Wee number one! …..The greatest strongest,prettiest…champions. Daily such proclamations boldly assert claims of supremacy. Everyone wants to be associated with a winner. Loser are those who finish less than first. In direct contrast are the words of Jesus. “And whoever wants to be a slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came here not to be served but to serve others and give his life as a ransom for many’ (10:44,45) Jesus is the greatest-God incarnate, our Messiah-but he entered history as a servant.

This is the message of Mark. Written to encourage Roman Christians and prove beyond a doubt that Jesus is the Messiah, mark presents a rapid succession of vivid pictures of Jesus in action. His true identity revealed what he does,not necessarily by what he says. It is Jesus on the move.

Omitting the birth of Jesus, Mark begins  with John the Baptist‘s preaching. Then moving quickly past Jesus baptism, temptation in the wilderness and call of the disciples, Mark takes us directly into Jesus public ministry.