Monday, July 27, 2009

Mark 1 (Jesus brings in the Gospel of the kingdom)

And immediately...Ethan began his Chapter Memory Study in the Gospel of Mark (a nod to one of the most used words in this action-packed adventure).

As I covered in my introductory entry, this is my systematic study through the book of Mark.  The goal is to (hopefully) create a system that helps me remember where stuff is.  This is not the whole of my walk with Jesus, but it is a way I train myself to love Him with all of my mind (one of the means of love that contributes to a whole-person love as described in the Greatest Commandments, Matt 22:37).

So, on we go with the training.

I have, for the moment, settled on the chapter acronym; JESUS IS THE RANSOM.

So, the 'J' falls on chapter one, and the outline points are built on the 'J'. These are the key events or passages found in the chapter.  This chapter has 4 (but could have more), others may have less.  My goal is 2-3. 

  • Jesus baptized by John
  • Jesus baited by Satan
  • Jesus begins His ministry
  • Jesus brings the Gospel
(I can't promise that all of the outlines will line up the same way, but my goal with each is create a 'hook' that makes it distinct and easy to remember...thus the second words all start with 'b')

The key verse for memory and meditation is
Mark 1:15 (ESV)
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Comments and Reflections
Mark wastes no time diving into the story of Jesus.  He quotes two prophets (Malachi and Isaiah) briefly before jumping straight into the action.  John the baptist was the one who would come before, and he knew it.  His ministry was important, but he was preparing the way for Jesus who would bring salvation and Holy Spirit.  One observation about John;  he is about the same age as Jesus, right?  So I assume he didn't just get up one morning in his late-twenties and decide to be the pre-cursor to the long-awaited Messiah.  He was a prophet of God, and his ministry (and location) were ordained by God.  But I believe that it is safe to say that he was also trained by God.  He had a message, he knew Christ was coming, and he had the reckless confidence of one who had received his marching orders from God.  He had been 'raised up', then he 'appeared'.

Mark then briefly mentions the baptism of Jesus and the appearance of the Trinity; Jesus in the water, Holy Spirit descending like a dove, God the Father speaking from heaven.  Then, where Matthew and Luke spend considerably more time, Mark summarizes in 2 verses the temptation of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness.  All of this seemingly leading us to verse 14 where the action begins; Jesus starts His ministry.  I obviously don't know why Mark blows by these other important events (not to mention Jesus' birth and pre-ministry life), but one thing is certain; Mark hits the ground running and doesn't stop until he's done.  He writes us a quick-cutting action/adventure story of Jesus and His invasion of the world.

Jesus starts calling disciples (16-20), healing people (21-34,  40-45), and preaching the Gospel (14-15, 35-39). 

A few observations.  Verse 17 struck me with one little word; become.  That's not how I remember the song (with the actions, of course); 'I will make you fishers of men...'.  Mark quotes Jesus saying "I will make you become fishers of men."  For some reason that really helps me.  Jesus didn't tap them on the shoulder and 'boom' transform them into mighty missionaries for the Gospel.  He invited them to walk with Him for 3 years and become His mighty men of the kingdom.  This involves time, training, and teaching.  While I deeply yearn to be farther along than I am, I know that I must become who He is making me into. 

So, why didn't everyone who saw or heard about the miraculous things Jesus did believe every word He spoke and follow Him?  He's healing people and delivering people from demons and preaching the Gospel all over.  They acknowledge His authority and uniqueness.  His fame 'spread everywhere' (28).  But Jesus wasn't fooled by this instant fame, nor did He subject Himself to its lure.  There were some people who just liked the show (like today), and some who would chase after whatever is the latest thing (like today), and some who would still not believe what He said no matter what miraculous things He performed (like today).

In what has become one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Jesus makes sure His disciples see His priority.  In verses 35-39 Mark gives us a very helpful little story.  Jesus gets up early and goes out to be by Himself to pray.  His disciples (led by Peter) eventually wake up and don't see Jesus; so they go find Him.  "Hey, Jesus, this healing and deliverance ministry You do is really catching on!  People from everywhere are coming out to see you and be healed.  Everyone wants to get in on this, Jesus.  You're a hit!  Let's go back and give the people what they want."

Jesus, in all grace and patience, with the the verbal precision of a divine surgeon replies "pack it up boys, we're moving out.  I have a mission, and the mission is the message.  I need to preach the Gospel of the kingdom, not become a side show."  He didn't let fame, importance, urgency or other people's expectations deter Him from His mission. 

One more thought (though there are probably hundreds of nuggets here, my goal is not exhaustive commentary).  This story at the end of chapter 1 about the leper that Jesus heals is very interesting.  The guy comes to Jesus with great faith and says "if You will, You can make me clean".  Jesus is moved with pity, touches the man, and heals him.  Then Jesus tells the guy to go straight to the priest (to be officially declared clean) without telling anyone else along the way.  Well, the guy is obviously pumped about his new skin and ignores Jesus' 'stern' command.  And look what happens; because of this guy's disobedience Jesus can't go into the city anymore.  He has to stay outside of town and let the people come to Him.

One guy's disobedience affected an entire town.  People could still come to Jesus, but they had to come 'out in desolate places' to reach Him.  One person can make a difference for a whole town...

See you in chapter 2.