Mark: the Man

Introduction to the Gospel of Mark Series and the Man Mark

0:02 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, July 17, 1983, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:12 Now, it was a few weeks ago that I announced to you as a congregation that we would soon begin a series of expositions in the gospel according to Mark. And in order to be better prepared for these expositions, we have spent several Lord's Day mornings considering what I have called introductory perspectives on the gospels in general. Now, those perspectives were set before you in terms of an answer to five very fundamental questions. How did the gospels come to us?

0:53 Secondly, what is the gospel? What is the precise nature of the gospel records? Thirdly, why were they written? Fourth, what is their relationship to the rest of the New Testament?

1:08 And finally, how should we approach our study of the gospels in general and the gospel of Mark in particular? Now, with those general introductory perspectives behind us, and I trust, in a sense, that you will be able to understand them, and with us, within us, we shall begin our concentration this morning on the gospel of Mark itself. And if I may use an analogy, it's as though we've been standing on the street for several Lord's Day mornings looking at four houses. And we have been considering those houses as a group of dwellings on this particular street of divine revelation.

1:52 We've looked at those houses. As a distinct group, we've asked the question, how did they get there? What is their general purpose for being there? We've also considered their relationship to the other houses on the street.

2:07 The other houses being the book of Acts and the epistles. But now, this morning, we want to walk up to the second house. That's the gospel according to Mark. And we want to stand on the porch.

2:18 Now, we're not going to go inside the rooms and start examining the living room. We're not going to examine the dining room. But we are going to approach the second house, namely, the gospel of Mark. And this morning, we're going to stand on the porch, and God willing, again, next Lord's Day morning.

2:35 And then, we'll enter the first room several Lord's Days from now. And what we hope to do as we stand on the porch of Mark, the house entitled Mark, is first of all to consider something about the builder of that house. From the human side, Mark was the owner. He was the author of the gospel that bears his name in our Bibles.

2:59 And we want to consider something about Mark, the man. And then, we want to look at some of the distinguishing traits of this particular house. We've looked at the characteristics that it has in common with the other three houses that comprise the gospels. But we want to understand precisely what angles make this house different from house one, Matthew, from house three.

3:24 And then, we want to consider something of its overall structure. And then, consider together, why was this house built in precisely the way it was built? Why is this second house what it is? What was the purpose in the mind of the human builder, and even more so, the divine architect, God himself?

3:52 But this morning, all we're going to do... we're going to do is to consider Mark, the man.

The Authorship of Mark's Gospel

3:59 Now, unlike most of our epistles, we have in the Gospel of Mark no explicit statement that Mark is the author. When you pick up the epistle to the Romans, you're told in the opening words that Paul is the author. You find the same thing in most of the other epistles of the New Testament. But you can read Mark 1.1 all the way through, to whatever is the ending of Mark in chapter 16, and nowhere will you find any statement within the gospel of Mark itself that Mark was the author. But you say, Pastor Martin, in my Bible, when I turn to the first chapter, it says in bold print at the top, according to Mark. Now, are those words in the Bible or aren't they? If they are, why are you saying nowhere does it say Mark wrote this particular gospel account?

4:56 Well, the answer to that could lead us into all kinds of considerations that would not be unto edification, but suffice it to say that when one sifts through all of the available information, one comes to the conclusion that there is no reasonable explanation that very, very early in the making of copies of this particular gospel account, the words, according to Mark, began to appear. And there is no satisfactory or rational explanation for that fact if Mark were not indeed the human author of this gospel record. In fact, there is a very imposing array of ancient testimony with respect to the fact that Mark was indeed the author of the gospel that bears his name. And so it is right and proper for us believing in the God of Providence without having a second court of authority called human tradition, it is proper for us to assume that a man named Mark was indeed the author of the gospel that bears his name. And furthermore, there are no compelling reasons to doubt that the Mark who wrote the second gospel is the John Mark whom we meet again and again in the gospel.

6:21 Again and again in the book of Acts and in the epistles. And so we have a wealth of materials before us this morning as we consider Mark the man. Who was the man that the Holy Spirit chose to use to construct this second house on the street of divine revelation in our New Testament? What do we know about him?

