Mark 1:1-8
THE PREPARATION (1:1-8).... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PREPARATION (1:1-8).... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.' ‘The beginning.' These words have overtones of something especially important. Genesis 1 begins with the words, ‘in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth', and John begins his Gospel with the words ‘in the beginning was... [ Continue Reading ]
SECTION 1. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF HIS MINISTRY (1:1-3:35). This section commences with Jesus' emergence from the wilderness as the Spirit anointed King and Servant (Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 61:1) Who is God's beloved Son (Mark 1:11), continues with His initial revelation of Himself as introdu... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BEGINNING (1:1-13). Mark commences his Gospel by referring to the new ‘Beginning', and to the herald who introduced Jesus in accordance with Scripture. This herald was a successful preacher and prophet in his own right. He was named John the Baptiser, and stirred up the whole country to listen... [ Continue Reading ]
SECTION 1. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF HIS MINISTRY (1:1-3:35). This section commences with Jesus' emergence from the wilderness as the Spirit anointed King and Servant (Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 61:1) Who is God's beloved Son (Mark 1:11), continues with His initial revelation of Himself as introduc... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make you ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight'.” ' The ‘even' connects back to ‘the beginning'. He is saying ‘This is it!... [ Continue Reading ]
‘John came, who baptised in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.' Here was the Elijah who was to come (Mark 9:13; Matthew 11:10; Matthew 17:12; Luke 1:17). The name John, given directly by God (Luke 1:13), meant ‘God is gracious'. In him God was about to r... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there went out to him all the country of Judaea, and all those of Jerusalem, and they were baptised of him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.' ‘There went out to him --.' The verb indicates a continuing process, there was a continual stream of seekers. ‘All the country of Judaea and a... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather belt about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey.' John comes in the wilderness (compare 1 Kings 19:4; 1 Kings 19:8; 1 Kings 19:15) and wears camel's hair with a wide leather belt around his waist and loins and eats locusts and wild... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he preached, saying, “There comes after me he who is mightier than I, the fastening of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose”.' The unfastening of sandals was work regularly a task performed by servants and foreign slaves. Those who entered a house were relieved of the dust or... [ Continue Reading ]
“I baptised (drenched) you in water but he will baptise (drench) you in Holy Spirit.” For this One Who is coming will be the means by which God will fulfil His promise of drenching men with the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 44:1). He will Himself be acting as the dispenser of the Holy Spirit, W... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptised of John in the Jordan.' The fact of Jesus coming to John to be baptised is plainly stated and it is deliberately in parallel with what had happened to the people (Mark 1:5). He is being identified with them in... [ Continue Reading ]
THE COMING OF JESUS - THE DESCENT OF THE SPIRIT ON HIM AS THE SEALING AND EMPOWERING OF THE KING (1:9-11). The preparations completed Jesus now comes to John to be baptised, in exactly the same way as the people had, and having been baptised the Holy Spirit comes on Him as the One Who is introducin... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And coming up out of the water straight away he saw the heavens cleaving in half and the Spirit as a dove descending on him, and a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”.' Here we have brought home to us Jesus' self-awareness at His baptism. As He ‘comes up... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And immediately the Spirit drives him forth into the wilderness.' The implication behind this verse is clear. The Spirit Who has come on Him is now directing His life. His past life is over, and His new life has begun. He is now being driven by the Holy Spirit (compare Luke 4:1). ‘Drives Him fort... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS (1:12-13). This is an essential part of the introduction. It is a reminder that the way ahead will not be smooth. Jesus has not come simply to reveal the power of God. His coming involves Him in being fully involved in temptation, for the battle is in the end a mora... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan, and he was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him.' The sentence is pregnant with meaning. ‘In the wilderness', the place of the prophet and of meeting with God. ‘Forty days', the time Moses and Elijah spent with God. And no... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MESSAGE WHICH IS PROCLAIMED (1:14-15). This summary of Jesus' message (He clearly said a lot more) emphasises the central point in His ministry. He has come to establish the Kingly Rule of God among men, ready for its final consummation. This is the Good News, which, as we saw in Mark 1:1, is s... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FIRST STAGE IN THE MINISTRY OF JESUS. (1:14-39). Now that He had been especially empowered and had determined the path that He would tread Jesus leaves the wilderness behind and goes out among men in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14), _after John's imprisonment_, to proclaim the good news from... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And passing along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon, and Andrew, Simon's brother, casting a net in the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” And immediately they left the nets and followed him.' Luke describes the whol... [ Continue Reading ]
THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS IS REVEALED IN THE CALLING OF THE FIRST APOSTLES (1:16-20). The last thing that anyone would have thought of when they heard Jesus' message about the Kingly Rule of God would be that He would then call on a group of professional fishermen to have a part in the transmission of... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And going on a little further he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets, and immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after him.' Comparing with Luke we can gather that James a... [ Continue Reading ]
THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS IS REVEALED IN THE WAY HE TEACHES (1:21-22). ‘And they go into Capernaum, and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught, and they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority and not as the scribes.' Mark rarely mention... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS REVEALS HIS AUTHORITY IN HIS TEACHING AND BY CASTING OUT AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT (1:21-28). Having revealed His authority by calling men to abandon everything and follow Him, He now reveals that authority in His teaching, as He tells men and women straightly what God requires of them, and by castin... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And immediately there was in their Synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out saying, “What have we in common with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? I know you, who you are, the Holy One of God”.' ‘A man with an unclean spirit.' The term ‘unclean spirit' was used... [ Continue Reading ]
THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS IS REVEALED BY HIS POWER OVER EVIL SPIRITS (1:23-28). The authority of Jesus was now further revealed in that He was now faced with a man possessed by an evil spirit which was so distraught by His presence that it cried out and challenged Him. It declared Him to be ‘the Holy... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be quiet and come out of him.” And the unclean spirit, tearing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.' Jesus rejected the testimony of the evil spirit. He did not want testimony from such sources, although He would later point to His power over evil spiri... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they were all amazed in so much that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching. He commands with authority even the unclean spirits and they obey him”.' The people were all amazed. They thought that it must be some new teaching, not in a wrong sense but in the sen... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And immediately the report about him went out everywhere into all the regions of Galilee round about.' The news spread like wildfire. ‘This man preaches with remarkable authority, and He casts out evil spirits just by a command.' The result was that there was a great and growing interest in Him an... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And immediately when they were come from the Synagogue they went into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and straightway they tell him of her. And he came and took her by the hand and raised her, and the fever left her, and she ministe... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS REVEALS HIS POWER OVER DISEASE AND EVIL SPIRITS (1:29-34). The revelation of Jesus' new power following His reception of Holy Spirit continued. Not only did He appoint disciples, teach with authority, and cast out evil spirits, but He revealed His power over every kind of disease.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE POWER OF JESUS IS REVEALED IN HEALING AND A FURTHER CASTING OUT OF SPIRITS, BUT HE EMPHASISES THAT HIS MAIN MINISTRY MUST BE THAT OF PREACHING IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES (1:29-39). Having revealed His authority in His teaching and in the casting out of an unclean spirit with a word of command, Jesus ca... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And at evening, when the sun set, they brought to him all who were sick, and those who were possessed with devils, and all the town was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and cast out many devils, and he did not allow the devils to speak beca... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed.' ‘In the morning.' Not necessarily the next morning, although it may be. On that first night He may well have been kept awake all night. We can imagine the excitement, and the... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS STRESSES THE WIDE SCOPE OF WHAT HE HAS COME TO DO (1:35-39). The work in which He was engaged would be exhausting as He ministered to the crowds, especially spiritually, and so He was aware of the need to go aside and pray. So He rose very early and went to a lonely place, a desert place, awa... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Simon and those who were with him went after him, and they found him and say to him, “Everyone is looking for you”.' The disciples awoke and discovered that He was not there. Then the crowds again gathered and wanted to see Jesus. No doubt many more sick people had been brought. But this was p... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he says to them, “Let us go elsewhere into the next towns that I may preach there as well. For this was the reason that I came forth”.' But Jesus stressed that He was here to preach. He had a message to proclaim. These people have heard the message and therefore He must move on. The Kingly Rul... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out devils.' Note that Mark makes no mention of healing here. Jesus has come to establish the Kingly Rule of God and to defeat the Enemy, and this is what He goes about doing (compare Mark 6:7). And the whole of Galile... [ Continue Reading ]
SIX INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF JESUS WHICH REVEAL HIS UNIQUE POWER AND AUTHORITY AND LEAD TO THE PHARISEES PLOTTING AGAINST HIM (1:40-3:6). Jesus' ministry having been established, and the presence of the Kingly Rule of God having been demonstrated by His power to cast out unclean spirits and heal, we... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there comes to him a leper, pleading with him and kneeling down to him, and saying to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” The disease would be some dreadful creeping skin disease, not necessarily strictly modern leprosy (see Leviticus 13:1), although such leprosy (Hansen's disease) was k... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS REVEALS HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY TO MAKE CLEAN (1:40-45). Here Jesus power and authority is revealed in no uncertain fashion. Firstly because He overrides the law of uncleanness. And secondly because He heals the skin diseased man visibly in the sight of all. The incident is also important bec... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And being stirred to his very depths he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, and says, “I will, be made clean”. And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean.' Jesus was stirred to the depths of His being at the man's plight, evidence of His own deep compassion. ‘Being stirred to... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he sternly charged him, and immediately sent him away, and says to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go your way, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing the things that Moses commanded for a testimony to them”.' ‘And He sternly charged him --.' The verb is another... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But he went out and began to proclaim the story in detail and to spread abroad the matter (Greek: logos) in so much that he could no more openly enter into a town, but was outside in desert places. And they came to him from every quarter.' That the first part of this sentence refers to the man and... [ Continue Reading ]