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Mark 1 Chapter Study
INTRODUCTION
Background
Mark is the shortest of the 4 gospels; it’s only 16 chapters.
Not only is it the shortest “page- wise”; it feels the shortest when reading it.
Mark writes with a strong sense of urgency. There’s a “hurriedness” to his
style. There’s a reason for that as we’ll see.
All four of the Gospels were understood to have been written by the authors
they’re attributed to very early in Church history.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John were all known to be the authors of the works
that carried their names as far back as the early second century.
It wasn’t until the modern era and the skepticism of higher criticism that
the authorship of the 4 gospels was questioned.
Mark, the author of this gospel, is John Mark, [Acts 15:37; Col. 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:13]
John was his Hebrew name, Mark his Roman name.
In Acts 12:12 we learn that the early church met at the home of Mark’s mother in
Jerusalem.
It must have been a large house because it says there were a great many people
there.
A large house in Jerusalem was pretty solid evidence that Mark’s family was
wealthy.
In 1 Peter 5, Peter refers to Mark as his “son” in the faith so Peter was
instrumental in Mark’s conversion and development as a believer.
Mark was Peter’s companion, and the early church believed that the content of
Mark’s gospel was derived directly from Peter.
For that reason, many scholars consider the Gospel of Mark to really be the
Gospel of Peter.
[1]
Anyone whose read the gospels knows that there are large sections of Matthew and
Mark which are virtually identical.
Since Matthew is longer, they believe Mark came first, and that Matthew just
copied Mark and embellished on it.
Now, this is silly! Matthew was one of the disciples, Mark wasn’t.
He relied on Peter for the content of his gospel.
So why then does so much of Matthew and Mark appear identical?
Simple – in the early years of the Church, all the disciples stayed together in
Jerusalem and taught the first generation of Christians about the life and
ministry of Jesus.
A specific catechism was developed, an oral tradition of the Life of Jesus.
[Explain]
When Matthew and Mark wrote their gospels, it was natural they would use this
oral tradition as the core of their story of the Life of Christ.
The differences between Matthew and Mark come from their intended
audiences.
Each of the gospels was written to a different audience.
Matthew wrote his with a Jewish audience in mind, presenting Jesus as their
long-awaited Messiah King.
Because that was his aim, he quotes and makes allusion to dozens of OT
passages, showing how Jesus fulfilled prophecy.
Matthew had that long genealogy of Jesus at the beginning of his record
because he needed to connect Jesus to David and the throne of Israel.
Luke wrote his gospel to a Greek audience, presenting Jesus as the
consummate man. This is what all of Greek culture was into – the ideal of
a perfect humanity.
This is why Luke charts Jesus’ genealogy all the way back to Adam.
He shows Jesus as the master of every situation.
John’s gospel was written to and for all people – with the intent that they might
believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
So he has no genealogy because as the Son of God, He is eternal.
John makes Jesus deity clear in virtually every passage, while at the same
time showing him to be a real man.
Mark wrote his gospel to a Roman audience.
Since the Romans were all about efficiency and power, Mark presents Jesus in
a way that would appeal to these ideals.
He presents Jesus as a “Can-do” guy – the master of every situation.
Our idea of the Romans has been colored by the Hollywood depiction of them and
by the decadent final decades of Rome’s dominion.
What we may not realize is that the Roman Empire began with a rather noble
idea.
Maybe it’s best summed up in the character of Cincinnatus.
Cincinnatus was a farmer who’d served in his younger years in the Roman army.
When Rome was being threatened with invasion and no one else appeared
capable of defending her, the Senate voted Cincinnatus dictator and gave
him absolute control of the region.
Cincinnatus led the Roman army to victory, and 16 days after the war was over,
resigned his office as dictator and returned to his fields.
He became the embodiment of virtue to Romans for centuries after.
