Mark 2:6-12

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6 Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this man say things like that? He is speaking as if he were God. Only God can forgive sins.” 8 Jesus knew immediately what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? 10 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I tell you, stand up, take your mat, and go home.” 12 Immediately the paralyzed man stood up, took his mat, and walked out while everyone was watching him. The people were amazed and praised God. They said, “We have never seen anything like this!” ~ Mark 2:6-12

Today, we return to our study of the gospel according to Mark. And, in today's passage, we return to the story of the paralyzed man whom the Lord Jesus did not initially heal. In fact, the Lord Jesus first addressed the source of all sickness which is sin. And, in order for this man to fully appreciate the physical healing the Lord Jesus was going to grant him, he needed to know first the healing of his soul. So, the Lord Jesus told him he was forgiven of his sins. 

In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "6 Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 'Why does this man say things like that? He is speaking as if he were God. Only God can forgive sins.'"

Notice that these "men of God" saw the Lord Jesus as a mere man. This is why they asked this question, they had limited knowledge of the Lord Jesus' identity. Graciously, on the heels of this miracle, the Lord Jesus employs the description of "Son of Man" to identify Himself. 

We learn from Daniel 7:13-14, this description of "Son of Man" was a designation used for the coming Messiah. By using that title of Himself, the Lord Jesus clearly made a Messianic claim. And, as the Son of Man, He claimed authority to forgive sins. And only God can forgive sins. 

The "religious leaders" questioned the claim of the Lord Jesus. This is the problem of all who live on this earth and are not forgiven of their sin: They go to the wrong place with their questions. And, even though you and I are "born again," we have been known to take our questions to the wrong place. Most lack the humility to ask the One who made all because sin has instilled in all of us such arrogance that blinds us to His reality.

All through my life, I have stumbled among many questions, as I am sure you have, as well. At a young age, I was reluctant to take those questions to God because I lacked a personal relationship with Him. We do not trust what we do not know. 

As you probably know, I came to faith in the Lord Jesus just one month short of my eighteenth birthday through my dad's death. And, due to the fact that my mom died when I was five years of age, I knew I needed help. So, I cried out to God. Over time I learned God not only exists, He is involved in my life. And, I discovered that as I escorted the questions of life to Him, He answered. And, the more I did this, the more I got to know Him. I found myself, over many years, becoming more and more familiar with God, His way of thinking, and His culture. What kept me going all of these years has been God assuring me that I was on the right track. He let me know fairly shortly after I became a Christian that He had a plan for me and all I had to do was to respond to the revelation that He gave me.

In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "8 Jesus knew immediately what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’?"

We live in a world that doesn’t attribute its problems to sin. Denial, however, doesn’t make sin go away. Many who deny the existence of sin think the problem is ignorance and the answer is education. They reason that if everyone were educated, the world’s problems would go away. But, some of the smartest people commit the most heinous crimes.

Some of us deal with sin with self-condemning thoughts. Nothing cripples like shame and guilt. We don’t trust the Lord Jesus to deal with our sins; therefore, we punish ourselves. All we succeed in doing this, however, is feeling bad about ourselves. There is a good aspect to guilt, though. Guilt is the nerve ending of the soul. It can serve to drive us to the Lord.

Some of us prefer self-help. We recognize some inadequacy in ourselves and resolve to do better. Or we are over inflated in our abilities and we discover, at some point, we do not know everything. Or, we brilliantly get to the place where we go to God with our questions. 

It is only the Lord Jesus who can effectively address our real problems. The forgiveness that He offers works its way into our hearts to liberate us in the deepest parts of our being. Only the Lord Jesus can offer God’s forgiveness. Just as He exposed the flawed reasoning of these religious leaders, the Lord Jesus also challenges our faulty methods of dealing with sin. He shows us, through His Holy Spirit and His Word, the ineffectiveness of our solutions.

Oftentimes, God allows sin to do its life-wrecking work in us so that we might turn to Him. The real problem is that we’re sinners, and the real solution is His forgiveness. 

In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I tell you, stand up, take your mat, and go home."

After addressing the religious leaders, the Lord Jesus resumes giving his full attention to the paralyzed man. In v.11, He commands him to get up and go home so that the religious leaders and everyone else can see that he has been healed. The man’s healing served as confirmation for all who could see that his sins had been forgiven.

In v.12 of today's passage we read, "Immediately the paralyzed man stood up, took his mat, and walked out while everyone was watching him. The people were amazed and praised God. They said, “We have never seen anything like this!"

This paralyzed man pictures all of us. We were all dead in our sins, paralyzed by our sinful condition. Guilt, manifesting itself in the feeling that we’re not good enough, paralyzes us. It makes us think, “Why even try?” But we who believe in Christ have died with Him and have been raised to a new life through Him. 

The Lord Jesus, through forgiveness and the gift of the Spirit, enables us to know the restorative love of God. The Lord Jesus said God would raise him from the dead. Those who doubt whether forgiveness of sins comes through Jesus Christ might investigate, with an open mind and heart, whether he rose from the dead. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ IS THE SURE SIGN that the Lord Jesus has dealt effectively with sin, and those who believe in him are the children of God.

Mark 2:1-5

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1 A few days later, when Jesus came back to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home. 2 Many people gathered together so that there was no room in the house, not even outside the door. And Jesus was teaching them God’s message. 3 Four people came, carrying a paralyzed man. 4 Since they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd, they dug a hole in the roof right above where he was speaking. When they got through, they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. 5 When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” ~ Mark 2:1-5

Previously, the Lord Jesus left Capernaum because His popularity was on the rise and so many wanted to get to Him. In fact, He had to withdraw to a lonely place. In addition, the people were too enamored with His miracles that they were in danger of missing His message. When the gospel becomes the servant of the miraculous or the entertaining, we must follow the example of the Lord and reevaluate.

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 A few days later, when Jesus came back to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home. 2 Many people gathered together so that there was no room in the house, not even outside the door. And Jesus was teaching them God’s message."

As a result of the hustle and the bustle of the crowd, the Lord Jesus chose to spend a few days in a lonely place. No doubt, as before, He spent a lot of time in conversation with His Father. When He returned to Capernaum, the Lord Jesus stayed as He had before with Simon Peter and his family. It didn't take too much time for the people to discover He was back in town. It was at Simon Peter's home that many gathered to hear the message of God from the Lord Jesus. 

