Sermon - St. Mark 2021 - Mark 16:14-20

"Mark the Evangelist" by Il Pordenone (c. 1484-1539)

 Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Today is the festival of the evangelist St. John Mark. Mark wasn’t one of the twelve apostles, although he was with Jesus from the beginning and he was a cousin to the apostle Barnabas. Though earlier in his life he was the young man who ran away naked at the arrest of Jesus, Mark is also the author who wrote the second of the four gospels which bears his name. Mark’s gospel is the shortest of the four, but it’s also the most action packed and moves from one scene to the next with great urgency; one thing happens, then “immediately” the next thing happens! 

Mark is a complex person in the Bible, and he’s well worth considering today. During the earlier part of his ministry he became discouraged and fearful, quitting the ministry, but later on he once again took up the yoke laid upon him. He had been distraught for a time, yet Christ raised him up again to accomplish great works through him. We can learn from Mark. Though we may be discouraged, we look up ahead to Heaven and the crown of righteousness which awaits us who believe and are baptized.

This significant event in the life of Mark is recorded in Acts. Sts. Paul and Barnabas were embarking on their first missionary journey, and they took with them Mark. However, shortly into the journey, Mark left them and went back to Jerusalem. Instead of doing the work of an evangelist, travelling and preaching the Gospel to unbelievers (some of whom were quite hostile), Mark went back home to Jerusalem where it was safe and there were other believers.

What exactly was going on in Mark’s mind we don’t know. But when Paul and Barnabas were going to set off on their second missionary journey, and Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them again, Paul refused. “Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.” This was such a serious issue that it actually divided Paul and Barnabas and Paul left with Silas and Barnabas went with Mark. Apparently Mark’s desertion wasn’t just some minor thing, evidenced by how seriously Paul regarded it.

I think we can understand Paul’s hesitancy to trust Mark after Mark had quit on them the first time. The three of them had left on an incredibly important journey: to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a people yet unsaved. Their work was not easy since they were to be witnesses of Jesus to people who hadn’t heard of Jesus before. This was work that required them to be skilled with words, and Mark (who later wrote one of the four gospels) was obviously very good with words. But when the journey became difficult, Mark abandoned them. 

Throughout history, in a battle when a soldier turns tail and runs, the soldier is often executed later or shot on the spot. To abandon your brothers in arms when they need you most is one of the most heinous crimes you could commit. That’s what Mark did. In the middle of the battle, Mark turned tail and abandoned his brothers in arms who relied upon him.

I think we can also understand Mark’s desire to quit. The work of the evangelist was hard. Sometimes we look back on history and all we think about is how incredible it was that so many believed. They’d enter a town, preach Jesus Christ, and hundreds or even thousands would be baptized! Sometimes whole towns believed after they preached!

But eventually, in nearly every town they entered, they were driven out by an angry mob who wanted to kill them. Their missionary journeys weren’t safe! All of the apostles, except for John, were martyred! Looking back to the Old Testament prophets, nearly everyone hated them! Their work, though it was filled with great joy at people receiving faith in Jesus, it was also filled with incredible disappointment, sadness, and frustration.

St. Paul warns Timothy of this reality and encourages him, saying: “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” He says this because being a Christian can be really hard and require sober thinking and endurance. 

Jesus even warned His apostles of this reality which was awaiting them. First He commanded them: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Then He gave them signs to accompany their message so that people would know they come from God. But these signs were also the means by which God prevented the apostles from dying right away! “These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 

As they went about their ministry, Satan was still assaulting them! They faced demons, poisonous serpents, assasination attempts by poison, and sickness. The work was hard. Being a Christian wasn’t easy. Jesus knew it, Paul knew it, and Mark knew it but couldn’t bear it.

The remarkable thing about Mark, and why he’s so encouraging for us today, is that he took up the yoke once again. He took courage, became bold, and went back to work. Sometime before Paul was executed, apparently Paul and Mark reconciled. Paul told Timothy: “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.”

According to church history, Mark, emboldened by the Holy Spirit, continued to do the work of the evangelist. He wrote a Gospel account, likely based off of the testimony of St. Peter. Later he went on to Alexandria in Egypt where he served as bishop. Ultimately, Mark was faithful unto death and received the crown of righteousness when he was martyred in Alexandria.

What is it that emboldened Mark to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation?” It was the simple promise of life which Christ had spoken and Mark recorded for us: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark was no longer distracted only with the threat of death and this present suffering, but he was emboldened by the hope of eternal life! 

Mark ends his gospel with the apostles looking up into heaven: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” Instead of looking at the miseries of this present life, Mark is looking ahead to the joys of paradise in heaven with God! The apostles are no longer hiding at home because of unbelief and hardness of heart, but “they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.”

Yes, we may be disappointed and discouraged with this life. There are many miseries and much sadness we must bear. Satan and his minions are surrounding us, the world despises us, and tragedies still happen to us, yet we do not give up hope. We with Mark will fight the good fight, we will finish the race, and keep the faith. There is a crown of righteousness laid up for us in heaven and God Himself will award it to us on the last day. We have been baptized and we believe, we will be sober-minded and endure suffering, we will be saved.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord stands by us and strengthens us. He rescues us from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue us from every evil deed and bring us safely into His heavenly kingdom. Because the Lord works with us, we can be sure that God shall preserve us in this world and that He works through us. Even when everything seems so frustrating and disappointing, God is still working according to His plan and purpose.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!