Mark 1 "Too Busy Not To Pray!"

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We begin the gospel of Mark. Mark is the shortest gospel at 16 chapters, whereas Matthew is 28. Luke is 24, and John is 21. Most commentators believe Mark is the earliest gospel written, sometime between 60-70 A.D. Mark does not seem to know about the Fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, like the other gospels do. Most believe the author is John Mark, who accompanied Paul on one of his missionary journeys, and then had a falling out with him for refusing to go on another one. 

Some of the characteristics of Mark's gospel is it is fast moving going from story to story. Mark frequently uses the term "immediately". Mark is focused on the kingdom of God being near and manifesting itself through Jesus' signs and wonders. Mark had a significant connection with the apostle Peter, who was likely the source of his writing. 

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Mark starts out by saying, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God." Mark gets right to the point about the person and nature of Jesus. Unlike Matthew and Luke, he doesn't not start listing Jesus' lineage, or any give any of the birth narratives. He goes straight to the public ministry of Jesus first quoting the words of Isaiah, the prophet, from 40:3, 

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’"

Mark introduces John the Baptist more subtly than Matthew and Luke. He says that John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew focused on what a brood of vipers the Pharisees were, but Mark focuses on the fact that the whole Galilean countryside came out to be baptized by him. He gave the message that the one coming after him (Jesus) would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. Mark also focuses less on Jesus' judgmental nature. I.e. Every tree that does not produce fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire, because he is writing to a Gentile not Jewish audience.  

What Kind of Baptism Did John Perform?

 Baptism was already practiced in the Jewish community in the form of ceremonial immersions but typically it was only among Gentiles who wished to become Jews. For a Jew in John’s day to submit to baptism was essentially to say, “I confess that I am as far away from God as a Gentile and I need to get right with Him.” This was a real work of the Holy Spirit.

 John’s baptism might have been related to the Jewish practice of baptizing Gentile converts or to some of the ceremonial washings practiced by the Jews of that day. Though it may have some links, at the same time is was unique – so unique that John simply became known as “the Baptizer.” If a lot of people had been doing what John did, it wouldn’t be a unique title. 

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

Mark moves swiftly into the baptism of Jesus, as the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove. and The Father says, "You are my Son whom I love and with you I am well pleased!" There is no story of Jesus answering John's question of why he was being baptized, which was to fulfill all righteousness. This again shows the audience is not Jewish 

Mark's description of being tempted by Satan in the wilderness is a mere two verses, whereas Matthew gives it 11 verses and Luke 13. Verses 14-15 are the most important verses in the gospel of Mark. Mark reports the essence of Jesus' first sermon when he says, 

"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!” 

Jesus announced the Good News. It was a long time in coming. The Jews had been basically without a prophet for 400 to 500 years. They longed for Good News. The Good News was that God that would come uniquely to earth through the person and life of Jesus, the long hoped for Messiah. Jesus says, "The time has come."

The term "time" is the Greek word "Kairos", which is different than the Greek word, "Chronos". "Chronos" is the word for "running time" like on a stop watch. This is why we put history in "chronological" order. "Kairos" time is the right time, the opportune time. It was a window of time when God's reign and rule were breaking into our world. That is the sense of when he announcing, "The kingdom of God has come near!" 

Then Jesus gives the proper response to this good news, which is to repent and believe it. We often give the word "repentance" a "bad rap". But you can see it is front and center in Jesus' first sermon. In the context to repent means turning from a life far from God's kingdom to drawing near to it. It was an opportunity to turn from the meaningless to the meaningful. It was an opportunity to participate in the Good News that Jesus came to bring to the world, including being saved from sin. 

 When Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, He wanted people to know that it was near – as close as your hand. It wasn’t as distant or as dreamy as they had imagined. Now was the time for them to encounter the kingdom of God. (Guzik)

He wanted people to know what it was like to live in the kingdom. The kingdom Jesus preached was not just about a moral renewal. It was about trusting God, taking Him at His word, and living a relationship of dependence on Him.

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

Mark gives a brief account of Jesus calling the two sets of brother James and John, Peter and Andrew. Jesus called them to "drop their nets to follow him", where they would "fish for men". It was a "kairos" moment for the two sets of brothers. They had the opportunity to go from fishing for fish to fishing for people. 

Both sets of brothers "immediately" drop their nets and follow Jesus. Sometimes it is like this for us. Jesus calls us to follow him, and we need to make our decision and not come up with excuses as to why we have other more important things to tend to. May we have the same willingness and immediacy as the disciples had to follow Jesus immediately. 

"With this invitation, Jesus shows what Christianity is all about: following Jesus. At its root, Christianity is not about theological systems, rules, or even helping people – it is about following Jesus." (Guzik)

"When Jesus called them to be fishers of men, He called them to do what He did. He was the greatest fisher of men ever. But He wanted others to do the work He did; first these four, then twelve, then hundreds, then thousands and thousands upon thousands through the centuries." (Guzik)

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit

The rest of the chapter we see what it is like when God's kingdom, his rule or reign, comes in its full power. Jesus went to Capernaum to teach in the synagogue, and the people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority. They could tell the difference in Jesus' teaching from the teachers of the law because of it..