The greatest need for mankind is to be taught the truth which is God's definition of all things. It is this truth that sets us free from the false path we have been led down by none other than Lucifer himself. Oh, he has his minions that help him carry out this task, but we must not make any mistake about it, he is behind every bit of false teaching there is among men. When we allow the false to define us in any given moment, we are empowering him to have influence in and through our lives.

In v.3-4 in today's passage we read, "3 Four people came, carrying a paralyzed man. 4 Since they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd, they dug a hole in the roof right above where he was speaking. When they got through, they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it."

Four men came carrying a helpless friend. Here, we are introduced once again to desperation which always involves a sense of hopelessness and despair. We have all heard it said, "Desperate people do desperate things." It is the design of desperation to get us to the place to help us see that we need God. We are in the most dangerous place when we are most comfortable in this world and we are convinced that we do not need God. In His word, God likens us to sheep for a reason because sheep are not all that bright and they wander from the fold. Typically, it takes a calamity to get our attention. We then get back on course until the next distraction comes along.  

On that day describe here in today's text, four men tore a hole in the roof of Peter's home in order to lower a paralyzed friend down to the Lord Jesus. This is a great picture of what life is really about: Getting people to the Lord. This paralyzed man was not in the plans for this meeting. But these men had a burning desire to get him to the Lord Jesus. The faith of these men born by their response to the message of the gospel is the centerpiece of this story.
 
Now, houses in that day were constructed with flat roofs, and, a set of stairs on the side of the house allowing access to the roof. These roofs were usually made by laying timbers across the top of the house, and then, covered by a layer of branches. The branches were covered by a layer of clay tiles, and finally, a thick layer of mud was placed on the very top. All of that was torn out in order for these men to get their helpless friend to the Lord Jesus.

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven."

Instead of rebuking these men for tearing open the roof of the house and interrupting His sermon, the Lord Jesus brings attention to their faith. There is nothing more important to the Lord Jesus than the development of our faith in Him. You see, it is not the quality of our faith that impresses God, the only thing that impresses Him is the object of our faith.

Most consider it odd that the Lord Jesus didn't address the man's paralysis first. But, that day He went deeper. You see, deeper than our physical needs are our spiritual needs. This man had to be made right with the Lord in order to really appreciate the physical healing that eventually came. It would have been a tragedy had he been healed physically and remained in his sin. The Lord didn't address this man's paralysis first, He addressed the root of his paralysis. He addressed his eternal problem of sin. 

Here, the Lord Jesus took on another disease, the disease of sin, our deepest problem. Sin has alienated us from our Creator, and, in doing so, it has separated us from life itself. Our greatest need is to be positioned to have a personal relationship with our Creator. He is the only one who can set us free from the clutches of sin. He does this by forgiving us. And only He can do this, for we have violated His truth. We are all prodigals who have run away from home. The message declared that day to the paralyzed man is pertinent to us: "Your sins are forgiven." 

The events of that day all tell us the Lord Jesus is God for only God can forgive sin. And, in the final analysis, the only correct response for all of us who have been paralyzed by sin was demonstrated by those four men that day at Peter's house. They were eager to do whatever it took to get their friend to God.

Desperation frames up our real need in life for a deeper personal relationship with our Maker. Our desperate need for God stems from the fact that we already have a relationship with Him, and we must have more of Him. Every problem in our lives  is an opportunity for God to prove His unique power to and through our yielded lives. 

Every day, when we encounter the various trials that come our way, brilliantly disguised as insurmountable problems, we have the choice of who will define us. All of these moments provide to us the opportunity to glorify Him. This only happens in the lives of those who are desperate enough to depend upon Him solely.

Mark 1:40-45

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40 A man with a skin disease came to Jesus. He fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “You can heal me if you will.” 41 Jesus felt sorry for the man, so he reached out his hand and touched him and said, “I will. Be healed!” 42 Immediately the disease left the man, and he was healed.

43 Jesus told the man to go away at once, but he warned him strongly, 44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer the gift Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show the people what I have done.” 45 The man left there, but he began to tell everyone that Jesus had healed him, and so he spread the news about Jesus. As a result, Jesus could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where nobody lived, but people came to him from everywhere. ~ Mark 1:40-45

Today's story is about a man with a very contagious skin disease. Those who had this disease were called "the walking dead." Once this man was diagnosed to having had this disease, he was separated from community, and, when he was within 50 paces from anyone, he was required to loudly yell out to all around him "unclean, unclean" to keep them safe from him. According to Leviticus 13 the Lepers were kept outside the camp, and they were very lonely people.

In v.40 of today's passage we read, "A man with a skin disease came to Jesus. He fell to his knees and begged Jesus, 'You can heal me if you will.'"

This leprous man was so beaten down by this dreaded disease that he begged the Lord Jesus to heal him. This man with this highly unwanted disease was ushered to the best place in all of existence, the place of humility and reality. His pain and isolation had led him to the place of desperation which enabled him to entertain the right questions and to take those questions to the most important man to ever walk this earth. It was out of that posture he was enabled to believe the Lord Jesus could heal him & to make him whole. 

According to Luke 5:12, this man was full of leprosy. He did not have a mild case of leprosy for he had had it for many years. His isolated experience had separated him from others, and, it had done a work in his heart that perhaps nothing else could. This man right now enjoys a blissful eternity due to contracting this most dreaded disease. This was a case of the blessing of God arriving in a man's life who thought the blessing was a curse.

Like this man, we all want to belong. True belonging only happens when we ask the right questions and we embrace our authentic, imperfect selves. Belonging is the essence of life. Everything else rests on it. Every other gift celebrates it, in its own way. We belong to God. And, until we see that, we will never know our place in this world or the one to come.

This leprous man came to the Lord Jesus and said, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." In response, the Lord Jesus did not tell him to claim his healing or to speak his healing into existence. This idea is nowhere found in the Scriptures. Many do not like it but there are times when it is in the will of God for us to get sick. Given the fallen nature of this world and of humanity, there are times when God's will for us is to pass through physical affliction. This is so we would entertain the right questions and turn to Him for the answers.

The Apostle Paul asked the Lord three times for the removal of a physical "thorn in the flesh." God's response was, "My grace is sufficient for you." Paul understood that God wanted him to put up with it, learn how to handle it by the grace of God. So, it is clear that it is not the teaching of Scripture that everybody must be healed.

