Mark 1

Mark 1: 1-3:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Mark did not start the story of Jesus with birth, but began with the dreams of the prophets long ago. the word “gospel” is an English word. It is a translation of the Latin bona adnuntiato, which was a translation of the Greek word used in one text. Its original form was gospel, god being the Anglo-Saxon subjective “good,” and spell meaning “news.” The Greek word, of which the English word “gospel” is a translation, was used in classical Greek for the reward given to a man who brought good news; but in later Greek it was used of the good news itself. Throughout the whole New Testament, the whole Gospel is “the oral proclamation of God’s plan of salvation as made known and realized by Jesus.” As verb or substantive the word occurs in the New Testament more than 70 times. The underlying idea is always “good news” or “joyful annunciation.” The biographer of Michael Angelo tells that he was once seen standing, chisel in hand, gazing intently on a rough block of marble. Upon being asked what he saw there, he said “I see a beautiful angel imprisoned, and I mean to set it free.” So God gazing on the rough undeveloped mass of humanity saw there the vision of the Ideal Man. The Incarnation of the Divine Son was, the deliberate beginning of God on the plane of time to develop the thought of man that was His in all eternity. Because Jesus Himself is the good news, because He is what He is, Jesus belongs to His gospel not as a part of it, but as its embodiment. He is the personal realization and its power. And such will always be felt to be. In placing the person of Christ as the work of the Gospel histories, we speak in accordance with the spirit of those books and of the whole ensuing system of doctrine/. Jesus Christ created the Gospel by His work; He preaches the Gospel by His words; but He is the Gospel Himself.

Mark 1:4-11:
4John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 8I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Mark 1:12-13:
And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

There is no such thing as an un-tempted servant of God. To be a servant of the highest God is to follow Jesus down this same road. We will suffer temptation, we will suffer trial and pain, we will experience tribulation as we seek to do God’s will in our fallen world. And as the more extended descriptions of this event tell us in Matthew and Luke, the central focus of this temptation is to do God’s will but not in God’s way. Do you catch that? If you mere to identify the areas of temptation and trial in your own personal life it will be immediately clear to you that the desire of Satan the adversary is for you to seek to do or seek to bring about what you know is God’s will but to not also then do it in God’s way. Because, because God’s way was and still is the way of suffering not the way of force. And this would be Satan’s push again and again. And that is why the response of Jesus to his adversary both directly and through the words of the people through whom Satan spoke were again and again, I will not do it your way but trust in the way of the Father. And so when Peter declared that he would never let Jesus be arrested and crucified, Jesus rebuked him in no uncertain terms, Get thee behind me Satan! I had a rather unpleasant discussion with someone recently because in the midst of our conversation they shared how easy life seemed to be. Everything was moving along with seemingly no bumps in the road. After listening for a while to a whole list of good things in their life, I asked for permission to speak frankly with them. I asked them not as their pastor but as a brother in Christ if the smoothness in life was more a result of their choice to again and again to turn away from the path of Jesus to avoid the discomfort and stress. Several months later our relationship is strained at best.

Forty, in their minds, was a "fourspace number suggesting the idea of a foundation for something to follow, and idea of completeness. So the number forty is frequently used in the scriptures to indicate a completed preparation for something to follow.

These two verses contain Mark's account of the temptation of Jesus. He does not describe the three separate temptations which are given in the book of Matthew. But he has some features of his own. They are expressed in the words "immediately," driven," and "wild beasts."

The word "immediately" is also translated "straightway." Mark uses the expression 41 times in his gospel account. The temptation happened immediately after Jesus' baptism. Immediately after what? Immediately after the baptism. The initiative in this temptation was not taken by Satan; it was taken by the Holy Spirit. He did not wait til the tempter came, but obliged the tempter to come. He forced the fight., We ought to follow his lead far more there. Most of us just wait until we are tempted, and then half scared , seek for help. But we could always pray ahead and take the ground before the Evil One can come. That is what the Holy Spirit does here.