His humble use of power in the service and benefit of others became a part of
the collective soul of Rome and fueled the Romans with a vision of
bringing peace to the chaos that had become of the Post-Alexandrian
world.
The Romans recognized the genius of Greek culture, philosophy and
government Alexander had successfully spread across the entire western
world.
But they could see that it was being slowly gobbled up by the regional
conflicts brewing all around them.
They knew they possessed the power to bring a uniform system of
governance to the entire Mediterranean, and set about to do so through
their legions.
At first, they justified the use of military power by saying that they were
seeking to bring peace and safety to the Mediterranean world.
Everything was spiffed up for the royal visit.
That’s the image here – the prophets said that God would send forth an emissary to
announce that the Messiah-King was coming, and the people needed to get
ready, not by fixing their roads, but by preparing their hearts.
Mark begins here because he wants his readers to realize that Jesus was more than
just a good example of manhood – He comes from Heaven!
And while Mark is going to present him in the role of a servant – He is in fact
The King of all the Earth.
Talk about the humble use of power!
Mark then shows how John the Baptist was the fulfillment of these prophecies.
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins.
This is how the people were to make the path straight, as it says in v. 3 – by
repentance.
Sin had twisted and distorted them. Repentance would prepare them to receive
the work God desired to do in and to them through Jesus.
John’s baptism was a symbol of the people’s repentance.
As we’ve seen before, baptism was not something Jews did; it was a ritual
reserved for Gentiles who were converting to Judaism.
It marked a radical decision to forever put aside their identity as a Gentile and
to embrace a new life as a Jew.
Jews didn’t get baptized because they were already Jews.
When they did submit to baptism under John, it was because he was calling
them out of dead Judaism into what it really means to be Jewish – one who
is in covenant with God.
John was pointing at the religion of Israel and saying, “It’s become nothing
more than an empty shell, a meaningless ritual. If you’re sincere about
your personal relationship with God, then prove it by repenting and getting
ready for what He’s about to do by being baptized.”
Then 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.
6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt
around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
Though the journey out to the wilderness where John was was difficult, thousands
went to hear him and to be baptized.
They went because John’s lifestyle was in complete accord with his message.
He lived in the wilderness. His clothing was of the coarsest nature and his diet
was ultra-rustic.
The common people knew that the priests who served in the temple were corrupt
and getting rich off the people.
They knew the worship going on by the priests in the temple in Jerusalem was
a sham and they hated it.
John was different – he lived out what he preached – and his example inspired
others to live likewise.
This is what our lifestyle should be & do.
It should reflect what it is we say we believe.
And it should do so in a manner that encourages and inspires others to live in
holiness and excellence as well.
This is one of the dangers that lies in the modern use of broadcast media in
presenting the gospel and in Bible teaching.
Some people drop out of the local church and limit their exposure to teaching
to just what they get on the radio or TV.
This never allows them to examine the lifestyle of the person they’re listening
to.
In the Apostle Paul’s letters he regularly reminded his readers to remember his
lifestyle and how it was he had lived among them, showing that his example
was in line with his doctrine.
In fact, he wasn’t hesitant to say, “Imitate me – as I imitate Christ.”
The great blight on the Church of today is the charge of hypocrisy – that Christians
don’t live like what they say they believe.
Many unbelievers say, “Jesus is great! I like Jesus; it’s His followers who are
the problem.”
John shows us that when lifestyle & message are in harmony, great things can be
accomplished for the Kingdom of God.
And 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.
Here’s the way it went in the order of ranking in society: Men, women, servants.
Among servants, there was a ranking: Chief steward, household servants, field
workers, & at the very bottom was the foot-washer.
[Explain process of washing feet.]
That’s who John claims to be in relation to the One he is the forerunner of, the
messenger for.
John was esteemed by the people of his day as a mighty prophet, in the same role
and mode as the classic OT prophets, Isaiah & Jeremiah.
Now he says, he’s lower than a ‘foot-washer’ compared to the One who’s
coming after him.
