- Today, we're gonna
pick up with our series
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on the four Gospels,
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the four
historical accounts we have
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of the life and
teachings of Jesus,
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four different witnesses,
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and I think
I've got a little bit
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of a surprise for you today
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because one of these
gospels might be written
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by somebody you didn't expect.
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[energetic guitar music]
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Today, we're gonna come
back to the series we're doing
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on the four Gospels, who
wrote them, why they wrote them,
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and what you should be
looking for when you read them.
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Now, if you're
joining us for the first time,
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you might want to go back
and listen to parts one and two
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so that you get a more
comprehensive experience,
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a better overview of what
we're trying to accomplish.
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Today, we're gonna
have a look at the earliest
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of the four accounts,
which carries the name of Mark.
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We're pretty sure
this was the first
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of the Gospels to be written,
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and a lot of Bible
scholars actually suspect
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that Matthew and
Luke used Mark's Gospel
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as an outline for their own,
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taking his rather bare
bones account and expanding it
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with more detail
when they thought
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a broader
picture might be useful.
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Mark's Gospel was likely
written sometime in the 60s AD,
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fairly close to the time
of the Apostle Peter's death,
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which took place during
the reign of Nero in 64 AD.
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After being held in
the Mamertine Prison
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right beside the
ancient Roman Forum,
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Peter was taken out of
the city to Vatican Hill
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where they crucified him.
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Now, legend says that when
the great Apostle saw his cross,
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he began to cry, not
because he was afraid of it,
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but because he thought the
cross was too good for him.
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"That's the way
Jesus died," he said.
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"And I really
don't deserve that."
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So the Romans obliged him
and crucified him upside down.
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That's the reason you
see upside down crosses
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in the Mamertine
Prison to this day.
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Now, Jesus actually
predicted how Peter would die,
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and you find it in John 21.
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Right after Jesus forgives
Peter for betraying him,
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this is what he says,
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"Most assuredly, I say to
you, when you were younger,
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you girded yourself and
walked where you wished,
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but when you were old,
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you will stretch out your hands
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and another will gird you
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and carry you
where you do not wish."
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So of course, some
of you are wondering
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what in the world that has
to do with the Gospel of Mark?
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Well, actually it might
have a lot to do with it
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because even though
the author of the Gospel
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is identified as John Mark,
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we have a good deal of evidence
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that the
content came from Peter.
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Historically, we
believe that John Mark
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probably lived in the
house where the Apostles
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met in the upper room
shortly after the resurrection
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and it became a center
for the first Christian church
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in the city of Jerusalem.
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In fact, there
is some speculation
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that Mark was the young man
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who fled naked into
the night on the evening
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that Jesus was arrested.
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After the disciples abandoned
Christ on that fateful night,
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the Gospel of Mark
records this, it says,
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"Now a certain
young man followed him,
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having a linen cloth
thrown around his naked body
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and the young
man laid hold of him
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and he left the linen
cloth and fled from them naked."
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So what most people
think is that Mark was living
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in the house where the
last supper took place,
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and when Jesus and the
disciples left the premises,
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he was curious
enough to get out of bed,
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wrap himself in a
sheet and follow them.
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But when trouble broke out
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and the disciples
suddenly disappeared,
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the arresting party
grabbed Mark instead.
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So he escaped their grasp
by slipping out of the sheet
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and running back home.
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And I guess the reason most
people think it was John Mark
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is because it's
such a random incident
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and it doesn't
appear to be related
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to the rest of the story.
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I mean it doesn't even
mention the young man's name,
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which makes it really unlikely
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that it was one
of the 12 disciples.
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So one of the most
reasonable conclusions
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is that John Mark slipped
this cameo into the story
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because it was
his only involvement
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in the life of Jesus
before the resurrection
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and the birth of
the Christian church.
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And the fact that he left
his name out of the story,
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only heightens the
suspicion that it's him,
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because it wasn't
uncommon in those days
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to humbly skip your own name
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when you were
writing about yourself.
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So who really knows?
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John Mark might just be
the streaking evangelist.
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Now, as a young man,
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John Mark became
intimately involved
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with the work of the apostles,
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joining Paul and Barnabas
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during their first
missionary journey.
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[calming flute music]
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Acts 15 tells us
there was a falling out
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between Paul and Barnabas,
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and so they parted company
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and Mark went with
Barnabas to Cyprus.
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Later on, he
went to work for Peter
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who ended up in
the city of Rome.
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And John Mark served as a
translator, because of course,
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Peter was uneducated.
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So what we think happened
is that the Christians in Rome
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became concerned that
Peter was getting older,
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and when Peter was gone,
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his sermons which were
full of stories about Jesus,
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well, those
sermons would disappear.
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And of course, that
would be a huge loss.
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So we think the
believers urged John Mark
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to write these stories down,
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which gave us the
Gospel according to Mark
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or maybe more accurately,
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the Gospel according to Peter.
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Of course, it's
quite a leap to just assume
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that Mark was
recording Peter's thoughts
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and preserving them in Greek,
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but the record of history
seems to confirm this idea.
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Eusebius in his fourth
century "History of the Church"
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said this about
Peter's preaching.
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He wrote, "And so greatly
did the splendor of piety
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illumine the
minds of Peter's heroes
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that they were not satisfied
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with hearing only
once and were not content
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with the unwritten
teaching of the divine Gospel,
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but with all sorts of entreaties
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they besought Mark,
a follower of Peter,
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and the one whose Gospel
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is extant that he would
leave them a written monument
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of the doctrine which had been
orally communicated to them,
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nor did they cease until
they had prevailed with the man
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and had thus become the
occasion of the written Gospel
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which bears the name of Mark."
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The early church
father, Irenaeus,
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writing in the second century
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said pretty much the same thing.
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Here's what he wrote,
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"Matthew composed his
Gospel among the Hebrews
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in their own language,
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while Peter and Paul
proclaimed the Gospel in Roman
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founded the community.
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After their departure, Mark,
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the disciple and
interpreter of Peter,
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handed on his preaching
to us in written form."
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Now those are hardly
the only accounts we have.
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Clement, Origen,
Tertullian, Justin Martyr,
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it seems as if the
unanimous understanding
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of the early Christian church
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was that Mark's Gospel
is really Peter's Gospel
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and that Mark was
working as Peter's secretary.
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And sure enough,
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when you read the letters
that do carry Peter's name,
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you find him mentioning John
Mark with a note of fondness.
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I mean, just listen to
how Peter's first letter ends.
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He writes, "She
who is in Babylon."
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And that was code for the
city of Rome back in those days.
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"She who is in Babylon,
elect together with you,
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greets you, and
so does Mark my son."
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Now, it wasn't his literal son,
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but it gives you an
idea of how much Peter prized
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this gifted, young writer.
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And when you read the
account that Mark left behind,
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it certainly seems to
match Peter's personality
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and it does it perfectly.
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It's a gospel full of action,
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much like the
hotheaded disciple was himself.
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It focuses on what Jesus
did more than what Jesus said,
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and it appears to be
aimed at non-believers
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trying to convince them to
consider the claims of Christ.
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And the book does
contain another little hint
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that this might actually
be the teaching of Peter.
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[energetic classical music]
00:08:03.35\00:08:04.28
It doesn't waste much time
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trying to preserve
Peter's reputation.
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The other gospels
mention the restoration
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of Peter on the beach,
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how Jesus forgave
him for the betrayal.
00:08:11.92\00:08:15.46
But in this account,
we only have the story
00:08:15.46\00:08:17.79
of the betrayal itself
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and the
restoration is never mentioned.
00:08:19.06\00:08:22.56
So if Peter is the
real author of this book,
00:08:22.56\00:08:25.57
he appears to be
downplaying his own importance,
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which makes a lot of sense.
00:08:28.47\00:08:30.57
But now, it's
time for a quick break
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so you can run and
get a copy of the Bible
00:08:32.77\00:08:34.74
so you can follow along and
I'll be right back after this.
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[transition whooshing]
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[dragon growling]
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- [Narrator] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues.
00:08:42.72\00:08:44.82
[cheerful classical music]
00:08:44.82\00:08:46.69
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:08:46.69\00:08:51.29
If you've ever read
"Daniel a Revelation"
00:08:51.29\00:08:53.46
and come away scratching
your head, you are not alone.
00:08:53.46\00:08:56.13
Our free Focus
on Prophecy guides
00:08:56.13\00:08:58.87
are designed to help you unlock
00:08:58.87\00:09:00.40
the mysteries of the Bible
and deepen your understanding
00:09:00.40\00:09:03.24
of God's plan for
you and our world,
00:09:03.24\00:09:05.71
study online or
request them by mail
00:09:05.71\00:09:08.18
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:09:08.18\00:09:11.08
- When we started this
series on the four Gospels,
00:09:12.45\00:09:14.72
I mentioned an
ancient church tradition,
00:09:14.72\00:09:16.82
an understanding that
Christians used to have,
00:09:16.82\00:09:19.92
that the Four Evangelists,
00:09:19.92\00:09:21.49
the four Gospel writers
represent the four faces
00:09:21.49\00:09:24.33
you find on the cherubim
00:09:24.33\00:09:26.06
in the books of
Ezekiel and Revelation.
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Matthew is the face of the lion
00:09:28.30\00:09:30.43
because he demonstrates
the kingship of Christ
00:09:30.43\00:09:33.27
and proves that Jesus is
the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
00:09:33.27\00:09:36.71
Luke zeroes in on
the humanity of Christ,
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which makes him
the face of a man.
00:09:39.91\00:09:42.08
John unpacks the deity of
Christ and takes his audience
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up to the heavens and that
makes him the face of the eagle.
00:09:45.28\00:09:49.22
But then Mark or we think Peter,
00:09:49.22\00:09:51.62
gives us a careful
study of what Jesus did.
00:09:51.62\00:09:54.56
How he patiently
labored for humanity
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like an ox in the field,
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which makes this Gospel
the face of the ox or the calf.
00:09:58.89\00:10:03.10
The Gospel of Mark is a brief
record of the acts of Jesus,
00:10:03.10\00:10:06.30
which means you'll find a
lot less of what Jesus said.
00:10:06.30\00:10:09.87
So if you happen to have a
red letter edition of the Bible,
00:10:09.87\00:10:12.54
you'll notice
there's less red ink in Mark
00:10:12.54\00:10:15.74
than there is
in Matthew or Luke.
