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A Vision Far Greater Than Us

May 9, 2021 Speaker: Brian Wilbur Series: The Gospel of Mark

Topic: Discipleship Passage: Mark 9:38–41

A VISION FAR GREATER THAN US

An Exposition of Mark 9:38-41

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: May 9, 2021

Series: Mark: Knowing and Following God’s Son

Note: Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard   Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Good morning. I invite you to turn to Mark 9:38-41. After maybe about a six-week break, we're getting back into the Gospel of Mark. Mark 8:22 all the way through the end of Chapter 10 is about discipleship, about what it means to follow the Messiah. Specifically, we are learning what it means to follow a Messiah who suffers and is rejected and dies (Mark 8:31). We are learning what it means to die to ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord (Mark 8:34). Now let’s read today’s passage. Holy Scripture says:

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. (Mark 9:38-41)

This is the Word of God, and it is for our good. Let's pray:

Father, we thank you for a sure and certain word, the Holy Bible. You have spoken clearly so that we would know you, and follow you, and bear fruit in every good work, and increase in the knowledge of God, and glorify your name. And Father, this particular passage has a purpose, and I pray that the Holy Spirit would impress its meaning, purpose, and transforming power upon our hearts and lives. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

INTRODUCTION

The Lord wants us to have a gracious heart toward all of his followers. If we are commanded to love our enemies (and we are), if we are commanded to love all of our neighbors (and we are), then how much more key is it that we are commanded to love one another as fellow Christians – not only the fellow Christians who are part of our own little sub-group (our church family), but also our fellow Christians who are scattered about throughout our region, our nation and our world.

This love requires that we not be cliquey; that we not be partisan; that we not assume that our little sub-group has exclusive claim on God's kingdom or on Jesus’ name or on true worship or on faithful ministry; that we not be envious or boastful or competitive over-against other Christian groups; and that we not be too quick to judge or dismiss other professing Christians who claim to follow Jesus, but who aren't part of our local fellowship.

We learn in 1 Corinthians 13 that: “Love is patient and kind…. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4, 7) True love is disposed to assume the best about others. True love is disposed to rejoice when others succeed and experience God's blessing.

Now sometimes this is a lot easier said than done. There is a temptation to stand against or to distance ourselves from other disciples who aren't following us, because they aren't part of our own little tribe. We may think:

‘Those people aren't part of our discipleship group. They are not part of our church family. They didn't complete our preferred training program. They're not part of our theological tribe. Therefore, those people cannot represent Jesus and they should not attempt to minister in Jesus’ name and authority. We are legit and authorized; they are not. We are worthy; they are not. We are where it's at; they are not.’

But Jesus sets before us a vision that is far greater than just us.

So, let's walk through this passage – it is only four verses, it won't take us too long – and then we'll draw out some important lessons for us.

WALKING THROUGH THE PASSAGE

Verse 38

In verse 38, John speaks – and he is evidently speaking on behalf of the Twelve. These twelve disciples saw something, and they thought something, and then they attempted to do something.

What did they see? They saw someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus uses the phrase “a mighty work” in verse 39. So they saw someone doing a mighty work in Jesus’ name. That's what they saw.

What did they think? They thought, ‘That's not cool. He's not part of this duly commissioned group of Twelve Apostles.’

And so, what did they do? They tried to stop him.

Do you understand their mindset? They thought, ‘We are the exclusive club of authorized ministers. You've got to be part of us, or otherwise you should be shut down, and we're going to try to shut you down. Apparently they didn't succeed at stopping the other guy, but they tried.

Why would they think this way? Why would we think this way? Well, there's a very real temptation to have a territorial, turf-protecting, exclusive club mentality. We may so prize our own privileges that we are deeply disturbed that anyone else out there would come to share in those same privileges. They are not part of our group. They didn't come to the right place at the right time with the right people.

There's a very interesting complementary passage to this one. In the Old Testament, Moses was a great prophet of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit rested upon Moses. And on one particular occasion, Moses gathered 70 other men, and Moses and these 70 elders gathered together at the appointed place. And “the

LORD came down… and took some of the Spirit that was on [Moses] and put it on the seventy elders.” (Numbers 11:25) And with the Spirit upon them, these 70 elders prophesied. It's wonderful. But there were these two guys, Eldad and Medad, who were back in the camp. They didn't come to the right place at the right time with the right people. And yet, the Spirit came upon them, and they started to prophesy. A young man came and ran and reported this to Joshua, and then Joshua said to Moses, “My Lord, Moses, stop them.” (Numbers 11:28) Do you know what Moses said to Joshua? “But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the

LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:29) Moses had a humble, generous mindset. He didn't think, ‘It's got to be me and maybe a few other special folks. I'm in control of this thing.’ He wasn't thinking that way. He was glad that others would share in the same gift that he had. Moses had to correct Joshua. And here in Mark 9, Jesus must correct his disciples.

