Serial study on Mark

Go into detail about places...think about a map...there is a map in the back of the black NIV. Perhaps prepare one for the PDA?

Mark, reading from the NIV version

Gospel means good news.

commentary:

Heavily based on

McGarvey and Pendleton fourfold gospel...a parallel version of the four gospels, Mat, Mark, Luke John

I probably don't have much here that you won't find in that commentary.

The book of Mark is very succinct, so it's a good choice for me to go through in the level of detail I want for this study. The book of Mark really gets to the point. In fact, I think it's the shortest of the 4 accounts of Jesus Christ.

The author of this gospel may have been the first to write down the events of Jesus' life. He is probably the same person who worked for many years as a missionary with Paul and Barnabas. Mark wrote his early gospel so the early Christians would know what Jesus was like and why he had to die. He shows Jesus as a man of action and authority. A third of his book tells of the events of Jesus' last week on earth, ending with his death and resurrection.

Mark 1

Things that happen in Mark 1:

Jesus tempted by satan about 26 AD

Mark 1:12-13, Mat 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13

4 fisherman become Jesus' followers sea of Galilee,

Mark 1:16-20, Mat 4:18-22, Luke 5:1-11

Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law of a fever Capernaum

Mark 1:29-34, Mat 8:14-17, Luke 4:38-41

Jesus begins his first preaching trip through Galilee

Mark 1:35-39, Mat 4:23-25, Luke 4:42-44

Mark 1


John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.^[1]

[This turns out to be one of the main points of the book of Mark, that Jesus was the son of God. Jesus was his name as a man. It means “savior”. Christ was his title, meaning “the anointed one”.]
²It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
   "I will send my messenger ahead of you,
       who will prepare your way"

[The King James version says, perhaps more accurately “as it is written in the prophets.” The manuscripts used for the NIV said Isaiah even though this particular verse is in the book of Malachi.]

[Mark makes a point here of mentioning that the coming of Jesus and all that he was going to do was foretold by prophecy. So who is this messenger who will prepare the way for Jesus?]
    ³"a voice of one calling in the desert,
   'Prepare the way for the Lord,
       make straight paths for him.' "

[Now this was actually a quote from the book of Isaiah. I won't turn over there, but it's in Isaiah 40:3]

⁴And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

[John here is talking about the baptism of the holy spirit that happens to the apostles on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. So anyway, John went around the desert preaching the baptism of repentance. Perhaps this was a baptism that was looking forward to Jesus' death for the forgiveness of sins of everyone everywhere. Similarly, when we are baptised today, it is looking back on Christ's death. One thing to notice is that it was always called the baptism of John rather than the baptism of Christ. But John's baptism as it is called wasn't enough in the end as we seen in:

Acts 19

Back to Mark 1...

Also, it says that the people confessed their sins in verse 5. While we don't exactly see in the examples of Christian baptism that took place after Christ's death that it's necessary to confess our sins before being baptised as these people were doing, we do read about confession of sins to one another in

Confessing our sins to one another

This is why we always allow an opportunity to come forward if we have sins to confess to one another in the assembly.

Confessing our sins to God

Certainly, it's always a good thing to confess our sins to God. What does it accomplish? For one thing, it's a very humbling thing to specifically confess the things we've done wrong. It helps discourage us from doing it habitually. Also, it is important for us to realize that we are not perfect and need the blood of Christ to make us clean before God. Confessing our sins can help us to realize this.

At the time we are baptised, we confess with our mouths our belief that Jesus is the son of God.

And since our Christian baptism today is for the remission of sins, when we are baptised, it is in a way an admission that we are sinners and need Jesus' blood to cover our sins.

Again, John's main goal was to prepare the way for Christ as it says in verse 3. As a side point, in verse 8, The King James version says “in” water instead of “with” water. The King James version is often better for interpreting matters of doctrine than the NIV is. The King James version was taken from determining what most manuscripts said. The NIV was taken from the oldest manuscripts they could find. Also, concerning the word “baptize” in verse 8, it comes from the Greek word baptiso, which means immersion.]

Christian baptism began after Jesus was resurrected in...

The great commission

Mat 28

There are examples of Christian baptism in the book of Acts, such as Paul, the Ethiopian eunuch and many others, as well as the general commands about baptism throughout the new testament.

One thing that we see in John the baptist is his humble existence and the way he was so dedicated to his mission. He wore camel's hair, a very simple no-frills clothing. Apparently, this was similar to Elijah in the old testament who wore a garment of hair and a leather belt. This was apparently a method for the prophets to protest the riches and debauchery around them. John ate locusts and wild honey. He was a man who was obviously not interested in a worldly sense of pride or even in the simple pleasures of food. His mind was constantly on his mission to prepare the way for Christ. He talks about how he is not even worthy to untie Jesus' sandals. This makes it even more amazing when Jesus later washes the feet of his disciples.