00:10:15.74\00:10:18.08
And the story starts at the
beginning of Jesus' ministry
00:10:18.08\00:10:20.98
with his baptism
00:10:20.98\00:10:22.18
at the moment when
Jesus starts doing things.
00:10:22.18\00:10:25.79
There's no Christmas
story in Mark's Gospel,
00:10:25.79\00:10:28.16
no mention of Christ's birth,
00:10:28.16\00:10:29.99
no genealogy like you
find in Luke or Matthew.
00:10:29.99\00:10:32.63
There's just a lot of action.
00:10:32.63\00:10:35.50
In fact, there were 18 miracles
00:10:35.50\00:10:37.57
recorded in Mark's
book and only four parables
00:10:37.57\00:10:41.10
and one major sermon.
00:10:41.10\00:10:42.94
When you
compare that to Matthew,
00:10:42.94\00:10:44.47
you'll see what I mean when
I call this the action gospel.
00:10:44.47\00:10:48.48
There's a popular
preacher in England
00:10:48.48\00:10:49.98
that I sometimes
like listening to,
00:10:49.98\00:10:51.55
and he points out that
there is an interesting
00:10:51.55\00:10:54.12
geographical
component to the Gospel of Mark.
00:10:54.12\00:10:57.45
The story starts
at the Jordan River,
00:10:57.45\00:10:59.55
one of the lowest
points in Palestine,
00:10:59.55\00:11:01.66
and then it slowly
moves uphill to Galilee
00:11:01.66\00:11:04.99
and then up to Mount Hermon
00:11:04.99\00:11:06.96
until it finally brings us up
00:11:06.96\00:11:08.66
to Caesarea of Philippi
00:11:08.66\00:11:10.20
where we find the biggest
moment in Mark's account,
00:11:10.20\00:11:13.44
the turning point
of his whole narrative.
00:11:13.44\00:11:16.54
Caesarea Philippi
had a shrine dedicated
00:11:17.74\00:11:20.24
to the pagan god, Pan,
00:11:20.24\00:11:21.91
you know the character
that was half man and half goat,
00:11:21.91\00:11:24.28
and played a set of pipes.
00:11:24.28\00:11:25.45
[calming piano music]
00:11:25.45\00:11:26.85
And this shrine was
located by a natural spring
00:11:26.85\00:11:29.08
that came out of the mountain.
00:11:29.08\00:11:30.59
Pan was the pagan
god of desolate places,
00:11:31.75\00:11:34.32
and it was said that
he came down to earth
00:11:34.32\00:11:36.02
in the form of a man.
00:11:36.02\00:11:38.59
Now, in later years,
one of Herod's sons, Philip,
00:11:38.59\00:11:41.83
put a statue of the
Roman Caesar in this same spot,
00:11:41.83\00:11:45.47
which is why they
called it Caesarea Philippi
00:11:45.47\00:11:48.07
because it's where
Philip was honoring the Caesar.
00:11:48.07\00:11:51.31
And of course, the
Caesar to Roman understanding,
00:11:51.31\00:11:54.08
was a man who
claimed to be a god.
00:11:54.08\00:11:57.11
So in this one spot, we have
a pagan god who becomes a man,
00:11:57.11\00:12:00.52
and then we have a
man who thinks he's a god.
00:12:00.52\00:12:03.22
And this is where Jesus chooses
00:12:03.22\00:12:05.79
to ask his disciples a
really important question.
00:12:05.79\00:12:08.69
Here's the story as
you find it in Mark 8.
00:12:08.69\00:12:12.06
"Now, Jesus and his disciples
00:12:12.06\00:12:13.90
went out to the
towns of Caesarea Philippi,
00:12:13.90\00:12:16.36
and on the road he asked
a disciples saying to them,
00:12:16.36\00:12:18.57
'Who do men say that I am?'
00:12:18.57\00:12:20.80
So they answer John the Baptist,
00:12:20.80\00:12:22.40
but some say Elijah and
others, one of the prophets.
00:12:22.40\00:12:25.64
He said to them, 'But
who do you say that I am?'"
00:12:25.64\00:12:28.04
And it's right here that Peter
00:12:28.04\00:12:29.51
actually gets the right answer.
00:12:29.51\00:12:31.05
Peter answered and said
to him, "You are the Christ."
00:12:31.05\00:12:34.92
Peter, the loudmouth disciple
is finally starting to get it.
00:12:34.92\00:12:39.15
Jesus is the godman,
the long awaited Messiah,
00:12:39.15\00:12:42.16
and he says so out loud,
00:12:42.16\00:12:44.26
but that doesn't mean he really
understands what it means,
00:12:44.26\00:12:46.93
because within a
matter of minutes,
00:12:46.93\00:12:48.76
he gets the wrong answer.
00:12:48.76\00:12:50.40
Here's the way the story
continues down in verse 30,
00:12:50.40\00:12:53.17
"Then He."
00:12:53.17\00:12:54.00
That's Jesus,
00:12:54.00\00:12:54.97
"Strictly warned them that
00:12:54.97\00:12:56.30
they should tell
no one about him."
00:12:56.30\00:12:59.34
Now let me pause
there for a moment,
00:12:59.34\00:13:00.81
because this is a
pretty big thought.
