Mark
In the Gospel of Mark the general theme is Christ the Prophet of God
and the Servant of man’s need. In both capacities, He exhibits the
tireless energy of One whose work was ever before Him. But no matter
how lowly the service or ceaseless the activity, there are the shinings
forth of the glories of His person. “The beginning of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” tells us who He was, whom even the
demons recognized. In the prophetic discourse given at the close of His
life, He tells of the time when He shall “send His angels and gather
together His elect.” (13:27) Surely none but a divine person could give
His commands and be obeyed by those beings who “do His commandments,
hearkening unto the voice of His word.” (Psalm 103:20)
Luke
In the Gospel of Luke we are in a different atmosphere. He depicts the
Son of Man, our Lord, in the perfection, lowliness and nearness to man
to which He came, taking upon Himself flesh and blood. All is most
beautiful; perfectly human, divinely gracious, but entirely without the
slightest taint of that sin which makes such a tragedy of human life.
His birth is announced to the virgin, and He is called “that Holy
Thing.” (1:35) Most beautifully the spirit of praise is everywhere
present. The offering of incense by Zechariah is symbolic of the
worship that centers around this lowly Babe. Elizabeth praises; Mary
magnifies the Lord; Zechariah’s dumb lips are unsealed to celebrate the
covenant promises of God, so soon to be fulfilled; heaven is opened and
the angels cry, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace” (2:14);
the shepherds praise and glorify God at the sight of the Babe in the
manger; Simeon, as he clasps the Holy Child in his arms, says, “Lord,
now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word;
for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation” (2:29,30); Anna, the prophetess,
joins in this chorus of praise. Surely all this witness has an
unmistakable voice for us; it shows that He who is Man, is also the
object of the praises of those in heaven and upon earth. No other babe
ever called forth such praise or filled with such joy the hearts of
everyone who took Him into their arms of faith.
Passing from His infancy, we find this holy Child growing up in a
perfectly natural way, and yet exhibiting the consciousness of a
relationship with His Father which none but the Son of God ever had by
nature. “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?”
(2:49) These are the words of Him who, in the Psalms, said to
God, “Thou didst make Me hope when I was upon My mother’s breasts.”
(22:9) As the Child grew in wisdom and stature, developing into perfect
manhood, we find this trust and consciousness of relationship to His
Father marking all His ways. And so as we trace Him throughout the
entire Gospel of the Manhood, we see the human and divine perfectly
blended together in His perfect person. Nowhere do we see more tender
sympathy; the contact of grace and compassion going out in love to the
sinful and the lost; but through it all we see Him to whom it can be
truly said, “Glory to God in the highest.”