In v.41-42 of today's passage we read, "Jesus felt sorry for the man, so he reached out his hand and touched him and said, 'I will. Be healed! 42 Immediately the disease left the man, and he was healed.'"

The Lord Jesus was moved with compassion for this highly diseased man, and so, He touched him. In that touch, the Lord Jesus gave that man the greatest amount of value ever. In addition, He granted the man the greatest amount of belonging, as well. The Lord Jesus has always been known to touch the untouchable. He has always had a heart for the unlovable.

The Lord Jesus was also moved with compassion to speak with this man, pronouncing to him the greatest words he had to that point ever heard, "Be healed." Here was a man who had not experienced a human touch in who knows how long. If he was married, he hadn't felt the embrace of his wife, or his children for a long, long time. 

In v.43-44 of today's passage we read, "43 Jesus told the man to go away at once, but he warned him strongly, 44 "Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer the gift Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show the people what I have done.'"

In the same way the demon left the man in the synagogue of Capernaum and just as the fever left Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, the leprosy left this man. Having cleansed the leprous man, the Lord Jesus commands him to keep quiet about his healing. Then, the Lord Jesus tells him to go to the priest and show himself to him so that he would pronounce him clean. This was mandatory in order for him to rejoin the community. In the end, testimony concerning the healing of a leper would be evidence that the kingdom of God had arrived for no one in Israel had been cured of leprosy since the days of Naaman the Syrian. Compassionately, those who had resisted the Lord Jesus the most were given firsthand evidence of the Lord Jesus' deity.

In v.45 of today's passage we read, "The man left there, but he began to tell everyone that Jesus had healed him, and so he spread the news about Jesus. As a result, Jesus could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where nobody lived, but people came to him from everywhere."

That day, the Lord Jesus, like any leper, stayed in places where nobody lived, while the leper enjoyed being reunited with all whom he loved and who loved him. This is the gospel! The sinner becomes like the Lord Jesus while the Lord Jesus becomes like the sinner.

Christianity is a relationship. It is not about us arriving at some idealistic state of perfection. Christianity is about a person who accepts us in our messed up condition. That is where we find Him, in our messedupness where we give up on trying to run our lives for ourselves. And, we are discovering that this new found relationship with God is about God embracing us in our messed up condition.

Mark 1:35-39

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35 Early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus woke and left the house. He went to a lonely place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!” 38 Jesus answered, “We should go to other towns around here so I can preach there too. That is the reason I came.” 39 So he went everywhere in Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and forcing out demons. ~ Mark 1:35-39

The four gospels provide four different portraits of the Lord Jesus Christ, each a little bit different than the others. When Christ came, there were four major divisions in the human family. These divisions were not strictly racial or national, although they basically followed that pattern. Rather, they were cultural thought patterns. In this gospel, Mark provides a picture of the Jesus Christ as the ultimate servant who is yet the eternal Master of all. 

We are informed in Luke 12:35–37, at the end of time, when the the Lord Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation, for those who believe, He will return as the master servant. In fact, we are told that in eternity the Lord Jesus will serve us. This will be so due to the fact that the very heart of His glory is the fullness of His grace that overflows in kindness to needy and willing people. 

In Ephesians 2:6-7 we read, "6 And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those in Christ Jesus 7 so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus."

In the Bible there are 265 different names for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is so due to the fact that no single name can capture His total identity. So, He is the God-man, not just a good man, the God-man. And here, He is, the One who is a servant who actively looks for ways to minister to His people in need.

Three times in the gospel of Mark, the Lord Jesus is described to be praying. Each time Mark describes Him praying, it is at night, it is in a solitary place, and it's somehow related to some form of opposition. All three of those things we find every time Mark describes the Lord Jesus praying. 

In v.35 of today's passage we read, "Early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus woke and left the house. He went to a lonely place, where he prayed."

It was somewhere between 3:00 am and 6:00 am. The Lord Jesus separated Himself to a lonely place in order to pray. Loneliness is not a word that we embrace. It was in the lonely places where the Lord Jesus sought intimacy with His Father instead of the empathy of others. And, it is in our lonely places, God invites us to do the same. We may want someone to step into our struggles and feel our pain, but God invites us to step into His presence and experience His peace. We may look for comfort from the friends around us, but God offers consolation through His Spirit within us. We may long for someone to listen and understand, but God invites us to be heard and known.

It’s not easy to trust God in our disappointments or sit with Him in our struggles. But as I follow my Savior’s example, I’m learning that what looks like a lonely place in our eyes is often just a sacred space in disguise. And when we seek Him in those places where no one else can go, we find Him waiting with the wisdom and the hope that no one else can offer.

It is most instructive to know that Mark delivered his gospel in a hurry. Indeed his favorite expression is "immediately" which is used 39 times in this account. Mark was so excited to tell us about the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, he did not include the story of the Lord Jesus’ birth. Mark wrote his account much faster than the others.

The Lord Jesus prayed because fellowship with His Father was His priority. Prayer is a must for humility. The power of His actions was the product of His prayer life. And, due to the fact the Lord Jesus was subject to the will of the Father and the power of the Spirit, He constantly went before the Father to seek His will and to invite the power of the Spirit of God to bring glory to the Father through His yielded life. Critical to His ministry was His dependence upon His Father. And, loneliness served His prayer life well.

In v.36-37 we read, "36 Simon and his friends went to look for Jesus. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!"

As a result, Simon Peter and some others went to look for the Lord Jesus to inform Him that folks back in town were asking for Him. Unlike most, the Lord Jesus didn’t need popularity to uphold His identity. His identity didn’t depend on public approval. His definition came from the Father. And, this is why He is the servant. He is whole, and His completeness enables Him to not be defined by the lesser. 

According to Luke's account of this, "They tried to keep Jesus from leaving Capernaum." God establishes his rest in the hearts of the willing. This rest is a common subject throughout scripture. Notice that the Lord Jesus is not drawn into a lesser mission that emphasizes healing and exorcisms. Like the Lord Jesus, our goal must not be a ministry of popularity, our goal is to follow Him. As we follow Him, He leads us to be holy, complete, lacking nothing. It is out of this posture that we experience real freedom. Real freedom is when we are no longer found in bondage to anything in this fallen world. To be defined by such renders insecurity and immaturity, not the wholeness He died to give us. 

Like the Lord Jesus, people have expectations of us. Therefore, we need to get away to some place in our lives where we can listen to the Him. Some people, like Simon Peter, may be disappointed if we disengage. If, however, we are going to say “no” to popular opinion and “yes” to the Lord Jesus, we must invest in our relationship with Him.

