Mark is sometimes also known as the Gospel of Peter. Some people refer to it as the Gospel of Peter because it is well known and well accepted that Peter was giving Mark information as he was writing this. Even though it’s not the "Gospel according to Peter," it’s the Gospel according to Mark because Mark wrote it. However most historians and scholars believe Peter gave Mark most of the information.

The other thing that is significant about Mark is that some people date it as early as AD 45 which puts it 15-18 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. This means it’s a very early accounting of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Most people date it in the mid-50s, not as early as AD 45. That’s significant because it is a very recent history—written so close to the actual events.

The point is that it was the first Gospel written. Matthew, Luke, and John were written later. One evidence of that is that 95% of the material in Mark is contained in Matthew and Luke. Matthew and Luke could read Mark and include parts in their Gospels.

There is an interesting story about Mark. Paul and Barnabas had a fallout over Mark. Paul and Barnabas were going on missionary journeys. Barnabas told Paul, "Let’s take Mark." Because Mark did not finish out one of the earlier missionary journeys, Paul said, "No. He’s a wimp. I don’t want him on my journey. You can have him." This caused a little conflict between Paul and Barnabas. This is the same Mark that wrote this Gospel. You can read this story in Acts.

Mark came from a wealthy family. His mother was quite wealthy. They had Bible studies in their home. There is much more background. Several Scriptures tell us that later on, Mark grew stronger in the Lord. He stood up for his convictions later on in life.

I also told you that each of the Gospels was written for a certain audience. Matthew was written for the Jews. How do you know that? Primarily it’s because there are so many references to the Old Testament and Jesus is presented as the king (because they were expecting the Messiah king). Mark was written for the Gentile, the Romans. We’ll see this. It was written for someone who did not grow up with a Jewish background or Jewish history. This is much like us, today. When you read Mark, you don’t see all the Old Testament references. As you’re reading along, you’ll see some custom that’s Jewish-like. Mark usually takes the time to briefly explain the custom. For example, there’s one in here about ceremonial washing. Mark takes the time to say, "Here’s what this means to a Jew."

Mark presents Jesus as a servant and was written to be fast-hitting. I mentioned sprinting earlier. Mark really sprints through the life and ministries of Christ. I’ll show you that this morning. Remember that in Matthew, we had the genealogy, the birth, preparation for ministry, etc. Take a look at the titles or headings in Mark, chapter 1 in your Bible. What do you see? He’s already an adult. He’s being baptized by John the Baptist. He starts His ministry in verse 14. There’s a ministry in Galilee. He performs a miracle healing. Do you see that Mark doesn’t mess around? Mark jumps right in and says, "Here is the gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ. He was a servant and He served."

Something else that may make you more comfortable with Mark is that Mark is the most chronological of the four Gospels.

You all know what this is. As you read Mark, he will mention the towns Jesus visits, the majority of which are around the Sea of Galilee. Jerusalem is down near Bethlehem and the Dead Sea where He goes for the Passover. That is where He is tried, crucified, buried, and resurrected but most of His ministry occurred up in Galilee.

• Cana is where Jesus turned water into wine.
• Nazareth is His boyhood home.
• Tyre is where He healed the son of a Gentile.
• Mt. Hermon is where He was transfigured.

So you see that most of His ministry occurred well north of Jerusalem. As you read Mark, you’ll see this. You’ll see all the things Jesus did in Capernaum, Bethsaida, and other towns and villages.

I am going to lose some of you on this lesson. I know I am. There are two reasons why. Here’s one:

You have the "Spirit" and the "World." I have really stressed this. We spend a lot of time learning things in the world but Christ wants us to learn through the Spirit and apply what we learn spiritually to live in the Spirit. That’s part of the transforming of your mind, becoming more like Christ, etc. So that’s one thing: there is a "Spirit" realm separate from the 3-dimensional "World" that we live in.

