Mark: A Story About a Suffering Servant

Before the fall, the group of guys in my small group got to together to decide what book we should study for the fall and the spring preceding it. We had done an Old Testament book before, so we were looking for a New Testament book to study. I threw out the book of John as a possibility. My reason (beside it being next year’s material for quizzing) was that I realized most of the Gospel stories I knew from heart were from the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and that I did not know too many details of the supplementary Gospel of John. All the guys liked this idea, but one of them thought that the 21 chapters of John would be enough to cover only about 21 weeks, not 36 weeks. He suggested that, since John is the last Gospel (in both position in the New Testament and date written), we should start our Gospel study with Mark, the shortest and earliest written Gospel. At first, I wasn’t as on board with this idea. I had studied the book of Mark intensely for quizzing in 2003 and I was pretty sure I knew about it. But everyone else was on board with it, so I went along with it. And I’m glad I did. The last time I took a good look at Mark was when I was in 8th grade. Since then, I have gone through 4 semesters of Bible class at a Mennonite High School, and 4 years of Bible college. Both experiences have greatly improved my Bible study skills. With those skills, I noticed things about Mark I did not notice before in 8th grade. Sadly, my small group was unable to complete our Bible study on Mark, for reasons that will within the confidentiality borders of my small group. But I have stayed true to reading Mark, and I would like to share what I have learned.

Mark is indeed the shortest Gospel account, only 16 chapters long. Mark is also a synoptic gospel, meaning it is just summarizing the events of the life and ministry of Jesus. Both of these make sense if we take into consideration the date the book of Mark was written. The book Mark was written somewhere between 55 and 66 AD, making it the first Gospel account written down. Before this book was written, the only New Testament Scriptures out there were epistles from Paul and perhaps a few general epistles. Stories about Jesus were simply passed down by oral tradition, by word of mouth. With that in mind, it was important to get something written down about Jesus. So when Mark wrote his gospel, he wasn’t into details. Mark wanted, as the famous saying goes, “just the facts,” and it’s apparently throughout this short gospel. Take the temptation of Jesus’ for example. Matthew and Luke go into great detail about what happened during those 40 days of temptation. Mark simply says, “Jesus was tempted, and when he passed the temptations, angels served him.”

Let’s talk a little bit more about the man Mark. Most of what we know from Mark does not come from the book of Mark, but mostly from the book of Acts. Mark was a companion of Paul and Barnabas on a missionary. Mark, however, was an unreliable man, as he left part way through. Thus, when Barnabas wanted to bring along Mark again for the next missionary trip, Paul and Barnabas got in a fight over whether taking Mark was a good idea. Paul and Barnabas split, but Barnabas stayed faithful to Mark, bringing Mark with him to wherever he ministered. I could go on and tell you more about Mark, such as his mother’s name was Mary, he was a cousin to Barnabas, or that he was like a son to Peter, but none of that would really help our understanding of how the man Mark connects to the book Mark. What do think might help, I would have to take from traditional interpretations and modern interpretations. In Mark 14:51-52, Mark inserts a little story about a man wearing nothing but a linen cloth flees naked when Jesus is arrested. One might think, “That’s an odd tidbit to insert in this story. Why does Mark do it when no other Gospel writer mention it?” Some people have suggested that Mark is talking about himself, that the man running away naked is Mark. This would place Mark at the arrest. Why do I find this significant? Jesus did call 12 disciples, but these 12 disciples were not the only ones following Jesus around. There was a larger group of people who regularly followed Jesus wherever he would go. The number cut down greatly in John 6:66, and by the time we get to the book of Acts, we find out the number of Christ’s followers post-resurrection numbered around 120. I would be surprised, and I do believe, Mark was probably one of these 120 followers of Jesus, who might have witnessed Jesus speaking and performing miracles when Jesus was in the public sector. In fact, a tradition dating back to the 500s AD would not only verify me, but would also say that Mark was one of the 72 Jesus sent out to minister in Luke 10. Now to be fair and represent the other side, some scholars say there is no proof for any of this, since the earliest proof of Mark’s appearances is in Acts. They would say most of Mark’s information about Jesus and his ministry from what Peter witnessed. I do agree that Mark did get a lot of information from Peter, as a lot of the book of Mark tells stories about the closeness in the relationship between Jesus and Peter that only Peter could talk about. But if I were to add one last piece to that, and I know this argument is weak because it is merely from logic, but don’t you think God would want the first Gospel account to come from someone who witnessed Jesus more directly? One more key feature I will note is Mark’s name, or rather his full name. His full name is John Mark. John is a Jewish name. Mark is a Roman name. Thus, one can conclude Mark most likely is both Jewish and Roman, just like Paul. The other option would be Mark is from a Jewish family that were slaves to a Roman family and his family took on the last name of his Roman masters. Either way, Mark has Roman ties.

