul’s trust later though because Paul mentions him as a companion three different times. “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him),” (Col 4:10). “Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. (2Ti 4:11). “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers” (Phm 1:23-24). Thus, Barnabas’ faith in Mark’s potential was justified. Mark was mentored by the same man who mentored Paul. Later Paul could say that Mark was very useful in his ministry and called Mark his fellow worker.
Mark knew the apostles; he was at the center of the action of the church; he was a helper and worker to the leaders of the church and missionary work. Thus, it is logical that he would write the first gospel. Some sources call this the gospel of Peter since Peter would have been Mark’s primary source of stories. It stands to reason that the church would want to hear Peter’s witness most as he was Jesus’ leading disciple and the leader of the apostles after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Thus, I need to read the gospel of Mark through the eyes of Peter’s devotion and lack of self-understanding. Peter was not a subtle man. Instead, he was direct and to the point.
(Understanding the Passage) Mark does not try to introduce a genealogy as Matthew does; he does not start with a greeting to a specific person or with Jesus’ childhood as Luke does; he does not start with creation as John does. Mark simply says that he is telling the story of Jesus who is the Messiah and the Son of God. His purpose was to tell the simple story of Jesus in writing so that people who did not have access to a living witness of the events could still know what happened. Mark seems to be humble, not thinking that he has the authority to add or comment on the events that he had gotten from Peter. Mark starts with John the Baptist. This makes sense since that is where Peter’s interactions with Jesus began.
(Revelation about God) Mark starts by telling us that Jesus is the Son of God. He is telling us that his book will be about more than a man. This is not a biography. This is how the Son of God interacted with people in a way that brought Good News, the Gospel, to all people.
(Application and Prayer) My application for myself is that I want to know You, the subject of this book, more and more and to understand the good news that You brought to the world.