Mark is the shortest and most action-packed of the gospels. It is fast-paced in its action, with the Greek word for immediately, or straight away, occurring forty times. It focuses more on the works rather than the words of Jesus. It has the least direct teaching but records the most miracles, and is full of healings and deliverances, as well as accounts of the controversies that surround Jesus. The action begins in Galilee and then goes on to Jerusalem and is in many ways a straight-forward account of what Jesus actually did. It was written by John Mark, who the apostle Peter refers to as a son in the faith, and Peter is clearly the main source of inspiration and information for this gospel. Its original readers would have been the Romans, among whom Mark spent most of his time as a missionary with Paul and Peter.

Secrets of the Kingdom

In the gospel of Mark there is a certain mystery, even secrecy, about the person of Jesus. He is introduced simply as the Son of God, with nothing about his birth or his background mentioned. There is often a misunderstanding, even amongst his disciples, about who he is. Demons are silenced when they mention him and Jesus tells people not to tell others who he is.

There is a focus on the Kingdom in this gospel, a kingdom that is demonstrated by the works of Jesus. But many, even his own disciples, fail to understand the nature of this Kingdom. In fact, Jesus explains that he uses parables when speaking about his Kingdom so that they can’t and won’t understand it. And so there is an element of mystery or secrecy to this kingdom, as well as to its King. At the heart of the mystery of the kingdom is that it has already come in an unexpected and unobtrusive way, and involves the suffering of its servant-king. This kingdom is a different kind of kingdom.  

Son and Servant

This gospel is about Jesus Christ the Son of God – that’s how it begins. And right at the end we find the Roman centurion acknowledging him as he dies on the cross,  – ‘surely this man was the Son of God’ – echoing the beginning of the gospel. The fact that it is a Roman centurion who acknowledges Christ shows, along with other episodes involving Gentiles in this gospel, that God intends to gather all nations to himself. 

But as well as being ‘the Son,’ Jesus is also introduced to us in this gospel as very much the Servant of God –  perhaps that is why the emphasis is upon what he did rather than on what he said.  He became a servant and was obedient, doing the will of his Father. As we saw earlier, the king had to suffer, as Mark echoes the prophet Isaiah in presenting Jesus as ‘the suffering Servant’.

Suffering

Suffering is often referred to in this gospel. The Messiah had to come to suffer to bring a new deliverance for the people of God.  Suffering is what the Messiah has to go through but it is also what his disciples, those who follow him, will have to be prepared to go through. A disciple has to be willing to take up his cross, follow him and suffer for the gospel. 

And so, in this short gospel, we are introduced to Jesus as the ‘suffering Servant’ who saves his people, the Son of God and as the Messiah, the King of the Kingdom.

There is a helpful overview of Mark at Bible Project.