The other thing we’ve been drawing up is an illustration of your mind before you accepted Christ and the process of sanctification as you mature in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

The reason I mention these with Mark is that about 25% of the healings and miracles recorded in Mark concern demons. One out of four of the miracles are related to demons in the "Spirit" realm. I tell you that because there are still a lot of Christians who haven’t matured yet in their recognition of the "Spirit" world. Are we really living in a "Spirit" world? "We like our 3D World down here and it’s great every once in a while to get a glimpse of Heaven. But come on, we like being in the real world." I told you that God would rather have you learn in the Spirit and apply it down in the World. When we talk about the demon world, you really have to ask yourself, "Do I really believe that demons and angels exist on this earth?" That’s why I said that I will lose some of you. I wanted to prepare you for that because that’s what we’ll be talking about in Mark.

Let’s start with one of these healings in chapter 2.

The people heard that Jesus had come home…

You all have heard this story. Four men bring someone who is lame, cannot walk. They arrive and can’t even get into the house. So they climb up on the roof, destroy the roof, and lower the man down to Jesus.

I want you to note some things. What we want to do is learn more about Jesus and what He does.

Most of us would see a man being lowered through the ceiling and say, "Look. What have they done to my roof?" But what did Jesus see? He saw their faith. He didn’t see the World. He saw the spiritual side of it. As we read, look at the spiritual side of it.

Now how’s that for the spiritual side? He saw their faith and forgave their sins. What was their faith in? Were they coming just to get the paralytic man healed? Think about it. Did they hope that Jesus would just cure him and that’s it? Yes. Obviously. Why else would they tear up the roof and lower him down? We just described the worldly side—heal the man and let him walk again. Jesus goes immediately to the spiritual side and says, "I see your faith." How did He see their faith? Is there not more to God’s view of you than the physical? Did He see just four men, four ropes, and a man lying on a mat? No. He could see their hearts. He could see their minds. He could see their thoughts and motives. We’ll read that later on.

The "teachers of the law" were the scribes. We’ve talked about the scribes. They’re the ones who interpreted the law and said, "You can’t pluck corn and eat it on Sunday."

What were they doing? Were they mumbling to themselves? No. They were thinking to themselves and judging. Right now, no one else knows what’s going through your mind. Jesus knew what was going on in their minds.

Who did these men think Jesus was? If you asked them, there may be some conviction that’s still needed, but how would they answer? A man. A prophet. A teacher. They believed He could heal because they’d seen it. Did they believe He could forgive sins? No. That’s something that Jesus saw. He said, "Your faith in me is more that just healing this man." The four men’s faith said, "This man can do it." Here’s the contrast—the scribes thought, "This fellow is blaspheming."

"Who can forgive sins but God alone?" How about that question they asked? Was that a good question? What did they just really confirm? They answered themselves, "Hey, He must be God." But they didn’t want to admit that.

How did Jesus know? In His Spirit. Do you see that? In every situation and every event that you read in the Gospels, you watch—Jesus knew what was going on around Him through the Spirit. The Spirit told Him. I believe the Spirit will tell you what’s going on around you. I’m not saying that you’re going to read minds or anything like that but the Spirit will protect you and tell you what’s going on.

Which is easier to say? "Your sins are forgiven," right? Don’t forget that they are on the worldly level. So Jesus speaks to them on their level, "Well, which is easier to say on earth?" Of course they answered, "It’s easier to say something I can’t see versus something I can see." He’s lame. It would be much harder to make him get up and walk. That’s what Jesus was telling them.

Aren’t Jesus’ questions amazing? I want to challenge you. Buy a pocket New Testament, get a highlighter, read the Gospels, and discipline yourself to highlight only the questions of Christ. Make your own "yellow-letter" (vs. red-letter) edition. You won’t believe what you’ll find. Jesus was full of questions to others so that they would think for themselves and make a decision. It will be a real blessing for you.

Ah! There we go. He says it. Who is the "Son of Man?" Him. Jesus Christ. Daniel calls Him the "Son of Man." If you go back and read Daniel, he says, "The Son of Man will come."