00:13:00.81\00:13:03.28
Even though his own disciples
00:13:03.28\00:13:04.41
are starting to
recognize who Jesus is,
00:13:04.41\00:13:06.85
he warns them to
keep their mouth shut.
00:13:06.85\00:13:09.58
This is something that
Bible scholars refer to
00:13:09.58\00:13:12.29
as the messianic secret.
00:13:12.29\00:13:14.39
Mark is giving his
readers a really clear picture
00:13:14.39\00:13:16.62
of who Jesus is.
00:13:16.62\00:13:17.69
But at the same time,
00:13:17.69\00:13:19.23
we see Jesus revealing himself
very slowly to the disciples.
00:13:19.23\00:13:24.20
In Mark 1, when some
demons recognize Christ,
00:13:25.33\00:13:28.10
he tells them to be quiet.
00:13:28.10\00:13:30.17
When Jesus heals a leper,
00:13:30.17\00:13:31.67
he warns him not to tell
anybody how he was healed.
00:13:31.67\00:13:35.21
When he raises the
daughter of Gyrus from the dead,
00:13:35.21\00:13:37.75
he tells the
ruler of the synagogue
00:13:37.75\00:13:39.35
to keep the miracle quiet.
00:13:39.35\00:13:42.42
What we find is a steady
progression of understanding
00:13:42.42\00:13:44.89
with people
becoming more and more aware
00:13:44.89\00:13:47.22
that Jesus is
indeed the Son of God.
00:13:47.22\00:13:49.46
[calming piano music]
00:13:49.46\00:13:50.86
And that's really the
primary task of Mark's gospel.
00:13:50.86\00:13:53.19
It's designed to
convince you of the same thing
00:13:53.19\00:13:56.23
and the author wants you
00:13:56.23\00:13:57.37
to come to the
conclusion for yourself.
00:13:57.37\00:13:59.63
So it's a gradual
progressive revelation,
00:13:59.63\00:14:02.67
the same way the
story slowly goes uphill.
00:14:02.67\00:14:06.78
But back to the story now
where Peter has just confessed
00:14:06.78\00:14:09.28
that Jesus is the
Christ at Caesarea Philippi,
00:14:09.28\00:14:12.88
the very place
where pagans celebrated
00:14:12.88\00:14:15.02
the blending of
human and divine.
00:14:15.02\00:14:17.69
The story
continues now in verse 31.
00:14:17.69\00:14:20.82
"And he began to teach
them that the Son of Man
00:14:20.82\00:14:23.86
must suffer many things
00:14:23.86\00:14:25.59
and be rejected by the
elders and chief priests
00:14:25.59\00:14:27.96
and scribes, and be killed.
00:14:27.96\00:14:29.66
And after three
days, rise again,
00:14:29.66\00:14:32.07
He spoke this word openly."
00:14:32.07\00:14:35.37
This is the turning
point in Mark's Gospel.
00:14:35.37\00:14:38.11
The story started down in the
lowlands by the Jordan River,
00:14:38.11\00:14:41.04
and it continually
moves uphill to this point
00:14:41.04\00:14:43.85
where Messiah is
finally revealed,
00:14:43.85\00:14:47.02
and that's where the story
starts going downhill again.
00:14:47.02\00:14:50.25
Because after this, Jesus
starts moving toward Jerusalem,
00:14:50.25\00:14:54.02
the place where he's
going to suffer and die.
00:14:54.02\00:14:56.76
So try to imagine the impact.
00:14:57.63\00:15:00.13
Peter has just figured
out who Jesus really is,
00:15:00.13\00:15:02.73
and now he's
being told that Messiah
00:15:02.73\00:15:05.03
is going to suffer
unbelievable humiliation.
00:15:05.03\00:15:08.34
The story continues in verse 32.
00:15:08.34\00:15:10.21
It says, "Then
Peter took him aside
00:15:10.21\00:15:12.71
and began to rebuke him."
00:15:12.71\00:15:14.51
So now he's bawling
out Jesus for saying
00:15:14.51\00:15:16.51
such a horrible thing.
00:15:16.51\00:15:18.01
But when he had turned around
and looked at his disciples,
00:15:18.01\00:15:21.35
he rebuked Peter
saying, "Get behind me, Satan,
00:15:21.35\00:15:24.75
for you are not
mindful of the things of God,
00:15:24.75\00:15:26.76
but the things of men."
00:15:26.76\00:15:29.02
Now, when Matthew
tells this same story,
00:15:29.02\00:15:31.59
he includes the bit
where Jesus tells Peter
00:15:31.59\00:15:34.00
that he is a rock.
00:15:34.00\00:15:35.53
It's a redemptive moment,
00:15:35.53\00:15:36.97
a slightly more positive
recollection of what happened.
00:15:36.97\00:15:40.17
But Mark leaves that out,
00:15:40.17\00:15:41.57
which only
strengthens my suspicion
00:15:41.57\00:15:43.57
that this is
really Peter's Gospel
00:15:43.57\00:15:45.94
because it really
doesn't have a lot of good
00:15:45.94\00:15:48.21
to say about Peter.
00:15:48.21\00:15:49.94
It demonstrates the humility
00:15:49.94\00:15:51.48
that Peter eventually developed.
