Verse 10:45 Is the Core

Verse 10:45 Is the Core Verse

of the Gospel of Mark

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Verse 10:45 is the Core Verse of the Gospel of Mark

The problem we are researching and investigating in this paper is to what extent Verse 45 of Chapter 10 of the Gospel of Mark is the "core" verse of that Gospel. We will use the New International Version of the Bible as our primary reference for the verse: "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark).

We know that this is a "key" verse of the Gospel of Mark. However, in context of its background, author, theme, and audience, is it really the core verse from which to pull out the total intent of John Mark in writing this Book of the Bible? and, in addition, it is most probably important that we distinguish from Jesus coming to this world as "a" servant or as "the" servant who came to die for us and for the forgiveness of our sins. Since, in the Bible, these words are presented in quotation marks as spoken by Jesus himself, both in Mark and in Matthew, it is evident that Jesus thought of Himself as "the" servant with that Holy purpose. and, if this verse is the core verse of the Gospel as a whole, does that necessarily make it the core verse of Mark's writings?

We will conduct our research through this version of the Bible itself and use other cross-referenced passages and prophecies that either support or oppose our proposition that the passage is the core verse of this Book of Mark. We will also use other scholarly opinions presented to us through Bible commentaries, concordances, and additional references that shed some light on this subject.

We know that the most fundamental truth of the New Testament is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." From that truth, all else must flow in the New Testament. We will see how this most fundamental of purposes of the Gospel message ties directly into Jesus' statements in Mark.

What of the Gospel of Mark? If we are to discern the intent of it and the crux of its message through investigating its core passage, we must first know what the purpose of the Book is and its context within the other Gospels.

Mark is purported to be the first of the Gospels to be written. It is also the shortest. It is thought that John Mark was a companion of Peter as well as Paul and Barnabas. Mark's message is clear and concise. It is a bare bones depiction of Christ's ministry -- not necessarily biographical or historical, but rather theological. Mark's purpose it appears, is to present Jesus as the Christ, the One who did great things in great ways -- his "mighty" works. He was evidently targeting Gentiles in that he was impressing upon them Christ's divine powers through His miracles, but not much about his parables (holybible.com).

All of this theological context ties in well with the idea of what may be the core text of the Book of Mark. Verse 10:45 presents the most divine of Christ's purposes in the world, and that is to be "the" servant by making the supreme sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. In speaking with Gentiles, certainly this would be evidence of his divinity and "greatness." It would also be a theological lesson to them in proving that, in this way, Jesus then, must be the Christ.

It is thought that Mark selected from many of the discourses of Peter for the content of his Gospel. And it appears obvious that Mark's intent is doing so was to pick those writings and messages that would prove to Roman Christians (Gentiles) that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God. In doing this, he did not put forth prophecy as in Matthew, but rather selects those statements and actions of Christ that describe His power over all, and uses as evidence his miracles (MacRory).

And the proper note is struck in the first statement of Mark: "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." It makes it rather clear that the whole purpose of the Gospel of Mark is to prove the truth of that first declaration, and what better core verse to use than 10:45, claiming that He is "the" servant who will save man from himself. And what better "starting point" for the beginning of the gospel than to preach his mission (MacRory).

It is believed that Mark's Gospel may have been written because of the persecution of the church in Rome around the mid-60s a.D. The fire that burned down most of Rome, and supposedly set by Nero in 64 a.D. was blamed on Christians, and did result in the widespread persecution. It is thought that Mark might be writing to prepare Christians for this suffering by placing before them the life of the Lord and his power (Mark).

Alan Cole (Tyndale, 2007) points to two questions that the Gospel of Mark answers. The first is just who is Jesus Christ? And the second is what is he here on earth in human form to do?

Mark, according to Cole, is describing Christ's major activities as opposed to the parables, etc. To show that Jesus is the Son of God and he brought to his people the gospel (good news) of God's kingdom. All of the activities that Mark gathers together and presents to the reader in rapid succession is meant to pile up the evidence and prove that Jesus is divine and is the Son of God. And verse 10:45 is meant to then conclude that this divine soul has come to earth for one reason -- too pay the penalty for all of our sins that we owe (Cole, p. 92).

The central focus, once again, in this commentary, turns to 10:45. It is all about the cross and Jesus' death upon it as a substitute for us as long as we turn to him. Thus, that is the importance of revealing to the Gentiles in Rome in such powerful fashion why they must believe that Jesus is who he says he is (Cole).

Philip Van Linden, (Collegeville Bible Commentary, 1992), points to the three stages of Mark's Gospel. The first stage, according to Van Linden, envelops the reader into a relationship with the powerful healer and preacher, Jesus. At this very first stage no one seems to know Jesus' true identity, including his disciples, (who were often without a clue). Then, at Caesarea Philippi, where it had been decided to put Jesus to death, the reader learns that the way of Christ must be the way of the Christian. Their way too must be the way of the cross (Karris, p. 903).

The second stage tells the reader the way to true Christian discipleship, and points to verse 10:45 as the core verse: it is through Jesus Christ who gave up his life as a ransom for many.

But Jesus' death is not the end. The third stage of the Gospel of Mark begins with the statement of Jesus' resurrection and going to Galilee. It is at the empty tomb that the reader takes the place of Jesus' first followers, and Mark challenges them to respond to Jesus in their own lives because he paid the full price as stated in 10:45 (Karris, p. 903-904).

Mark's Gospel is an urgent message to all Christians. At the time it was written, Mark, his mentor, Peter, and most of the Christian community believed that the return of Christ was going to be very soon upon them. Mark was presenting the Gospel in a nutshell with the most convincing evidence he could gather so that his readers and listeners could be on guard and ready for His return. And what did that mean exactly? They had to become "disciples" of Christ as soon as possible, because there might not be another chance tomorrow (Karris, p. 905).

And so Mark begins in Verse 1 with the powerful statement of belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and the risen Christ. This man who walked among them many years before, performed miracles, healed their sick, and taught them about the good God can do for them, was, indeed, God incarnate, and proceeds to "cut to the chaste," leaving out the birth and infancy, and parables, and presenting His ministry.

It is in the crucified and risen Jesus that His followers will find their source of hope and strength. Again, it is all about the cross. That is how they are saved for this imminent second coming of Christ -- by becoming Christ's disciples. And that happens because God chose to have his Son walk the earth in human form as the ultimate servant -- not to be served -- but to serve the "many." And what was the end goal of his service to man? To die on the cross and release all from their many sins and grant forgiveness to them through His own death. To believe that -- that Christ died on the cross for us and arose again to sit on his throne -- is to be His disciple. And that was the service that Christ performed. And that leads us directly to Verse 10:45 as the core of this Gospel. With Mark's purpose in mind, as we have discussed, there could be no more key verse in his writings than this one.

It is fascinating that Mark chose to conclude his Gospel with the story of Bartimaeus, the blind man, who cries out to Jesus: "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!"(v.47). The title he gives to Jesus, "Son of David" immediately proclaims Jesus as who he really is, and all this from a blind man, who evidently sees Jesus for his real identity more clearly than the disciples or the crowd, or, for that matter, many of us today. Those with Him, who have witnessed Jesus' power and miracles, do not have the faith of the blind man who can't see anything. This is exactly the faith Mark is calling upon all Christians for -- the belief that Jesus came only to serve the many, and that service -- to give his life for our sins -- and our own faith in that fact, as the blind man had, makes us His disciples (Karris, p. 925).

Most scholars agree that Mark's primary source of information about Jesus was Peter -- the one Jesus loved. Some would even say that Mark's Gospel is simply his version of Peter's personal testimony. Due to the fast pace of it, the prominence of Peter in the text, and its similarity to Peter's writings, this view seems relevant and possible.

All of this lends credence, of course, to what Mark has to say and the urgency with which he says it. Peter, after all, was as close to Jesus as any of the disciples could hope to be. His knowledge of the humanness of Christ and his ministry was, most probably, unprecedented. For that reason, Mark's Gospel has been labeled by many Bible scholars as the most dynamic book in the Bible (Carter).

The book was written around the time of the fall of Jerusalem -- when Christian communities were suffering severe persecution. When Jerusalem fell, it destroyed the Jews' identity and their confidence in what they believed. So, at a time when the community needed hope, Mark chose to provide it. Turn to Him, Mark said, and here's why. And it also explains why he "cut out the fluff" and got right to the ministry of Jesus. This Gospel is Christ in action.

Christ is presented as miracle worker and servant. Much of Mark's urgency is aimed at describing the disciples themselves, who demonstrated clearly that they just didn't get it when it came to true faith in who Jesus was. They so lacked commitment that they abandoned him during his dire time of need in the Garden of Gethsemane (Carter). They truly didn't get it until Christ died on the cross for them and arose again to appear before them -- his work for them as their servant to forgive their sins and make them believe, thus, finally, becoming true disciples at the Pentecost and going forth and preaching the Good News. Once, again, we point to verse 10:45 as the key verse as it applied to the original disciples. This band of "keystone cops" as some scholars describe the 12 disciples became pillars of the faith with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and dedicated their lives to the Lord -- each one martyred for the firmness of their faith. They, finally got it. Had it not been for Christ's service to them, his death on the cross and his resurrection, the Gospel would not have been spread. And Christianity would have died.