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.
- Who was John and what was his unique mission?
- What preparation does Christ have at the beginning of his ministry?
- Why does Christ find so many sick people in lsrael?
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