Mark wrote his Gospel to show that Jesus is the Savior, and that he saved us through his suffering,

Tuesday, 1/13/15

On weekdays this year we will be following Mark’s Gospel, and for getting his message day by day, you might be helped if you can discern  Mark’s purpose in composing this Gospel. Mark wrote at a rebuttal to those who said Jesus could not be the Messiah because he was crucified. But, unlike St. Luke and St. John, Mark did not spell out that reason for writing his Gospel. 

St. Luke gave us his reason. "Since many have undertaken to compose a narrative of the events fulfilled amongst us. . . I too have have decided . .  to write it down in an orderly sequence." 

St. John, at was at the end of his Gospel told us his purpose. "Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life."

 With St. Mark we must note how his sixteen chapters clearly break into neat halves. The first eight chapters build up the case for recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. Then, at the midpoint of his Gospel, at the end of Chapter Eight, all the piled up evidence of the first eight chapters forced Peter to say, “You are the Messiah.”

With Peter, as the spokesman for all of us, having come to see the truth, the second half of Mark’s Gospel begins immediately with Jesus asserting that he was going to save us not by conquering, but by refusing to be conquered. And he begins his second half by saying, “Whoever comes after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

 Today’s Gospel begins the first eight chapters that show Jesus to be the Messiah. First, the man with the unclean spirit crises out, “I know who you are, the Holy one of God.” Next, Jesus drove out the devil by the power of his command. Then, the people marveled that he spoke with the authority of one who knew God well.