As soon as He says, "authority on earth," what did He just do? This is one of those "Spirit touching World" moments. Where is Jesus living? He’s in the Spirit even though He’s physically on this earth. He is in the spiritual realm. The Holy Spirit is communicating with Him. This is the same as your new birth in Christ. That’s what this is all about. Your mind is being transformed to where you live the heavenly promises and blessings God has given you while you’re here on this earth. Rather than looking at the World first, you look at what God has said and live based on that. That’s what Jesus did.

He saw their faith and said, "Son, your sins are forgiven." When we talk about the forgiving of sins, we talk about the atonement through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Could God have forgiven any sins before Jesus died on the cross? Sure. Sure, He could. Have they been paid for? No. Actually, this must be true. Otherwise, where would Abraham be? We know he sinned. If Abraham died before Christ died on the cross to pay for his sins, how did God forgive him of those sins. Through his faith. That’s what I think happened here. Jesus saw their faith in brining this man to be healed. And just like God forgave Abraham, Jesus told this lame man that his sins were forgiven. The price must still be paid, though. Do you understand me? The penalty is still due.

Everyone in the Old Testament was looking forward to the day of Christ, when He was crucified on the cross, all the sins were paid for, and man was reconciled to God. We’re on the other side of the cross, looking back, and saying, "All my sins are now paid for because of Christ’s sacrifice." When were your sins forgiven and paid for? When Christ died on the cross. Abraham’s sins were forgiven 4,000 years ago and paid for 2,000 years ago with Christ on the cross.

Let me ask you. Let me be a little tough on you. What do we have now (after the cross) that goes back to the cross? After the cross, what do you have? What do you have that points to the cross? The Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "I must leave so that I can send the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin, of righteousness, and so forth." In other words, we have the Holy Spirit now, right here, to remind us of what Jesus has done. That’s why it’s so important to know that the Holy Spirit is living with you as a Christian. This is it. If you don’t have the Holy Spirit, what do you have that takes you back to the cross? I’ll tell you what you have. You have nothing. A lot of Christians won’t live in the Spirit and rely on the Spirit. What will they put in His place? They’ll say, "Well, I’m not nearly as bad as that guy over there." The Holy Spirit will convict you of sin but then your selfish, fleshly, old-nature, worldly mind will start working on you. You won’t go to the Holy Spirit, agree with God, and ask for forgiveness. You will start saying, "Well, am I really all that bad? That guy is worse than me." Do you hear what I’m saying? If it’s not people, what is it? Things. Material possessions. "I’ll shop and I’ll feel better." It’s anything to avoid the conviction.

They had a sacrificial system. Do we need a sacrificial system? No. All we need is the Holy Spirit to convict us of righteousness. Jesus said, "I’ll leave the Holy Spirit with you."

It’s their individual, personal faith in God—just like the paralytic man. But what does it do to YOU when you watch these healings on TV?

Do you think God is bigger than that TV "healer" to tell that person what’s really going on? Definitely.

God does what He chooses to do. Sometimes people are healed and sometimes they are not. God can use anything and anybody to reveal Himself. "God works in mysterious ways."

I want to keep stressing, "What does it do to your faith, individually?" It doesn’t matter what I think or believe. It’s what the Holy Spirit shows you. You can’t rely on me. You can’t rely on your Pastor. You can’t rely on someone with a doctorate in theology. As far as your beliefs and your faith, you can’t rely on people. You can only rely on the Holy Spirit. Go to God’s Word. Pray and meditate on it. If you’re a Christian, the Bible says that God, through the Holy Spirit, is going to show you. You will then have conviction—not conviction of sin but conviction behind your beliefs.

It’s like you have some money to invest. You want to ask one person (a stockbroker, financial planner, or analyst) where to invest it. You may or may not agree with their advice. Sometimes we wrongly rely on what other people say.