It is impossible, in this life, to escape the assault of temptation. Temptation, however, is used for the good in that it strengthens the nerve and sinew of our minds and hearts and souls. The ancient Hebrew writers made a practice of using numbers to symbolize ideas.

Mark 4:13-20:
And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

"Why did Jesus call money deceitful? It's not what it seems. It's like a fish line that looks attractive to a fish until he gets it in his mouth. When he finds out, by then it's too late. He's been tricked." --Ralph Doudera ("Wealth Conundrum" p37)

Mark 1:14-15: Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

What is Repentance?
The American Heritage Dictionary says, "to feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it." Vine's says, "A change of mind that involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God. Always, in the New Testament, repentance involves a changing of the mind for the better and always of repentance from sin.
What is wrong with Vine's definition? He says that repentance involves.... repentance from sin. He tries to define the word using the word.
The Greek word that Jesus uses in our text for repent is the verb metanoeo. This word, along with the noun metanoia (repentance), are the main words used in the Greek New Testament for repentance.
--Berean Bible Church: Repent and Believe

Repent! "I have sinned" are important words, but do not necessarily mean repentance. Pharoah said "I have sinned," in mere terror and hardened his heart the moment the judgment was removed. Achan said "I have sinned," like some criminal on the scaffold who confesses only when the consequences of his iniquity stares him in the face. Balaam said "I have sinned," but still went on in spite of the drawn sword of the angel, dazzled by the gleam of Balak's gold. Judas said "I have sinned," but in him was despair and remorse as he flung down in the temple the accursed pittance for which he sold his soul. Saul said "I have sinned," but only to return to his demoniac ways. Job said "I have sinned," and humbled himself under the mighty hand of God and God exulted him. David said "I have sinned," and in a wailing in his heart went on to discover that God restores to godly sorrow a clean heart and a free spirit, The prodigal son said, "Father, I have sinned," and rose weeping and into his fathers arms.

This is the mystery of the Kingdom: that the Kingdom of God has come among men and yet men can reject it. The Kingdom will not experience uniform success. Not all will receive it. This was a staggering thing to one who knew only the Old Testament. When God’s Kingdom comes, it will come with power. Who can resist it? Who can withstand God? But precisely this is the mystery of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is here, but it can be rejected. One day God will indeed manifest HIs mighty power to purge the earth of wickedness, sin and evil; but not now. God’s Kingdom is working among men, but God will not compel them to bow before it. They must receive it; the response must come from a willing heart and a submissive will. God is still dealing with us in this same way. God will not drive you into His Kingdom. It is not the business of those who are called to the ministry of the Word to speak with authoritarian compulsion. We speak as emissaries of God, but we plead and do not demand, we persuade and do not drive. We implore men to open their hearts that the Word of His Kingdom may have its fruitage in their lives. But men can reject it. They can spurn the Gospel of the Kingdom. They can scorn the preacher of the Word; and he is helpless.
- George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, pp. 56-57.

Mark 1:21-26:
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.

You have to wonder – did the people in the synagogue around the demon-possessed guy have any idea about his possession? Did the man greet people, make normal chit-chat, etc., before the spirit inside him was provoked by Christ?
Respected Bible teachers who have encountered demonic activity report that there is no one-size-fits-all profile for people who are suffering from demonic affliction. Those who have written on the subject include author and pastor Chip Ingram who describes his encounters with demons in his book The Invisible War, Dallas Seminary professor and theologian Merrill Unger who has written widely on the subject concerning his personal interactions with the demonic, and well known pastor Chuck Swindoll who wrote in his small book entitled Demonism: "On a few occasions I have assisted in the painful process of relieving them [people who come to him for spiritual help] of demons." -Robin Schumacher
(Charles Swindoll, Demonism (Portland, OR: Multnomah, 1981), pp. 18-19. )