Category: Reflections

Mark has told us that Jesus had started preaching in Galilee. He has summoned his first disciples. But what does his public ministry look like? In Mark 1:21–28 we are given a snapshot of what Jesus does on a Sabbath day. In showing you Jesus’ activity, Mark wants you to understand who he is.

Hear the voice of authority in the teaching of Jesus. Jesus proclaimed the coming of the kingdom. Mark has already summarized the message of Jesus in verses 14–15. The time is fulfilled. The kingdom is near at hand. The good news of the kingdom includes a call to repent. The preaching of Jesus left no room for neutrality. You must repent from sin. You must trust in him. On a particular Sabbath day, apparently the one after calling Peter, Andrew, James, and John, Jesus goes into the synagogue in Capernaum. Or, rather, they went to Capernaum (verse 21, and they came out in verse 29). This is not Jesus alone, but he and his disciples. He is the active one, however. Jesus, the God-man, the Messiah, joins regularly in worship. He not only joins, he teaches.

Continue reading “The Voice of Authority — Even over Evil Spirits”

As Mark 1:14–20 records the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, Mark is focusing on the heart of Jesus’ work and pointing you to the appropriate way to respond.

The kingdom of God has come to you. The time is fulfilled and the kingdom is at hand. The time is fulfilled. The time is God’s appointed moment. The public preaching of Jesus announces the fulfillment, the last time. The term has overtones of judgment, parallel to “the day of the Lord” in the Old Testament. God himself prepared the time. He sent his Son in the fullness of time, Galatians 4:4. The redemptive work of the Son happens in time, Ephesians 1:10. The expression looks back over the entire Old Testament: the promise in Eden, the covenant with Abraham, the Exodus from Egypt and other deliverances, the intercessory work of the priests (including the whole sacrificial system), the prophets, proclaiming the day of the Lord, the kings—David and others, implementing the kingdom—though frequently very imperfectly. Now the time is fulfilled. It has come. The kingdom is a reality.

Continue reading “The Kingdom Is Near — Follow the King!”

Mark’s account of the temptation of Jesus (Mark 1:12–13) is far shorter than Matthew or Luke’s. Why? Is he being brief to the point of being cryptic? Or is he emphasizing something crucially important about Jesus — something that will equip you in your Christian life?

The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness — for you. Being tempted is the first messianic task of Jesus. In this introduction to his Gospel, Mark has given you a snapshot of the preparatory work of John the Baptist. He has pointed you to the baptism of Jesus by John, and then the Father equipping his Son, with whom he is well pleased, with the Holy Spirit. That Spirit will enable the Messiah to be the mighty one announced by John, the one who will accomplish is work and will ultimately baptize his followers with the Holy Spirit. But there is one more step in preparation for that messianic work.

Continue reading “Temptation: Animals and Angels”

Mark has told you that his book is the good news about Jesus Christ. After describing briefly the work of John the Baptist preparing the way for him, Jesus himself is introduced in Mark 1:9–11 as he is baptized by John and then has the Spirit descend on him. Mark, who has not given you a birth narrative, considers this crucial to your coming to know Jesus.

Jesus was baptized for you by John. Jesus came into the wilderness to submit to John’s baptism. John had spoken of the coming of the one who is more powerful than he. But when that powerful One makes his appearance, it is Jesus, coming from the insignificant, even despised town of Natareth. Compare the coming of Jesus with the coming of the crowds to John. In common are: come / to John / for baptism / in the wilderness. But there are significant differences. Jesus comes from Nazareth, and he comes as the sinless One with no confession of sin. As we saw last week, John’s baptism was one of repentance, closer to the ceremonial cleansings in the Old Testament, than to baptism into the name of the triune God. Mark’s brevity invites you to reflect on the implied problem that Matthew spells out. Why should the Messiah, the Redeemer need to be baptized like the sinners who came to John?

Continue reading “Baptism by John and by the Spirit”

When s the last time you heard the word Repent? Is it used only by weird people holding up signs with that word? How often do you hear it in church circles? As the writer describes the beginning of he gospel of Jesus Christ he focuses in Mark 1:4–8 on John the Baptist’s call to repent. That missing word is what you need in order to meet God.

John’s baptism summons you to repent. The wilderness location calls you to the obedience of sonship. In the Old Testament the wilderness was a sign of separation to sonship. The Exodus was to be the release of the Lord’s firstborn son, Exodus 4:22, 23. In Hosea 2:14 the desert is the location for the call to renewed fellowship with the Lord. John’s location, dress, and diet, remind you of Elijah — the prophet who summoned Israel and King Ahab to repent. John’s baptism indicated a similar purification from sin. Its roots lay in the ceremonies of purification. Going out into the wilderness was a reminder of the 40 years of exile. It was more than just a reminder. It was part of the process of repenting.

Continue reading “What Do You Need to Meet God?”