So naturally the audience for the book of Mark is Romans. Let me remind you about the Roman people, although you may not need a lot of reminding if you simply remember what you learned about them in middle school or high school (or maybe even college). The Romans are the power of the western world. They have conquered all the land around the Mediterranean Sea, including the remnants of the Egyptian and Greek Empire, the Germanic tribes and the Anglo-Saxans (English, Welsh, Scottish, etc.). Remember that Israel/Judah is not an independent, free nation. The land belongs to the Romans, ruled by the half-Jew and half-Roman King Herod, overseen by Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. In fact, all the ethnic groups the Romans have conquered have rulers that have been put in place by the greater Roman government. The Roman government has allowed the people to keep their religions, culture, traditions and holidays (as long as they are not against the Romans), but they have to submit to the Roman government and they have to pay taxes. The Romans know they have authority and they exercise it over the people they conquer. So with that mind, what do you think the most important thing is to the Romans? Power and authority. In fact, in their minds, power = authority. Actually, I can throw a third word in there: strength. Power comes in strength. Authority comes in strength. Power = strength = authority. It’s obvious if you think about it. Think about when you learned about the Caesars in history class, or even think back to reading Julius Caesar in English or Literature class. If your father was the Caesar, you were not guaranteed to be the next emperor, even if you were the firstborn son. When Julius Caesar was assinated, both Brutus and Cassius fought Julius Caesar’s son Octavius/Augustus to be the next emperor of Rome. If you wanted to be the next emperor of Rome, you had to fight for it. You had to gain followers by proving your strength, and then fight off any opposition. The last man standing, the strongest man, became the emperor. So if Mark wants to win any Romans over to Christianity, he’s got to show Jesus has strength, power and authority, to show Jesus is worth following, and that is emperor/king material.

Now usually at this part I would state the purpose of the book of Mark, and then show you through an outline of the book how Mark answers the purpose. But I’m not going to do that this time, so you can see how great of a story Mark’s gospel account is. Instead, I’m going to highlight some parts of Mark’s Gospel narrative that will eventually point to Mark’s purpose. As I go through them, and as you may be led to actually read them, think of yourself as a Roman person during the height of the Roman empire, reading this story. You’re looking for Jesus to be strong, powerful and authoritative. If you are a Roman, what are you thinking as you read this narrative? What are you feeling, or how are you emotionally reacting to parts of this Gospel account?

Mark wastes no time showing the authority and power Jesus has. At first, Jesus displays his authority simply by teaching. His message is simple: repent and receive the good news that the kingdom of God is here! As simple as this message is, it has captivated everyone who hears. His words alone have authority. But actions speak louder than words, so we need some action to verify these words. Mark wastes no time showing exciting action in his gospel story. As soon as Mark 1:21-27, Jesus begins preaching and a man with a demon comes to Jesus, and Jesus drives the demon out of the man. The people see the power behind the message Jesus is preaching and they make that connection from words to action immediately. Also in chapter 1, Mark records Jesus getting rid of a fever in Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and a man with leprosy, as well as many other sickness and demon possessions. Already with the first chapter, the Roman reader sees that Jesus has the power and strength to cure people of any sickness and even cast out demons. The demon possession would stick out, showing Jesus has power over the spiritual realm.