I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit.”
There’s something here in what John says about baptism that we ought to take a
closer look at because it might clear up some questions about the proper
method to use in baptism.
The word “baptism” means to immerse.
In fact, the word’s original use was in the dyeing industry.
A piece of fabric was immersed in a vat of dye and so indelibly marked with
the color of the vat.
Baptism does not mean sprinkling or standing in the water and having a cup
poured over one’s head.
It meant immersion – and that is clearly the way John means it here when he
said that while his baptism was an immersion in water, the Messiah’s would
be with the Holy Spirit.
3. Jesus is tempted Vs. 12-
Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
13 And He was
there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the
wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Mark doesn’t give us the details about the temptations Jesus endured.
What he does tell us is that it was the Spirit who compelled Jesus into the
wilderness.
For 40 years , Israel had wandered around the wilderness, mostly being beaten
up by the devil, yielding to temptation time and again.
Now for 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus resists the devil and overcomes.
It’s interesting that the first thing the Spirit did was compel Jesus into the
wilderness, knowing that it would be a time of temptation.
Obviously He didn’t want Jesus to succumb, so why did He do this?
He did it because He was showing Jesus off! The Father was so proud of the
Son, and so confident of His faithfulness, that He presented Him to the
devil and said – “Go ahead, take your best shot!”
The 3 temptations Satan placed before Jesus were the greatest and most severe
temptations that have ever been visited upon man.
Yes, God the Father was showing Jesus off!
Just as He did with Job! Remember what God said to the devil?
God asked him, “Where have you been?”
The devil said, “Walking around down there.”
God said, “Have you considered my servant Job?”
The devil said, “Yeah – he only serves you because you bless him. Take
away the blessing and like all the rest of them, he’ll curse you.”
So God let the devil have at Job – and through it all, Job remained true.
Much the same thing is going on here. The Father is showing the devil that his day
of dominion is coming to an end.
Jesus will defeat him, not in His identity as God, but as a man empowered by
the Holy Spirit.
And that’s why we read that Jesus was hungry in the wilderness , surrounded by
the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him.
The first man had been well fed in a garden , surrounded by tame beasts, but
when he fell was opposed by angels.
Where Adam failed in the midst of ease – Jesus prevailed in the midst of
hardship.
What was lost in Adam is reclaimed by Christ.
4. Jesus begins preaching Vs. 14-
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching
the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the
gospel.”
Along with John’s humble lifestyle of personal holiness went a strong call to
repentance – not just for the common people, but for all people, including
rulers.
He wasn’t afraid to point out the error in others, specifically when their
immorality was a public scandal.
So when Herod, one of the nation’s rulers, was having an incestuous affair with
his sister in law, John denounced it as a gross sin.
For this he was arrested and thrown into prison.
This resulted in a crackdown on all of John’s disciples.
Since Jesus was the One everyone knew John had been claiming to be the
forerunner of, Jesus left the region in Judea where John had been working,
and moved north to Galilee.
His method in Galilee was simple – He announced the gospel, the Good news, that
the Kingdom of God, the long hoped for reign of God on Earth was about to
begin.
What the people needed to do in order to enter the Kingdom was to repent and
believe the Good news Jesus was declaring.
That’s it – that was the entrance requirement into the reign of God – turn from
sin, toward God!
5. The first disciples are called Vs. 16-
And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew
his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
17 Then
Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers
of men.”
18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
This wasn’t the first time Jesus had encountered Simon Peter and Andrew.
Andrew had been one of John the Baptist’s disciples.
After Jesus’ baptism, Andrew had followed Jesus for a short time.
But when Herod arrested John, Andrew went back home to Galilee and picked
up his old job as a fisherman.
Andrew had already talked to his brother Peter about Jesus and brought him to
meet Him.
Now as Jesus begins His public ministry in earnest, He invites Andrew and Peter
to follow Him full-time.