00:15:51.48\00:15:54.28
From this point
at Caesarea Philippi,
00:15:54.28\00:15:56.48
Jesus immediately goes up
to the Mount of Transfiguration
00:15:56.48\00:16:00.36
where three of his disciples
00:16:00.36\00:16:01.86
see him revealed
in his full glory.
00:16:01.86\00:16:04.76
So let's have a look at that
narrative over in Chapter 9,
00:16:04.76\00:16:07.93
and I'll just read
you the whole thing.
00:16:07.93\00:16:09.36
It says "Now after six days,
00:16:09.36\00:16:12.10
Jesus took
Peter, James, and John,
00:16:12.10\00:16:14.70
and led them up
on a high mountain
00:16:14.70\00:16:16.40
apart by themselves, and he
was transfigured before them.
00:16:16.40\00:16:20.38
His clothes became shining,
exceedingly white like snow,
00:16:20.38\00:16:23.91
such as no launderer
on earth can whiten them.
00:16:23.91\00:16:27.28
And Elijah
appeared to them with Moses
00:16:27.28\00:16:29.42
and they were
talking with Jesus.
00:16:29.42\00:16:31.72
Then Peter
answered and said to Jesus,
00:16:31.72\00:16:33.62
'Rabbi, it is
good for us to be here
00:16:33.62\00:16:36.16
and let us make three
tabernacles, one for you,
00:16:36.16\00:16:38.96
one for Moses
and one for Elijah.'
00:16:38.96\00:16:42.30
Because he did
not know what to say,
00:16:42.30\00:16:43.70
for they were greatly afraid.
00:16:43.70\00:16:45.53
And a cloud came
and overshadowed them,
00:16:45.53\00:16:47.24
and a voice came
out of the cloud saying,
00:16:47.24\00:16:49.27
'This is my
beloved son. Hear him.'
00:16:49.27\00:16:53.07
Suddenly when
they had looked around,
00:16:53.07\00:16:54.94
they saw no one anymore,
but only Jesus with themselves."
00:16:54.94\00:16:58.68
So this is the
really big revelation,
00:16:58.68\00:17:02.22
the Son of God in all his glory,
00:17:02.22\00:17:04.65
and now the reader knows
who Jesus really, really is.
00:17:04.65\00:17:08.26
And from here,
00:17:08.26\00:17:09.72
the story starts going
downhill toward Jerusalem,
00:17:09.72\00:17:11.99
toward the cross, and
I'll be right back after this.
00:17:11.99\00:17:16.13
[transition whooshing]
00:17:16.13\00:17:18.50
[cheerful piano music]
00:17:18.50\00:17:19.73
- [Narrator] Here at
The Voice of Prophecy,
00:17:19.73\00:17:21.20
we're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:17:21.20\00:17:22.97
for the whole family.
00:17:22.97\00:17:24.47
Like our audio adventure
series, "Discovery Mountain."
00:17:24.47\00:17:27.54
"Discovery Mountain"
is a Bible-based program
00:17:27.54\00:17:30.41
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:17:30.41\00:17:32.75
Your family will enjoy
the faith building stories
00:17:32.75\00:17:35.52
from this small mountain
summer camp penned down.
00:17:35.52\00:17:38.39
With 24 seasonal
episodes every year
00:17:38.39\00:17:40.86
and fresh content every week,
00:17:40.86\00:17:43.02
there's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:17:43.02\00:17:46.19
- One of the words that
Mark frequently uses throughout
00:17:49.20\00:17:52.70
his Gospel account is
another telltale sign,
00:17:52.70\00:17:55.04
at least I think,
00:17:55.04\00:17:56.24
that this is
probably the work of Peter.
00:17:56.24\00:17:58.57
It's the Greek word, eutheos,
00:17:58.57\00:18:00.64
which means
immediately or straightaway,
00:18:00.64\00:18:03.81
and it
emphasizes immediate action.
00:18:03.81\00:18:06.58
If this is the gospel of the ox,
00:18:06.58\00:18:08.52
the gospel of a
faithful servant,
00:18:08.52\00:18:10.29
then you'd expect to see a lot
of labor and a lot of action.
00:18:10.29\00:18:14.36
And the word
eutheos makes a huge splash
00:18:14.36\00:18:17.43
right in the opening chapter.
00:18:17.43\00:18:18.89
Let me show you what I mean.
00:18:18.89\00:18:20.16
At the baptism of
Jesus, we read this in Mark 1,
00:18:20.16\00:18:23.47
it says, "And immediately,
coming up from the water,
00:18:23.47\00:18:26.74
he saw the heavens
parting and the Spirit
00:18:26.74\00:18:29.04
descending upon him like a dove.
00:18:29.04\00:18:31.31
Then a voice came from heaven,
00:18:31.31\00:18:32.84
'You are my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased.'"
00:18:32.84\00:18:36.71
Then right after that, it says,
00:18:36.71\00:18:38.18
"Immediately, the Spirit
drove him into the wilderness."
00:18:38.18\00:18:41.88
And then right after that,
Jesus calls his first disciples,
00:18:41.88\00:18:45.05
Simon and Andrew,
and the text says,
00:18:45.05\00:18:47.36
"They immediately left
their nets and followed him."