Mark's Name: John Mark, John, and Mark

6:47 What can we understand with respect to his peculiar perspective on Christ and on the work of the gospel that will further furnish us to enter into the house of his gospel with a keen and a perceptive eye? Well, I've sought to collate the biblical materials on the subject of Mark the man under three simple headings. First of all, his name. Secondly, his background.

7:16 Thirdly, his apostolic associations. And then we'll see. To make three, what I trust will be very pertinent applications. First of all, then, Mark the man, his name.

7:30 If you will turn to the twelfth chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles, you will find in this passage a reference to the one who wrote the gospel that we are about to study together. The book of Acts, chapter 12 and verse 12. You remember the setting. Peter was in prison.

7:57 In answer to the prayers of God's people, God has wonderfully intervened to release him from prison. And Peter makes his way to a certain place where he was assured he would find a company of the people of God. We read in Acts 12 and verse 12 these words. And when he, that is Peter, had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

8:33 So here we are told of a certain Mary who was the mother of a man who had two names. His name was John and his name was Mark. We confront him again in the last verse of this chapter. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, taking with them John, whose surname was Mark.

9:00 Now sometimes he's referred to simply as John. Chapter 13 of Acts and verse 13. Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. Now that this John is the John Mark of chapter 12 and verse 12 and verse 25, we understand from verse 5 of chapter 13.

9:30 When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogue of the Jews, and they also had John as their attendant. Now this John who was their attendant, this John who departed from them, is very clearly the Mark of Acts 15 and verse 39. Acts 15 and verse 39. As Paul is about to leave on his second missionary journey, he and Barnabas have a dispute with respect to whether or not they ought to take this man with him.

10:05 Verse 37. Barnabas was minded to take with them John also, who was called Mark. But Paul thought not good to take with them him who withdrew from them from Pamphylia and went not with them. He went not with them to the work.

10:24 So by bringing these scriptures together, we draw the conclusion that this is one and the same person, sometimes called John Mark, sometimes called simply John, sometimes called simply Mark. And by the time we come into the later epistles, the book of Colossians, the book of Philemon, and 2 Timothy, he's referred simply, he's referred to simply as Mark or Marcus. Now you say, what's the significance of the two names? Why even bother to take up these materials?

11:00 Well, if for no other reason, the Holy Ghost gave us these materials. They are not here by accident. John was obviously his Hebrew or his Jewish name, and Mark or Marcus was his Latin or Roman name. So as we find again and again in the scriptures, even with Saul of Tarsus, who becomes Paul, the apostle, there are these dual named individuals.

11:27 And there may be many fascinating explanations as to why the Jewish name seems to fade with the passing of time, and the Gentile or Roman name Marcus becomes the dominant name. Suffice it to say that when you read through the book of Acts, and you come across this John Mark, this man Mark, this one sometimes called only John, but the companion of Paul and Barnabas, you will understand that this is the John Mark who was the human instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit to give us what we now call the gospel according to Mark. So much for Mark the man, his name. Now in the second place, consider with me Mark the man, his background. Is there anything in the biblical record which indicates a peculiar suitability of this man to write an account of the life and the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth? Is there anything, to go back to our original analogy, which particularly suited him to construct that second house on the street and not the first, the third or the fourth? Does the Bible furnish us with any materials to answer the question, how was John peculiarly, suited, how was John Mark peculiarly suited

Mark's Background: Jewish Heritage and Personal Incident

12:56 to write the gospel which now bears his name? What was there in the formative influence of God in his life that made him peculiarly suited to go to a previous analogy to be the artist who would paint this second picture gallery of the king? What was there that peculiarly attuned his ear to collate the particularity or sayings of Jesus which he does collate and present them in the manner in which he presents them? Well, first of all, we know from the biblical record that he was a Jew by birth and by his earliest formative associations and influences.

13:41 I refer you back to the book of Acts and chapter 12.

13:47 We are told that his mother was a leading lady in the Jerusalem church. And that she was probably a woman of no little wealth for she possessed a house large enough to hold a sizable segment of the Jerusalem congregation. A multitude of the disciples were met at her home in order to pray. They came to the house of Mary.

