Mark: 20 Studies for Individuals or Groups

Mark’s Gospel is the shortest and sharpest of the early stories about Jesus. There is a sense of urgency in the Gospel of Mark. We find the word immediately many times in the first two chapters and several times after that. Early in chapter 1 the main theme of Jesus’ ministry is articulated: God’s kingdom is arriving. The kingdom of God is at hand (1:15). Something momentous is happening. God promised his kingdom, but it would not be the political, military kingdom they expected. The kingdom would come through the Messiah but not through the kind of Messiah anyone expected.