00:18:47.36\00:18:50.46
Then he sees James
and John and it says,
00:18:50.46\00:18:52.39
"And immediately he called them
00:18:52.39\00:18:54.30
and they left
their father, Zebedee,
00:18:54.30\00:18:55.73
in the boat with the hired
servants and went after him."
00:18:55.73\00:18:59.00
This word shows
up again, and again,
00:18:59.00\00:19:00.90
and again, and again, and again.
00:19:00.90\00:19:02.57
And that's because Mark
is trying to show us action.
00:19:02.57\00:19:06.51
It's a book with
a very fast pace,
00:19:06.51\00:19:08.54
connecting one story to
the next in a rapid fire way.
00:19:08.54\00:19:11.75
And it's trying to
give us the impression
00:19:11.75\00:19:14.02
that Jesus was very intentional.
00:19:14.02\00:19:16.22
He was working hard to save us.
00:19:16.22\00:19:19.62
[calming piano music]
00:19:19.62\00:19:20.86
I'm convinced that
this is one of the reasons
00:19:20.86\00:19:22.06
you find the hand of
Jesus mentioned so often
00:19:22.06\00:19:24.99
in the Book of Mark.
00:19:24.99\00:19:26.49
In the Bible,
00:19:26.49\00:19:27.40
the hand is a symbol for work
00:19:27.40\00:19:29.06
like we find in the
Book of Ecclesiastes,
00:19:29.06\00:19:31.70
where it tells us
whatever your hand finds to do,
00:19:31.70\00:19:34.47
do it with your might,
00:19:34.47\00:19:35.97
for there is no work or device
00:19:35.97\00:19:37.57
or knowledge or
wisdom in the grave
00:19:37.57\00:19:39.84
where you are going.
00:19:39.84\00:19:41.34
Mark is the record of
Jesus doing his earthly business
00:19:41.34\00:19:45.58
with all his
might, with his hand.
00:19:45.58\00:19:48.28
So in this Gospel,
00:19:48.28\00:19:49.52
Jesus takes
Peter's mother-in-law,
00:19:49.52\00:19:51.52
it says, "By the
hand and heals her."
00:19:51.52\00:19:54.76
He sees a leper,
00:19:54.76\00:19:56.26
a man who has been
denied any kind of human touch
00:19:56.26\00:19:58.73
for a really, really long time.
00:19:58.73\00:20:01.03
And it says that Jesus
was moved with compassion
00:20:01.03\00:20:04.20
and he reached
out and touched him.
00:20:04.20\00:20:07.07
When Jairus
pleads for his daughter,
00:20:07.07\00:20:09.20
Jesus takes the girl and says,
00:20:09.20\00:20:10.74
"By the hand."
00:20:10.74\00:20:12.31
And raises her from the dead.
00:20:12.31\00:20:14.44
He uses his hand
to heal a deaf man.
00:20:14.44\00:20:16.98
And the same thing
happens for a blind man.
00:20:16.98\00:20:19.31
In other words,
Jesus is the hand of God
00:20:19.31\00:20:23.49
working in this world to
save our broken humanity.
00:20:23.49\00:20:27.62
And then the narrative
takes us to the death of Christ,
00:20:27.62\00:20:31.89
an event that occupies
one third of this gospel.
00:20:31.89\00:20:35.33
By comparison, Mark skips
over the ministry of Christ
00:20:35.33\00:20:38.43
very, very quickly,
00:20:38.43\00:20:40.30
and then he slows
down dramatically to focus
00:20:40.30\00:20:42.74
on Jesus' final week
00:20:42.74\00:20:44.81
where the faithful servant
does his most important work.
00:20:44.81\00:20:48.98
He takes the sin of
humanity on himself.
00:20:48.98\00:20:51.78
He ascends to the cross
and he gives his life for us.
00:20:51.78\00:20:56.02
And what's really curious
about the story that Mark tells
00:20:56.02\00:21:00.26
is how little space it
devotes to what happens
00:21:00.26\00:21:02.72
after Jesus rose from the dead.
00:21:02.72\00:21:05.79
In the other Gospels,
00:21:05.79\00:21:07.30
we have detailed accounts of
post resurrection encounters,
00:21:07.30\00:21:10.50
but that's not what
you find in Mark's account.
00:21:10.50\00:21:13.17
Now, to be perfectly honest,
00:21:13.17\00:21:14.40
I'm not exactly sure
why this is except to say
00:21:14.40\00:21:17.71
that the death of Christ
is the focal point for Mark.
00:21:17.71\00:21:20.84
This is where
the story was headed
00:21:20.84\00:21:22.28
from the moment he
wrote the first words.
00:21:22.28\00:21:25.21
Christ was
willing to serve humanity
00:21:25.21\00:21:27.08
to the point of
giving his life to save us.
00:21:27.08\00:21:30.32
And curiously enough, of
the four faces of the Cherubim,
00:21:30.32\00:21:33.72
the ox is the only clean animal,
00:21:33.72\00:21:36.12
the only one suitable
for sacrifice in the temple.
00:21:36.12\00:21:40.06
And I think that
Peter really wanted
00:21:40.06\00:21:42.16
to draw our attention to that.