In v.38-39 we read, "38 Jesus answered, 'We should go to other towns around here so I can preach there too. That is the reason I came.' 39 So he went everywhere in Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and forcing out demons.'"

The Lord Jesus did not go back to Capernaum, He went everywhere in Galilee. And, for months, He went from village to village, preaching and proving the truthfulness of His message by miracles He performed. He not only verified His identity, He proclaimed salvation through faith alone in His name.

Mark 1:29-34

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"29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and 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." ~ Mark 1:29-34

Today's passage includes is a true story that took place in the home of Simon Peter and Andrew. In the early afternoon, the two brothers invited the Lord Jesus and James and John home with them, only to find Peter's mother-in-law sick with a fever. This was not the first time the Lord Jesus had performed a miracle. According to Luke 4, He had done many miracles in Capernaum already. The people there knew the power of the Lord Jesus, and, this is why they sought Him out as they did.

In v.29-31 of today's passage we read, "29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them."

The Lord Jesus took Peter's mother-in-law by the hand and helped her off of the bed and the fever was gone. The healing of Peter's mother-in-law illustrates, yet again, the Lord Jesus has total sovereign control over the spiritual and physical worlds. The Lord Jesus rebuked the fever, and, there was no recovery time needed. He not only healed her from the fever, but also healed her of the weakness that accompanies fevers. The Lord Jesus made the command and the sickness immediately was gone. After the fever left Peter's mother-in-law, she went to serving others. 

This is the way ministry works. We are enabled to work with and help people in accordance with how the Lord has worked with us and helped us. If we have no story with Him, then we will not be used of Him in the lives of others. We will not have a story with Him that we can tell others. Therefore, we must embrace His heart as we go through the things of life, be they good or bad. It is not the experiences of life that enable us to serve others, it is through our increasing interactions and dependency and experiences with Him that we are equipped to do His work in this world.

In context, Mark records this story for us, so that we would see the compassion and power of the Lord Jesus who ministered to all according to His will. As is clear, His compassion and power was not reserved for only the big cases that day, His compassion and power was for all who were willing enough to avail themselves to Him. This is the key to it all, our willingness of heart for His will to be done in our lives. And this is what enables us to endure hardship, because we know that even the hardships have purpose.

After healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, the whole city came in search of the Lord Jesus. This was the secondary purpose of this healing, so that people would seek the Lord Jesus. This is the ultimate purpose of our lives, to point others to Him. This begins by being convinced that He is the answer, and then, we must be willing to let Him have His way in our lives.

In v. 32 of today's passage we read, "That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed."

After the Sabbath and after the sun set on that Saturday, the Lord Jesus ministered to the various needs of the people. Mark tells us in v.33 that the whole city gathered at their door bringing with them all who were sick and demon-possessed. During the Sabbath, the people were not allowed to travel, at least those who lived a considerable distance away, and wanted to get help from the Lord Jesus for their ailments. Once the sun set and the Sabbath was over, the next day had begun, and, the people were free to travel to the Lord Jesus.

You see, they could not travel on a Sabbath day according to their interpretation of the law. The rabbis had concluded no one could travel two thousand cubits. And, since a cubit was eighteen inches, they could only travel about a thousand yards. A heart that has along the way disengaged from the Lord will always default to religion. Even though the rabbis were suppose to represent the heart of God, they had long moved away from the position to access His heart, therefore they were harsh and their interpretation of the law was impossible.

I have discovered that my desire for comfort is the greatest danger to my heart being broken enough for God's heart to be expressed through mine. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”

In v.34 of today's passage we read, "and 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."

The power the Lord Jesus demonstrated over demons and disease underscored His authenticity, and, it buoyed His message of salvation through faith by grace. In Matthew's account of this healing we read, "This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet." And, spoken through Isaiah the prophet were the words found in Isaiah 53:4 which reads, "He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases."  

The next to the last phrase in v.34 of today's passage reads, "... he would not let the demons speak..." 

At this point in the ministry of the Lord Jesus, all the demons were silenced from speaking. The most dangerous form of religion is the religion that affirms Christ and teaches lies. These cast out demons are evidence of the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. But, His power is only given to those who follow and obey His commands. 

As we learn this and bend our wills to His, we are given the ability to live in accordance with His will for our lives on a given day. This is why the Lord Jesus, as we will see in tomorrow's passage, went up into the mountains to pray. He did this so that He would have such intimacy with His Father, that there would be no hindrance to the influence of the Spirit of God through Him as He went about doing the Fathers' business.

Mark 1:25-28

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25 Jesus commanded the evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently, gave a loud cry, and then came out of him. 27 The people were so amazed they asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and with authority. He even gives commands to evil spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee. ~ Mark 1:25-28

Today, we return to our study of Mark 1. The events of this particular Saturday began as the Lord Jesus and His disciples went into the synagogue in Capernaum. While teaching there, a demon possessed man interrupting the Lord Jesus. This was the first recorded miracle by the Lord Jesus in this gospel account, and, it set the stage for the purpose for which He came: to free us all from the bondage of Satan. Four of Christ's thirty-three miracles involved the casting out of demons.   

In v.25-26 of today's passage we read, "25 Jesus commanded the evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently, gave a loud cry, and then came out of him."

The teaching of the Lord Jesus was so piercing that the demon was tortured by the truth which turned the demon-possessed man to the Lord Jesus. This is the purpose of truth, to turn us away from evil and error and to turn us to the Lord. As C.S.Lewis reminded us, "We never know how much we really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to us."  

When this demon was confronted by the Lord Jesus, he was forced to leave this man. Even though the evil spirit was reluctant to go, he left immediately. The only name demons have ever feared is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who sets us free from the influence of the evil spirit world. As a result, within hours, the news about Jesus spread like a flame all through the area.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "The people were so amazed they asked each other, 'What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and with authority. He even gives commands to evil spirits, and they obey him.'"

From the very beginning of His ministry, the Lord Jesus was on a collision course with evil. In that day, the people believed that evil was closer to them than we do now. With his "highly educated mind," the modern man thinks it is folly to believe in the devil. In fact, many Americans are rejecting a belief in God and they definitely are not convinced of the unseen world of evil. But out of sight and out of mind does not render the devil as non-existent. 