Mark chapter 2 opens with the famous story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man on a mat. Here, the authority of Jesus is shown twice, when Jesus first forgives the man’s sins, and then gives him the power to walk. Jesus poses the question, “Which is easier to say: to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?” The one bear testimony to the other. Since the paralyzed man can walk, the observers and readers know the man’s sins are forgiven. Jesus is shown to have power over both physical ailments and the spiritual ailment of sin. After this incident of forgiving sins, the Pharisees and Sadducees are looking at Jesus in a different light. They are questioning him more, and it’s not always to learn more. Some of them are trying to trap him, accuse him, or bring judgment down on him. The rest of chapter 2 is the Pharisees and Sadducees questioning Jesus in both his teaching and actions. Yet none of these questions or accusations phase Jesus. He knows what he is teaching is right and fully stands behind it as right. Furthermore, when Jesus is questioned about Old Testament teachings, like fasting and the Sabbath he shows that he has authority above both of those practices. Once again, Jesus is a teacher with authority. This slides right into chapter 3, and in chapter 3, the reader starts to see the results. All this power and strength is attracting a crowd. People are literally coming from all over to see Jesus. There are so many people Jesus is being crowded and pushed around. From this large crowd, Jesus picks out 12 to be his inner circle, his disciples, who will follow his every move and learn from him. Jesus has a large following, which shows his authority. Even his family is starting to pay closer attention to him.

A majority of Mark chapter 4 is Jesus speaking in parables. Once again, this shows the authority of Jesus in His teaching. It takes great wisdom to teach a parable with perfect meaning; only a smart teacher could do this. Jesus demonstrates he knows what he is teaching by teaching with various stories. But the big sign of strength comes at the conclusion of the chapter, with the famous story of Jesus calming the story. In addition to power, strength and authority over sickness, injury, demon possession and sin, we can add nature to the list. Chapter 5 adds another key element to the list. After another demon exorcism is performed, Jesus brings the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue leader, back to life. Now Jesus has strength and power over sickness, injury, sin, demons and death! Chapter 6 continues to show Christ’s power over nature by walking on water and splitting up food to feed over 5,000 men, not including women and children! But maybe more intriguing is that when Jesus sends out his 12 disciples, they have the same power and authority Jesus has. A Roman reader might be attracted by this: following Jesus gives you power!

This will repeat from chapter 7 to chapter 10, with more miracles showing the power of Jesus, speficially with blindness, deafness and muteness. This is no coincidence that there is so many miracles in the book of Mark. If Mark is trying to show great strength and power, there is no greater strength and power than a miracle, and Mark shows that Jesus just doesn’t do a few miracles, but many miracles. If there is something I would point out with the miracles in this section, as well as the miracles in the first seven chapters. If you read through it, you might see the word “immediately” a lot. The book of Mark uses the word “immediately” more than any other book of the Bible. “Immediately” is one of the most repeated words in the book of Mark. Mark is saying something here. It’s not like Jesus laid hands on the sick and they eventually got better or progressively got better. Immediately, instantly, Jesus brought full healing. Now that’s power!

Now remember I encouraged you to read through this book as a Roman reader. So far, what’s your response to Jesus as a Roman reader after reading the first 10 chapters of Mark? What are you thinking? What are you feeling? A Roman reader, you’d probably be thinking, “Wow, this Jesus guy is so strong and so powerful! He has power over physical nature as well as the spiritual realm. This man would be the perfect leader. He fed people numbering over 5,000 and over 4,000, so he could solve world hunger. He healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, the mute, and the lepers. He’s better than any doctor, so we’d never need a doctor again. He can even heal us spiritually of our sin. No one opposing him can stand up to him. No one is stronger or more powerful than he is!” Now if I asked the Roman reader, “How do you think the last 6 chapters will end the story?” After a little bit of pondering, the Roman might have a few predictions. Perhaps Jesus, with his following, will kick the Romans out of Judah and reclaim Jerusalem for the Jews. Maybe Jesus will also kick the Romans out Galilee, Samaria and Idumea as well to reunite Israel as one. Or maybe even march up to Rome and claim himself the next Roman emperor! It wouldn’t be too far-fetched in the Roman mind. After all, that’s what all the Roman emperors did. Once they proved their strength and power, and once they got a large following, they would march up to Rome with their followers and claim the throne for themselves. Well, let’s see how it turns out (and remember, this is the only Gospel narrative that the 1st century Roman has).

Chapter 11 is looking good for the uprising. Jesus enters Jerusalem like a king, with a parade and people cheering. The shouts of the people crying, “Blessing is the coming of the kingdom of our father David’ even has the Jewish people thinking the same as the Roman Christian: here comes the new kingdom and the reign of a new king. But what’s got the Roman reader excited is when Jesus clears out the temple. It shows Jesus moving to action in order to do what is right. Jesus is using his strength and power to also show authority. Even the cursing of the fig tree demonstrates the authority of Jesus. Jesus won’t put up crap with anyone or anything that disagrees with him. At the end of chapter 11, his authority is brought into full question. While the chief priests, teachers of the law and elders fail to recognize it, Jesus hints that his power is greater than any earthly power. His power is from above. So far, so good for uprising.

But then comes chapter 14, and it all goes downhill from there. Starting in verse 32, we see a tired, troubled, distressed, depressed Jesus minding his own business and then comes trouble. In 14:43, Judas leads a mob of people with swords and clubs. They have not come to peacefully ask Jesus questions. They have come to arrest him. Once again, remember your imagining yourself as the Roman reader. You, as a Roman, are probably thinking along the same lines of Simon the Zealot. You’re thinking, “Now’s your chance, Jesus! Tell all your disciples to get their swords and clubs and fight! Use your divine power to call down nature, angels or demons to attack your foes! We’ll first take down the Jewish leaders that oppose you, then we’ll take down the Roman leaders that oppose and you’ll be the next king of the Jews!” But that’s not what Jesus does. In fact, when a disciple (other Gospel accounts credit it to Peter) does attempt to fight back with violence, Jesus rebukes both sides for even entertaining the thought.

In Literature terms, we call this point the climax. In Literature, the climax is when the dramatic tension is at the highest and the story dramatically changes from this point out. Clearly Mark 14:43-51 is the climax of the book of Mark. The building tension in the first 13 chapters of Mark show that as Jesus builds his authority by displaying his strength and power, opposition tries to flex its power and authority to lower the power and authority of Jesus. The more Jesus rises up, the more the religious leaders are trying to push Jesus down. This all happens with the first 13 chapters, and by chapter 14, someone has got to come out on time. Like I said, in the Roman mindset, the Roman reader is expecting Jesus the one to come out on top. After all, Jesus has clearly demonstrated He is the more powerful one. But the story changes as Jesus no longer is the more powerful one. His enemies are, and to make matters worse, it looks like Jesus is the weakest.

How does Jesus look like the weakest? It gets worse from here. Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin, and even though Jesus is right, he is declared guilty and beaten. He is handed over to Pilate. Pilate questions Jesus, but Jesus remains silent. Since Jesus does not defend himself, he is flogged then sentenced to death. Soldiers then mock him and torture him. Then he is crucified. Chapter 15 ends with Jesus, clearly dead, buried in a tomb. The Roman reader sits there, eyes wide, jaw dropped, in utter shock. No, it’s not over the way Jesus was treated. Those methods were common methods that Romans used on foreign criminals. Any Roman was use to that. The Roman reader is shocked because after seeing Jesus display his strength, his power and his authority, he doesn’t use any of it. In fact, it makes Jesus look the opposite: weak and powerless. Jesus submits to the mocking, the false accusations, the spitting, the beatings, the flogging and all the other kinds of torturing. Finally, the ultimate submission is when Jesus gives up his life on one of the most painful execution devices in the history of man. If I was a Roman reader, I might want to close this book (or scroll, I guess) in disgust after reading chapter 15. I don’t want to even glance at Mark chapter 16 (besides the fact that the second half of chapter 16 might have been written a couple centuries later). I’m guessing that Mark 16 is some kind of epilogue that concludes the book by saying the Roman leaders then executed the 12 disciples, thus ending the Christianity movement. As a Roman, I’m starting to believe this book is just Roman propaganda to show that not even a religious terrorist can thwart the Roman Empire. Well, let’s play along and pretend this is the case. After reading those 15 chapters of Mark, I slam the book shut, mad at how it ended, and walk away.

But I just can’t get my mind of this book. As a Roman, it baffles me why someone with so much strength and so much power would willingly not use it and get pushed. If he wanted to, he could have called his disciples and followers to defend him, and they would have defended him to the death. If he wanted to, he could have called down legions of angels to counter attack. Or even by his own strength, he could have taken them on single handedly. Yet he didn’t choose any of those options. Why didn’t he? This is puzzling your Roman mind so much that you can’t concentrate and you’re scatterbrained. The Jesus in chapters 14 and 15 does not seem like the same Jesus the 13 chapters before…or does it?

Now you’re Roman mind is thinking back to those first 13 chapters. You’re thinking not about the miracles themselves, but why Jesus performed the miracles. Did He do it to show how strong He was? No. Did He do it to display his power? No. Jesus seems very humble over the experiences. Did Jesus do it to exercise his authority over people? No. The more you think about it, while Jesus gave a general calling to follow him and receive the gospel message, people came to him on their own. So why did he perform his miracles? He was serving the people. He did it for the people in need, not himself. At the most, you could say he did it to win people over to his cause, the kingdom of God, but really that’s for the people’s benefit as much as his own. Every time Jesus healed, he healed to serve the people. And when you think about it, Jesus technically submitted his power to the people to serve them. Think about it. Think about Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Mark 6. In Mark 6:30-32, Jesus and his disciples are trying to run away from the crowd to get some rest. But when Jesus sees how lost they are and how desperate they are for him, he denies himself the rest to serve the people in teaching them. In Mark 5, Jesus is on his way to heal the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. When another comes along who needs healing just as much as the little girl, Jesus stops to minister to her. Yet Jesus keeps his promise to Jairus, even it takes raising her from death. Both times Jesus submits. Time after time in the Mark Gospel, Jesus is pulled out of his way to heal someone, but Jesus never complains. Every time, he submits. His strength is not meant to be used to gain power for himself for selfish reasons. His strength is suppose to be used to help others.

And it all finally hits you when you remember two important passages: Mark 10:42-45 and Mark 8:34-38. Good old Roman you quickly skimmed over those parts because it seemed like boring teaching and you wanted to get back to action. Yet Christ’s words recorded in Mark 10:42-45 and Mark 8:34-38 linger in your head over and over. Let’s take a careful look over these 2 passages specifically. We’ll go in that order, even though it’s not in chronological order.

Mark 10:42-45-
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We’re starting out with these verse because most scholars acknowledge theses verses (more specifically, verse 45) as the theme verse of the book. It would make sense, considering it’s so explicit to the point. It is almost like Jesus is talking directly to the Roman reader. If I may paraphrase, it’s like he’s saying, “I know how your Gentile (or Roman) culture works. You think that being high and powerful means you’re the greatest. But that’s not the way to go, especially if you’re Christians. Rather, if you want to be lord and master, be the servant and the slave. If you want to be strong, be weak. If you want to be powerful, be powerless.” Why? Because Jesus did. As verse 45 clearly states, Jesus did not come to rule in authority, but to be a servant and a slave to the people. The reader can see how Jesus was a servant and a slave to the people up to this point, and as (s)he finishes reading, it is still evident Jesus is being a servant and slave.