Jesus not only spoke with authority but exercised his power when a demon possessed man from the synagogue confronted him with the words, 

"“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!”

Notice a couple of things the demon possessed man says. First, he acknowledges that Jesus was born in Nazareth and was the Holy One of God. How ironic it is that many men and women, including most of the religious leaders, will not recognize who Jesus, but this demon does. Second, the demon wonders what Jesus wants from them.  Meaning, he is speaking for more than just himself. Finally, the demon asks if Jesus had come to destroy him. We see demons have personalities and they know things. They are not omniscient, but do have some knowledge. 

Jesus uses his authority, as the Holy one of God to rebuke the demon who came out of the man with a shriek. Notice the demon had some power to shake the man. Again, evil spirits have some power but it is limited. Importantly in presence of the authority of Jesus,  the demon leaves quickly. We have the same authority of Jesus as his disciples. Though evil spirits/demon are real and still around today, we have never have to fear them. We simply need to tell them to "be gone in Jesus' name!" They must submit to the higher authority of Jesus who conquered all of his enemies on the cross with his death and resurrection. His resurrection power lives in us. Though we need to respect dark spiritual forces, we do not be afraid of them. 

Jesus Heals Many 

Jesus goes with the James and John to the house of Peter and Andrew. These are the same sets of brothers he had called earlier. Peter's mother in law was in bed with a fever, which could often be fatal in Jesus' time. Jesus took her hand and helped her up, and she was healed. We will see Jesus heal in many different ways. In this case he took the woman's hand and she got up. The power flowed through his hand to her hand. 

Word got out quickly, as by evening the whole town had gathered at Peter and Andrew's home. Jesus healed many with various diseases and sicknesses, another manifestation of God's kingdom. When God's rule is reigning there is no disease or sickness. It is a foretaste of what heaven will be like. He also delivered people from demons, like he had just done earlier. But in this case, he prohibited the demons from speaking. 

How Do People Get Demon Possessed?

Even as Jesus can live in us, so one uninhabited by Jesus can be inhabited by a demon if the invitation is extended, either consciously or unconsciously. Exposure to things such as spiritism, astrology, occult practices and drugs are dangerous. They open doors to the demonic world that are better left closed. - Guzik

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place

Jesus sure had a full day of ministry. Healing a woman on her death bed, other diseases and sicknesses, and casting out demons. What will he do next/ 

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. 

Jesus realized that his ministry flowed from His relationship the Father. Think about it. Jesus was God and still needed to get up before dawn to pray. He went to a solitary place to pray. If Jesus needed to do this, how much more do we?

Do you have a solitary place to pray? We often get so busy and caught up in life we forget to pray. I love the title of a book written by Bill Hybels, "Too Busy Not To Pray!"

As a result of His time with the Father, Jesus knew it was now time to go to other cities and synagogues to preach the good news and do acts of power showing the power of the kingdom of God. 

Jesus did not need to pray because He was weak but because He was strong, and the source of His strength was His relationship with God His Father. Jesus knew that pressure and busyness should drive us towards prayer, not from prayer. - Guzik

“Woe unto that man whose devotion is observed by everybody, and who never offers a secret supplication. Secret prayer is the secret of prayer, the soul of prayer, the seal of prayer, the strength of prayer. If you do not pray alone, you do not pray at all. I care not whether you pray in the street, or in the church, or in the barrack-room, or in the cathedral; but your heart must speak with God in secret, or you have not prayed.” (Spurgeon)

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy

Jesus continued to demonstrate the power of the kingdom when met a leper. The leper said, "If you are willing you can make me clean!' You would have thought this was a respectful way to approach Jesus but it says Jesus was, "indignant". Why? I think he detected a lack of faith in the man. But Jesus declares he is willing, touches the man, and "immediately" the man is healed. Remember that word "immediately". Mark's gospel is often called the "power gospel" as we can see why.  

Leprosy is not an issue today, but in Jesus' day it was not only physically but socially disabling. 

As horrible as the physical suffering was, the worst part of having leprosy might have been the way people treated the leper. In the Old Testament, God said that when there were lepers among the people of Israel, they should be carefully quarantined and examined (Leviticus 13-14). Lepers had to dress like people who were in mourning for the dead, because they were considered to be the living dead. They had to warn the people around them by crying out, “Unclean! Unclean!” whenever people were near them. This was not because leprosy was highly contagious. It was because God used this disease as a striking example of sin and its effect on us. (Guzik)

Interestingly Jesus told the leper not to tell anyone about the healing. Why did he do that? Jesus knew that the more the word got out about his healing power, the crowds of people would soon grow so that he would not be able to effectively minister to them. It would also stoke the anger of the religious leaders, who will see him as a threat to their own authority and power. 

Why did Jesus tell him to go and report this to the priests?

Jesus told the former leper to go to the priests to carry out the ceremony the law required when a leper was cleansed. Jesus did this first to honor the law of God, but also as a testimony to the priests that an incurable disease had been cured.  (Guzik)