The Restoration of Faith in Mankind in The Gospel of Mark and The Suffering of The Messiah

The Gospel of Mark contains sixteen chapters which consists of narrative history, Sermons, and Parables. This Gospel is the shortest of the synoptic Gospels and was written approximately 64 A.D. The first eight chapters explores Jesus traveling north preaching and the next eight chapters tells us of Jesus' time in the city of Caesarea Philippi. The purpose of this Gospel is to show Jesus as the Messiah, who was sent to suffer and restore faith in mankind.

The first key theme that is explored in the Gospel of Mark is Jesus as the Son of Man who must suffer. There are a number of instances throughout the text where we see Jesus foretelling his suffering, death, and resurrection: For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Essentially, Jesus is addressing himself as the Son of God and letting his disciples know that he did not come to earth to be served, he came to give his life for the good of his people. Jesus continuously speaks of his death and resurrection throughout the Gospel of Mark: And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31). This is where we see Jesus suffering rejection from elders, chief priests, and scribes who do not believe he is the Son of God. Despite being rejected by high class members of society, Jesus told his followers not to be ashamed of himself or his words or he will ashamed of them when he rises from the dead and returns in his Father’s glory. It is evident that Jesus had no option about his suffering he was going to incur: The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born (Mark 14:21). Here we see that Jesus had to continue throughout his life suffering constantly until his crucifixion, as he had to give his life.

The next theme we come across in the Gospel of Mark is that Jesus is the Son of Man with all mighty power and authority. This theme is first presented when we see the power of Jesus’ healing: Now Simons mother in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve him (Mark 1:29-31). This shows how Jesus used his all mighty power to cure Simon’s mother in-law and in turn she began to serve and follow his teachings. Not only did Jesus cure illness he also helped people who were believed to be demon-possessed: That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed (Mark 1:32). This suggested how powerful Jesus was as he could cure people who are believed to be demon possessed. Along with Jesus’ mighty power, he also had great authority, this is seen when Jesus walked on water: But when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart it is I, Do not be afraid” (Mark 4:49-51). This exemplifies the authority and power Jesus spoke with as their hearts were at ease after finding out Jesus was walking on water. Jesus the Son of God, had the power to walk on water and also the authority to calm the bewildered people who were witnessing this great act. Another great example of Jesus’ authority is: For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person (Mark 7:21-23). This is once again Jesus speaking with authority about what he believes defiles a person.