It seems a bit dramatic to us that they would just drop what they were doing,
what they had been doing as their livelihood , and took off after Jesus.
What we don’t realize is just how special Jesus’ invitation was to these guys.
You see, the tradition of rabbis and their “talmidin,” disciples was something
that was unique to Galilee.
To be the disciple of a well-known rabbi was counted as a great privilege.
Jesus isn’t well know yet – but Andrew & Peter know enough about him to know
He has potential and they jump at the opportunity to become His disciples.
Besides, His invitation to them is intriguing.
“Follow Me, and instead of fish, you’ll catch men!”
When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son
of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending
their nets.
20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father
Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
John was another who’d been a disciple of John the Baptist.
passage and then quote what a dozen or so esteemed rabbis had said as
commentary on it.
None of the scribes presumed to offer their own ideas or commentary.
It tended to be a rather dry recitation of boring remarks.
Jesus didn’t quote others. He read the text, and then offered even more insight into
the subject the text spoke to.
As the people listened, they knew intuitively that they were hearing much more
than the words of just one more man.
While there were many rabbis in Galilee, only a few of them were recognized as
having “s’mikah” = authority.
Rabbis were divided into 2 groups: Torah teachers, AKA scribes, & s’mikah
rabbis.
While the torah teachers simply read the law and then quoted what various
authorities had said about it, the s’mikah rabbis’ comments were considered
as inspired and carrying authority from God.
Their comments weren’t on the same level as scripture, but close.
When Jesus spoke, people recognized an authority in His teaching that was unlike
anything they had heard before.
He was a s’mikah rabbi.
What troubled them is that s’mikah rabbis were all the disciples of a previous
s’mikah rabbi.
Jesus sprang up out of nowhere – that is, He hadn’t been the “talmid,” the
disciple, of a rabbi.
This is why they often asked Him – “Where did you get Your s’mikah, Your
authority?”
His reply was that He got it from His Father – and it was this that infuriated
them so.
b. with power vs. 23-
Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.
And he cried out,
24 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with
You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You
are—the Holy One of God!”
When Jesus’ authority was manifest in the teaching of the Word, it moved the
demon who was possessing one of the men there that day to manifest itself.
What’s interesting is that this man was there in the first place.
How long had he been coming to the synagogue, and the people were unaware
this guy in fact had a demon?
They probably thought he was a bit strange, but were ignorant to the real cause
of his strangeness.
But the demon freaked when Jesus’ authority was manifest, and suddenly
everyone knew what was going on.
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of
him!”
26 And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out
with a loud voice, he came out of him.
The demon spoke openly about Jesus’ identity – and Jesus hushed Him.
This becomes a major theme of Mark’s – that Jesus told those He healed to
keep silent and not noise abroad who He was.
Mark emphasizes this because it fits with his desire to show Jesus’ humble use
of power.
It was never showy or flashy. It was always quiet, dignified, and with the aim
to do only 2 things, glorify God and compassionately meet people’s needs.
This is something that would appeal to the sense of virtue and the heroic in the
Roman mind.
As this demon was leaving the man it’d possessed, it tore at him one last time with
a terrible convulsion.
The word convulse here means to tear. We’d refer to it as a seizure that caused
a person to be thrown on the ground and go rigid.
Even with the deliverance that Jesus brought to this man, the demon did one last
little act of torment to this poor guy.
The point is this – the demonic realm is real, and while it is under the authority
of God and has to do what He says, on the way there, it will do what it can
to harm man.
God can and does forgive sin – but the sinful choices we make have
consequences. What we sow, we reap.
What was so different about Jesus’ deliverance of this guy was that it was so
seemingly effortless on His part. [Explain]
Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among
themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For
with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey
Him.”
28 And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region
around Galilee.
They were simply stunned at the authority and power with which Jesus ministered.
This story of the demon-possessed man in the synagogue is an important one for
us.
It teaches us that when God’s Spirit is moving and His authority is at work in
our midst, in all likelihood we are going to see the demonic manifest itself.
When it does – don’t freak out. Just pray. [Elaborate on how we will deal with
it]
c. many healings vs. 29-
Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered
the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
After the Sabbath service at the synagogue, Simon Peter & Andrew invited Jesus
to come to their house, probably for the traditional meal.
But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him
about her at once.
Living there was Simon Peter’s mother in law – which means the first Pope was
married.
As the senior woman of the house she would have led in making the meal.
But she was sick.
Not only was the disease healed, but the effects of the leprosy were erased and His
features and digits were made whole.
And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,
44 and said
to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show
yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which
Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Jesus told the guy to be silent about his healing and to go instead to one of the
priests who had been trained in how to diagnose leprosy.
In Leviticus there’s a whole section on how to diagnose and treat leprosy.
There was also a ritual given for when a leper was healed.
Do you remember sitting in Math class and learning some arcane formula for
figuring the area of a equilateral triangle, and thinking to yourself, “Why do I
have to learn this? I’m never going to need this!”
You can just picture the young Jewish priests being trained and in their rituals
class one day the older teacher-priest begins instructing them in the ritual of
offerings that were to be done when a leper was healed.
Levi raised a hand and said, “Uh, Teacher, has there ever been a leper healed?”
“Not that I know if.”
“So why are we learning this? We’re never going to need it!”
Jesus wanted this guy to find a priest and present himself to him,
He would take a good look at him, and pronounce him clean, and then would
have to go through the ritual of offering the turtle dove over the vessel with
running water and hyssop and all the rest.
And the whole time the priest would be saying – “Wait a minute! I may be the
first priest to be doing this in centuries.”
When the next cleansed leper came, and then the next, it would confront the
priests that a new things was happening in the land.
People who were considered unhealable, were being delivered and set free by
the score!
This would be one more evidence that the Messiah had come.
There’s one more thing to learn from this.
The priest functioned in the role of a doctor regarding leprosy.
He diagnosed it and then prescribed the treatment for it.
By telling the man to have a priest clear him as healed, Jesus is telling him to
get medical confirmation of the healing.
This is always a good idea when the Lord heals us.
Some people have the mistaken idea that going to the doctor is a lack of faith.
They think after they’ve been healed that going to the doctor to get
confirmation would somehow jinx the healing.
Jesus told this guy to go and get medical confirmation of his healing.
And, he was to stay silent about his healing UNTIL THE CONFIRMATION
WAS CONFIRMED.
This guy didn’t do what Jesus said...
However, he [the healed leper] went out and began to proclaim it
freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly
enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to
Him from every direction.
There were so many people pressing in about Him to be healed He had to stay
outside the towns.
People were heedless of personal property in their attempts to get to Jesus.
We know how some men tore through the roof of a house to get their paralyzed
friend into His presence!
So in order to keep people’s homes from getting torn up, Jesus had to stay out
in the uninhabited places.
Mark makes it clear it was the leper’s failure to follow Jesus’ instructions that
resulted in this state of affairs.
It actually would have been more convenient for everyone concerned if Jesus had
been able to remain in town.
By being out in the wilderness, it made it more difficult for everyone.
No doubt this man thought he was doing the right thing in telling everyone about
Jesus and His power.
He couldn’t see how his actions would actually complicate matters.
He was excited, and his emotions dictated his behavior.
The result was that ultimately, Jesus’ ministry was hindered.
This is not at all uncommon.
People are touched by the Lord, and they react emotionally, doing and saying
things that seem right at the moment, but in fact hinder the work the Lord
wants to do. [Elaborate]
It is always best to do what Jesus says.
And when we’re deeply moved emotionally, we need to be on extra guard that
our emotions don’t carry us over into something that would distract from
the Lord’s glory.
[1]
Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (Page 222). Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson
