Mark 1–8: Formed in God’s Story

Ready for a deep dive into the Gospel of Mark? We’ll cover Mark 1–8 in May/June 2026, and complete Mark 9–16 in Aug/Sep.

Wherever you live, you can download the notes (PDF) and podcasts (MP3) each week. If you live in Perth (Western Australia), you can register and attend in person at Riverview Church 7–9 pm each Wednesday. There’s no charge either way.

Schedule

• Week 1 (13 May 2026): Mark 1:1-15. (Notes and podcasts will appear here each week.)
• Week 2 (20 May): Mark 1:16–2:17.
• Week 3 (27 May): Mark 2:18–3:35.
• Week 4 (3 June): Mark 4:1–5:43.
• Week 5 (10 June): Mark 6:1–7:23.
• Week 6 (17 June): Mark 7:24–9:1.

Bookmark this page, and return here each week. Notes will be uploaded before the event, and podcasts afterwards.

Questions

We encourage you to ask questions of the text so it can lead you and shape your understanding.

For example, what does Mark mean by the gospel? What does it mean to call Jesus the Christ? Why quote from the prophets? If John’s baptism was for the forgiveness of sins, why was Jesus baptized? Why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into confrontation with Satan immediately after anointing him? What did Jesus mean by the gospel?

All those questions arise from the first fifteen verses of Mark 1.

Twin themes

Throughout the series we’ll keep asking why Mark selects the material he does. What is he saying about Jesus? What is it about Jesus that amazes people (Mark 1:22, 27; 2:12; 5:20, 42; 6:2, 6, 51 etc.), leading them to ask, “Who is this?” (4:41)

That is the crucial question at the heart of the Mark’s Gospel: “What about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter’s answer is crucial: “You are the Messiah” (8:29). This is what Mark has been saying since the start (1:1), but what does it mean to call Jesus the Messiah or the Christ?

From this moment, the book changes. The authority of the Christ/Messiah will function through the cross. The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will reject his authority, betraying their king to the Empire that was preventing them from being a kingdom of God. The whole earth—Jew and gentile—is in rebellion against God’s authority, but it will not succeed: after three days he will rise again (8:31).

So here are the twin themes of Mark’s Gospel:

• Mark 1–8 reveals Jesus’ identity as the Christ, the God-anointed king who restores the kingdom of God to earth.
• Mark 9–16 reveals how Jesus will receives this authority. It’s not through the conquest of his enemies as human kingdoms do. It’s through the cross: suffering and dying at the hands of his enemies as he carries in his own body the sin of the world, trusting his Father to raise him up as the Messiah who restores God’s reign to the earth.

Those are the twin themes you’ll see unfolding in our two courses: Mark 1–8 in May/June, and Mark 9–16 in Aug/Sep.

Are you in?

What others are saying

Mark J. Keown, Discovering the New Testament: An Introduction to Its Background, Theology, and Themes: The Gospels & Acts (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 1: 128:

Mark’s Gospel is a fast-moving presentation of the life of Jesus. Mark does not focus on Jesus’ childhood, and instead launches his story with John the Baptist—the prophets are back. Jesus emerges to be baptized by John, anointed as the Servant King. The agenda is declared in Mark 1:14–15; “the kingdom of God” is breaking in. Israel and the world are summoned to repent and believe. Jesus then launches into ministry, gathering an assortment of young men to be his disciples. They join him, likely in the hope that Jesus will lead them to liberate their nation from Roman rule. Through the first half of Mark, Jesus enacts the kingdom, inviting his disciples and people to recognize his kingship. At Caesarea Philippi, Peter confesses Jesus’ messiahship, the turning point of the gospel. From this moment, Jesus teaches them what kind of Messiah he is and what it means to be a subject of the kingdom. The disciples struggle to grasp that he is a humble servant who must die to bring redemption. They grapple with what the life of a person in this kingdom should look like—a life of cross-bearing love. The gospel climaxes with the horror of Jesus’ betrayal, trial, and death. It ends with his disciples nowhere to be seen and the women at the tomb bewildered and fearful. What has happened? Who is this man? It is clear Mark knows, and his readers are challenged to come to their own conclusion.

Related posts

Previously the Formed in God’s Story series has covered:

• Exploring the Bible (six sessions)
• Genesis – Esther (six sessions)
• Genesis 1–12 (six sessions)
• Psalms (six sessions)
• Old Testament Prophets (six sessions)
• Isaiah (six sessions)
• Matthew 1–14 and 15–28 (twelve sessions)
• Acts (seven sessions)
• Romans 1–8 and 9–16 (twelve sessions)
• Revelation (six sessions)