Amazingly the people in the synagogue in Capernaum that day  referred to the Lord Jesus as "this man." But, the demon referred to the Lord Jesus as "the Holy One." These people were religious, yet their religion closed their eyes to the identity of the Lord Jesus. We have all known lots of religious people who do not know the Lord Jesus for themselves. This just underscores the utter necessity of being "born again" in order to know God. 

In John 3, the Lord Jesus told a religious man, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." The phrase "born again" literally means "born from above." You see, when we were conceived in our mother's womb, we were by nature separated from God by our sinfulness. Therefore, being "born from above" is a necessity in order for us to know God. In our sinful condition, God required spiritual transformation. This is why He sent His Son. New birth or being born again, is an act of God whereby eternal life is imparted to us when we believe that the Lord Jesus is God come to earth to save us from our sin.

If you have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, will you consider the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to your heart? You need to be born again. Will you pray the prayer of repentance and become a new creation in Christ today? 

In John 1:12-13 we read, "12 But to all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They did not become his children in any human way—by any human parents or human desire. They were born of God." 

Let me encourage you, my friend, to talk to God about this, your sin and your need for Him to be your Savior, today. And, make sure that you invite Him to come into your life and to make you His child.

In v.28 of today's passage we read, "And the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee."

Good news travels fast. Once we have invited the Lord Jesus to come into our lives, we can not help but to tell others about this new life that we now have. The gospel is not an idea or a belief. The gospel is not a "what" or a "how." The gospel is a "Who." The gospel is literally the good news about the One who came to rescue us from that which keeps us from real life. The Lord Jesus is the Gospel. This is why "the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee," and this is why it is still spreading today, more than 2000 years later.

Mark 1:21-24

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21 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day He went to the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught like a person who had authority, not like their teachers of the law. 23 Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him. He shouted, 24 “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!” ~ Mark 1:21-24

Capernaum was the hometown of brothers, Andrew and Simon Peter. It was a city of about 10,000 people. Ten miles from Capernaum was Tiberius which was famous for its mineral hot springs. These hot springs had medicinal properties, and, the people came from all over the area to bathe hoping to be healed from their ailments. As we shall see, the Lord Jesus performed many miracles in this seemingly insignificant area up north.

According to v.21 of today's passage, there came a day when the Lord Jesus went into the synagogue and taught the people. Teaching is the primary means by which the Lord Jesus liberates us. It is in the changing of our minds to think as He, that we are truly set free from the false. And, the most preferred way of the Lord to change our minds is through the verse by verse teaching of His word.

According to v.22 the people were amazed at the teaching of the Lord Jesus because He did not teach like their religious teachers. The people were familiar with truth but they had moved so far from it that they were amazed when they were confronted by it. As we have, they discovered the words of the Lord Jesus were full of life. This is why you and I are drawn to His words when we hear Him. They understood that the Lord Jesus knew the secrets of life. This means that we must measure everything by the truth, what the Lord Jesus has said about any subject. 

For 2000 years we have possessed the complete answer to the restless and fruitless yearning of the human soul. In His Word, God has given us the tools we need for a satisfying life. This is why the people in the synagogue at Capernaum that day were amazed at His teaching. His words are always pregnant with truth that resonates within the human soul.

According to v.23-24, the Lord Jesus taught with such insight that a demon who had possessed a man was tortured by the truth that He spoke. This is what caused the demon to lash out at the Lord Jesus in a fit of rage. As we will see, when this demon was forced to leave the person he was inhabiting, he left reluctantly. But he had to go, as we shall see because he was confronted by a superior power. This is the first of seven times in the Gospels that the Lord Jesus cast a demon out of someone. 

Throughout all of time, the only name demons have ever feared is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the first of at least 3 times when demons identified the Lord Jesus as the Son of God. In the demonic world, unlike the world of sinful men, there are no atheists! These demons knew exactly with whom they were dealing and that gives credence to the identity of the Lord Jesus as God.

So, in v.24 of today's passage, a pattern is established that will continue throughout Mark’s gospel: the demonic world never failed to identify the Lord Jesus for who He is: the Son of God. The forces of evil have always known His identity and they are often not quiet about it. Today's passage reveals it was the goal of Mark to tell and to show us the identity of the Lord Jesus. This only reinforces the fact that the Lord Jesus is the sovereign God and we can trust Him with our very lives. And, like the very first disciples, when we see Him for who He really is, we will be known as His disciples.

Discipleship is different for all of us. God taylors the truth for us for where we are in our development. He doesn't change the truth, but He trains us all differently by it. This is what I mean when I say He taylors the truth for each of us. God formed each one of us lovingly and intentionally. We are not just "accidents-of-nature." In fact, God caused, involved and utilized unique purposes, plans, and designs that led to our existence. 

According to Psalm 139, God was and is personal involvement in making each of us. In Psalm 139 certain phrases are used to capture the idea of God's nurture and creativity when He fashioned us in our mothers womb. He used phrases like "knit together" and "fearfully and wonderfully made" and "woven together" to communicate this idea. God created us with certain purposes and destinies in mind. He even determined the number of days we would live on this earth. And, God's ultimate purpose for our lives is that we would bring glory to Him by enjoying a personal and eternal relationship with Him, now.

Unfortunately, there are many who are convinced that their life is not important or are useless. Some even consider themselves a burden to society, thinking it would have been better if they had never been born. Nothing could be further from the truth! God has created each of us in a way that is unique and special. Each of us is designed in a way that no one else is, and, God desires to accomplish His good works in each of us and through each of us for the good of others.

Mark 1:19-20

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"19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him." ~ Mark 1:19-20

Today, we come to the call of the sons of Zebedee. The call of the Lord upon James & John to be His disciples was much like the call of brothers, Simon Peter & Andrew. In both cases, the Lord Jesus walks along the sea of Galilee and invites them to follow Him. The difference for James and John is that they left their father and the family’s hired servants. For James and John, the call of the Lord Jesus took precedence over both family and wealth.
 
Following the Lord Jesus Christ not only means submitting to His vision for our lives, it also means allowing Him to correct our understanding of life as we learn to walk with Him. The Lord Jesus will overturn our preconceptions of what He is all about and open our eyes to see life as He defines it. The Lord Jesus tells us to follow Him in order to give us His vision for our lives. He took fishermen and turned them into fishermen of a different kind. Like them, this call from the Lord Jesus connects with our experiences, our natural makeup, and resonates with our natural passions.