14:18 So we have every reason to assume that he was a Jerusalem dweller for some reason. He would have spent some time with his mother and would therefore have an intimate first-hand acquaintance with the thinking, the customs of the Jews. He would have had that rich heritage of a Jewish background. He would have had perhaps some first-hand exposure to the ministry of the Lord Jesus when he ministered in the area of Jerusalem.

14:50 And he certainly would have in his most formative years have heard much concerning the mighty works of this unusual prophet who came out of Nazareth called Jesus. And so we learn with respect to his background that his birth and early formative associations wonderfully suited him for the task which later on he would perform under the providence of God. Furthermore, he not only had a godly mother and a mother of God, but he also had a mother and a leading woman in the Jerusalem church, but also he had a godly cousin or near relative who was very influential in the early church. Now that near relative or cousin was named Barnabas. If you will turn to Colossians chapter 4, the Holy Spirit has recorded for us this relationship. Colossians chapter 4 and verse 10.

15:53 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, salutes you and mark the cousin of Barnabas. Now you must not press into the word cousin the strict use that we make of the word, but it does mean at least a near relative. And you see that begins to open up perhaps some of the problems that later on developed. Why was Barnabas prejudiced toward taking Mark on that second missionary journey when Paul was of a mind not to take him?

16:25 It could well be that blood was thicker than good judgment. It could well be that the affection for his little nephew was such that his judgment was not as accurate as it ought to have been. That's one possibility. But suffice it to say that through this association by relationship to Barnabas, Mark has another dimension of suitability and fitness for the work that God later on called him to do.

16:56 And then of course there is the fascinating incident recorded in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Mark alone records this incident.

17:08 It is not recorded in Matthew, in Luke, or in John.

17:14 And many commentators are of a mind that Mark is here describing himself. And I want to read a paragraph or two of one of the commentators whose perspectives I believe are quite convincing on this point. Mark 14.51 This is in the setting of our Lord's trial and rejection right on the threshold of his gruesome, heartless crucifixion at the hands of the Romans.

17:44 And a certain young man followed with him having a linen cloth cast about him over his naked body and they lay hold on him and he laughed. Left the linen cloth and fled naked.

18:02 Now if John is not describing himself, John Mark that is, why would this apparently insignificant incident be inserted into the most sacred part of the Gospel record? It is here that each of the Gospel writers becomes most fulsome in detail describing the events that surround the crucifixion of Christ. Why then, in the midst of that, should this description be given? Particularly in the light of the fact that all of the other disciples had already fled.

18:39 Notice verse 50. And they all left him and fled. How would Mark have learned of this incident from an eyewitness who was an apostle when all the apostles had fled? There is a strong prejudice in favor of believing that Mark is describing the young man who was indeed himself.

19:00 And one of the commentators speaking to this very point says, Why was a circumstance apparently so trifling and certainly so irrelevant inserted in the midst of so grave an account? If the young man was the writer of the account and an eyewitness of the transaction at that time partly implicated himself in the danger of ourselves or our Savior mistaken for a follower or a disciple when not really such afterwards converted to the faith and finally St. Mark the Evangelist I think he might naturally look upon this incident as the most interesting circumstance of his life and its introduction into the rest of the account under such circumstances becomes anything but foreign or irrelevant. You see, what his point is, if Mark was indeed one who had seen and heard enough of the Savior to come out on that night when there was this disruption in Jerusalem with respect to Jesus of Nazareth and had enough drawing toward this fascinating person to at least witness what is transpiring that night and in his whole bearing and proximity to the Savior is mistaken for one of his followers to be a man of God. And if Mark was indeed one and under that pressure when he's about to be apprehended please,

20:30 surely this would have had a profound effect upon the spiritual history of Mark before he came to true faith in Jesus Christ. And though I cannot assert dogmatically that this incident is part of his background I say the most satisfactory explanation is that indeed Mark is describing an event which became the watershed of all of his previous encounters with Jesus of Nazareth and perhaps the very birth pangs of his own spiritual life which later on actually came into existence probably under the ministry of Peter. Well, so much for his background and his name. Now consider with me from the scriptures his apostolic association and I hope you don't find this tedious, dear people. If you do, as I said a few weeks ago you'll just have to find it tedious.

