Monthly Archives: September 2015

Day Two with Mark: Mark 1:9-15

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Today in Mark 1:9-15 we look at three different sections, 9-11 is Jesus’ baptism, 12-13 is His temptation and 14-15 is the beginning of His public ministry.

The Baptism of Jesus
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus
12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

8d0a002b383ff76491fcfa467dac4087First the baptism of Jesus.  Yesterday we met John the Baptist.  I’ve had people ask me before was John “inventing” something new in Baptism?  The answer is not really.  In the Jewish tradition there was the tradition of mikvah baths, these were ceremonial baths that would be taken before times of worship or for purification.  Many scholars believe that these washings were the forerunners to baptism. But these were normally not done in a river, and were not done out of a heart of repentance, so John was not just doing what had always been done either.

Notice what happens after the baptism though.  In that moment we see the Spirit descend on Jesus and the Father speak from heaven, so here we see all three persons of the Trinity in their “element” in relation with each other.  The Trinity is at its core a relationship.  The relationship between the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit.

And if God is Trinity, and Trinity is relationship, and we are made in the image of this Triune God, it means that we are made for relationship.  We were not mean to be alone or to walk alone.  We were meant and created to live in relationship with God and with each other.

So Jesus has this high point and then from there, He was led (or driven) by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was tempted by Satan.  A couple things here.  First, temptation in itself is not sin.  Jesus was tempted, but He did not sin.  So, there is nothing “wrong” with temptation.  Temptation can lead us into sin, but temptation is not sin.  We are all tempted, and we will all face temptation.  You will be tempted.  If Jesus was, you and I will be too.

Second, He was not tempted by the Spirit.  We are never tempted by God.  He was tempted by Satan.  There are times God may lead is somewhere for testing, but always know that testing is for our own benefit, not for God’s.  God knows what we will do and what we will decide.  So when we face temptation or testing, know it’s for our benefit and for our strengthening, not for God’s benefit.  Jesus was going to face many trials and tough times during His ministry.  He would be abandoned and betrayed by His friends, He would be beaten and mocked.  This temptation may have been a time of “practice” or “preparation” for that.  So may our temptations be.

And in our final section, we see Jesus’ message to people.  Repent and believe the Gospel.  Repent.  Just like temptation is not sin, we often mistake conviction for repentance.  Conviction is when we feel bad about our sins.  Repentance is a turning from our sin.  Jesus is saying this. Stop doing things that are hurtful and destructive to you and to others.  Turn from them.  And turn to me.  Repent and believe the Gospel, or Good News.

What is this Gospel?  We are broken and sinful. God sends us His son to love us, teach us love, show us love, die for our sins, be resurrected for our life, ascend for our glorification and one day, return for our victory.

So, turn from things that are destructive. And turn to Jesus.  That’s the Gospel. That’s the good news.  Jesus preached it. And we are called to as well!

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 1:16-28.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!

Day One with Mark: Mark 1:1-8

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As we start our journey through Mark together, today we are going to look at Chapter 1:1-8:  In the NRSV this section is entitled The Proclamation of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

stjohnA few things that jump out to me in this passage.  First, in verse 1, the “good news.” That’s what the word Gospel means.  It is good news.  Jesus is Good News.  The grace of God is good news. When we tell folks about God, we are telling them about good news!  God loves you!  Do we communicate that “good news” like it is actual good news?

In verses 2-3, we see a quotation from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.  Mark’s Gospel doesn’t have as many Old Testament quotations as Matthew does, but he does quote from the Old Testament a good bit.  Why? Well, a couple of reasons.  First, this shows the Jewish believers that this “new” Christian faith is really the same faith that their ancestors were pointing to.  It is actually what Abraham and Moses and others were hoping and longing for.

And second, it shows us non-Jewish (i.e. Gentile) believers that God was at work for a long time.  We aren’t the first believers in God ever.  God was working all of history towards the coming of Jesus Christ.  And we as Christians, we should not forsake the Old Testament. We should treasure it and read it as well.  It is our story as well. We believe that all the Bible is inspired.  The Old Testament matters to us as well!

In verses 4-8, we see the entrance of John the Baptist.  Can’t you just picture him with this description. And you know what?  He looks different, doesn’t he?  Mark makes it clear to us that he is not like the other religious leaders.  Not in his dress, not in his actions (baptism of repentance) and not in his message – the savior is coming.

John was different. But what was his purpose?  To prepare the way for Jesus.  To get folks ready for Jesus.  To make sure that people knew Jesus and were ready to follow him.

In fact, you and I have the same purpose.  To make Jesus known.  So, we too have a different message and a different purpose.  Just like John, we are called to be different. And we are called to point folks to Jesus.

Today, we share that same mission as John.  To point folks to Jesus.

What questions do you have?  How does this strike you?  Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.

Tomorrow we’ll look at Mark 1:9-15.

If you’d like to receive these thoughts by email, be sure to click here and join my email devotional group!