In order for this to happen, we must first present ourselves to Him, daily. This means we must make it our habit to listen to Him while reading His Word and as we live our every day lives. If we spend time with Him, He will share His passion with us. After a while of this, we will begin to recognize His impact on our lives and we will care about what He cares about.
 
In addition, we must be diligent to watch for opportunities with people whom He brings into our daily lives. Learning to be sensitive and attentive to "coincidences" that have His fingerprints all over them is a must for the disciple in the making. As a result of sticking close to the Lord Jesus, He’ll put the right things on our hearts and get us moving in the right direction at the right time. He will shape us for His call on our lives. He is our Shepherd who will lead us in the way of our every day lives with Him. 

In Mark 1:14-15 the Lord Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God. If we didn't have the other gospels, we would think that the Lord Jesus was just walking by the Sea of Galilee and happens to come across some men fishing. He calls out to these men to follow Him & they walk away from their livelihood in order to follow Him. But, when we compare the other gospels to Mark's, we learn that this wasn't Peter's first encounter with the Lord Jesus. 

In John 1:35-42 we discover that Peter & Andrew had already met the Lord Jesus. They had profited from the ministry of John the Baptist and they had accompanied the Lord Jesus at a wedding in Cana. In John 1 the calling of the disciples was a call to believe in Christ for salvation, the initial forgiveness of sins. A year later, here in Mark 1, we see that this is a different call. This is the call of the Lord Jesus to these men to follow Him as His disciples.  

Discipleship happens in our lives after we have been forgiven of our sins and we have entered into a relationship with the Lord Jesus. Discipleship is another word for sanctification. Discipleship happens after justification and within sanctification. Lacking the understanding that a year goes by from John 1 to Mark 1 has caused many to not understand the difference between justification (forgiveness of sin) and sanctification (the process whereby we learn that His way in this life is better than ours). This lack of understanding has caused most of the heresy that has been born in the church since the time of Christ.

Discipleship or sanctification is a process whereby we are getting to know the Lord for ourselves and He is changing our souls which is made up of our minds, our wills, and our emotions. And, our souls and our spirits are not the same. After we came into a relationship with God by believing that the Lord Jesus is our savior and our sins were forgiven on the basis of Christ's finished work on the cross, we enter into this process whereby God begins altering our identity through the changing of our souls.

So, the Bible presents the theology of sanctifying grace, that although the power of sin has been broken, the presence of sin still remains and is being progressively dealt with by the Lord. This happens because even though God loves us just as we are, He is not willing to remain as we are. God is not satisfied for you and me to live in the actual condition of our sin, even though our legal standing before Him has changed through our relationship with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

One thing God uses in addition to His Word to change us is conviction which is not the same as judgment. Conviction is God wrapping His arms around us and drawing us nearer to Himself. He uses His Word to move us along, to set goals of grace for us, to remind us of what we should love and what we should hate, and what we should desire and how we should live and how we should speak. Sanctification is the influence on our lives, so that our souls are changed. The ultimate goal of our sanctification is the influence of our lives on the lives of others. This is what it means to be the disciple of the Lord Jesus.

Mark 1:16-18

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16 As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were casting their nets into the lake. 17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” 18 Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him. ~ Mark 1:16-18

In Mark 1:4-8 we hear the voice of John the Baptist in the wilderness. In Mark 1:11 we hear the voice of God from the heavens. In Mark 1:16-20 we hear the voice of the Lord Jesus by the sea. The emphasis is obviously on the voice. And, as will become obvious later, the voice we choose to listen to on a day by day basis. In our passage today, we are introduced to two fishermen, Simon Peter and Andrew, who had each missed out on becoming a disciple to some Rabbi. In that day there were four steps involved in becoming a disciple: Beth Sefer, Beth Maddish, Beth Talmid, and the Yoke. These were the four steps to becoming a disciple which is synonymous with sanctification.

In step one, the children began their study at age 4 or 5, memorizing the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. In step two, the best students continued their studies being taught by a Rabbi of the community. During this time, they memorized the whole Old Testament until they were fifteen years old. In step three, the students received permission to study with a famous Rabbi leaving home to travel with him for a lengthy period of time. In step four, if the student learned well, the Rabbi would place his Yoke or his teachings on the student.

Now, according to Mark 1:14-15, the Lord Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus calls out to these men to follow Him & they walk away from their livelihood. According to John 1, Simon Peter and Andrew had already met the Lord Jesus. They had profited by the ministry of John the Baptist. In addition, they had accompanied Jesus at a marriage in Cana, and they accompanied Him at the Passover in Jerusalem. In John 1 the calling of the disciples was a call to believe in Christ unto salvation.

A year later, here in Mark 1, we see the call of the Lord Jesus to these men to follow Him as His disciples. Here, in Mark 1, the emphasis is on discipleship. Many use the term "disciple" as synonymous with that of a Christian.

As Mark 1:16-18 illustrates, there is a difference between a Christian and a disciple, just as there is a difference between our justification and our sanctification. When we follow the Lord Jesus, He defines and shapes us. He defines and shapes us for purposes that perfectly suit his plan for our lives. Following the Lord Jesus means submitting to His definitions of all things and vision for our lives. The mission isn’t dependent on us, it’s dependent on the Lord Jesus, who takes upon Himself the task of transforming the disciple into a fisher of men. He does not ask us to transform ourselves; He asks us to follow Him. And, if we follow Him, He will transform us. This is a process that doesn't happen over night.

Now, if we embrace the Lord Jesus’ acceptance of us, the world’s acceptance of us will shrink in importance to us. We will be increasingly liberated to offer our authentic selves to the world. And, like the disciples, we will eventually bless the world with our authentic selves the Lord Jesus is liberating.

Now, not just anyone embraces the liberation the Lord Jesus offers. Only those who have been set free by our law-giving, law-keeping, and law-liberating Savior. We learn to love the ways of God as we get to know Him and His heart for us and for the world. Being liberated results in us being free to delight in God and His definitions of all things. The Lord Jesus came not to abolished the Law of Moses, but to fulfilled it perfectly on our behalf. His death is our death and His life is our life. His fulfillment is our freedom. His duty is our delight.

Our abundant life of freedom in Christ is not simply a freedom to do anything we want to do but to have the uninterrupted, Spirit-sustaining power to do what we know we ought to do as God slowly defines us and daily transforms us. Daily He cries out to us to follow His voice and to ignore all those in opposition to Him.