Mark's Apostolic Associations: Paul and Peter

21:33 God has revealed these things for our profit. I urge you now I'm deliberately holding back on application till we get all the facts in order. Bear with me as we consider now his apostolic associations. You have often been reminded in this place of the unique and strategic position which the apostles hold to the apostles.

21:55 Notice not held but hold in the church of Jesus Christ. They were and are now by their writings the foundation stones of the Christian church. Ephesians 2 and verse 20 the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. Because of their special commission and special qualifications as eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ it is of no little concern to us when we pick up an account of the life of Jesus by one who was not an apostle to know whether or not he was under the direct influence of the apostles. And when we turn to the scriptures we see that in the case of John Mark there was indeed an intimate apostolic association. In fact, something very unique. There is recorded an intimate association not only with one apostle but with the leading apostle to the Jews and the leading apostle to the Gentiles and I refer of course to both Peter and Paul.

23:14 Now because the biblical materials concerning his association with Paul are fuller, more complete consider with me his association with Paul. According to Acts 12 and verse 25 that association began when Paul comes to Jerusalem with the offering from the Gentile churches for the destitute saints in Judea. We read in the book of Acts chapter 12 verse 25 and Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministration taking with them John whose surname was Mark and the next place we find Paul and Barnabas and also Mark is up at Antioch in this new center of outreach to the Gentile world. And so his association with Paul begins when Paul comes with Barnabas to Jerusalem and delivers to the elders the gifts from the saints in the Gentile world to be distributed amongst the poor saints who had been stricken by the famine in Judea. And so from this initial contact he goes with them up to Antioch and is in this close association with Paul the apostle. Then in due time

24:40 the Spirit of God calls Paul and Barnabas to this first missionary journey. And Luke tells us that when Paul and Barnabas went forth Acts 13.5 they also had John as their attendant. Now this word attendant literally means an under rower.

25:03 Someone who rows in a boat under the orders of another. It speaks of a servant who is under the orders of a superior. And so Luke is very careful in his account in the book of Acts to indicate that John's first association Mark's first association with the apostle Paul is one of an attendant one of an assistant. They saw in Mark certain qualities that led them to believe he was a young man of potential.

25:39 A man who could exercise gifts of service and a support role but he was not on a par with his relative Barnabas and he certainly was not an apostle with Paul but he was an attendant or assistant or an assistant in ministry. But now in this first missionary journey he did something that grievously disappointed the apostle Paul. We read in chapter 13 and verse 13 that when they came to Perga in Pamphylia John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. He went back home some say to Mama.

26:23 Now that may be a bit unkind but Mama was back home back in Jerusalem because the scripture tells us that she had a house back in Jerusalem where the saints meant to pray. And again one can read page after page of the commentators conjectures on why John Mark left. But when you sift through all of the literature you have to say one thing we don't know. But one thing is certain it was not an honorable departure because later on in chapter 13 chapter 15 a passage we already alluded to but let's look at it again.

27:02 When Paul and Barnabas are about to depart on their second missionary journey and they have this dispute with respect to whether or not Mark ought to go with them notice what the dispute is. Verse 38 Paul thought not good to take with them him who withdrew from them from Pamphylia and went not with them to the work. This was a spiritual soldier who went AWOL. Now the reason for his going AWOL is not given but that he went AWOL and didn't have a proper leave is clear from the materials given to us in the word of God. But Barnabas decides that he's worthy to be taken out again in missionary endeavors. And the division between Paul and Barnabas becomes so fixed and we must not read into that that they squared off and went at it for three rounds either with their fists or their tongues. I can only conceive of them acting as Christian gentlemen looking each other straight in the eye and saying Barnabas I believe you're dead wrong to take him out he's probably going to go AWOL again.

28:23 Paul with all due respect to you as a man of God and an apostle I believe there are good reasons to believe that defect in his character has been mended. And so they come to a gentleman's agreement in the midst of sharp and deep convictions they can't agree about this matter of whether Mark is fit and so Barnabas takes Mark with him and goes forth to the work of the gospel in one direction and Paul goes forth in another direction with a new companion named Silas. And so for a while he is the traveling companion of Barnabas. But years later and thank God that the biblical record contains this he's found again in the company of Paul when Paul most needs friends and companions. Paul has been imprisoned for the cause of the gospel and in his first imprisonment at Rome he writes the book or the letter to the Colossians in church and notice what he says in Colossians 4 and verse 10. Colossians 4 and verse 10. Aristarchus my fellow prisoner salutes you and Mark the cousin of Barnabas touching whom you received commandments if he comes unto you receive him.

29:53 In other words Paul says if you've heard that I had some misgivings about the fitness of this church and the fitness of this church and this young man to be trusted with gospel and church responsibilities let me inform you in no uncertain terms my judgment is now changed this man is with me I commend him to you if he comes receive him no questions asked. We find a similar reference in Philemon and verse 24 after the pastoral epistles first and second Timothy, Titus you have Philemon and verse 23 and 4 Epaphras my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus greets you and so does Mark he now feels that Mark is worthy to be included in the list of those who greet the churches and then later on some years later when Paul is imprisoned the second time 2nd Timothy chapter 4 in verse 11 he as it were puts the caps on the lips of the stone on his conviction regarding the reversal of his judgment about John Mark 2nd Timothy chapter 4 and verse 11 only Luke is with me take Mark and bring him with you for he is useful to me for ministry

31:20 what a precious stroke the Holy Ghost has given us in those words bring Mark with you for he is useful to me for ministry well that covers all of the biblical materials relative to Mark's association with Paul now I indicated the biblical materials are much scantier with regard to Peter but oh how pregnant they are with meaning and there are two references that are of tremendous significance his association with Peter is described in 1 Peter 5 and verse 1 and verse 13 1 Peter 5 and verse 13 she that is in Babylon elect together with you greet you and so does Mark my son so does Mark my son now what's the significance of Peter describing Mark as his son when we find the parallel phrase used with regard to Paul's relationship with Peter and his relationship with Peter relationship to Timothy in that relationship it means basically two things Paul was Timothy's spiritual father and secondly he exerted the primary

32:47 molding influence upon Timothy as a man of God and we have no reason to believe that any lesser significance attaches itself to this term when used by Peter with respect to Mark bring the mark or greet Mark my son and in the light of the reference in Acts chapter 12 and verse 12 that in the Jerusalem church Mary was known as the mother of John whose surname was Mark in the light of the prominence of Peter's influence in the Jerusalem church we have every reason to believe that the formative influence upon this man perhaps even in his very control version and certainly in his early maturation was the influence of the apostle Peter and then very interestingly there is a very imposing block of historical testimony not from the biblical writers but from some of those who stood very close to the biblical writers some of them what we would call the first generation after the apostles and many among the second generation who speak with unanimous testimony to the fact that Mark at certain periods in his life became the traveling companion of Peter and that in a real sense

34:16 Mark became the very penman one of the early authors uses that very terminology the very penman of Peter's method of presenting the gospel and so when we bring all of those things together what do we find we find that this young man John Mark had a most unusual and intimate relationship both with the apostle Paul and with the apostle Peter now having gone over what to my understanding are all of the explicit biblical references concerning Mark the man what does all of this say to us you say Pastor Martin this is a Sunday morning worship service and you've spread a lot of interesting things before me but really I haven't found much to fuel me to worship well I hope you'll retract that statement because in the light of what we've considered together I call upon you as the people of God first of all to worship the God of special providence who wonderfully prepares a man for the task to which he calls him I am I call upon you in the light of these biblical materials as the people of God to let your heart run out in worship worship to the God

Worship the God of Special Providence

35:45 of special providence that is the God who not only orders and directs and governs all things in general but who orders and governs and directs all things in particular especially with reference to this great issue of preparing for the task to which he calls him run all of that by your mind again quickly from the very circumstances of his conception in a Jewish family his birth probably in the environs if not actually in Jerusalem from the early formative influences in that setting all the way to his intimate association with these two great pillars in the church his own tragic defection in the hour of our Lord's greatest need the discipline of his own shameful failure and subsequent restoration bring it all together and what do you have you have a beautiful display of almighty God at work by a special providence preparing this man to do the work which God from eternity had marked him out to accomplish and you and I should worship the God of special providence

