“And after He (Jesus) said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray.” Mark 6:46 AMP
Mark, what do you know about him?
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
“And after He (Jesus) said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray.” Mark 6:46 AMP
thedailylily.com 
As I looked at the question, at the scripture from Mark and then the beautiful picture, I began to look through the gospel that Mark wrote. The intro to the chapter said that he was “not one of the 12 disciples, but he accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:13).”
Mark starts his gospel out telling us about John the Baptist and how he prepared the way for Jesus and how Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. He focuses on the account of Jesus Himself being baptized by John and that when this occurred, the Holy Spirit was seen descending upon Him like a dove and hearing a voice from heaven say, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” This ties in with the beautiful picture Sara shows of the dove appearing to descend upon Peace. Isaiah 9:6 refers to Jesus the coming Messiah as the “Prince of Peace”.
Interestingly in Mark, he uses the word peace several times. These are a few contexts:
Spoken of by Jesus in:
Mark 9:50: “Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”
Mark 5:34: “And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
Mark must have seen Jesus as a man of prayer as indicated by the scripture Sara shared. Mark’s gospel additionally mentions Jesus emphasis on prayer in the following:
In Mark 9:29 in reference to Jesus casting an evil spirit out of a boy, “Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”
Mark 11:17: “He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
Mark 11:25: “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
Mark 14:38: “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
It seems to me that what Mark chose to tell us about tells us something about Mark and what was important to him.
Nice Debi of how familiar you are with Mark. I found myself remembering only the division, disagreements and spats Paul had with and about Mark. The part that stayed clear in my thoughts was the end of Paul’s life he sent for Mark and said, bring him to me Mark is very useful to my ministry. A beautiful picture of grace, love, perseverance and restoration. A portrait of God’s Peace.
Debi gives us scriptures above that verifies the story from my childhood Bible Story book. Mark 11:25 May hold the Keys to why Paul in his last days and imprisonment had the gentle spirit of peace to send for Mark.
We never give up and beat ourselves up for past mistakes of ourselves or others. If we were to think about Mark and the story of PEACE we would see a spring that joy springs from? Paul didn’t send for Mark so he could blame him for leaving the ministry when there was work to be done. Or blame him for causing break up of relationships etc.
It’s the gentle voice of Jesus bring the children to me. Paul writes, “Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.” In Paul’s final hour he requested only five things: for Timothy to come soon, for him to bring Mark with him, and to bring his cloak, his books, and the parchments.
Peace….
“Mark 11:25 May hold the Keys to why Paul in his last days and imprisonment had the gentle spirit of peace to send for Mark.” The footnotes from the NIV for this verse says: “Forgiving others is tough work–so much so that many people would rather do something totally distasteful than offer forgiveness to someone who has wronged them. For a person to pray while bearing a grudge, however, is like a tree sprouting leaves and bearing no fruit.”
This blog has asked, “what do you know about Mark?” Debi & Sara have shared quite a bit to study. I searched to see what I may add to the discussion here, and found this labeled in the introduction page of Mark, from the NIV…It is labeled as: “KEY VERSE: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.(10:45)”
As Tammy gives this insight, : “KEY VERSE: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.(10:45)”
Brings me back to the how’s and why’s Jesus could forgive and even ask His Father to forgive others, “He went to the mountain and prayer.” Mark 6:46
“You will say to this mountain move from here…”Matthew 17:20 you can go to the mountain and pray and move it by faith as small as a mustard seed. What a wonder Jesus is to us when we need Him in our pain when we are hurt by others. 🙏🏼
And for those that have hurt others and feel sorry, grieved Jesus has provided a path of forgiveness also. Look the the path of hope by the way of The Cross that Jesus suffered for you also.
The Book of Luke Chapter 18 vs 4 gives the mustard seed word to help, whoever humbles himself will… maybe humble ourselves means seek help from others, give help to others.
Advent/Christmas seems such a beautiful time to empty ourselves of self and receive the gift of perfect love from the Birth of The Christ Child.
Who is Mark? Reading the notes From Holman NKJV. I found that Mark was his last name and John his first name.. He was the cousin of Barnabas. ( Col. 4 : 10). He and and Barnabas. Accompanied Paul back to Antioch after their famine relief mission to Jerusalem ( Acts 12:25).with, Mark deserted them.. Paul was extremely upset with Mark.. When Paul was going to take a second trip, Paul didn’t want Mark to go. So Silas went with Paul, and Barnabas went with Mark . Notes said it was believed Mark was very young at the time and did not understand the rigors of a missionary trip. Later Mark hooked up with Peter and it is believed he served Peter as his secretary and interpreter. Mark’s gospel begins with baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist instead of the birth of Jesus as other Gospels do. Mark in his gospel writing emphasizes actions and deeds of Jesus; such as healings, deliverance, miracles, and teaching. Mark also shows the human side of Jesus as well as the divine
.
“A portrait of God’s Peace.” I love those words and how Sara’s portrait weaves the examples together to make the portrait come alive.
And Tammy’s key verse she shared and then Sara unfolding it with “He went to the mountain and prayer.” Mark 6:46”, really helps focus all Jesus has done for us.
That goes along with Rena’s notes on His deeds and what Mark seems to want us to think about …“Mark in his gospel writing emphasizes actions and deeds of Jesus; such as healings, deliverance, miracles, and teaching. “
John Mark just so awesome. I need to spend more time with him! I might learn a lot wouldn’t you think?