Verses 39-41

He corrects the disciples in terms of their conduct and also in terms of their underlying outlook and attitude.

In terms of their conduct, he tells them, “Do not stop him” v. 39). If we see someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name, or healing the sick or doing mighty works or speaking powerfully or making new disciples or planting churches or launching movements in Jesus’ name, Jesus says not to stop such a person. Don't throw cold water on such people. Don't disparage or discredit them. Leave them alone. Don't hinder their efforts. Don't insist that they can only gain legitimization if they come under the umbrella of our own little sub-group.

Remember that Jesus is speaking about people who are casting out demons or doing other mighty works in his name, in his authority, in his power. Such people are not acting in their own name or in the name of a false god or an idol or an evil spirit. Instead, they are doing what they are doing in the name of Jesus. When we see people visibly seeking to do good in the name of Jesus – we're not talking about people who are visibly seeking to do evil in the name of Jesus, that is a completely different issue, but it is not the circumstance of our passage – when we see people visibly seeking to do good in the name of Jesus, our default position should be not to oppose. “Do not stop him”.

But Jesus doesn't just leave his instruction at the level of conduct. He also addresses our underlying outlook and attitude. In verses 39-41, he employs three statements that address our underlying attitudes. Each statement begins with the word ‘for’.

The first ‘for’ statement is in the middle of verse 39: “for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.” People who act in Jesus' name evidently have a positive attitude toward Jesus, and they won't be disposed to speak evil of him. So, if they have a positive attitude toward Jesus and we have a positive attitude toward Jesus, why would we be antagonist toward them?

The second ‘for’ statement – the second reason – is in verse 40: “For the one who is not against us is for us.” People who act in Jesus's name, and thus have a favorable attitude toward Jesus, are not against us. They are not our foes. They are our friends. We are on the same team, and we should value them as such.

The third ‘for’ statement – the third reason – is in verse 41: “For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” Verse 41 approaches the issue from a slightly different perspective. In the case of the people who are out there doing mighty things in Jesus’ name (v. 38), it is like this: you're part of a particular sub-group (like the twelve apostles were), and you're looking out there and you're seeing other people do things in Jesus’ name. And Jesus tells us to have a positive attitude towards them. But in verse 41, the picture is a little different. Now, as we are following Jesus – as we are out there serving the Lord in the world – there are other people out there (who aren’t part of our own little sub-group) who bless us, help us, show us kindness, and support us because we belong to Jesus. Which indicates that these other folks (who are blessing us) evidently have a positive attitude toward Jesus, too – and when they see us serving the Lord and realize that we belong to the Messiah, they want to help us and support us for Jesus’ sake. And Jesus teaches us that people who act for Jesus’ sake by demonstrating practical care, hospitality, and kindness to us – precisely because we are following Jesus – are thereby demonstrating their own love for Jesus. Their conduct is pleasing in God's sight, and they will not lose their reward.

Summary

Here's my summary of what's going on here in verses 38-41: People who act in Jesus’ name (v. 38) and people who act for Jesus’ sake (v. 41) are, in fact, disciples of Jesus. These disciples esteem Jesus’ name and esteem Jesus’ people. Although they aren't part of our own little sub-group, they are still Jesus's disciples. Like us, they also want to honor the Lord. They are not against us. They are for us. They are not antagonists. They are allies. And Jesus tells us to esteem, value, and honor them accordingly.

Now, with this basic understanding of the passage in mind, I want to draw out four very important lessons.

THE FIRST LESSON: BE JESUS-CENTERED, NOT US-CENTERED 

Here is the first lesson: we must learn to be Jesus-centered, not us-centered. By us-centered, I mean to be centered on and to think proudly and territorially about our ministry, our church, ourdenomination (or, if we're not part of a denomination, then churches like us), our movement, ourtheological tribe. If we have an us-centered mindset, then we think that it's all about our thing and our circle – we are where it's at! And it's pretty obvious in this passage that Jesus is trying to get us to think less in terms of us and our own little group, and more about the value and the preciousness of his name. Do you see this?

In verse 38, someone is casting out demons in Jesus’ name, but the apostles are focused on the fact that this person “was not following us”. What is more important?

In verse 39, Jesus says that “no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.” Don't get hung up on the fact that they are not part of us. If they are operating in Jesus’ name, power and authority, and if they are blessing him and honoring his name, and if they are furthering his work, then clearly – if we are centered on Jesus – we will appreciate them as fellow disciples.

And the same reality comes out in verse 41. These folks who give us a cup of water, or some other refreshment and support, because we belong to Christ, are doing so not because we belong to them, but because we belong to Christ. It is in Christ, not in this sub-group or that sub-group, that the preciousness is found.

Friends, we want to lift high the name of Jesus, and we want to see others lift high the name of Jesus. Paul said, “[What] we proclaim is not ourselves” – it's not about us! – “what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5) Jesus is Lord. His name is precious. We are His servants.

If we are Jesus-centered, then we will view others not mainly in terms of their attachment or lack of attachment to us, but mainly in terms of their attachment or lack of attachment to Jesus. This is the key thing: are they in fellowship with Jesus? Are they dedicated to our Lord Jesus Christ?

And also, if we are Jesus-centered, then we will be preoccupied with actually following Jesus, and not be preoccupied with assessing, questioning, and resisting other followers of Jesus. One of my favorite Scriptural accounts is in the Gospel of John, Chapter 21. It’s not making exactly the same point as the one here in Mark 9, but I think that the lesson there is applicable here. There in John 21 the Lord Jesus Christ tells Peter that he's going to pay the ultimate price, that he’s going to be martyred in the course of his ministry. And Jesus and Peter are walking along (Jesus hasn’t ascended yet), and as Peter learns that he is eventually going to suffer and die, Peter sees the apostle John. And Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” (John 21:21) Peter wants to know how John’s life is going to play out. But Jesus told Peter, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22) Let me tell you: it is enough of a responsibility to faithfully follow Jesus. Deny yourself, take up your cross, follow the Lord (Mark 8:34) – this is what should occupy every fiber of our being. We must be very slow to form sharp opinions about other people.

Learn to be Jesus-centered, not us-centered.

THE SECOND LESSON: APPRECIATE OTHER DISCIPLES IN OTHER SETTINGS

Here is the second lesson: we must learn to appreciate other disciples, in other settings, who are doing good work in Jesus’ name.

The apostles show a remarkably wrongheaded focus here. They look out and see this other man, and what they are thinking about is that ‘he's not with us’. And for them, that calls into question everything this man is doing, and he really should be shut down! They are focused on what is dissimilar, on what is suspect, on what is unfamiliar or potentially problematic, and they give him the stiff arm.

Wouldn't it be a much better focus, in keeping with our Lord's instructions, to look out and think, ‘Wow, this other person is endeavoring to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. He is doing a good work in Jesus' name. And some folks who were previously demon-possessed have been freed of their affliction. Or some folks who weren't previously in church, now they're in church. Or some people who weren't previously hearing the Word of God, now they're hearing the Word of God taught. Oh, but the critic within us rises up: ‘I wish their theology was better. I wish their ministry methods were better – they are too pragmatic, or they are too freewheeling, or they haven't signed on to the right program.’ We get wrongly focused so easily, don’t we?

Let’s learn something important from the apostle Paul. In Philippians 1, the apostle Paul looked out from prison. He had been imprisoned, and because he was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel, other preachers grew in their boldness to proclaim the gospel. And Paul spoke along these lines: Do you know what? Some of these guys who've gained more courage and boldness to proclaim the gospel, they are preaching from selfish and insincere motives. Yes, some are preaching from goodwill, but there are some who are preaching from improper motives. What shall I say to this? I shall rejoice that Christ is proclaimed. The precise wording of Philippians 1:18 is: “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.”

Now if Paul can rejoice that Christ is proclaimed even through people that he knows to be of bad character, then how much more should we rejoice in the Lord’s work being done through people whose character we don’t have reason to suspect. And in these situations where others are seeking to do the Lord’s work and we don’t have good reason to suspect their character, shouldn’t our mindset be gracious and shouldn’t we assume the best about them?

The New Testament refers to us as “jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). We are fragile and weak vessels, through which the great treasure of the gospel shines forth. And we might look across the way and see someone that we think is so different or deficient, and we might think, ‘How in the world can the treasure of the gospel shine through that fragile jar of clay?’ But if we are wise, we will take a good look at ourselves and think, ‘How is it that the treasure of the gospel can shine through fragile and weak jars of clay like us, even through a fragile and weak jar of clay like me?’

Appreciate what God is doing through other disciples.

INTERLUDE: READING SCRIPTURE FAITHFULLY

Now – before I tell you what lesson number three is – one of the challenges that always faces us when we read the Scriptures is to make sure that we read the Scriptures in view of the whole Scriptures. All Scripture, taken together, is like a map. It's this map in its entirety is what God wants us to know and understand and live. But sometimes what we will do is take one part of the map, get really excited about it, and run crazy with it. And when you do that – it doesn't really matter what part of the map it is – when you take a part of the map, disconnect it from the whole and run wildly with it, you will invariably go off the map. So, we always have to read Scripture in light of the whole Scripture. And so as we move into the third lesson, I want to help us think through something really crucial here. This particular lesson arises by putting this passage (Mark 9:38-41) side by side with some other passages, and thinking about how they fit together.

THE THIRD LESSON: TRUST JESUS AS THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE

Here is the third lesson: we must learn to trust Jesus as the righteous judge who will assess and judge all professing Christians and their works at the final judgment.

Now you might wonder, ‘Why are you saying that?’ Well, here's why. Because what is envisioned in Mark 9:38-41 is other people who are operating and acting and serving in the name of Jesus. What is interesting, though, is that Scripture tells us that there are actually many people out there who are claiming to act and serve in the name of Jesus who are actually not true disciples, and they are bound for eternal destruction. I'm thinking of Matthew 7:21-23 – and you’ll notice some similarity of language with the Mark 9 passage. In this passage, Jesus says,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

So, part of our biblical understanding of the reality about the world is that there are many professing Christians out there who call Jesus ‘Lord’ and do things in his name – or at least they claim to – and yet they are not true Christians. Christ doesn't really know them. They don't really belong to him, and they're destined for eternal fire. So, how do you fit the outlook of Matthew 7 with this outlook of Mark 9? I want to help us think through this.

First, we are not supposed to assume the role of final judge. That is not our role. The Father has appointed Jesus as the final judge, and he will judge the world in righteousness at the end of the age.

Second, we are supposed to be content with messy, because the mess isn't going to be sorted out until the end of the age. That's not my idea. If it was my idea, it would be rather worthless. But Jesus taught us about these things in a couple of parables which are found in Matthew 13. What we learn is that God’s visible and manifest kingdom draws into its orbit – into its visible manifestation on this earth at the present time – it draws into its orbit both true and false disciples, both true and false converts. In the parable of the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43), Jesus told us that there is this wonderful wheat growing up, but there are also weeds that are sown among the wheat. The wheat represents “the [true] sons of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:38); the weeds represent “the sons of the evil one” (Matthew 13:38). And someone asked the question, Do you want us to get rid of the weeds?And Jesus answered, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”” (Matthew 13:29-30) If you try to get rid of the weeds now, you might damage some of the wheat. Wait, be patient. It will be sorted out at the final judgment at the end of the age.

The parable of the net (Matthew 13:47-50) is also very instructive. Jesus said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.” (Matthew 13:47-48) So you have this net drawing in all kinds of people, the good and the bad. When does it get sorted out? Jesus continues, “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them [the evil] into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:49-50)

Some of us may wish that everything was sorted out now. You should give that a little thought and see if you really want that. But sometimes we want everything to be neat and tidy. The truth, however, is that God’s kingdom is messy in this present life: it is full of the good and the bad, the righteous and the wicked. And what Jesus is telling us in Mark 9:38-41 and in other passages is this: as you are interacting with the global body of Christ, you must be charitable and humble and generous in the way that you see and relate to other professing Christians. This doesn't mean that you are naïve – you really do know that there are a lot of frauds out there – but you suspect your own ability to figure that out now. And ‘figuring it out now’ or ‘sorting it out now’ is not our job anyway!

Now don't misunderstand what I'm saying. In the context of close relationships, we are called to demonstrate tough love by pursuing a fellow disciple who seems to be going off the rails or by warning a fellow churchgoer who seems to be displaying a lot of bad fruit. We're not supposed to turn a blind eye to such situations. Jesus tells us to confront one another, and to correct a brother or sister who falls into sin (see Matthew 18:15-18). If we see our brothers and sisters in sin, we want to appeal to them to repent, to understand their sin, to turn back to the Lord. We want to win back our professing brothers and sisters who have seemed to go off the rails.

We should also know that the Bible gives us criteria for false teachers (for example, 2 Peter 2). If we're interacting closely with or receiving ministry from a teacher, but they show the signs of the bad character or false teaching that the Bible identifies, we're not supposed to play dumb. We're supposed to exercise discernment.

But even so, we must recognize the reality that we do not have the ability to have confident knowledge about tens of millions of professing believers in the world. To think that we could have such knowledge at the present time, is absurd! It is challenging enough to have a good understanding of where a couple hundred people are in terms of their spiritual walk. But when it comes to other churches and other ministries – even in our little region – what do we have to do? We must “[bear] all things, [believe] all things, [hope] all things, [endure] all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). We must assume the best, and always walk in love.

As for ourselves, we need to do our very best to make sure that each one of us hears, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ on that final day of judgment. And while we are striving to be holy, let's be charitable, kind, and gracious toward others who also appear to be following Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, trust Jesus. Trust him to sort it all out and to render judgment at the end of the age.

THE FOURTH LESSON: VALUE OUR FRIENDS

Here is the fourth lesson: we must learn to value our friends. And by ‘friends’ I mean our fellow Christians. We must learn to value our fellow Christians, especially in this present hour when we have so many outspoken enemies.

Look at verse 40: “For the one who is not against us is for us.” And with that verse in mind, what I want to tell you is simply this: wise people value their friends, their teammates, their fellow soldiers.

Now I’m not talking about the people out there who, under the umbrella of Christianity, are obviously outside of Christ as evidenced by the fact that they deny biblical authority, they deny the deity of Christ, they deny the atonement, they deny the resurrection, they deny that Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead, they deny the eternality of heaven and hell. I’m not talking about such people.

What I am talking about is the large tent in which people believe in the Triune God; believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; believe that the Word became flesh; believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit on his people, and that he is building his church, and that he is going to come again. There are a lot of people who believe these things – it is a big tent. And among the people in this tent there are a lot of differences. There are a lot of theological differences and pragmatic differences among the people who are under this tent. And what I'm trying to say is this: The enemies are lining up against us – they always have, and they always will in this present age. Jesus teaches us to expect such opposition and persecution from outside the tent. Now in light of this, don't we have better things to do than to take cheap shots and make snap judgments and get all opinionated about other people who are in the same big tent that we are in? We ought to value anyone who is confessing Christ amid the avalanche of spiritual disaster that is all around us.

So, when it comes to other disciples in other settings, let us resolve:

to bless them, not to curse them;

to lift them up in speech and in prayer, not to tear them down;

to thank God for them, not to complain about them;

to love them, not suspect them;

to give them a cup of water and refresh them, not to turn away from them because they're not part of our own little sub-group;

to treat them as brothers and sisters, not as threats or rivals;

and to rejoice in their successes, and not wish for their failure.

And should it ever so happen that their steps do falter, let us not gloat in their failing, but rather grieve for them and pray earnestly for their recovery.

Let us value everyone who seeks to live and love and serve in Jesus’ name.

I want to close with this thought: I don't want to be known as a man who had an opinion about everyone. Now you have to understand, I have a lot of opinions and a lot of feelings – and most of them aren't worth much of anything, which is why I do not seek to share my opinions and feeling from this pulpit. I'm not trying to live according to my opinions and feelings, so why would I pass them off on you? I want to be ordered by the Word. So, I don't want to be known as a man who had an opinion about everyone, who makes superficial and snap judgments, who was against nearly everyone, who was skilled at cutting others down, and who thought that our little sub-group is the holiest of them all. And the reason I don't want to be known as a man like that is because having that kind of criticizing outlook is unbiblical and unfaithful.

Are there times to call people out? Of course. You read through the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and you learn that there are times when you have to call someone out by name. But that's not to be the steady diet.

On the whole, we want our ministry to focus on lifting high the name of Jesus, lifting high the words of Jesus, lifting high the preciousness of belonging to Jesus, lifting high the privilege of doing kingdom work in his name. When we gather together, we gather not to point our fingers at the other imperfect jars of clay that are out there. Instead, we gather so that together we would look up to the Lord Jesus Christ and stand in humble adoration of him.

Let's pray.

Father, I pray that these words would not just be words on a page. I pray that these words would get into the inner workings of our heart, our mind, our outlook, our conversation. Protect us from error. Protect us from taking any single aspect of Scripture and running off the map with it. We don't want to twist Scripture. We want to understand all of it, and live under its blessing and authority. So Father, we pray that you would transform our lives. We pray for our fellow Christians who are out there in western Maine, in the United States, and in the world. We know very few of them, but we know that they are out there. And we pray that you would strengthen them, and support them, and work through them to glorify your name and build your kingdom. We pray that the name of Jesus would be glorified in and through this place. In his name we pray, amen.

  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Victor Babajide Cole, “Mark.” In Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars. Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark (The Pillar New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (The New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mark (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries Vol. 2). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017.

James W. Voelz, Mark 8:27 – 16:20 (Concordia Commentary). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2013.

Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.

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