See, when it comes to the 4 Gospel books of the Bible, with every book, the reader has to ask the question, “How is Jesus being portrayed in this book?” In Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as the Messiah. In Luke, Jesus is portrayed as the Perfect [Son of] Man. In John, Jesus is portrayed about as the Son of God. So what about Mark? How is Mark portraying Jesus? In the book of Mark, Jesus is portrayed as the suffering servant. How did we get suffering servant? Mark chapters 1 to 13 show the servant part, as Jesus serves the people in need. Mark chapters 14 and 15 show the suffering part, as Jesus is willing to go through whatever pain it takes to pay the ransom of sin. The follow-up question everyone must ask is, “So what does that mean in light of the audience?” because that will reveal the purpose. So why does Mark need to show Romans that Jesus is a suffering servant? I thought we’d want to Jesus as a strong, powerful, authoritative leader, like they want. Well, the book does do that. Jesus does have that. But Jesus is also setting an example, and the example is that even if we have those powers, they are not to be used for selfish gain. Instead, they are to be used in servanthood towards others. So this leads us to our second passage, the application passage. But before we go on, let me conclude this first passage with an explicit, written out purpose for the book of Mark.

Mark wrote the book of Mark to persuade the Romans that Christians are not to seek after strength, power or authority, but are called to submit as suffering servants, just like Jesus did.

Mark 8:34-38-
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Mark 10:45 might be the theme verse to cover all the book of Mark, but if I had to pick out a key verse for application of this book, it would be Mark 8:34-38. This drives it home to us. But first, let me connect back to Mark 10:45. Jesus never asked us to do anything he didn’t do on earth. While on earth, Jesus was a suffering servant. While on earth, Jesus gave up his life to pay the ransom for our sins. And now in Mark 8:34-38, Jesus directly calls us to do the same. Jesus did deny himself. It was never about himself while Jesus was on earth. It was about His Father first, then the people. Jesus literally took up the cross, giving up his life for us. Now we’re called to do the same. We are called to deny ourselves. To deny ourselves means to deny your dreams, your ambitions, your pride, your self-worth. It means it’s no longer about the self, but rather it’s all about God. Taking up your cross means to be willing to take up whatever suffering Jesus took, whether it be lighter or heavier. It could mean rejection from society, being mocked, being ridiculed. It could even mean real persecution and martyrdom. Finally, following him means giving up everything in your life and giving your life to God. This might seem extreme, but Jesus provides good reason. It’s the true way to save your soul. Trying to save your soul by your own strength, your own power or your own authority will just cause you to lose it. Even trying to save your soul through worldly strength, power and authority will cause you to lose it, too. Jesus calls us to give up all strength, all power and all authority and give it to him. And then we will truly find out being under his strength, power and authority is so much better.

And now if you’re still thinking you’re a Roman, and you’re still thinking like a Roman, you finally understand that Jesus was has power and authority, not in his strength over physical nature, the spiritual realm or over death and disease, but rather because he served His Father God and the people out of love. Jesus did stay true until the end. But wait, it’s not the end, is it? You forgot all about chapter 16! Maybe chapter 16 isn’t as bad as you think. You’re now ready to sit down and read it.

