Mark 1 v 1-3
This is the beginning of the Good News about
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the prophet Isaiah wrote:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way.” Malachi
3:1
“This is a voice of one who calls out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord. Make the road straight for him.’ ” Isaiah 40:3
Notes
So this is the beginning of the Good News - Except the beginning of the story
of Jesus does not start with his birth or with his baptism. The Good News of
Jesus starts much earlier, with God's promise from the Old Testament. God knew
just the right time to send Jesus and he had known since the dawn of time when
that would be. Sometimes we need to remember God takes the long view and however
much of a rush we may be in, he knows the right time to act. So the story of
Jesus begins and what do we get? Somebody else! A hairy, desert wild man who
grabs the crowd by telling people to get ready for the coming of the Lord. The
road that John says needs to be straight is not a new motorway extension - but
the way needs to be clear in the hearts of his hearers to receive the coming
king. Make no mistake John cries out, the King is coming, are you ready for
him or is your life full of rubbish that will keep him out? The same question
echo's through history to us – how open is your life to God? Are there things
that prevent him coming into your thinking, your actions and your feelings as
much as he would like to? If so then it is time to say sorry to Jesus and kick
those things out. It may not be easy and you may need the help and prayers of
others to clear the road of your life, but do it - the king is coming and wants
to come in.
Mark 1 v 4-8
John was baptizing people in the desert and preaching a baptism of changed hearts and lives for the forgiveness of sins.
All the people from Judea and Jerusalem were going out to him. They confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
John wore clothes made from camel’s hair, had a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey.
This is what John preached to the people: “There is one coming after me who is greater than I; I am not good enough even to kneel down and untie his sandals.
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Notes
Why on earth was this man shouting in the desert having such an effect, after all he didn't exactly have a popular message! So how was it God was so able to use him so powerfully? Well John certainly was no big head at a party talking about how great he was and what he'd done. Instead he stuck to talking about Jesus what Jesus would do. Secondly John had a message people needed to hear - the prophets had stopped speaking in Israel some 300 years earlier but in John the people heard God speaking to them like the stories handed down, he spoke the message that their hearts recognised as true even if the message of repentance was uncomfortable. His desert life also gave him chance to really know God, not caught up this the distractions of life, so he knew the one he was speaking for. Finally John was more than a good speaker or great entertainer, His life and his words matched. He spoke of holiness and putting God first and he lived a life that showed he was doing just that. His simple clothing and simple diet matched a simple message. Some of his listeners may not have liked the message but they could not doubt his integrity. So what about us today? Well as you read this it is unlikely you are about to see a flash of light and feel a call to the desert to preach but we have lessons to learn. The toughest is to ask ourselves how we make space for God in our busy life, if we do make that space we might begin seeing where our words and actions fail to meet.
Mark 1 v 9-13
At that time Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River.
Immediately, as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven open. The Holy Spirit came down on him like a dove,
and a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you.”
Then the Spirit sent Jesus into the desert. He was in the desert forty days and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels came and took care of him.
Notes
So how come Jesus gets baptised? Ever asked that question? After all everybody else in the queue is repenting for their sins and Jesus was perfect. So what is going on? Well here are 4 reasons to chew over 1) This was Jesus' moment of public decision to change gear from carpenter to open ministry. 2) Jesus was identifying with the rest of humanity, here was a great move to God as people repented and as they did so here was God in Jesus with them in the water. 3) It was a moment of God's recommendation - he said yes to Jesus at his baptism and we all need to know God says yes to us. 4) It was equipping time for Jesus - though baptism God gave Jesus a new seal of the Holy Spirit mark by the dove. All of those things were going on as Jesus was baptised. But before we get the tissues out and begin weeping with joy lets look at what the result of all of this good stuff is. The Holy Spirit sends Jesus out into the wilderness to be tested. How often have you crash landed from a spiritual high after an event or conference or some special occasion? When we know God's approval and are equipped by the Spirit it is time to be careful as we may find God leading us to be with him in tough places. But remember even in the tough places the angels took care of him - we are never alone!
Mark 1 v 14-15
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, preaching the Good News from God.
He said, “The right time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Change your hearts and lives and believe the Good News!”
Notes
Here in these two verses is the message of Jesus in a nutshell! 'Now is the time to respond, change your ways and believe'. So why is this message such good news? Firstly because the message is we can change - it is not to late for us, nor are we trapped by the way things are now or the choices we made in the past. It is not simply a matter of us trying harder to sort ourselves out. We can change because the Kingdom of God, where God's rule and power are made known, is near. The resources of the kingdom are available to us. Secondly it means God wants us back close to him, the Kingdom is near because of God’s action, not because of ours and that can only mean God wants to reach us. So today take Jesus at his word, ask for his help in changing your heart and reach out to him in belief – when you do you will discover his kingdom is closer to hand than you ever dreamed of. Where do you need to see the reality of the kingdom at work in your life? Ask for God’s breakthrough in those places and take him at his word that he not only wants to work in those places, but is really going to!
Mark 1 v 16-20
When Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them, “Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.
Going a little farther, Jesus saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets.
Jesus immediately called them, and they left their father in the boat with the hired workers and followed Jesus.
Notes
How many fishermen do you think were working that day on Lake Galilee? Whatever number there may have been there were certainly many more than 4. So why did Jesus choose these 4? Did he love them more than the rest? No way! He simply knew these were the men for the job. Do you think the other fishermen were jealous? Well maybe they were on that day but you can be sure they were glad it was not them who were called later in the story. After all things get pretty rough in the build up to Easter and even these who said yes finally drop away before being restored after the resurrection. So here is lesson number one – try not to get hung up about what God calls other people to do, we often only see the glamour and have no idea of the cost behind it. Secondly simply get on with what you have to do for today, Jesus called those he wanted to stop being fishermen and begin a new adventure with him, if you are listening he is equally able to call you for what he wants you to do. Finally those who called got on and followed ‘immediately’. Has God told you to do something or stop doing something? Follow the example of the fishermen, don’t make excuses and get on and do it!
Mark 1 v 21-28
Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day He went to the synagogue and began to teach.
The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught like a person who had authority,
not like their teachers of the law.
Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him. He shouted,
“Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”
Jesus commanded the evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!”
The evil spirit shook the man violently, gave a loud cry, and then came out of him.
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.”
And the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee.
Notes
One of the lessons we learned a couple of days ago from John the Baptist was the need for actions and words to match. Today we see this reality in the life of Jesus. Not only is he an amazing teacher because he had ‘authority’ – in other words his teachings were more than good ideas but had a power in them that made them alive to his listeners, but he also had power. We can easily give to much attention to the devil by talking about his work and power. The lesson here is that there is no contest between him and God. It is not a case of God getting the gold medal and the devil coming in just behind with the silver. God’s power wins and the devil doesn’t even reach the starting blocks. We need to remember just who is in charge and not let anyone else steal the show. That is exactly what happens here, Jesus is teaching so the devil turns on a show to distract the people from the truth being taught. Jesus commands the evil spirit to go because he didn’t want the message he had to be lost. So today ask God to show you what shows is the devil putting your way to distract you from the things of God? They might be easy to spot like here in this story or they might be subtle distractions that we enjoy. Whichever they are don’t get taken in and give them time when you should be
listening to and following Jesus.
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version
(Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes