{"id":26177,"date":"2020-11-06T13:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T13:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2020\/12\/09\/preaching-on-mark\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T17:02:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T17:02:26","slug":"preaching-on-mark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/preaching-on-mark\/","title":{"rendered":"Preaching on Mark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Historical Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is widely agreed that Peter probably passed on the content of this Gospel to John Mark who crafted this masterful work. Many scholars tentatively hold to a date around AD 65 for this Gospel which was possibly written in Rome. If this later dating is accurate, the reality of Roman persecution heightens the tension in the Gospel\u2019s emphasis on suffering for the first readers as well as for Christians today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark\u2019s primary theme is a call to discipleship though he does it through casting Jesus\u2019 original disciples in an unfavorable light. Mark consistently challenges a version of discipleship that would follow Christ without really understanding what they are being called to believe about him or do for him. Thus, Mark\u2019s focus is Jesus\u2019 identity and authority. Because Mark seems to favor a non-Jewish audience in his writing, it lends itself to outsiders or those less familiar with Old Testament background. But every believing listener will be challenged to fortify their following of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ending is disupted. What we have in 16:9-20 is attested to in the majority of manuscripts but not in the best of manuscripts. We also have reliable historical testimony that would seem to indicate the longer ending is not original. While the shorter ending seems abrupt, it is possible this is for effect. Mark\u2019s final \u201csandwich\u201d contrasts Jospeh\u2019s courage with the trembling and fear that filled even the faithful women who had followed Jesus so closely (A – 15:40-41; B – 15:42-46; A\u2019 15:47-16:8). The sudden ending of the narrative invites the reader to ponder whether they will follow Christ\u2019s instruction to go and report his resurrection to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chart: Preaching Through Mark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We know the weekly grind of sermon prep is hard, whether you are in the midst of series or planning a new series. Trying to find key verses you need to highlight in your sermon, finding the historical background to the book, discovering the flow\/structure of book, and even figuring out what is the theme of each section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why we created this chart! This chart is designed to\u00a0save you time<\/strong>\u00a0as you prepare to preach a new sermon series from the Book of Mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will find a quick visual overview of the movement of the Book of Mark. It will help orient you and your hearers as you preach through the entire book or sections of the book. It provides, at a glance, one way to divide the book into pericopes. The chart includes key verses in the book, an overarching title for the book, the overall message of the book, and some historical background. It is color-coded to highlight certain defining aspects of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chart could be used as a slide in your church service. It could serve as an introduction to a new series or a weekly check-in before you begin preaching. It could even be printed out and given to the members of your church, as a resource to help them grasp the message of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/span>
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Sermon Series<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The following is a 49-part series through Mark. While this is certainly not the only way to break it up, these pericopes should feel natural to the careful reader and respect literary boundaries such as Mark\u2019s frequent \u201csandwiching\u201d (A-B-A structure). It includes an introductory sermon that seeks to incorporate some Old Testament influences in Mark and also preview the major themes of discipleship, faith, and the identity of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My sermon titles often lean more toward textual description than application. More important than titles is the need to look through the various emphases of each passage and think ahead about not making the sermon series feel too repetitive. The Gospel of Mark is not a series of sermons. It is not designed to present isolated, non-repeating themes. Instead, several themes present and re-present themselves throughout. If you\u2019re not thinking ahead carefully, you might expend all your ammo on a theme only to run into it again several more times. In the \u201ctips\u201d area below, I will suggest how to handle each passage so that it provides its own voice and doesn\u2019t completely steal another upcoming sermon\u2019s thunder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text: Mark 1:1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n