Lent Gospel is a campaign for people to read through the whole of Mark’s Gospel during Lent, in 40 short readings. Helpful notes on each day's reading are available from www.usefulbible.com/lent-gospel; and you can download the whole series in PDF or Kindle format (it's free - just right-click on the links then select ‘save as...’ to download). Of course, it doesn’t have to be for Lent... why not begin now?
Last part: Lent Gospel: 40 days with the Gospel of Mark
Mark is the surname of John Mark, one of Paul’s travelling companions on his first missionary journey.
It seems that Mark was from a well-to-do Jerusalem family, who had quite possibly been supporters of Jesus from an early stage in his ministry. Mark himself was a young man with a noted gift in languages.
It may well have been that first missionary journey which originally showed Mark the need for a Gospel. Mark accompanied Paul to the island of Cyprus where, possibly for the first time, Mark saw large numbers of people believing in Jesus who had not been eye-witnesses to his ministry.
Mark soon left Paul, in time becoming a valued helper of the apostles. From that unique standpoint, he witnessed the growth of the Christian church. And when he heard about the establishment of a church in Rome – then the capital of the world’s most powerful empire – Mark understood what its members would need. It was for their benefit that he prepared this extraordinary document.
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© 2012, Keith Simons.