00:21:42.16\00:21:44.17
Over in his first letter,
00:21:44.17\00:21:45.70
Peter writes
these words, he says,
00:21:45.70\00:21:48.64
"And if you call on the Father,
00:21:48.64\00:21:50.74
who without partiality judges
according to each one's work,
00:21:50.74\00:21:54.28
conduct yourself through the
time of your stay here in fear,
00:21:54.28\00:21:57.45
knowing that you are not
redeemed with corruptible things
00:21:57.45\00:22:00.58
like silver or gold
from your aimless conduct
00:22:00.58\00:22:03.75
received by
tradition from your fathers,
00:22:03.75\00:22:06.72
but with the
precious blood of Christ,
00:22:06.72\00:22:09.39
as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot."
00:22:09.39\00:22:14.03
In the second Gospel account,
00:22:14.03\00:22:15.46
we see that the
life and death of Jesus
00:22:15.46\00:22:17.57
should make a difference.
00:22:17.57\00:22:20.40
You cannot possibly stand
beside Peter and see Jesus
00:22:20.40\00:22:23.97
as he reveals himself and
somehow not be changed by that.
00:22:23.97\00:22:28.54
You cannot join
Peter, James, and John,
00:22:28.54\00:22:31.18
on the Mount of
Transfiguration and see Jesus
00:22:31.18\00:22:33.68
in all his glory and then
just go back to regular life
00:22:33.68\00:22:37.72
as if you'd never
noticed anything at all.
00:22:37.72\00:22:40.49
I'll be right back after this.
00:22:40.49\00:22:42.92
[transition whooshing]
00:22:42.92\00:22:45.19
[calming piano music]
00:22:45.19\00:22:46.39
- [Narrator] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:22:46.39\00:22:48.66
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:22:48.66\00:22:51.47
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:22:51.47\00:22:54.47
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:22:54.47\00:22:57.54
Here at The Voice of Prophecy,
00:22:57.54\00:22:58.77
we've created the
Discover Bible guides
00:22:58.77\00:23:01.24
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:23:01.24\00:23:02.48
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use,
00:23:02.48\00:23:05.35
and provide answers to many
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00:23:05.35\00:23:08.38
and they're absolutely free.
00:23:08.38\00:23:10.39
So jump online
now or give us a call
00:23:10.39\00:23:12.29
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:23:12.29\00:23:14.96
- Well, there I go again.
00:23:15.82\00:23:16.76
I've been yabbering so long
00:23:16.76\00:23:18.03
that I'm starting
to run out of time,
00:23:18.03\00:23:19.79
but I don't want
to end today's episode
00:23:19.79\00:23:21.76
without focusing on the
very end of Mark's Gospel
00:23:21.76\00:23:25.73
or maybe it's Peter's Gospel.
00:23:25.73\00:23:28.17
I think one of
the strangest things
00:23:28.17\00:23:29.40
about the way Mark's Gospel ends
00:23:29.40\00:23:32.44
is just how abrupt it seems.
00:23:32.44\00:23:35.44
It looks as if the
original version of this book
00:23:35.44\00:23:37.68
ended with these words that
you find written in Mark 16:8.
00:23:37.68\00:23:41.68
It says, "So they went out
quickly and fled from the tomb,
00:23:41.68\00:23:45.99
for they
trembled and were amazed.
00:23:45.99\00:23:48.09
And they said nothing to anyone,
00:23:48.09\00:23:50.16
for they were afraid."
00:23:50.16\00:23:52.03
Now, if you look at the
marginal notes in some Bibles,
00:23:52.03\00:23:54.66
you'll see that
some scholars believe
00:23:54.66\00:23:56.70
that those were the original
closing words of this Gospel.
00:23:56.70\00:24:01.34
What we think happened
is that in later years,
00:24:01.34\00:24:03.44
another faithful disciple,
another follower of Jesus,
00:24:03.44\00:24:06.37
filled in the story
with a few extra verses,
00:24:06.37\00:24:10.18
a brief wrap up
that includes a couple
00:24:10.18\00:24:12.55
of post resurrection
appearances by Jesus
00:24:12.55\00:24:15.78
and a version of
the Great Commission
00:24:15.78\00:24:17.52
where Jesus sends his
disciples to share the news
00:24:17.52\00:24:20.29
of salvation with
the rest of the world.
00:24:20.29\00:24:22.89
But the original
version, the oldest one,
00:24:22.89\00:24:25.19
seems to end with an empty tomb
00:24:25.19\00:24:26.70
and some frightened disciples.
00:24:26.70\00:24:29.13
And that's really
a very strange place
00:24:29.13\00:24:31.73
to end a story if
you think about it,
00:24:31.73\00:24:33.97
because it's not the way
that most people would do it.
00:24:33.97\00:24:36.94
If this really is Peter's
account of the life of Jesus,
00:24:36.94\00:24:40.34
there's something missing here.
00:24:40.34\00:24:42.18
1 Corinthians 15 tells us
00:24:42.18\00:24:44.58
that after Jesus
rose from the dead,
00:24:44.58\00:24:46.95
he appeared to Peter privately,
00:24:46.95\00:24:50.25
almost as if he was
finishing the discussion
00:24:50.25\00:24:52.19
that happened at Caesarea
Philippi up on the mountain,
00:24:52.19\00:24:56.09
or maybe it was a
private meeting to wrap up
00:24:56.09\00:24:58.79
some of the unfinished business
00:24:58.79\00:25:00.60
that came out of
Peter's betrayal.
