Mark Part 1

MARK

JESUS IS INTRODUCED

MARK 1:1-34 – JESUS IS INTRODUCED

The question that all four Gospels answer is “Who is Jesus Christ?” Then they give the whole narrative of Jesus’s life, right? They explain who He is. All four Gospels state that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the Messiah. Mark is no exception. Mark uniquely however emphasizes one aspect of the Messiah’s mission that, frankly, had a lot of people in the Old Testament scratching their heads.

Isaiah talked about this suffering servant. The book of the prophet Isaiah was written 700 years before Jesus was born and there is this whole section in there, from Isaiah 52:13 thru 53:12, that is often referred to as “The Suffering Servant” passages. In these 15 verses, the prophet describes Israel’s coming Messiah in mysterious terms that God’s people had never heard before. None of the other prophets said things like this about Him, about this Messiah. Listen to a few of the quotes that come from this passage:

“His face was so disfigured He seemed hardly human, and from His appearance, one would scarcely know He was a man” (52:14 NLT). That is talking about the Messiah!

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” (53:3)

“But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities.” (53:5)

“By oppression and judgment He was taken away… He was cut off out of the land of the living…” (53:8)

“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him; He has put Him to grief.” (53:10)

“Because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (53:12)

Now these are strange and troubling words indeed! Isaiah’s description of the coming Messiah in this passage is like no other Old Testament prophet. This was a mystery to the Jewish people because it didn’t quite fit the image they had of a triumphant Messiah King who would come to deliver Israel from its enemies and rule the nations. THAT is what they were expecting. But a suffering servant? And one who is beaten and rejected and killed? Really? This rather curious and mysterious aspect of the Messiah which Isaiah talks about is what the Gospel of Mark clears up for us. Mark views Jesus not as a Ruler or a King, but as a Servant who would lay down His life to ransom many. We will see all this as we go through our study of Mark.

Let me make a brief comment about the writer of this Gospel, a man named Mark. His full name was John Mark. He was NOT one of the disciples. So, how would he know all this? He and his family were residents of Jerusalem and early converts of the Apostle Paul. John Mark was the cousin of Barnabas. It was John Mark who joined Barnabas and Paul on Paul’s first missionary journey. If you will remember young Mark became a bit discouraged and he ended up returning home early. Mark’s family became close friends with the Apostle Peter and the early church met often in their home. So, you could say that John Mark is well-connected.

Most Bible scholars – this is Q1 on your sheet – believe that the events we read in the Gospel of Mark are from Peter’s perspective. Remember, Peter was there during Jesus’s life and ministry. So, these events that we are going to read about in Mark are the way Peter recalled them and then later told them to Mark.

The Gospel of Mark is action-packed. It moves quickly from scene to scene without a whole lot of commentary. Mark focus more on Jesus’s actions than His teachings. So, that is a brief introduction. Let’s get right into the study.

This is how Mark begins his gospel…

READ Mark 1:1

Mark wastes no time establishing his theology of Jesus, undoubtedly influenced by Peter and others. Q2 on your sheet: From the start we see that Mark embraces Jesus as… the Son of God. That is what he says in the very first verse. There is no doubt where Mark stands on who Jesus is. All the Gospels say that Jesus is the Son of God, but Mark comes right out and says it, right in the first verse.

In addition, by using the title of “Christ,” Mark is acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. The word “Christ” is from the Greek word Christos which means “anointed.” The Hebrew equivalent is the word mashiach which means “one who is anointed” -- mashiach, Messiah, anointed one. So, whenever you see the word “Christ,” think “Messiah.” Jesus the Christ. Jesus the Messiah.

Now the Messiah was a person that God’s covenant people, the Jews, had been waiting for with eager anticipation for centuries. “When is He coming? When is this great person that you all keep talking about going to be here?” But, before the Messiah would come, He would be announced. That is what the prophets said. And that is the very first scene that we see as we come to the Gospel of Mark – the Messiah’s announcement. We see out in the middle of the wilderness this strange-looking man shouting.

READ Mark 1:2-3

The King James Version says, “As it is written in the prophets…” plural. This is actually a better translation because the quotes here are actually from two different prophets. V 2 is a quote from Malachi (3:1) and v 3 is a quote from Isaiah (40:3). These two prophets foretold that God would send a messenger who would show up ahead of the Lord’s Messiah and announce His arrival. And sure enough, that is exactly what we see. Q3 on your sheet: So then, who does this messenger turn out to be? Who is the voice crying in the wilderness? The very next verse tells us – “John [the Baptist] appeared…” So, that’s the answer. John is the one who is the messenger announcing the coming of the Messiah. He’s the voice crying and the wilderness.

