Mark 1:23-28;40-45 – Something to Tell

²³ And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

²⁴ Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

²⁶ And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

²⁷ And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

²⁸ And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

…

⁴⁰ And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

⁴¹ And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

⁴² And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

⁴³ And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;

⁴⁴ And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

⁴⁵ But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

 

Now Jesus’ ministry has begun! If you have not notice, Mark’s Gospel is very fast pased and gets right what is going on in the narrative. Mark wrote for the Romans, a society who did not care about background and detail, but were a “just-get-to-it” kind of people. So by now, Jesus has taught in the Synagogues, cast out devils that had possessed people, healed tons of people, and now word was starting to spread. Jesus first told the devil and the leper who he world heal to not tell anyone who He was or what He was doing. The leper failed to do this, and the result was that so many people wanted to get to Jesus that He could not even go into the city any more!

What is interesting in the two above passages is that both entities (one was a demon and one was a person) who were influenced by Jesus wanted to say something about it. The demon, because of his nature, had to obey. The person, who had free will, did not, but choose to tell what happened. When Jesus gets involved, there is something to tell! This is true for us today! Jesus is still working. He may not be here anymore in His physical body healing people and preaching, but His sacrifice still saves people! The good news (i.e. the gospel) of what he did still changes lives! God the Holy Spirit now lives inside of believers and God has given us His Word to help teach and guide us. God is still working in our world, and sometimes it is all too easy for us to miss that fact. Lets pay attention to where and how God is working and in what ways we  can be involved in His work.

 Life Step: Think about it…

In what ways to you see God working in today’s world?

What can we do to be involved in what God is doing?

Mark 1:16-17 – Fishing Time!

¹⁶ Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

¹⁷ And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

 

As the story of Jesus continues, Jesus is Baptized by John and then he goes off into the wilderness for Satan to tempt. After Jesus proves that he is not going to sin, John gets arrested for his preaching and Jesus picks up preaching in Galilee. Here is where we want to focus. Jesus is preaching a simple message, He is telling people to turn form their sins. The, Jesus sees the first two of his disciples, Simon and Andrew. Here He gives them the famous command, “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” Jesus told His disciples that he would make them a different kind of fishermen, the kind that caught people (as in witnessing, not literally).

For us Christians, the lessons is, in the words of Andy Stanley, “to follow is to fish.” Just like Jesus told His disciples that he would make them into “fishers of men”, Jesus can and wants to do the same with you! Jesus wants you to be the kind of person who is out looking for people who need Christ and also the kind of people who are inviting other people to church all of the time. Jesus told His disciples that he would make them “fishers of men”. The question is, are you fishing? When school starts, are you fishing? At work, are you fishing? At home, are you fishing? Get out there and look for people to witness to and people who you can invite to church. Remember, “to follow is to fish.”

 Life Step: Think about it…

What does it mean to be “fishers of men”?

What does it mean “to follow is to fish”?

What kinds of things stop us from being “fishers of men”?

Mark 1:1-11 – Respect

¹ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

² As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

⁴ John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

⁵ And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁶ And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

⁷ And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

⁸ I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

⁹ And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

¹⁰ And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

¹¹ And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 Here we have a look at the beginning of the Gospel of Mark. We meet the character of John the Baptizer. John was an interesting man who ran around in the desert eating bugs and honey while baptizing people. In this passage, Mark is recording the baptism of Christ and showing Christ’s greatness. John says that he was not even worthy to bend down and loosen the strap on Christ sandals because of Christ’s greatness.

If Christ was great back then, He still is now. John had a respect for Christ and everything He was. The question is, do you respect Christ? Do you live your life in a way that respects Christ? Can people look at your life and tell that you value Christ? Our lives, as Christians, should have a marked difference from everyone else. Not in a weird way, but in a different kind of way.

 Life Step: Think about it…

How can we respect Christ?

What kind of ways can we disrespect Christ?