seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,[a] the Son of God,[b] 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”[c]—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[d]
who will prepare your way”[c]—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[d]
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. 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[e] water, but he will baptize you with[f] the Holy Spirit.”
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[g] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went 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!”
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
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.
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
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.
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
40 A man with leprosy[h] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41 Jesus was indignant.[i] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
a. Mark 1:1 Or Jesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean Anointed One.
b. Mark 1:1 Some manuscripts do not have the Son of God.
c. Mark 1:2 Mal. 3:1
d. Mark 1:3 Isaiah 40:3
e. Mark 1:8 Or in
f. Mark 1:8 Or in
c. Mark 1:13 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
d. Mark 1:40 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
e. Mark 1:41 Many manuscripts Jesus was filled with compassion
I'm thinking of an episode of "I dream of Jeannie"..... In verse 25 where Jesus is talking to the demon.... He told the demon to shut up.... He didn't want them telling everyone who He was yet. He did it again in verse 33.... wouldn't let the demon speak.... like Major Nelson telling Jeannie to shut up so she won't be discovered in the fancy bottle.... or what ever clever little place the writers came up with that week. Kind of made me giggle a little thinking of Jesus dealing with those little demons. Demons had to obey Him.... So they knew who He was..... that was the secret He couldn't let out.
So, according to the commentaries, Mark was introduced to Jesus by Peter. Mark also worked with Paul later and he helped set up churches.
This is from the easy English site.
The first verse is also the title of the Gospel. The human Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah that the Jews were expecting. The Greek word ‘Christ’ and the Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ mean the ‘Anointed Man’. To anoint someone showed that God had chosen them for a special responsibility. Samuel anointed Saul to be king (1 Samuel 10:1). Jesus was the king who came to bring people into his kingdom. He came to make people free from the power of sin. Moses made Aaron and his sons special as priests by anointing them with oil (Leviticus 8:12). Jesus was also a priest who was giving a sacrifice to God. The sacrifice that he gave was himself. Jesus is both king and priest. That is the good news.
Mark writes about Jesus as the true ‘Son of God’. As the Son of God, he showed God’s love and power in all that he did. Mark records more of Jesus’ actions than of his words.
John the Baptist’s work was like that of someone who announced the arrival of an important official. There had been no prophet for 400 years, since the time of Malachi. Malachi wrote about the messenger (verse 2 is from Malachi 3:1). Mark combines this verse with one from Isaiah (40:3). Isaiah describes a ‘voice’ that is shouting in the desert. John the Baptist describes himself as that ‘voice’ (John 1:23).
The Jews baptised Gentiles who wanted to accept the Jewish faith. John changed this custom. Water cleans the body. John baptised Jews to be ‘clean’ in their behaviour towards God and other people. Then they would be ready for the Messiah. The Messiah would help them to know that God had really forgiven them.
Forty (40) days’ may be an exact number or it may mean a fairly long time. ‘Satan’ is God’s enemy. He tried to make Jesus use his power in ways that would not please God. Mark does not record the nature of the temptations. Matthew and Luke tell us how Satan tempted Jesus. He tempted him to gain disciples by providing for their physical needs. They would follow him if he astonished them with miracles. They wanted a Messiah who would lead an army against the Romans to gain their political freedom. Jesus chose the hard way to persuade people to love and obey God. He would love them. Love meant that he would suffer. But he would satisfy ‘spiritual hunger’ and he would give people freedom from sin. Jesus can encourage Christians because he has had all sorts of temptations himself. ‘The Devil tried to make him do all kinds of wrong things. So, Jesus understands all the wrong things that we might do. But he never did anything wrong himself’ (Hebrews 4:15).
Mark adds that Jesus was ‘with the wild animals’. This detail may show that the desert was a very frightening place. But it may also be Mark’s way to show the age when men and animals would live together in peace (Isaiah 11:6-9). Jesus could live in safety with the animals. This would be because the animals were already recognising him as their king.
Galilee is a lake about 12 miles long. To catch fish was an important business. Many men earned their income by supplying fish to people in their own country. They also exported fish, even as far as Rome. Salt stopped it from going off.
These four men, who became Jesus’ first disciples, had met him before. They were probably John the Baptist’s disciples in Judea (John 1:35-42). They had listened to Jesus and they had talked with him. He called them while they were carrying out their ordinary work.
Capernaum was an ideal place for Jesus to work in. Both Jews and Gentiles would hear his message because Capernaum was an important town on a trade route. The Sabbath was the Jewish day of rest from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. It was a special day for worship. There was a meeting place wherever there were ten Jewish families. In this meeting place, Jews met to pray, and to study the Old Testament. They would attend other public meetings there. On the Sabbath, people would go to the meeting place in order to hear a teacher. The teacher would read and explain the Scriptures. There was no permanent teacher. So the leader would invite visiting teachers to give the talk. Jesus was therefore able to teach in meeting places wherever he went.
A man whom an evil spirit possessed. Some people say that this was a way to describe mental illness. They say that evil spirits did not exist. But people in those days believed that they existed. And they believed that they could control a person. Many people believe that evil spirits did exist in the time of Jesus. They believe that they still exist today. The evil spirits inside the man recognised that Jesus had come to destroy every evil thing. They were afraid and they asked Jesus not to do anything against them.
Jesus stopped the man from shouting. He gave a strict command and he cured the man. People who tried to send evil *pirits out of people used all kinds of ceremonies and special words. But Jesus threw out the evil spirit by his order alone.
Jesus would not allow the evil spirits to speak. They knew that he was the Messiah. Jesus wanted people to discover for themselves who he was. They would follow him for the wrong reason if they thought of him as a political leader. Jesus was a Messiah who would suffer to free them from sin. He wanted to show people that.
The word ‘leprosy’ is in many Bibles and it can mean various skin diseases. One was the serious disease that is called ‘leprosy’ today. Anyone with this disease had to stay away from other people. He suffered in two ways. He had to suffer from his disease. He also suffered from his lonely situation outside society. This man approached Jesus. He believed that Jesus had the power to cure him. But he did not know that Jesus loved people. He was not sure whether Jesus would want to cure him.
Jesus touched the man who had the skin disease. When he did that, Jesus showed his love. Jews would not normally want to touch anyone who had such a skin disease. They believed that such an action would make them unholy.
Jesus was obeying the law when he sent the man to the priest. The priest would examine him. And the priest would decide that he was healthy again. After the man had carried out the proper ceremonies, he would be able to mix with other people again (Leviticus 14:1-32).
The man who had the skin disease did not obey Jesus. So, he made it difficult for Jesus to continue his work in towns. There were so many people who wanted to see Jesus. They came because of curiosity or because they needed his help.
This is from bible-studys.org.The disciples bring news of human need. “All men seek for thee,” not to hear the gospel, but for viewing His miracles or to be healed physically. Perhaps even at that early hour, people were already gathering to see Jesus.
The decision Jesus has reached by prayer is to “go into the next towns,” in order to “preach there also;” He has chosen to pursue the unpopular course and keep the emphasis of His work on preaching the gospel. Why? Because, He says, “therefore came I forth” from heaven: to preach. Jesus’ response implicitly involves the disciples in their first mission tour.
Jesus had a PR problem. Once the people found out what He could do.... they had to tell others who told others who told others.... and everyone wanted to see Him perform. Sure there were a lot of people in the crowds who needed physical healing.... most of them did even if they didn't know it.... but there were a lot of people there just for the show. On top of that... the demons that Jesus was dealing with knew who He was. The Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers and Roman government would have a field day if they heard demons calling Jesus Messiah or Son of God. So Jesus had to move His ministry out of the towns and onto the hillsides.
Mark wrote about the power Jesus displayed.