READ Mark 1:4-6

John is a rather odd-looking figure. He is dressed like the prophet Elijah. We get a description of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:8 – very similar. John is wearing a garment of camel’s hair. Here we are introduced to John and he is preparing the people to receive their Messiah. This is a spiritual preparation. It involves repentance and confession of sins. Those who do this are then baptized by John in the Jordan River. So, what is the response of the people to this wild-looking preacher man? Well, actually, it is an amazing response. It says “all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized…” That is a lot of people. There is a national spiritual revival taking place among God’s covenant people. That is what is happening here. They are anticipating the arrival of their Messiah. John speaks about the coming Messiah in very lofty terms.

READ Mark 1:7-8

This certainly gets the people’s attention, doesn’t it? They can’t help but get excited about this person that John is talking about. Remember I said that the Gospel of Mark is fast-paced and each scene moves quickly. No sooner does John announce the Messiah is coming and just like that, in the very next scene, He comes!

READ Mark 1:9

Jesus is here. Q4: The very first thing that we see Jesus do when He comes from Nazareth is what? He got baptized. Why was Jesus baptized? Was it for the forgiveness of sins like all these other people? Jesus was not a sinner, was He? We know that from Hebrews 4:15. So, it was not for the forgiveness of sins. His baptism was not for that reason. Dr. Jerry Vines (in his commentary on Mark) says that Jesus is identifying Himself with the sinful humanity that He came to save. His quote is this: “Isaiah 53:6 says that ‘the Lord has laid on Him [speaking of Jesus] the iniquity of us all.’ When Jesus came to His baptism, He got beneath the burden of human sin and bore it all the way to Calvary. Jesus paid the price for our sins. His baptism identified Him with our sins.” So, Dr. Vines sees it as an identification of Jesus with us.

Last week I thought Pastor Mike (Michael Criner) did a really good job in explaining why Jesus got baptized. He was commenting on Matthew 3:15 when he said this. That is where Jesus tells John the Baptist (remember John was arguing with Jesus, pushing back on Jesus wanting to be baptized because he knew Jesus is not a sinner). So, in response to John, Jesus says, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented and baptized Jesus. Pastor Mike said this: “When we are baptized, we are looking back on what Jesus has done” [baptism pictures His death, burial and resurrection – we are identifying with that]. “When Jesus was baptized, He was proclaiming forward what He is going to accomplish” [His mission]. “So, when Jesus is being baptized, He is saying ‘This is what I am going to do for people. I am going make them righteous.’ The Puritans called this the ‘Great Exchange’ – our UN-righteousness for His righteousness.” That is how he explained it.

There is this idea of Jesus looking forward to what He is going to do and identifying with the sinful people that He is going to save.  

At this point in time, Jesus’s mission is a mystery to everybody including John the Baptist. The title for this study is “Messiah’s Mysterious Mission.” However, that being said, Jesus is fully aware of the reason why He came. He knows what His mission is. And that takes us to Mark’s account of Jesus’s baptism – short and sweet, 2 verses.

READ Mark 1:10-11

Here we see all three members of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit individually and yet they are all in one accord. God the Son comes up out of the water. God the Holy Spirit descends like a dove out of the sky, lands on Jesus and empowers Him. God the Father speaks in an audible voice from heaven.

Q5 on your sheet – Does the voice say, “Look, the servant of the Lord”? NO. God the Father is not speaking to the crowd that is gathered. John the Baptist has already told the people that Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This has already been pointed out by God’s messenger. So, the voice is not speaking to the people.

The Father words here are directed at Jesus: “YOU are my beloved Son; with YOU I am well pleased.” God the Father takes great delight in His Son. Now, why is that? How can God take great delight? We are ten verses into Mark’s Gospel and Jesus has yet to perform any miracles or signs – not yet anyway. He has yet to teach or preach great truths or make any amazing claims. So then, why would the Father here be “well pleased” with Jesus? Because Jesus, His Son, the Son of God, has willfully submitted to His Father’s will. He has left the glory of heaven. He has come down to earth, taken on human flesh in order to carry out a divine mission. Jesus knows His mission. The Father knows Jesus’s mission. The Spirit knows the mission. Jesus is the humble Servant of God on a mission to redeem fallen humanity. I love the way Paul describes this in Philippians Chapter 2. He says that Jesus “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). So, even though that has not happened yet, the Father, looking down through the corridor of time, knows all this. The appointed mission is right on track. God the Father is well pleased.

Even though we (the readers) don’t see His mission yet; it has not been revealed to us yet (we have read the Gospels, so we know). People here do not know. John the Baptist doesn’t know. But God knows and His Son knows why He is here. And He has been obedient to this point.

Mark jumps right into the next scene…

READ Mark 1:12-13

Q6: Why in the world does Jesus go out into the wilderness? What does Mark say is the reason, in v 12? OK--- The English Standard Version (ESV) says, “The Holy Spirit drove Him out into the wilderness.” The New Living Translation (NLT) says, “The Spirit compelled Jesus.” The New International Version (NIV) says, “The Spirit sent Him.” The New American Standard Bible (NASB) says, “The Spirit impelled Him to go.” The Amplified Bible says, “The Spirit forced Him.” Youngs Literal Translation says, “The Spirit put Him forth.” There is the idea that Jesus is being compelled to go by the Holy Spirit. We know what happens when He gets out there. We know He goes out there and He gets tested. But why does He go out there? Because the Spirit compels Him to go.

Right off the bat Jesus gets out in the wilderness and He is tested. He is out in a remote, austere place. He is completely alone. He is hungry. It is cold at night. It is probably hot during the day. There are wild animals running around. It is in this environment that Jesus is tempted by Satan.

The other Gospel accounts give us more detail as to specifically how Jesus was tempted. But Mark doesn’t do that, does he? His point is that for forty days Jesus undergoes intense attacks by the evil one, by Satan himself. Jesus resists Satan at every turn. We know this from the other Gospels. He passes the test. He remains sinless. He relies completely on His heavenly Father to sustain Him physically, emotionally, and spiritually for nearly six weeks. And God the Father does just that. He sends His holy angels to minister to Jesus’s needs there in the wilderness.

I have studied the temptation of Jesus a lot through the years. I have heard many sermons on it. I had never thought about something that came to my mind as I was preparing this lesson. I want to share it with you... Would I have been able to pass this same test in the same circumstances? That is the thought that came to my mind. As a believer I have the Holy Spirit indwelling me, don’t I? Do you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you as a believer? Could you pass the test? It is a fair question. The answer to that question convicted me because it was “probably NOT.” I hope I don’t have to find out someday. But here is the point. This is really what is important – But JESUS DID. He passed the test and that is what really matters.

Well, right after this, Jesus begins His public ministry in and around the Sea of Galilee with His home base being at Capernaum. So, let’s pick it up the action in v 14…

READ Mark 1:14-15

What message had John the Baptist been preaching? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). That was the message John was preaching. Jesus is preaching the same message! Q7: After John was arrested, it is Jesus Himself who continues to preach John’s message…  “Repent!” With repentance comes confession and turning away from your sins. “Believe in the Gospel.” Same message.

Why should we do that? Why should we believe in Him? Because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The time is near. The King is coming! Time is running out. Do it now! There is a sense of urgency to get yourself right with God. It was different back then because Jesus was coming the first time. Now the same message goes out because we know Jesus is coming back. And we know we are not going to live forever (not in this life). So, there is a sense of urgency about the Gospel message, responding to it, to get your heart right, to give your life to Christ.

So, the first thing we see Jesus doing in His public ministry is preaching (the same message John did). And then the scene shifts quickly to Jesus calling His disciples. Q8: What location did Jesus go in order to find His first disciples? Well, it says in v 16, “Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, He saw…” and there they are. Where did He go to call His disciples? The seashore. The Sea of Galilee, right? So, that is where He goes.

READ Mark 1:16-18

We know from Mark Chapter 3, from later on, that the Simon mentioned here is Simon Peter. Remember that the Gospel of Mark is written from Peter’s account. So then, Simon Peter would have been a first-hand witness to this event here, Jesus calling him and his brother. And He is calling them to a new vocation – to become “fishers of men.” Jesus doesn’t go down to the local seminary or to the synagogue to call His disciples. He goes to the shore of the Sea of Galilee and He calls two fishermen, two ordinary guys, with no formal education as far as we know. And to their credit He says “Follow Me” and they DO. It says in v 18, “immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” No argument. No excuses given. No hesitation at all. They just follow Jesus.

READ Mark 1:19-20

In that very same vicinity, just down the shore a little bit, Jesus sees another set of fisherman brothers – James and John – and He calls them as well. They too immediately leave their father and the fishing business behind and follow Jesus. That’s it. Now He has four disciples, right? Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John.

The scene shifts and Jesus and His four brand new disciples go into… Q9: Where do they go? V 21, “They went into Capernaum.”

READ Mark 1:21-22

The “they” mentioned here is obviously Jesus and his disciples. On the Sabbath Jesus goes into the local synagogue and He begins to teach. We saw Him earlier out preaching and now we see Him teaching. What do you think? Do you think that Jesus a good teacher? I would say so. I would say He was probably a pretty good teacher.

Q10: What were they astonished at, v 22? His teaching. Remember, He hasn’t done any miracles yet. So, what they are astonished at is His teaching. That is what He is doing, right? They had never heard anything like this. It says, “He taught as one who had authority.” His teaching is not at all like those boring dry scribes they were used to hearing. It is different. It is fresh and bold and exciting. Jesus actually sounds like He knows what He is talking about. He is teaching truths they had not heard before. Now, if the disciples are astonished, you know good and well everyone else there in that synagogue there is astonished. Remember, the disciples had never heard Jesus teach. They had just followed Jesus. He said, “Follow Me” and they did. They had never heard them teach before (not that we know of). Everybody in the synagogue is astonished at His teaching. “Who is this guy?” Now, at this point you need to understand that Jesus has just started His public ministry and by all accounts He is a virtual unknown. Nobody knows who He is. “Who is this man?” They are amazed by Him.

Well, now Mark moves quickly to Jesus’s first miracle. [Q11 is easy – it takes place right here in the synagogue]

READ Mark 1:23-27

Now they are amazed by this miracle, this exorcism. It is interesting that the unclean spirit, this demon, knows who Jesus is. Even if nobody else recognizes Jesus, the unclean spirit knows who He is. First of all, this spirit knows that Jesus is from the town of Nazareth. Second – and this is huge – it knows that Jesus is the Messiah. That term the spirit uses, v 24, “Holy One of God” is a Messianic term. By the way, this incident here illustrates James 2:19 which says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” This demon knows who Jesus is. Jesus tells this demon to “be silent,” to shut up and not say anything more about Him. I will talk more about that here in a minute. Jesus commands the unclean spirit to come out of the man and it does so immediately. The demon may not have been happy about it. It may not have come out quietly (it certainly did not), but it obeyed Jesus, right? And it left.

As you might guess, the reaction to Jesus’s teaching and to this exorcism here is one of amazement. V 27 says, “and they were all amazed.” Who is this man? Who is this Jesus?

READ Mark 1:28

Word gets out fast about this Jesus guy.

READ Mark 1:29-31

Q12 on your sheet is answered right here. No magical words. No “go dip yourself in water.” None of that. Jesus just took her by the hand and lifted her up.

READ Mark 1:32-34

So, word about Jesus spreads fast throughout this fishing village of Capernaum. His healing ministry becomes well known. Everybody in town flocks to where Jesus is to see this guy who is healing all these people.

This is what I want you to see: We know all about Jesus’s miracles. We have studied them our whole lives, since we were kids in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. They are amazing. Many of His miracles are amazing, aren’t they? We are going to read about them in Mark and the other Gospels. So, when we read this, it doesn’t really surprise us one bit because we know all about Jesus the miracle worker, right? But put yourself in THEIR place. Can you imagine being there at that time and what you would have thought when you witnessed this? Just put yourself in their place. This is all new for them, this Jesus and His miracle working. They are amazed. 

[Q13 is a discussion question] The last sentence of v 34 – “He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.” Remember at the first exorcism He had done in the synagogue earlier He had told that demon to be silent – same thing here. Jesus is on this secret mission. It is secret to us, not to Him. At this point in time, Mark Chapter 1, it is still a mystery. Why doesn’t Jesus want anyone to know about it? Why would Jesus command these demons (and later people who are healed) to be quiet about who He is? Why do you think?

[Various class responses]

This is a complex theological question. Let me add to what was already said and then suggest several possible reasons for Jesus commanding the demons and others to be silent about who He is…

1. Revealing His true identity would have been misunderstood as a claim to political kingship. Their view of a Messiah is one who would come and defeat the Romans and set up a kingdom. Jesus’s own disciples had this view of a Messiah as well. Most Jews viewed their coming Messiah as a king. So, if Jesus would all of a sudden reveal that He was the Messiah, a king is what they would think of. If you will recall, right after Jesus fed the 5000 in John’s gospel, the people tried to force Jesus to be their king. So, that did happen. Jesus knows this. Their idea of a Messiah is a king and that is not why He came, not the first time.
2. Revealing His true identity would not have been fully grasped or understood. We actually see this later with His own disciples. Jesus is saying, “We are going to Jerusalem and they are going to arrest Me and kill Me and so on. Peter says, “No Lord, that is not going to happen to You.” Jesus then has to rebuke Peter. So, we actually see this later.
3. Jesus reveals certain things on His terms. He is quite purposeful in the way He reveals Himself during His ministry. He reveals who He is and why He came by His words and through His actions.
4. Jesus reveals His identity and mission in His time. WHEN He reveals these various aspects is important as well. As time draws closer for Him to go to the cross, to fulfill His mission that He came for, He will reveal – on His terms – more and more about this mission and why He came. They are not going to totally understand it, but it is going to be revealed in HIS time. Timing is so important to Jesus.