Hello dear fellow adventurer! How was your reading time this morning? Were you able to read the passage uninterrupted? Or … did you struggle with various and sundry family members’ needs before you were actually able to find those ten minutes to sit and study the beginning of Mark? However hard it was or wasn’t, I hope God met you as you sought Him in this dynamic little book!
Did you notice that—unlike the other gospels—Mark ignores Jesus’ birth and beginnings and starts instead with Jesus’ public ministry? Mark’s focus is clear. Mark wants us to see how Jesus came to serve. So, his focus is solely on the last three years of Jesus’ life on earth.
Mark introduces us to John the Baptist in Chapter One, whose purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus. John was the son of two godly parents, one of whom was a priest. He was surely trained to know and love the scriptures and to understand much about the God his parents served. Yet, we don’t find John in the synagogue. We find him in the wilderness, living by himself, and meeting with God there. John was a striking figure and one not soon forgotten. His message was passionate and it resonated. Many came to realize their need of a Savior as John called them to repent and be baptized. And then, when Jesus came into the picture, John rejoiced and pointed to Him and faded into the background.
I find it fascinating that after John baptized Jesus, Jesus ended up in the wilderness too. Both men, John and Jesus, met God alone without the fanfare of fancy schools or men of learning lecturing them, in the harshness of wilderness. Jesus was tempted there and tested. When that time of aloneness with God was done and only then, He started His public ministry. God often meets us in the wilderness, too. Sometimes all the distractions need to be removed so we can simply be with Him.
Jesus’ message was clear as He started out after the wilderness experience. It is found in Mark 1:15. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” This is our message today as well. Repent and then believe. There truly is a Savior!
My recorded verse: Mark 1:1. “This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God …”
My response: Mark is so direct and to the point. What is this book going to be about? It’s about Good News. The best news, really, Lord! It’s about Your rescue of humans who need You desperately. And that’s the second point. Mark’s gospel is about Good News and about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. Lord Jesus, you ARE the rescuer, Messiah, Son of the living God and God in flesh. Right at the very beginning, we know that YOU are the Good News and this book is going to show us this on every page.
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Vs 9 “One day Jesus came…and John baptized Him in the Jordan River.”
Jesus didn’t NEED to be baptized, He had no sin to repent from. But He did it anyone as an example to us.
Lord, I pray I would follow Your example in all I do. When the world is telling me 500 different ways to live,
Help me to follow You, the God who never changes and is our BEST example of how to do life.
That has always fascinated me, too, Jenny. Jesus humbled Himself in so many ways – because of His deep love for us and His heart to serve. I agree. We have a worthy example to follow when we follow Him! Thanks for commenting.