Ark of the Covenant - Bible History Online
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Mark 2

1 - When he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was heard that he was in the house.
2 - Immediately many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even around the door; and he spoke the word to them.
3 - Four people came, carrying a paralytic to him.
4 - When they could not come near to him for the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. When they had broken it up, they let down the mat that the paralytic was lying on.
5 - Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic,"Son, your sins are forgiven you."
6 - But there were some of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 - "Why does this man speak blasphemies like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 - Immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them,"Why do you reason these things in your hearts?
9 - Which is easier, to tell the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven;' or to say, 'Arise, and take up your bed, and walk?'
10 - But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he said to the paralytic-
11 - "I tell you, arise, take up your mat, and go to your house."
12 - He arose, and immediately took up the mat, and went out in front of them all; so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
13 - He went out again by the seaside. All the multitude came to him, and he taught them.
14 - As he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax office, and he said to him,"Follow me." And he arose and followed him.
15 - He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many, and they followed him.
16 - The scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"
17 - When Jesus heard it, he said to them,"Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
18 - John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and asked him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast?"
19 - Jesus said to them,"Can the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they can't fast.
20 - But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day.
21 - No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, or else the patch shrinks and the new tears away from the old, and a worse hole is made.
22 - No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine pours out, and the skins will be destroyed; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins."
23 - He was going on the Sabbath day through the grain fields, and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of grain.
24 - The Pharisees said to him, "Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?"
25 - He said to them,"Did you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry-he, and those who were with him?
26 - How he entered into God's house when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the show bread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave also to those who were with him?"
27 - He said to them,"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
28 - Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
Mark Images and Notes

The Book of Mark

Mark 1:15 - And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 2:12 - And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

Mark in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

St. Mark by Titian - 1560
Painting of St. Mark by Titian - 1560

Introduction to The Gospel of Mark

The Word Gospel. The second book of the English Bible that most of us read from is the Gospel of Mark. Mark is the second of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of The Book of Mark

Brief Summary. Jesus of Nazareth is the suffering servant who came to die for the sins of all men. He did His work and "immediately" went to the cross, so be encouraged all who are suffering because Christ suffered for you.

Purpose. The Book of Mark is the shortest of the 4 Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. and he seems to write his account of the Gospel of Christ with a sense of urgency. He mentions the word "immediately" 27 times. In Mark many times Jesus exercises actions rather than words, which would impress his Roman readers who the Book seems to be addressing. He portrays Jesus as a man of power and miracles, who could set aside the laws of nature at will. Yet this powerful Son of God was the suffering servant who would give up His life as a ransom for all mankind (Mark 10:45). The clear purpose of mark was to encourage those suffering persecution that their master suffered first, and He suffered for them.

Audience. Apparently Mark wrote his Gospel account to encourage gentile Christians in Rome who were facing the persecutions of the Emperor Nero. History is clear about the atrocious behavior of the Romans and especially the insanity of Nero. The other evidence that scholars bring up concerning mark's audience as being gentiles is the fact that Mark does not deal with Jewish Laws and he only quotes one prophecy from the Old Testament. There is also careful thought into explaining Jewish customs and idioms. (See Mark 3:7; 5:41; 7:2; 10:46; 14:36; 15:34; 9:43; 14:12; 15:42).

Authorship. The gospel of Mark does not proclaim who the author is within the document, yet the information that we know about Mark can be seen in the writer of this gospel. It is evident that the writer was Jewish, he was a Christian, and he was familiar with every day Jewish life, as well as the Jewish Scriptures. We know from the Scriptures that Mark was Jewish, and he knew the teachings of Jesus very well. He also knew the teachings of the rest of the apostles. It is also important to notice that after Peter was imprisoned he went to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark (Acts 12:12-17). Also Peter mentions in his epistle "my son Mark" (1 Peter 5:13). During Paul's missionary journeys Mark became a companion of Paul and Barnabas, and he left them at Perga in Pamphylia (Acts 13:13), after Paul had rebuked him. Many years later Mark regained the favor of Paul  (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11). Early Church tradition unanimously ascribes the second gospel to Mark as a companion of Peter and the writer of the second Gospel. One prologue to the Gospels which was written around 160 AD has this statement: "Mark� Was Peter's interpreter, and after Peter's decease wrote down this gospel in the region of Italy." Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian also attest to Mark as the author.

Location. Nothing in the Gospel of Mark indicates where it was written from. Most of the early writers who boast of Mark as the author also name Rome as the place it was written.

Date. Early Christian writers and traditions place the Gospel of Mark sometime close to the end of Peter's life, around 60-65 AD. Most scholars agree that the Gospel of Mark was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, while the Second Temple in Jerusalem was still standing (Mark 13:1-2). Many scholars do not believe in the miracle of predictive prophecy and argue that the Gospel of Mark was written after the fall of Jerusalem, because of the accurate details of the events that Jesus spoke about.  Mark's Gospel account seems to have been written as encouragement to the Christians who were facing the persecution of the Emperor Nero which took place in 64 AD.

Outline of the Book of Mark

The Servant Comes - Chapter 1:1-13
The Servant's Work - Chapters 1:14-13:37
The Servant's Death - Chapters 14:1-15:47
The Servant's Resurrection - Chapter 16:1-20

Jesus written in Hebrew
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

Mark Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire