Pastor Jasmine Brady | Bible Reading Podcast Episode #96 | November 3, 2025

This summary and rewrite synthesizes core theological and historical insights from a Bible reading review covering the books of Job and the Gospel of Mark. It focuses on themes of unwavering trust in God amidst suffering, the reliability of early Christian manuscripts, and the commission to continue Jesus’s ministry.

1. Navigating Suffering: Wisdom from the Book of Job

The Book of Job explores complex issues of human suffering, divine justice, and unwavering faith, urging believers to trust God even when answers are withheld. The reading covered chapters 18–24, marking the beginning of the second of three dialogue cycles.

The Dialogue Cycles and Retribution Theology

Job’s friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—operate based on retribution theology, a simple belief system asserting that the wicked suffer because they sin, and the righteous do not suffer. They apply this theory to Job’s situation:

• The Accusation: In the second dialogue cycle (Job 18–24), the friends move from merely implying Job has sinned to all-out accusing him of sinning. They double down on the conviction that Job’s suffering is due to his sin, and if he would only repent, his suffering would end.
• Job’s Defense: Job, however, doubles down on his innocence, maintaining that he has not sinned and does not understand why he is suffering.

Trusting God in Silence

A crucial lesson from Job is the necessity of trusting God even when He is silent. Job trusts God despite the opposition and his lack of understanding. This faith aligns with the promise in Romans 8:28 that God will work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. God presides over the “puzzle pieces” of life and will work “all the things” if they are surrendered to Him.

The Redeemer Lives

Amidst his intense suffering, Job makes a profound declaration of faith: “I know my redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). This conviction affirms that Jesus lives today to take away our sin, shame, and punishment if we surrender all to Him. God promises to show up in the midst of suffering.

Interesting Note: The common English idiom “by the skin of my teeth,” meaning to have barely made it, originated from the King James Version translation of a line of Hebrew poetry found in Job.

2. The Gospel of Mark: Earliest Snapshot of Jesus’s Ministry

The reading introduced the Gospel of Mark (chapters 1–2), which is considered the earliest Gospel written of the four.

Authorship and Historical Reliability

Mark, identified as John Mark (Acts 12:12), was not one of the twelve disciples (like Matthew and John). Mark traveled with the Apostle Peter during Peter’s ministry and recorded the stories he heard about Jesus.

• Early Testimony: Early church father Papus recorded in 110 AD that Mark did indeed travel with Peter and wrote this Gospel.
• Dating: Mark was likely written around 60 AD or between 65 and 70 AD. Given that Jesus died around 34 AD, this puts the writing within just a few decades of Jesus Christ’s resurrection and ascension. This proximity to eyewitness accounts provides significant peace and confidence in Mark’s work, asserting that the stories are reliable and not mythology developed centuries later.
• Audience: Mark is likely writing to Gentile believers, most likely Romans, as he translates Aramaic terms and explains Jewish customs that a Jewish audience would already know.

Speed and Structure of Mark’s Gospel

The Gospel of Mark is characterized by its speed and immediate action.

• Immediate Action: Mark uses the Greek word euthus (meaning “immediately”) over 40 times to demonstrate the immediacy of Jesus’s ministry and the coming kingdom. If read in one sitting, the pace makes the reader’s heart beat fast.
• Theological Structure: The Gospel is structured sequentially:
  • Prologue (1:1–13)
  • Jesus’s Galilean Ministry of miracles, parables, and opposition (1:14–8:26)
  • Jesus’s Journey to Jerusalem (8:27–10:52)
  • The Passion Week (11:1–15:47)
  • The Resurrection (16:1–8)

Unique Features of Mark

Mark’s Gospel is important as a source, with 90% of its content appearing in Matthew and just over 50% appearing in Luke.

• The Messianic Secret: Mark often highlights the Messianic Secret, where Jesus heals people but tells them not to tell who He is or what He has done. This is because Jesus’s identity is revealed not in political power but in suffering and the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.
• The Ending: The shortest ending of Mark (16:1–8) is found in the earliest manuscripts, where the women see the empty tomb and leave. However, the remaining verses (the longer ending) should not be discarded. This section contains:
  • The Great Commission.
  • The Ascension of Jesus.
  • The promise of signs accompanying believers, such as casting out demons, speaking in new tongues, handling snakes, being unharmed by deadly things, and the healing of the sick (16:17–18).

3. The Commission: Continuing the Gospel

The Gospel of Mark concludes with the critical instruction that believers are the ones commissioned to continue the gospel and take it to the ends of the earth.

This involves sharing the gospel and one’s testimony—what the Lord has done for the individual—to continue spreading the good news. Despite suffering or doubt, God calls believers to press on, finish strong, and remain confident that God is still speaking and working.