Mark 1:9-15

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"9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" ~ Mark 1:9-15

The phrase "Jesus came" occurs twice in this passage. This phrase forms the structure of our study today. All four gospel writers record the baptism of Jesus. As we have seen, a spiritual awakening was taking place in Israel. It had been four hundred years since God had spoken to Israel through the prophets. And now, there was a new prophet on the scene. He was preaching out in the wilderness beyond the Jordan River. Many were walking long distances out into the desert to listen to John the Baptist. 

John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. And, as is noted in v.9, Jesus was baptized by John. Since John's baptism was a baptism of repentance, there comes an obvious observation as to why the Lord Jesus was baptized. In being baptized, the Lord Jesus associated Himself with sinful mankind. 

According to v.12-13 of today's passage, the Lord Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan for forty days. This was the final event, before the Lord Jesus actually begins His public ministry. This conflict with the Devil took place for almost six weeks. In many ways, it is the final exam of the Lord Jesus in the process of being prepared to be the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of man. As Messiah, the Lord Jesus came to render sin and death null and void. In order to do this, He had to defeat Satan head to head. If the Lord Jesus is our Savior, He has to conquer Satan. Today, we are just considering the first four verses.

It is important to know that Jesus was a man. Yes, He is God, but He voluntarily set aside His privileges as God. He didn't cease to be God, He is fully God and fully man. He did what the Father wanted Him to do and He did it by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, He set aside the use of His divine powers and submitted Himself to true humanness and allowed the Spirit of God to work His work in and through Him.

The Lord Jesus was fully submitted to the Holy Spirit who led Him into the wilderness. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses deny the deity of Christ. But, the demonic world doesn't. Repeatedly, in that wilderness that day, the Devil said to Him, "Since you are the Son of God." He employed the first class conditional sentence which means when you use an "if" followed by a positively structured sentence, it means "since you are the Son of God." Satan knew exactly who he was dealing with, this is why he tried to pressure the Lord Jesus to sin.

Every temptation that came to the Lord Jesus was a temptation from the outside of Him. It could not have come from within Him because He was sinless. However, this doesn't mean the temptations weren't real. His temptation came at Him to its maximum capacity because He endured the fullest pressure and never gave in to it. 

We read in 1 Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who had never committed a sin to be sin so that we may be made right with God." He didn't need to repent, but He needed to be baptized in order that all righteousness might be fulfilled. This was the first step leading Him to be made sin for us.

Matthew 3:15 reads, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.'" 

In order to meet the righteous demands of God for fallen mankind, the Lord Jesus had to be baptized by John the Baptist. The baptism of Jesus is our baptism. When He heard the Father's voice say, “You are my beloved son; in you I am well-pleased", it was meant also for us.

Water baptism is but a symbol of Spirit Baptism which unites and identifies us with the One who is our Savior. The scriptures are clear that we were born dead in our sin to God, and we were made alive as a result of believing in and receiving the free gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The baptism of the Lord Jesus in the Jordan River, followed by the temptation in the wilderness, made it possible for us to be the recipients of the words we find in Mark 1:11, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."  

I end with a great quote from the late Mike Yaconelli, "There have been so many mentors, Christians whom I admired greatly, who stumbled and fell, never again to recover their faith; so many “truths” about the Gospel that turned out to be false; so many casualties, so many losses, so many assumptions. One such assumption has haunted me throughout all my Christian experience: the assumption of the Changed Life. I was taught that if I was a Christian, then people would see a marked difference in my life!!! And further, I was taught that the closer I was to God—the more spiritual I was—the greater and more visible that difference would be. I have always believed that Christianity changed you outside...not just inside. But, my definition of “change” has changed. The change is not so much outward as it is inward. This difference that God makes is often visible only to God...and no one else. It is a new way of looking at God, a new way of understanding God, an inner new-birth that liberates us not only from sin, but from our old way of viewing God. It is intimacy rather than ecstasy; it is seeing rather than speaking; it is loving rather than living; it is dancing rather than believing; it is silence rather than sentences; it is worship rather than wordship; it is yearning rather than conviction; it is faith characterized more by passion than belief."

Mark 1:6-8

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"6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ~ Mark 1:6-8

Today, we return to our study of the gospel according to Mark who leaves out quite a bit of the Old Testament prophecies that would prove the Lord Jesus to be the promised Messiah and  the fulfillment of all of those prophecies. Unlike Matthew who wrote to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ as the King of the Jews, Mark portrays the Lord Jesus as the Servant of the Lord. Mark wrote this gospel in such a way that his Roman audience would be introduced to the Lord Jesus.

In v.6 of today's text we read, "John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey."

This text begins with John the Baptist who was the last of the Old Testament prophets. John was no fashion statement, with his camel's hair clothes, leather sandals, and leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. John's clothing and diet were symbolic of his ministry, one of simple beginnings with a straight forward message of repentance. 

Repentance involves recognizing that we have thought wrongly in the past and we are now determined to give safe haven in our souls to God's trust. The repentant person has second thoughts about the mindset he formerly embraced. There is a change of disposition and a new way of thinking about God, sin, holiness, life, and salvation. True repentance is prompted by godly sorrow, and it leads to salvation.

Repentance and faith can be understood as two sides of the same coin. It is impossible to place our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior without first changing our minds about our sin and about who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done on the cross for our salvation. 

Repentance is when we give up on our attempts to measure up before God. It also is when we turn away from our way of doing life and we turn to the way of the Lord. John's message describes the place where we begin our personal relationship with God. 

In v.7-8 John says, “Don't look to me for answers beyond what I have already told you about repentance. Anything beyond that must come from this One who is coming right after me. He is so much greater than I that I am not even worthy to untie his shoes." 

John could only take us to the place of outward cleansing, water baptism, but only the Lord God can do surgery on our hearts. John could bring people to God, but he could not take us beyond that. It is only God who can do the work necessary for us to come to know Him as our Father. When the Lord Jesus came, He baptized with the Holy Spirit so that people could live on the basis of the eternal in a personal relationship with Him.

In the remainder of v.7 John said, "Anything beyond that must come from this One who is coming right after me. He is so much greater than I that I am not even worthy to untie his shoes." 

John the Baptist was the older cousin of the Lord Jesus. He said, "I am not even worthy to untie his shoes."  No wonder John was used of God to be the Herald of the Messiah. This enabled John to preach a hard message that people would find soothing. John could do this because he had learned humility. 

