Immediately and Completely

The Book of Mark is the shortest of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus. What is also eye-opening is that the Greek word for “immediately” (euthys) is used 41 times in the Book of Mark alone. This same word is only used 59 times in the entire New Testament – about 70% of this word’s usage is in this book. What would have also been key to reaching out to the Gentile Christians in Rome is the way that the author of the Book of Mark seemed to place a bit more emphasis on the actions of Jesus rather than His words.

As I dive into Mark 8 to write this blog, I could not take my eyes away from the account of the feeding of the 4000. I then thought about the feeding of the 5000 a couple of chapters back in Mark 6. Why did the author of the Book of Mark put both feedings in their gospel writing? The Book of Mark is historically known to be the first written Gospel – sometime during the Jewish War (66 – 73 AD). Two relatively similar miracles recorded in a book that was written with such immediacy – why?

I believe that the reason lies in being able to show the audience of this book how complete of a human Jesus was, and how compassionate a Savior He is. Jesus’ compassion was focused on the lack of spiritual food that the people had in Mark 6 and the lack of physical food that the people had in Mark 8. Jesus is a God that looks out for ALL our needs – both physically and spiritually! God sent His only Son Jesus to Earth to help us to be able to have a COMPLETE relationship with God. How should we respond in knowing how complete Jesus is, and how completely equipped He prepares us for EVERY good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?

How much do we rely on Jesus and His Holy Spirit to guide our every thought, word, and deed? Jesus completely relied on His Father to guide His every thought, word, and deed. If we are to be like Jesus, we must do the same.