37:14 who wonderfully prepares a man for the task to which he calls him from the humiliation of failure under pressure to the stability of proven worth now disciplined with the memory of that failure he becomes unusually suited to give us this portion of the word of God but you see what was true of Mark is also true of us we live in the age of instant everything and of arrogant presumption with regard to questioning what God is doing you got instant potatoes you've got instant cooking with microwave ovens we've got instant this and instant that but there's one thing you'll never have in instant packages and that is well formed Christian character God was never in a hurry to mold a man or woman into a man or woman of God and he will not conform to the mentality of computer buttons and microwave buttons and instant potatoes the God who took years to form a Moses in the back side of a desert who took years to form a David in the wilderness of Judea the God who formed his own son for years in a carpenter

38:43 shop is the God who is never in a hurry to mold and fashion the character of the man or woman that he purposes to use for his glory and as with John Mark so with us there are times when God weaves threads into the fabric of our lives that seem to be made of thorns and only years later do we see when the thorns have dried and dropped off that the threads were gold at the core and it's arrogance to rear back and be saying to God with every thorny dark that is woven into the tapestry of our lives business what God is doing in terms of knowing the particulars except to know that all things do work together for good God is committed to make you like his son and in molding you into the image of his son to fit you for your task whatever that task may be now it will never be to be the penman of that which will become part of the inspired infallible record of the doings and sayings of Christ it will never be that but whatever it is

40:13 in whatever calling in whatever relationships however obscure or however noteworthy you become almighty God is committed to mold and fashion you into a man or woman who is suited to the task that is marked out for you he knows what that task is and he knows the best path to bring you his own predetermined for that task we need to worship this God of special providence little did John Mark know when he no doubt if he is the man of John Mark 14 went home that night filled not only with the shame of his external nakedness but the shame of his cowardice little would he have known how that was being used of God in the formation of his character little did he know how his breakdown his going AWOL under pressure would be the very means of consolation to many a servant of God who's cracked under pressure and yet later has come to usefulness little did he know that even his sins and his failures were part of a special providence

41:41 wonderfully preparing him for the task to which God had called him oh may we worship such a God for this God is our God forever and forever and he will be our guide even unto death you say Pastor Martin you mean that God's providence to me is just as special as it was to John Mark I mean come off it he was going to be the penman of the Holy Ghost to give us the gospel of Mark he was important but what am I who am I my friend you are no less loved in the eternal counsels of God than John Mark was loved Christ did not shed any less blood for you than he did for Mark and God's purposes for Mark are no more wise or gracious than they are for you in this perspective we all stand on a flat and open plain under the countenance of a gracious God who can say to all of his children all things work together for good but then in the second place I call upon you this morning not only to worship the God of special providence but worship the God of special grace who makes something useful out of

Worship the God of Special Grace Who Restores Failures

43:10 failures and flunkies I call upon you to worship the God of special grace who makes something useful out of failures and flunkies if Mark 14 51 and 52 refers to John Mark the young man what a failure and a flunky he's the epitome of cowardice and we have no question that the John Mark of Acts 13 is the one who did not go forth to the work he went AWOL when he was under orders it all may have sounded very glamorous and perhaps in some ways romantic when they were praying back at Antioch in discussing the forward thrust of the gospel and the thought that he the younger of the group would be asked to come along as the under rower and the attendant who can imagine what thoughts of holy dreams and spiritual visions filled the mind and spirit of young John Mark it wasn't long before he realized that preaching the gospel in a hostile sin loving flesh indulging world was as our brother Unanx reminded us this morning dangerous business

44:39 to tell men that their hearts are a very sink of iniquity to tell proud religious Jews with all of their centuries of heritage that they're going headlong to hell unless they get a new heart and repent and embrace the immolated Nazareth as their God and Saint that's offensive business you're liable to lose friends you're liable to lose your neck risky business and all of the dreams and the romance of the seasons of prayer and perhaps even the tingles down the spine when they laid hands upon that company and set them forth that's all gone and now he's in the thick of the battle he smells the smoke he sees the blood he hightails it home and Paul is so convinced that there's a fundamental defect in his character he says no book of Proverbs says confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth and like a foot out of joint go home today and try to chomp on your steak with a broken tooth all you can do is gum it try to run with an ankle that's been dislocated the writer to Proverbs says confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth and a foot