00:25:00.60\00:25:03.20
So if this
gospel written by Mark
00:25:03.20\00:25:04.60
is actually Peter's account,
00:25:04.60\00:25:06.63
the way that the
earliest church insisted,
00:25:06.63\00:25:09.34
then you'd think
that Peter would include
00:25:09.34\00:25:11.67
a meeting between himself
and Jesus, but it doesn't,
00:25:11.67\00:25:16.44
and we don't really know why.
00:25:16.44\00:25:18.58
It just ends very
suddenly with a note of fear,
00:25:18.58\00:25:21.52
with confused and
frightened disciples.
00:25:21.52\00:25:24.55
Now, some people have speculated
00:25:24.55\00:25:26.09
that maybe Mark was
suddenly arrested at this point
00:25:26.09\00:25:28.89
and didn't have time
to finish off the story.
00:25:28.89\00:25:31.53
Other people think maybe it
was designed this way on purpose
00:25:31.53\00:25:34.76
to leave you hanging
so that you have to finish
00:25:34.76\00:25:37.97
the story yourself.
00:25:37.97\00:25:39.47
You have to come to terms
with Jesus in your own way.
00:25:39.47\00:25:42.00
And the story that Peter started
00:25:42.00\00:25:43.67
has now come to you personally.
00:25:43.67\00:25:47.48
After climbing the mountain
00:25:47.48\00:25:49.04
to see who Jesus really
was and then following him
00:25:49.04\00:25:53.08
down the mountain,
all the way to the cross.
00:25:53.08\00:25:55.48
Maybe Mark is saying, listen,
00:25:55.48\00:25:57.89
now you have a choice
to make just like Peter did
00:25:57.89\00:26:00.56
up on that mountain.
00:26:00.56\00:26:01.92
[calming piano music]
00:26:01.92\00:26:03.43
Everybody who meets
Jesus has to respond somehow.
00:26:03.43\00:26:07.50
And there are two
ways you can respond.
00:26:07.50\00:26:09.86
Either you read this
account of Jesus of Nazareth
00:26:09.86\00:26:12.67
and you find faith,
00:26:12.67\00:26:14.87
or you're confronted by this
glorious Jesus on the mountain
00:26:14.87\00:26:18.71
and you succumb to fear,
00:26:18.71\00:26:20.54
and now you have to
decide which one you'll be.
00:26:20.54\00:26:24.38
You know, maybe
it's been a while
00:26:24.38\00:26:25.98
since you've read
a copy of the Bible.
00:26:25.98\00:26:27.62
In this day and age,
00:26:27.62\00:26:29.15
maybe there's a chance you've
never actually read it at all.
00:26:29.15\00:26:31.75
If you're going to read it,
00:26:31.75\00:26:33.02
I'd suggest you start
with the Gospel of Mark.
00:26:33.02\00:26:35.96
Why?
00:26:35.96\00:26:36.79
Well, it's short enough.
00:26:36.79\00:26:38.03
You could really
read this in one sitting.
00:26:38.03\00:26:39.96
It's not very long.
00:26:39.96\00:26:41.43
And by reading it,
00:26:41.43\00:26:42.83
you're going to get a
powerful sense of who Jesus is
00:26:42.83\00:26:46.17
or more accurately,
who Jesus claims to be.
00:26:46.17\00:26:50.07
And you might just
be surprised to find
00:26:50.07\00:26:52.41
what you've been
looking for in life.
00:26:52.41\00:26:54.34
You may just find the thing
that you knew was out there,
00:26:54.34\00:26:58.05
but didn't know where to look.
00:26:58.05\00:26:59.91
Pay attention to the
details in this account.
00:26:59.91\00:27:02.65
Pay attention to how
Jesus relates to real, everyday
00:27:02.65\00:27:07.56
people, how he interacts
with them, and ask yourself,
00:27:07.56\00:27:11.03
who was this man?
00:27:11.03\00:27:13.19
Was this really
just another guru,
00:27:13.19\00:27:15.70
another spiritual
teacher like all the rest?
00:27:15.70\00:27:18.60
Is Jesus just another prophet
like Elijah or Moses or John,
00:27:18.60\00:27:23.61
or is he the Son of God?
00:27:24.34\00:27:27.28
I mean, if he is, if he
really is God in human flesh,
00:27:27.28\00:27:32.28
I'd think you'd owe it to
yourself to sit down and examine
00:27:33.65\00:27:36.35
these claims for yourself.
00:27:36.35\00:27:38.69
I know there are a lot of
books about Jesus out there,
00:27:38.69\00:27:42.12
and you can find a lot
of books about the Bible,
00:27:42.12\00:27:45.73
but this book and
this Gospel in particular,
00:27:45.73\00:27:48.60
was written by a man
who was willing to die
00:27:48.60\00:27:51.37
upside down on a
cross for what he discovered
00:27:51.37\00:27:54.97
on that mountainside,
00:27:54.97\00:27:56.74
and I'd think that
would make you more
00:27:56.74\00:27:59.61
than a little bit curious.
00:27:59.61\00:28:01.58
I'm Shawn Boonstra.
00:28:01.58\00:28:03.01
Thanks for joining me for
another episode of "Authentic."
00:28:03.01\00:28:07.18
[energetic guitar music]
00:28:07.18\00:28:10.59