Though formally we have come to the end of the Gospel of Mark, I want to spend the next several weeks reflecting on what we have learned from the Gospel of Mark about our Lord Jesus Christ. Just who is this Jesus?
My reasons for doing so are two. First, the central question around which Mark organized his Gospel was this very question – Who is Jesus? Remember that the first half of the Gospel shows one person after another asking, Who is this man? Who is this man to pronounce forgiveness of sins? Who is this man to heal on the Sabbath? Who is this man that even the wind and the sea obey him? All these questions culminate in Jesus’ question at the center of the Gospel – Who do you say that I am? And Peter gives that great declaration of faith, “You are the Christ, the Messiah.” Then Jesus spends the remainder of His ministry explaining and then fulfilling what it meant for Him to be Messiah. In other words, the Gospel of Mark is swirling around this question and so it is fitting to conclude our study by asking ourselves what we have learned, what he has taught us.