Whenever I read the Gospels, there are certain qualities within each Gospel that I look out for. The Gospel of Luke is one that I enjoy reading because there are details in the writing we may not see in the other Gospels. For example, when Peter denied the Lord and the rooster crows, we get this description of the scene, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” (Luke 22:61 NIV). It’s descriptions like this that give life to the Gospel of Luke.

On the other hand, The Gospel of Mark doesn’t seem to have these sorts of details. Or so I used to think. Here are a few verses where Mark’s detail stands out helping us to understand the events within the Gospel better.

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Mark 4:38 (NIV)

While the disciples were rowing across a lake, they ran into a storm and were afraid that they might drown. This is where Mark 4:38 comes in. Mark tells us that Jesus was not only asleep but sleeping on a cushion. When I picture a storm so violent that waves are breaking over the boat and filling it with water, and the Lord sleeping on a cushion nearby, it helps me to see how nothing can disturb him. It reminds me that no matter the circumstances in my life, I can have the peace of God as long as I focus on Jesus.

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.

Mark 6:39 (NIV)

Some people doubt the veracity of the Gospels. In the feeding of the 5,000, Mark tells us here that the people sat down in groups on green grass. This detail lets us know what season it was and coincides with the Gospel of John and its account of the feeding of the 5,000.

The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

John 6:4 (NIV)

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).

John 6:10 (NIV)

Had it been another time of the year, there’d be no grass growing. Green or otherwise. Mark’s description also confirms that it was near Passover.

Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

Mark 10:50 (NIV)

Here we see how Bartimaeus responds when Jesus calls him to him. The detail that he throws his cloak aside brings to mind something Jesus just said about leaving everything to follow him.

Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.

Mark 10:29-30 (NIV)

Bartimaeus didn’t want anything to hinder him from running to Jesus, and leaving his cloak behind might not seem like a big deal to us. However, a person’s cloak was a big deal back then.

If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Exodus 22:26-27 (NIV)

Bartimaeus left the only thing he had to sleep in when he ran to Jesus, and what happens?

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Mark 10:51-52 (NIV)

I’d say receiving his sight back was worth considerably more than the cloak he left behind.

As I continue to read through Mark, I find myself excited to see more of the details that bring the narrative to life and reveal even more of the wonder and majesty of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Do you know God? God knows you, and He loves you. He sees you as significant because you are. No one is insignificant to Him. He’s with you today, right now, and He wants you to know Him. Jesus died for your sins and mine so we could be free of guilt, be freed from death, and live eternally with Him. Eternal salvation is just a prayer away.

Pray this prayer with me to accept the gift of salvation today:

Lord Jesus, forgive me for all my sins. I repent from my ways. Wash me in your blood and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I believe that you died on the cross, were buried, and on the third day, God the Father raised you from the dead. Right now, Lord Jesus, I open the door to my heart, and I receive you into my heart as my Lord and personal Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, then congratulations! You are on the first step of a brand new life. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to my family, the family of God. There are abundant resources available online for new Christians. You can visit here for more information on what to do next. You can also leave me a comment, and I’ll do my best to help you on the next step of this incredible journey.

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