True & Beautiful Things About the Bible--New Testamentનમૂનો

The Gospel of Mark: Hope Again

If all you ever knew about Jesus you got from the Gospel of Mark, then you’d think Jesus was always in a hurry. Constantly moving. Always on the road. Immediately (used 35x) . . .

Really, this Gospel is Peter’s story; Mark just wrote it down. That explains the urgency. Peter remembered his time with Jesus in rapid-fire action. And then we did this…And then we did this…

We should be glad to have Peter’s eye-witness to the big and small moments from those years he spent eating Jesus’ dust. Though he’s almost always in the story, Peter is never the hero. He reserved that for Jesus every time. Usually, Peter is the one with the quick, dumb answer or the impulsive response.

We all have chapters in our story we wish we could erase. If he could, how many times would Peter delete that scene in the courtyard when he denied he even knew Jesus?

Somewhere in the night, a rooster stretched its neck and announced his failure. Just then, Peter looked over his shoulder and caught the eye of the One who loved him more than life, passing through the courtyard on His way to the cross.

That moment between sinner and Savior hung in the air like a framed picture.

But two things are true about those awful chapters in our lives. If not for them, we’d all be quite proud. And secondly, we’d all be shallow, not much character. It’s in those times of failure and heartache that we grow and our hearts are tenderized. And we give others room to grow and heal in their failure, too.

It’s a good thing Peter wasn’t written off. After the resurrection, Jesus said, “Go tell my disciples and tell Peter I’ve been raised.” (Mark 16:7) Tell Peter specifically. Tell the one who a few days ago denied Me that it’s a new day. Somewhere off-screen, Jesus and Peter met privately. Did they speak of that awful moment in the courtyard? Well, that’s between them.

What we do know is that Peter’s crisis took him to the right place with God. What he perhaps wished he could erase from his story, Jesus made into something beautiful.

No surprise, then, that 30 years later, Peter, now the pastor, wrote two of the greatest letters of compassion and courage to people in pain.

It won’t take long to read the shortest (fastest) Gospel of (Peter) Mark. When you do, smile a little at that young man, Peter, who was so eager to make things happen, whom God would make into a pastor who showed people how to hope again.

Next: Everyone feels lost sometimes . . .