[continuing...]

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

⁹At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
¹²At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, ¹³and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

[It says in Matthew 3 that Jesus was baptised to fulfill all righteousness. But anyway, imagine this...God's voice commending Jesus. Who can doubt Jesus after this? And yet, some did. This was apparently the beginning of his ministry here at his baptism. I'm reminded of him saying when his mother told him they had no more wine for the wedding, he said, "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" "My time has not yet come." But suddenly, even after he has been commended by God, the spirit sends him to the desert where he faced temptation. Matthew and Luke give a more extensive account of his temptation in the desert.]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!elaborate on temptation?
The Calling of the First Disciples

¹⁴After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

[The kingdom was near at that time and Jesus was the king. The kingdom arrived after his death allowing for cleansing through his blood.]

¹⁶As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." ¹⁸At once they left their nets and followed him.
¹⁹When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. ²⁰Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

[The Sea of Galilee is sort of a lake about 12 x 7 miles. It's interesting to see the men Jesus chose to accompany him. He didn't choose princes or perhaps someone you'd think of as being the best public speaker. These were just basic fisherman. Many times God chose people in lowly positions to speak for him. Moses didn't want to speak for God because he felt he wasn't a good speaker. David started out as a shepherd. Paul was often beaten and humbled for doing God's work. Through lowly messengers, God's power was shown much more than it would have been if he had chosen those who could claim they did things on their own. It's also interesting that these men were right in the middle of something. They didn't insist on even finishing their work. They just went with him. This is a good lesson for us today. Are we too busy to follow Jesus?]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!meek shall inherit the earth...blessed are the ....

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

²¹They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²²The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

[The teachers of the law taught from the authority of Moses or other men. But Jesus taught as if he himself had authority.]

²³Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ²⁴"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
²⁵"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" ²⁶The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
²⁷The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." ²⁸News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

[An evil spirit was inhabiting this man. The demon had special knowledge of Jesus, knowing who he was and where he'd come from and what he was there for. Being evil, it was rightfully afraid of Jesus]

Jesus Heals Many

²⁹As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.

[This woman would have been Simon's wife's mother. This is the Simon that was later called Peter, an apostle. So we know that Peter was married and still he was willing to go with Jesus. It shows his obedience that he was willing to do so. Christ the savior was right there and he took the opportunity to follow him.]

³¹So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
³²That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. ³³The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

[Again, these demons had special knowledge of Christ. They had minds of their own apart from the people they inhabited. This means they were not just the person acting out in some way, but an entirely separate being. It looks like Jesus at this point wanted to keep his identity as the son of God somewhat secret. He didn't want the demons blurting out who he was as happened with the man mentioned before. Perhaps it was not yet the time for him to be fully known by everyone as the son of God.]

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place

³⁵Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ³⁶Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
³⁸Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." ³⁹So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

[Prayer was part of Jesus' life. Even though he was the son of God he still prayed. Then we get to this part where his disciples were looking for him. Jesus knew where he was needed the most. His disciples didn't know as well as he where his teaching would be most fruitful. His apostles later on in Acts upheld preaching as being much more important than just satisfying the interest of the people.]

Jesus knew where his teaching would be most fruitful and where it would be least fruitful. Jesus had sharp criticism for cities where he went so far as to perform miracles and yet the people in those cities wouldn't repent:

Mat 11

²⁰Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ²¹"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

In verses 38 and 39 of Mark, Jesus talked about how he was going to go to nearby villages and throughout Galilee. This is sort of a summary of the earlier part of his ministry that is talked about in more detail in later chapters in Mark and the other gospels.

Mark 1...
A Man With Leprosy

⁴⁰A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
⁴¹Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" ⁴²Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
⁴³Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴"See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." ⁴⁵Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

[In the Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, God gives many rules concerning leprosy and skin diseases. Someone who had such a disease was declared ceremonially unclean. It was a horrendous disease and they were condemned to go outside the camp]

Leviticus 13:

⁴⁵ "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' ⁴⁶ As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.

[This man shows a general disregard for rules in the way he went into the village and near other people. He was disobeying the commands given in the old testament and Jesus knew he had to strictly forbid him from telling anyone else. But the man apparently disregarded that too. Maybe he meant well in doing this, but it could have done more damage than good. Jesus wanted more attention brought to his teaching than to his miracles, but people got excited about the miracles. Also, perhaps Jesus didn't want a lot of attention from the Pharisees and the government who were always out to stop him. It's kind of ironic that this person with leprosy should have been outside the camp but Jesus was the one who had to go outside the camp because of this man publicizing what Jesus did.

As Jesus was able to cure this man of his leprosy, he can heal us of our sins when we come to him. Sin is also a terrible disease that can eat us up and we do need healing from it. Jesus Christ is the only one who can accomplish this.]