46:08 out of joint Paul says no sir I'm not taking that guy with the foot out of joint and a broken tooth no sirree he went not with us to the work the smell of battle the dust of battle no sir he's got quitter in his veins the same Paul says bring Mark he's profitable for me if he comes to you receive him now what makes the difference I say the difference is the special grace of God that takes flunkies and quitters and makes something worthwhile out of them you see the Bible not only has a doctrine of forgiving grace and that's the doctrine on which we often concentrate and we should because as needy sinners where will we be without it the doctrine that in unmerited favor and kindness God has sent his son to be the only and the sufficient savior for sinners and there is no sin we have ever committed that cannot be cleansed in his own precious blood thank God for that truth but there's also a doctrine of restorative grace God says I will restore the years that the locust have eaten and the years that the canker worm have eaten what a picture the children of Israel

47:37 because of their sin had come under the judgment of God this is recorded in the book of Joel and God said I'll send an army of locusts and they'll strip everything bare all of your trees and shrubbery until you'll look out and see nothing but barrenness but God says if you repent and turn to me I'll not only forgive you he said I will restore the years that the locusts have eaten how in the world can you go back and restore a harvest once lost if the locusts come through the farms in eighty-three you may have a beautiful crop in eighty-four but you can't go and recover eighty-three's crop no you can't but God can I will restore the years that the locusts have eaten and the years that the canterworm has eaten what a beautiful example Mark becomes of that great principle and oh how we ought to worship God for that restorative grace grace that takes flunkies and quitters and makes them useful not useful in their own generation alone but Mark useful for the entire history of the church this is what the grace of God does and if Mark were with us this morning and we said Mark you've got just thirty seconds to tell us what you want to say he'd say grace grace all of grace

49:07 grace grace all of grace and I want in my application of that principle to cut two directions first of all the direction of comfort some of you sit this morning and your life is a monument of the locust in the canker if you have any awareness of where you're at you know that you stand as John Mark stood that night when suspected of being an associate of Jesus of Nazareth he flees naked in cowardice and shame you feel something of what he must have felt when he went back to his mother's house or you feel something of what we have every reason to believe Mark felt when looking back upon his AWOL experience with bitterness and brokenness before God he fell down in shame one of the most difficult things when you've come under true Holy Ghost conviction even as a Christian is to believe that God can never use you again after grievous failure my friend let every time you open the gospel of Mark in the coming months just let the word the gospel

Application: Comfort for Failures and Conviction for Indolence

50:37 of Mark thunder in your ears God is the God of restorative grace or there be no gospel of Mark if he had flunked and flunked out forever there would have been no intimate association with Peter and Paul that would have equipped him to write this gospel every time we open it let it thunder in your ears grace grace grace even for me the flunky now there's no grace for people that want to sit in the corner and have a pity party that they know good nothing ever come from them and they just wallow in the paralytic effect of this kind of self pity and alas I fear there are some of you here you think that's conviction no sir holy ghost conviction always drives you away from your sin and to Christ don't ever forget it holy ghost conviction drives you away from your sin and to Christ and when you've been driven away from your sin and to Christ and have found forgiveness in Christ you don't sit wallowing in self pity you're up and doing something for the savior who so graciously forgave and restored you isn't that the pattern Jesus followed with

52:06 Peter do you really love me Peter have you truly repented of your defection then feed my sheep feed my lambs be up and doing but I would say to some of you who say this morning I just can't believe my defection was so pervasive so deep so willful oh my friend learn from Mark the man that God is the God of special grace and be comforted this morning and then I say to some of you you need to be deeply convicted you see your fundamental aversion to doing the will of God has found an apparently spiritual excuse not to do anything you say well I fell I blew it I quit under pressure I'm no good so you sit as it were in the back row trying to prove to the world you're no good and you found an apparently spiritual reason to be self indulgent and lazy about the commands of Christ John Mark didn't do that he fled naked he left the work but I tell you the form of the latter record tells us he was busy ministering to the apostle ministering the word of God history tells us he became the traveling companion of Peter became the penman of Peter's

Application: Lessons for Developing Church Leadership

53:35 peculiar presentation of the gospel in certain Gentile situations as we find in Acts chapter 10 you see this man did not sit around as some of you I fear are doing grace cleanses restores and then sets us doing something for the one through whom that grace has come to us and then my final word of application is this let us not only worship God as the God of special providence the God of special grace but let us learn vital lessons concerning the development of leadership in the church and you see how this opens up a whole thing I can only point to it this morning I can't expound it you see we're tempted to err on the right hand and on the left many of us would say well a young man with all of his background with all of his privileges with all of his associations with Peter by the time Acts 13 comes we're ready not to make him an under rower but make him the coxswain make him the chief rower make him the one that barks out the orders and we're tempted to push young but promising men too quickly who are not proven the Bible says lay hands hastily upon no man some of us have a tendency in the other direction a man shows promise and then he comes to a hiatus there's a failure there's a

55:05 period of declension there's a breakdown under pressure and we're ready to wash our hands of him and say never expect anything out of that character you see how Mark's example keeps us from both extremes we have wonderful principles of spiritual leadership and we desperately need them because among the many confusing things in our day there is such confusion in the church as to what constitutes proper grounds to recognize leadership in the church of Christ let a man have influence in the world and have all kinds of promising credentials from the world and it's thought immediately hardly has the water dried on his head when he comes up from his baptism an open profession but he's pushed into leadership it violates the principle lay hands hastily upon no man yet there is a strain of phariseeism in many of God's people they can never forget let a man break down under pressure and they never forget he's the man that went AWOL AWOL is etched on his forehead though his character for many years has manifested that grace has purged all of the AWOL out of his blood they will never see him any other way but AWOL on his forehead

56:32 that's a wicked pharisaic spirit that will keep us from recognizing some who are most suited to lead because they know the discipline of failure and I pity the congregation that has to be led by a man whose own heart has never known the discipline of failure how can he draw near and weep with those who weep in the face of their bitter failure if he's not felt the bitterness of it in his own soul God have mercy on the proper young preacher and the pissy young elder who's got his act all together and always had and he's glad to tell you that he has and he's never known the brokenness of spirit that comes from failure well you see there's an awful lot to learn from Mark the man isn't there so that when the Holy Ghost uses him to give us the gospel that bears his name the Holy Ghost is the ultimate author but he doesn't bypass all that he worked into the fabric of the soul and the life of this man any more than he does in working through you as a mother as a workman as a father as a student as a young person as a teenager God is committed to forming in us his people the very

Prayer of Worship and Supplication

58:02 likeness of his son and to fit us for the work that he wants us to do in his own body may God grant that these lessons from Mark the man will lead our hearts out in worship of the God of special providence the God of special grace and may we respect the principles that that God has given us with regard to the matter of spiritual leadership in the church of Jesus Christ let us pray our father we would as a congregation this morning worship you as the God of special providence we thank you that every detail in our lives is ordered by you for your glory and for our good forgive the arrogance that is dared to question your wisdom the unbelief that is questioned your love oh Lord forgive the itch for instant formation of character forgive us for being caught up in the spirit of our hurried age oh Lord we would bow our necks afresh and say deal with us in your own way according to your own

59:30 time schedule but oh God deal with us to make us holy men holy women holy boys and girls that we may be instruments in your hands to accomplish your purpose in our own needy generation we worship you as the God of special grace particularly the God of restorative grace Lord we thank you that many of us can say with the psalmist he restores my soul we thank you that again and again when we thought that every last vestige of life would go from us you have restored us and we praise you this day we thank you for the many years that you have restored years that the locust and the canker worm have eaten give hope and encouragement to some who are dejected and cast down not in self pity but feeling the smart and the pain of the memory of their failure oh may they take courage every time they open their Bibles and see the gospel according to Mark the gospel according to a flunky and a failure made a uselessness

60:50 a it may be deeply embedded in each of our hearts have mercy upon those who know nothing of your grace who must face life and its failures all alone and have nothing but the hollow haunting echo of their own self imposed independence oh God have mercy upon them and draw them to the Lord Jesus the very one whom Mark sets before us as the mighty worker who meets the needs of sinful men hear then oh Lord our prayer and dismiss us with the blessing of your grace and presence resting upon us we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen