A-Z: Books of the Bible
- 1 Chronicles
- 1 Corinthians
- 1 John
- 1 Kings
- 1 Peter
- 1 Samuel
- 1 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Chronicles
- 2 Corinthians
- 2 John
- 2 Kings
- 2 Peter
- 2 Samuel
- 2 Thessalonians
- 2 Timothy
- 3 John
- Acts
- Amos
- Colossians
- Daniel
- Deuteronomy
- Ecclesiastes
- Ephesians
- Esther
- Exodus
- Ezekiel
- Ezra
- Galatians
- Genesis
- Habakkuk
- Haggai
- Hebrews
- Hosea
- Isaiah
- James
- Jeremiah
- Job
- Joel
- John
- Jonah
- Joshua
- Jude
- Judges
- Lamentations
- Leviticus
- Luke
- Malachi
- Mark
- Matthew
A-Z: Books of the Bible: Mark
Genre
NT GospelDescription
The shortest of the gospels, Mark is full of life and action. The writer moves rapidly from scene to scene with extraordinary vividness. At the same time, Jesus is an enigmatic figure, misunderstood even by his closest disciples. There are no resurrection appearances to complete his account, adding to the air of mystery.
Famous stories from the Bible: Jesus, his birth; Feeding of the 5000; Parable of the sower
The story of the birth of Jesus is perhaps the best known of the gospel stories because of its celebration at Christmas. The story is told in different forms in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In Matthew's account, the events are seen through the eyes of Joseph, a man who is horrified to discover that Mary, to whom he is engaged, is pregnant before their marriage. In a dream, Joseph is assured that this is God's doing and that he should marry her at once. He does so, but does not sleep with her. After Jesus is born in Joseph's ancestral town of Bethlehem, the family flees from the fury of King Herod, who has had news of the birth of another 'king' from some wise men from the east. These magi have followed a star seeking out Jesus, to present him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Luke tells Mary's side of the story. It is announced to Mary by an angel named Gabriel that she is to become pregnant by the power of God's Holy Spirit, even though she is a virgin. She assents to this. Later, she and Joseph travel to Bethlehem for a Roman census and the baby is born in the squalor of a stable. But this is an event of 'great joy' proclaimed by angels to lowly shepherds, who immediately leave their sheep to pay the baby homage. Jesus is no ordinary baby, but God's son who will bring salvation to the world. This story is called the incarnation because God involved himself directly in the messiness of human life by becoming a human being in the person of Jesus.
Related Topics
Big ideas: Messiah, Christ, Jesus
This is the account of a miraculous feeding of a large crowd in the desert. It recalls God's provision for his people of manna during their 
forty years wandering in the wilderness during the Exodus which is described in the Old Testament. At the end of a long day, the disciples of Jesus are unprepared when he challenges them to feed the large crowd who have been listening to Jesus. They wrongly assume that they have to buy bread, but Jesus takes charge and miraculously enables the crowd to be fed using only the five loaves and two fish which a young boy makes available. The story has two clear points ' Jesus is shown as being like a new Moses, supplying the needs of his people in the desert ' in John's gospel, Jesus portrays himself as 'the living bread from heaven', which reminds Christians of their celebration of holy communion / the eucharist / the Last Supper, and its reference to the bread of life.
Related Topics
Big ideas: Miracles
This famous parable is found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The parable tells of a farmer who scatters seed which enters different kinds of soil. Some falls by a path, some on rocky ground and again, some among thorns. Some, however falls into rich soil. Predictably, in the first three cases, there was no lasting crop, but in the final case the yield is plentiful. The point of the parable was to illustrate different sorts of hearers of the gospel: ' the hearer represented by rocky ground is someone who hears readily enough, but has no staying power ' those represented as shallow soil and or choked by weeds are listeners whose lives produce nothing of lasting worth ' only the rich soil produces a bountiful harvest.
Related Topics
Big ideas: Word of God; Parables
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