41) The Book of Mark

MARK records the ministry of the Lord Jesus as the true servant of God. This is portrayed by the ox-like cherub (Rev. 4:7) and a servant called the Branch (Zech. 3:8). John Mark was the nephew of Barnabas (Acts 12:25; Col. 4:10). Mark was converted to Jesus Christ through Peter (1 Peter 5:13) and he served on the first missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:5), but he forsook the work (Acts 13:13; 15:36-41). John Mark fortunately learned from his mistake and served the Lord faithfully until the day of his martyrdom (2 Tim. 4:11).

Mark simply records the ministry and service of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ps. 40:6-8). The key verse of the book is 10:45. This reveals the duty of a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 5:1-4). The footnote at the end of the book reveals the hypocrisy of the scholars of the Alexandrian texts. The book contains 16 chapters and 678 verses.