February
12th Mark 1 A.
The Credentials of the Servant John
the Baptist introduces Christ
1: The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2: As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I
send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3:
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make
his paths straight. 4: John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5: And there went out unto him
all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem,
and were all baptized of him in the river
of Jordan, confessing
their sins. 6: And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a
skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; 7: And preached,
saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I
am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8: I indeed have baptized you with
water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
The
Father identifies Christ
9: And it came to pass in those
days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10: And
straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the
Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11: And there came a voice from heaven,
saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Satan
tests Christ
12: And immediately the Spirit
driveth him into the wilderness. 13: And he was there in the wilderness forty
days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered
unto him.
Lord’s
word’s & work’s authenticate Christ
14: Now after that John was put in
prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15: And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
B.
The Works of the Servant Jesus calls
four fishermen
16: Now as he walked by the sea of
Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for
they were fishers. 17: And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will
make you to become fishers of men. 18: And straightway they forsook their nets,
and followed him. 19: And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship
mending their nets. 20: And straightway he called them: and they left their
father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
Jesus
delivers a man and others
21: And they went into Capernaum; and
straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22:
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had
authority, and not as the scribes. 23: And there was in their synagogue a man
with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24: Saying, Let us alone; what have
we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know
thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25: And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold
thy peace, and come out of him. 26: And when the unclean spirit had torn him,
and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27: And they were all amazed,
insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this?
what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits,
and they do obey him. 28: And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all
the region round about Galilee. 29: And forthwith, when they were come out of
the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and
John. 30: But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him
of her. 31: And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and
immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. 32: And at even,
when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them
that were possessed with devils. 33: And all the city was gathered together at
the door. 34: And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast
out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
Jesus
heals many - a leper
35: And in the morning, rising up a
great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and
there prayed. 36: And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37:
And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38: And
he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also:
for therefore came I forth. 39: And he preached in their synagogues throughout
all Galilee, and cast out devils. 40: And
there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying
unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41: And Jesus, moved with
compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be
thou clean. 42: And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed
from him, and he was cleansed. 43: And he straitly charged him, and forthwith
sent him away; 44: And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go
thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things
which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 45: But he went out, and
began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus
could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and
they came to him from every quarter.
Mark presents before us a portrait
of Christ as the Servant of the LORD. There is no genealogy given. Servants
have no family line. Mark gives the Servants two references and Christ
immediately begins work. However before Mark can tell us about Christ he must
first introduce John. John comes as an OT prophet calling Israel to
return unto the LORD their God. He calls on them to repent because the Kingdom
is very near. (Prophetically its only 10 years away.) John also baptises those
who wish to return unto the Lord. This baptism is a Jewish custom in which the
seeker demonstrates their desire to present themselves before the LORD in a fit
state of cleanliness. The effect of John’s ministry was very striking. Huge
crowds of People flocked to John. Confessing their sins and being restored unto
the LORD. John is clothed in a camel hair coat symbol of broken heartedness and
ate locusts and wild honey, symbols of judgment and blessing. John’s ministry was
to herald the truth that the Messiah was coming. John says He is greater than l
and l am unworthy to be his lowest servant. When John met Christ he recognised
his as a more righteous man than himself, probably because when the time for
confession came Christ would have been silent. Therefore Christ had to insist
that John baptise him. In this way Christ submitted to the ordinances of the
Law. At Christ’s baptism the Holy Spirit came upon him. And from now on Christ
was empowered to do the work the Father had called him to do. He would not
speak from himself, he would only speak the Fathers words and he would not
perform miracles in his own power, only in the Power of the Holy Spirit. The
Holy Spirit begins immediately to guide Christ and the first thing was to be
led into the wilderness for testing. Christ’s holiness was untested so far. Now
he will face the full force of testing by the Devil. Christ is tempted to move
away from the leading of the Spirit. The lower animals come to him and the
higher creatures’ minister to him. After John is executed Christ moves his
ministry to Galilee where he calls disciples
to follow him. And he begins going from synagogue to synagogue preaching the
Gospel. People are astounded by his preaching. And he demonstrates his power in
healing the sick and liberating the demoniacs. The fame of Christ is
overwhelming so that Christ rises early for prayer. When his fame becomes too much he simply
moves on to other cities. A crucial healing takes place the healing of a leper.
This is a Messianic sign and Christ sends him to the High Priest to offer a
sacrifice for his cleansing. There had never been an offering made like this
before. The religious leaders knew that
this sign was in need of investigation. So then set in motion an investigation
as to the Messianic claims of this healer. The first stage would be a ten day
rabbinical investigation of his preaching. They would not come to talk but to
listen. Then they would report back to the High Priest.
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