Now, humility is not a trait that many want today. Yet, if we are to know God for ourselves and if we desire to be useful to Him, we must be humble. The problem with humility is that it often arrives in our lives on the heels of humiliating experiences. It takes humility to be taught humility. And, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." And, humility will always bring us to the end of self. Humility will always usher us back to the Lord broken of self.

John brought people to Christ by the only way man can come, through the acknowledgment of guilt. When people come this way, God meets them, cleanses them, and forgives them. John demonstrated these truths by the baptism he performed. And, the moment we admit we need help and we stop defending ourselves, it is at that place that God meets us. And, it is from that place that God uses us best in this world for His glory.

Augustine once wrote, "Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the skies? Lay first the foundation of humility." We do well to learn from John the Baptist, the older cousin of the Lord Jesus, when it comes to growing in humility. John was rugged, tough and strong. He was a man's man. He had to be. Yet, John knew what it meant to bow his will before the Almighty. This is the disposition that enables us to be useful to God in this world. Like John the Baptist, it is our ultimate calling to point others to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 1:3-5

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Today, we continue our study of the gospel according to Mark. In Mark 1:3-5, we read,  "3 a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The 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."

Notice that in v.3, John the Baptist was in the wilderness? Why the wilderness? The wilderness is a dreary, desolate, lonely place. The people of Judea willingly left their cities, traveled through the wilderness twenty or so miles just to listen to John the Baptist preach.

The wilderness creates thirst. Thirst for God is good! In fact, we are at our best when we are most thirsty for God. Psalm 42:1-2 reads, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God." We do not find ourselves seeking God without a measure of thirst.

The late Mike Yaconelli once wrote, "Jesus cares more about desire than about competence." The Lord Jesus knows us better than we do ourselves. We constantly are driven to think that we are the secret to our success, when in reality, we are not. He knows that we are not all that competent. Oh, He knows that we have skills and talents which He gave us. But He knows that we are without strength when it comes to addressing the real issues in our lives. And, as a result, thirst must be created in us for Him, for He is the answer.

In Mark 1:2-3, Mark quotes two Old Testament prophets, though he names only one. In v.2 Mark quotes Malachi. Then in v.3, he quotes Isaiah. Mark is stressing what Isaiah said by quoting Malachi. God knew that a step of preparation had to be made in the hearts of unregenerate people before they could come to Him. Even now, God has to create thirst in us before we come to Him, even though we have been "born again".  So, John the Baptist was sent before the Lord to prepare the way for Him.

The wilderness is no place to start a ministry to reach a lot of people. But God seldom listens to Public Relations firms. So, John began his ministry in the wilderness, the worst possible place. But it worked! God chose the wilderness because it is a symbol. The wilderness is a picture of our parched, empty, and barren souls. The wilderness is a picture of mankind's desperation. It has been well said by many down through the years, "Desperate people do desperate things."

Think of the day you turned to the Lord. Were you not desperate? I know I was! I was three days away from my dad's death. And since my mother died when I was five years old, I realized, as a seventeen year old, I needed help. My desperation equipped me to find Him. My wilderness is now my friend, even though I am know, at times, I resist His compulsions.

The greatest blessing a person can experience is to have his sins forgiven. Forgiveness is what these people who went out to hear John the Baptist in the wilderness were looking for, and this is what they found as they streamed out of Jerusalem to listen. They found forgiveness of sins, and it came by way of turning away from their barren and empty lives to God's life. It came as they chose to listen to their own wilderness within that led them to a personal relationship with God. 

The Hebrew word translated "wilderness" in the Old Testament, comes from a root word that means "to speak." One common understanding of this connection is that the wilderness is where we go to hear the voice of God. When we are not quite so confident, when our lives are not turning out the way we thought, when sudden change brings us into turmoil, there, God is to be found. In tough times, we are made desperate for God with an intensity that’s missing in good times. The wilderness inspires, the wilderness inspires quiet, alert attention. And, God has been known to speak in and through the wilderness. We must make it a habit to listen intently. And, when we do so, we will find God.

Mark 1:1-2

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"1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way." ~ Mark 1:1-2

Today, we begin a study of the Gospel according to Mark. There are two overall themes of the Gospel according to Mark: From 1:1-8:26 we see the Servant who Rules and from Mark 8:27-16:16 we see the Ruler who Serves.

The beginning of Mark's gospel is quite different than the other three gospel accounts. Mark leaves out the genealogies that are included in the gospels according to Matthew and Luke. He doesn't begin way back in eternity past like John begins his gospel when he said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Mark just says, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Now, the word gospel means great news. Unfortunately, many people do not see Christianity as good news; they see it as bad news. And, this is largely due to the fact that most people are not aware of the bad news that we have been separated from God by our sinfulness which we were born with. And, since we have been separated from God by our sinful condition, we are destined for Hell. 

In John 3:17-18 we read, "17 God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. 18 People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. Those who do not believe have already been judged guilty, because they have not believed in God’s one and only Son."

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "... as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way.'"

In this verse, Mark quotes Isaiah 40:3 which predicted that John the Baptist would come baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Isaiah predicted this some 700 years before John burst on the scene. And, think of it, John's mother and father were at least 60 years old when John was conceived.

Mark, in v.1, tells us that John the Baptist's message was the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. 

Many people struggled with John the Baptist because his message was so harsh. In fact, his message consisted of three parts: sin, guilt, and fear. But, the people of John's day, as we will see, flocked to hear his message. This was due to the fact that the insincerity of Judaism had prepared them for that which was really real.

The first part of John's message was about sin which is primarily self-centeredness. We were made by God to be defined by Him. When He defines us, we are given to being others-centered. But sin has twisted God's plan, so that now, instead of reaching out, we reach in, and we love ourselves. And sin always produces guilt. the second part of John's message. Guilt is dislike of ourselves. We do not like the fact that we hurt others, & we feel guilty about it. And, as a result we grow to hate ourselves.

Guilt is always accompanied by fear, because fear is self-distrust. Fear produces the inability to handle life. As soon as Adam & Eve sinned they felt guilt and they hid in fear. This lack that we all know to be within is what drove all these people out of Jerusalem. And as they heard John, they found relief. This is why they traveled so many miles to hear John's message.

So, John the Baptist was used of God to prepare the way for the arrival of the Messiah, and, as we will see, once his mission was over, God took him home. John's good news was that God had  broken into history to provide salvation, and blessing, through the sacrifice of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.