Interesting enough, Mark chapter 16 opens with women wondering who will be strong enough to roll away the heavy stone (there it is again, strength). But when they get there, they find the stone rolled away, and a really shiny man wearing really shiny white clothes. He reports that Jesus is not here, but has risen! They are given orders to tell Peter and the disciples to go to Galilee and meet Jesus there. Verse 8 concludes with the women running away, telling no one, out fear. Now this is where the debate enters. The earliest manuscripts we can find of Mark 16:9-20 do not appear until a couple centuries after Mark has written. Some scholars have questioned this, and have suggested the rest of Mark may have been added a couple centuries after first manuscript by summing up the other 3 Gospels. I can understand their argument, but I would disagree only because of the abrupt ending if Mark 16:8 was the true ending. If it is the true ending, Mark ends with the women running away scared, not mentioning a peep. If the story were to end this way, then the disciples never hear Jesus rose from the dead, and thus no one goes up to Galilee to see the resurrected Jesus. But we know different from the other Gospel accounts. I do believe Mark 16:9-20 is the original ending, despite not finding an older manuscript. It gives full closure to Mark’s story by giving other appearances of the risen Jesus. It is consistant with Mark’s writing as some of the accounts of the alive Jesus are quick, short summaries. But more importantly, we need Mark 16:9-20 to show the Roman reader the really grand conclusion to the book. Jesus tells the disciples to go continue the ministry He started, and if they do, the signs and miracles will accompany them. After that, Jesus raises into heaven, and he is seated at the right hand of the Father, which means Jesus is the one in charge, Jesus truly has authority and power. And sure enough, the disciples do go preach the simple gospel message of Jesus Christ, and they got the power Jesus has.

I hope you did read this whole thing, despite it being long. But this does show you that while some people would not suggest the Bible as a good storyteller, I would sharply disagree. Mark knew how to tell the true story of Jesus Christ in an exciting way that would grip his intended audience. But more importantly, I hope you got the moral of the story that Mark was trying to preach. I hope you too are persuaded to be a suffering servant, just like Jesus was.

A Thanksgiving Devotional

Wow, I realized I have not posting anything on here for a year. So I wanted to post something before the year ended. So with this being Thanksgiving, let me share a Thanksgiving devotional I wrote for the Conestoga Youth Group a couple years ago. It's a good one to share.

In my senior of high school, for Faith Walk class, my teacher assigned us to write 100 Blessings we were thankful for in our devotionals. One of my classmates said to him, "What?! 100 Blessings?! Are you crazy?!" My teacher replied, "You're right...110 Blessings." My classmate was shocked even more. "You want us to think up and write down 110 blessings?! That's insane!" My teacher responded, "Yeah, I guess you're right...make that 120 blessing." My classmate was about to object a third time, but the rest of his classmates quickly shut him up before it became 130. Truthfully, I was as shocked as everyone else was. I wasn't sure I could write up 120 Blessings I was thankful either. But sure enough, my teacher knew it was possible, and I did record on paper 120 blessings I was thankful for (click anywhere where it says "120 blessings to read it!). Yeah, sometimes it felt like I was nitpicking, but it really got me thinking about specific things (or people) I was thankful for, and why I was so thankful for these blessings. And it's a good thing. After all, the Bible calls for us to be thankful for all our blessings.

While there are many verses that use the term "thanks," "give thanks" or "thanksgiving," if I had to pick a theme verse for Thanksgiving, I would pick Ephesians 5:20- "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Now, I'm a student of Greek, and to be a student of Greek, you have to be able to notice the grammatical structure of the sentence, like the subject, the direct object, the indirect object, the verb, and the prepositional, and so on. So let's break down this verse in the same way. What is the subject of the verse, or who is perfoming the action? We, as Christians, are. What is the verb, or what are we doing? Giving thanks. What is the direct object, or what are we giving our thanks for? All things. What is the indirect object, or to whom are we giving our thanks for all things? God the Father. What's the adverb, which tells us when are we to give thanks? Always. And what's the prepositional phrase, which says why we are to give thanks? Because of Jesus Christ.

I once heard somebody paraphrase this verse like this: “Every Christian must give thanks to God for everything in every circumstance in all times”? And I think it's a good paraphrase and a good interpretation. A more literal translation of Colossians 3:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18 would agree with it. Colossians 3:17 says,"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." When we think of commandments, we usually think of the Old Testament, like the 10 Commandments. But there are commandments in the New Testament, and giving thanks is one of them. God has truly given us so much, in light of our condition. What condition is that? We're fallen sinners, living lives rebellious towards God. Our lives should be living hells. Yet every now and then, we get bits of heaven. Nobody would ever give things to someone who purposely annoying them or pissing them off. Yet God does, out of his preverant grace. So would it hurt to give thanks every now and then for these little things?

I know sometimes it's easy to give thanks, and sometimes it's hard to give thanks. It's easy to give thanks when we've gone so long without something, and then, all of a sudden, we get it. But sometimes it's hard to be thankful when we see what others have and then see we don't have it. Instead of being thankful, we replace a thankful attitude with a jealous one. We watched "reality shows" of celebrities, and we wish we were wearing the latest fashions like they were, wearing the shinest jewelry like they were, and driving the coolest cars as they were. Shouldn't we be thankful for the clothese on our back and the car that gets us from Point A to Point B safely? I know these kinds of things use to make me jealous instead of thankful, too, but then I read some shocking statistics that changed my attitude. I hope they do the same for you. Just consider the basic necessities you need for life...

FOOD: It is estimated that 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger of malnutrion. 15 million of these 800 million will die from their starvation. If you are well-fed, you are in the top third of the world population. You would be considered "upper class"
WATER: 20% of the world does not have safe drinking water
MONEY: 3 billion people in the world live on $2 a day. 1.3 billion people live on $1 a day, or less.
HOME: 100-200 million people in the world are homeless.
CAR: Only 8% of people in the world have a car. If you have car, you are in the top 8%
COMPUTER: Only 1% of people in the world have a computer. If you have a computer, you are in the top 1% of the world.
PHONE: Only 17% of people in the world have a phone, and only .1% have a cell phone.

This wasn't meant to guilt you. This wasn't meant to call you to live a simpler lifestyle (although if it does, more power to you). This was meant to show you how fortunate you are for owning any of these things and how it calls for being thankful for these things. So you can't eat out weekly or can't expensive seafood. At least you can eat, which 2/3 of the world can't. So you have to drink water out of the tap instead of buying water bottles. At least you can drink that water. So you work at minimum wage. In some places of the world, minimum wage is 25 cents an hour, not $7.25. Now minimum wage doesn't look so bad. So maybe you wish you had a bigger house, with bigger bedrooms or a bigger kitchen. But you're more fortunate than those living in tents or cardboard boxes. Give thanks for that. So your car is over 10 years old or has more than 100,000 miles on it. If it runs, you should be thankful, for many people don't have that option. Be thankful if you are the top 1% of the world that owns a computer, even if it's not a fast computer. Be thankful if you're the top .1% of the world that has a cell phone, even if your cell phone is not an iPhone or any other smart phone.

And this is where it gets personal. I am only working for $9 an hour. And when I pay tithes, taxes, rent, electricity, internet, car insurance, and gas, I only have $35 left for food...for the week. So needless to say I am use to ramen for lunch and mac and cheese for dinner...every day. My car is 10 years old and over 133,333 miles. I sometimes feel like I am the only one who still has a feature [cell] phone because everyone else has a smart [cell] phone. Some people might not complain about this. But when I realize some people can't afford to live on their own, can't afford to have electricity, can't afford a car (whether that be the payment, the insurance or the gas), or can't afford a cell phone, I give thanks to God that I do have these things. And more recently, I have become extremely thankful that my girlfriend and her grandmother have been gracious enough to feed me a more balance dinner with more variety.

And once Thanksgiving is done, we start preparing for Christmas, and things flip-flop. We go from being thankful to wanting. And it leads me to question, "How can we keep this attitude of thankfulness through a time where people want?" I pray that we can find the answer, and once we do, we immediately act upon it.