SERIES: WALKING WITH JESUS
(Series adapted directly from Wiersbe’s Bible Exposition Commentary)
“THE SERVANT IS HERE”
MARK 1:1-45
OPEN
You’ve been given the job of writing about a series of important events. These events are important because they impact both the earthly and eternal destinies of all who will read about them. These events are important because they concern the life and work of God’s Promised One. These events are important because they involve more than who, what, when, where, and why. You’re name is Mark and you’ve been given the privilege of writing about the Good News of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Today we start a new series through the Gospel of Mark called, “Walking With Jesus.” We’ll be looking at the life of Christ as shown through Mark’s writings right up until our planned revival services March 21-24 with Victor Knowles and Darrel Land. We’ll pick up after that and complete the series on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
What makes Mark’s Gospel unique from Matthew, Luke, and John? Matthew wrote primarily for the Jews. Because of his target audience, he opened with a genealogy. He wanted to establish that Jesus was the rightful heir to David’s throne. He wanted to focus on Jesus as the prophesied Messiah. Because of that reason, Matthew includes many Old Testament prophecies in his narrative.
Luke wrote primarily for the Greeks. So instead of opening his Gospel with a genealogy, he opened with a record of Jesus’ birth. He wanted to focus on Jesus’ humanity. John opens with a theological statement. He wrote primarily to show that Jesus was God in the flesh. He wanted to focus on Jesus’ deity.
Mark writes primarily to the Romans. He focuses on Jesus as the Servant. The emphasis of Mark’s Gospel is on activity – the work of the Servant. And because Mark focuses on action, one of his favorite words is “immediately”. He uses it 41 times in his writing.
Mark records only a few of Jesus’ sermons. Mark focuses on what Jesus did rather that what He said. The Servant came to minister to hurting, suffering people and to die for the sins of the world. Mark does not start with a genealogy or a birth narrative. He gives the work résumé of the Servant
THE SERVANT’S IDENTITY
How does Mark indentify this Servant? He draws on the testimonies of several dependable witnesses to show us that Jesus is everything that He claims to be.
The first witness is the author of the book – Mark himself. How do we know that someone named Mark wrote this Gospel and how do we know which Mark it was?
Although the Gospel of Mark does not name anyone as its author, early church history and tradition clearly identifies Mark as its author. We know him as John Mark in Scripture. He is mentioned many times. His mother was a wealthy widow in Jerusalem named Mary. Many scholars surmise that it Mary’s house was the site of the Last Supper and also the home where the disciples gathered together at Pentecost. The Bible tells us in Acts 12 about Herod’s persecution of the church. He had the apostle James arrested and beheaded. He also arrested the apostle Peter but Peter was miraculously released from prison. Acts 12:12 tells us that “he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.”
The Bible clearly mentions in Acts 13 that John Mark went with Paul and Barnabas on part of the first missionary journey. But partway through, he went home. He was also the subject of a quarrel between Paul and Barnabas as to whether he should accompany them on the second missionary journey. Paul went with Silas and Barnabas took Mark on another journey.
However, the Bible tells us that at some point in time, Paul and Mark again became co-workers. Paul sent greetings from Mark to the Colossians. At the end of his life, Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark along when he made a visit to Paul in prison.
We also know that Mark worked with the apostle Peter. In 1 Pet. 5:13, Peter calls Mark his “son” and sends greetings from him to the believers to whom he wrote. In fact, many scholars believe that Mark wrote his Gospel based on the preaching and teaching of Peter. One of the early church fathers (those leaders who followed the apostles in leading the church) named Papias wrote around 110 A.D.: Mark, who was the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately all that he remembered, whether of sayings or doings of Christ, but not in order. For he was neither a hearer nor a companion of the Lord; but afterwards, as I have said, he accompanied Peter, who adapted his instruction as necessity required, not as though he were making a compilation of the Lord’s oracles. So then Mark made no mistake when he wrote down thus some things as he remembered them, for he concentrated on this alone—not to omit anything that he had heard, nor to include any false statement among them.
I’m sure that most of us would love to sit down and talk with someone who was an actual eyewitness to the life of Jesus Christ. Someone who had seen with their eyes what Jesus did, heard with their ears what Jesus said, experienced the miracles that Jesus performed; someone who lived the stories that we have read and heard about.
Of course, all of the eyewitnesses are dead. But Mark is the next best thing. The Gospel of Mark is the written record of the eyewitness account of someone who was actually there and saw and experienced it all.
Dr. Paul S. Rees said, “The Gospel is neither a discussion nor a debate. It is an announcement.” Mark gets right to the announcement in the very first verse of his Gospel. Mk. 1:1 – “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Mark’s announcement is that God is doing something new – that there is a new beginning. And this new beginning is based on the “gospel” – a term that means simply, “good news.” It was a term that could refer in a general way to good news of any kind. But to the Romans, it was a term that signified good news about the Emperor.
But notice that Mark specifies that this “good news” has to do with Jesus Christ. This Jesus came into the world as God’s Son and has died for our sins. The “good news” is that our sins can be forgiven, that we can belong to the family of God, and that we can be part of the kingdom of God. The Gospel is the best news of all!
The second witness is the witness of the prophets. Mk. 1:2-3 – “It is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way’— ‘a voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”
Although Mark only mentions the prophet Isaiah, he actually references three different Old Testament verses here. The first verse is Ex. 23:20. It contains God’s promise to send his messenger before the Israelites on their exodus through the desert to the Promised Land. The second verse is Is. 40:3 – “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.’” The third verse is Mal. 3:1. “ ‘See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord
you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the
LORD Almighty.”
The focus is on the “messenger” who would “prepare the way.” In the ancient world, before a king would come to visit any area of his kingdom, messenger would be sent ahead of the visit to “prepare the way.” The process involved making sure the both the roads and the people were ready for the king’s visit.
Mark utilizes these verses from both the Law and the Prophets to show that both the messenger who would prepare the way and the king who was to come did not just show up out of the blue. They appear on the scene because it is part of the blueprint of God’s plan. The story chronicled by Mark is a story designed and directed by God.
The third witness is John the Baptist. Mk. 1:4-8 – “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: ‘After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’”
John was a miracle child born to Zacharias and Elizabeth. He was a miracle child because Elizabeth could not have children. While both were at a very advanced age, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias while he was serving as a priest in the temple to announce that they would have a baby boy whom they should name John. Lk. 1:16-17 records the angel Gabriel telling Zacharias – “Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
How did John prepare the way for Jesus Christ, the Son of God? He came in the manner and methods of the prophets of old. In the way he dressed, the message of repentance that he preached and the way he lived, John reminded people of the prophets of Elijah. He dressed in a coat of camel’s hair and wore a leather belt. He ate a simple diet of locusts and honey. He proclaimed that people were distant from God and needed to repent.
Mark describes John as preaching “in the wilderness.” The wilderness where John lived and worked was a rugged wasteland that ran along the western shore of the Dead Sea. In the Old Testament this area was referred to as Jeshimmon which means “The Devastation.” John wanted the people to know that they were in a “spiritual wilderness” far greater than the physical wilderness through which their ancestors wandered for forty years.
In John’s day, Gentiles who determined to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were required to go through a form of baptism. Since they had never been cleansed, they were required to go through this ritual to wash away all the pollutants of their past life. In fact, they were required to do three things: submit to circumcision, have sacrifices made on their behalf, and be washed to remove their uncleanness.
John proclaimed that those who thought they were right with God were not. In fact they are far from Him and must repent and submit to a baptism of repentance. The biblical concept of repentance is that of a change of mind that produces a change in direction. It’s a realization that you are going the wrong way and decide to go the right way.
I think John’s preaching is appropriate for those who call themselves the people of God today. Many of us think we’ve got things together but we’ve allowed the pollution of the world to permeate our lives. We think our church attendance and baptismal certificate makes us right with God. What we’ve failed to see is that we have drifted away from God and need to come to God in repentance seeking wholeness and healing from the One who can provide those things. 1 Jn. 1:9 tell us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” John writes that message to the church; not to the world.
John not only preaches repentance and baptizes for repentance. He declares that his message is not based on his own right-standing before God. His message is based on the fact that one who is greater than he is coming. Mk. 1:7-8 – “And this was his message: ‘After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose
sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit.’”
Mark is letting us know that something big is happening. The promises of God, made through prophets like Isaiah and Malachi, that God himself would come to set things straight – those promises are going to be fulfilled very soon. John identifies himself as the promised forerunner who gets people ready for the coming of God himself and God is going to set everything right. John preaches repentance and baptizes people, and points to one who will come who is mightier than John.
According to John, the One who is to come is going to pour out the Spirit. This means that God himself is going to be present among his people. That’s what God had promised in Joel 2:28 – “I will pour out my Spirit on all people” – was now coming true.
The final witnesses are God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Mk. 1:9 – “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” The focus shifts from the people who constantly stream from Jerusalem and Judea to be baptized by John to the One who comes from Nazareth in Galilee.
This is the One to whom John has been referring to in his preaching. Jn. 1:1 – “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.’”
Amazingly, Jesus comes to be baptized by John. Mark makes no effort to explain why Jesus came. He merely mentions that Jesus did so. In Matthew 3, we see Matthew describing the event in a little greater detail. John actually tells Jesus that Jesus should baptize John and not the other way around. Jesus simply explains it this way in Mt. 3:15 – “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus said, “I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do.”
It was the right thing to do for several reasons. First, Jesus set an example for us to follow. Second, He did it to demonstrate His willingness to be obedient to God the Father. Third, He did it so that He could begin His designated ministry on earth.
Notice how Mark describes what happens following Jesus’ baptism. Mk. 1:10-11 – “As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”
Something amazing occurs. The heavens part. It’s not just the parting of clouds to allow the sunshine access to the earth. Mark says that heaven was “torn open.” God is about to say or do something. Then God himself speaks, commissioning Jesus to undertake his God-given role, announcing that this is his Son, with whom he is well pleased. And the Spirit marks him as the one anointed to bring good news, giving him power to accomplish his mission.
Mark centers in on Jesus as the Son of God. Eight different passages in the Gospel of Mark identify Jesus as the Son of God. Mark emphasizes Jesus as the Servant but Jesus is not just any servant. He is the very Son of God who came from heaven to set things right by giving His life as a ransom for many.
Yes, Jesus is the Servant – but He is a most unusual servant. Usually, it’s the servant who prepares the way for others and announces their arrival. But others prepared the way for Jesus and announced that He had come. And we see that even heaven itself paid special attention to this Servant. This Servant is God’s Son.
Mark has shown us something very important. It’s important because it makes us ponder something very crucial; something very vital. One of the biggest questions we’re going encounter in the Gospel of Mark is a question everyone of us has to answer. The question is: “Who is Jesus?” If Jesus is indeed God in the flesh who came to set things straight, how do I respond to that fact? It should change everything in your life.
THE SERVANT’S AUTHORITY
We expect a servant to be under authority and to take orders, but God’s Servant exercises authority and gives orders. Next, Mark describes three scenes that show our Lord’s authority as the Servant of God.
The first scene that demonstrates Jesus’ authority is His temptation. Mk. 1:12-13 – “At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.”
Immediately following Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit of God moved the Son of God out into the wilderness by Himself. No times was spent basking in the glory of the heavenly voice or the presence of the heavenly dove. The Servant had a task to do.
The word translated as “sent” here in the NIV has a bit stronger meaning in the original language. It means to “drive” or “impel”. What was going to happen next was not a day in the park. It was essential to the work Jesus came to do. He must battle Satan in this wilderness.
Again, the wilderness was a place of desolation and rugged terrain. Mark tells us some things that Matthew or Luke never mentions. Mark tells us that wild animals were present. These wild animals would be hyenas, leopards, wolves, and other dangerous creatures that inhabited the land. Mark also tells us that Jesus was ministered to by angels.
Now Matthew and Luke are much more descriptive in their accounts of this confrontation between Jesus and Satan. They tell us that Jesus simply used the same weapons of spiritual warfare that we have available to us when we’re faced with Satan’s influence in our lives. Jesus simply used Scripture and soundly defeated the Devil. The very icon of evil is not strong enough to defeat the Son of God. Victory in every area of our lives is found in obedience to Jesus. Jesus has authority over Satan.
Remember these Scripture verses when you face temptation. The first verse is 1 Cor. 10:13 – “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” The second verse is James 4:7 – “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Mark is also showing us something very important in this victory in the wilderness. It is just a preview of things to come. In the coming chapters we’re going to see lots of people with lots of reactions to Jesus, but here we get a glimpse of the supernatural conflict that is going to take place with Jesus. We see that behind the coming triumphs and conflicts we’re going to read about is a supernatural conflict. All the forces of Satan are arrayed against Jesus. But Jesus is not alone in his conflict. The powers of heaven are with him.
This gives us a hint that the Gospel is not just a quaint story. We’re about to witness a battle. In a sense, we’re part of that battle depending on what we do with Jesus.
The second scene that demonstrates Jesus’ authority is His preaching. If anyone ever spoke God’s truth with authority it was Jesus. It’s been said that the scribes and Pharisees spoke from authorities but that Jesus spoke with authority. The teachers of the Law in that day would simply quote from other more ancient or respected teachers to bolster their arguments. Jesus spoke as the very Son of God.
What was Jesus’ message? Mark gives us a summary statement about Jesus’ preaching. Mk. 1:14-15 – “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’”
Jesus’ message concerned the gospel – “the good news of God.” What about this “good news?” What is it and how do we understand it. Tim Keller puts it this way: Suppose a king goes out to defend his lands from an invading army. If the king is defeated by the enemy, he sends back military advisors to advise the people how to shore up the cities defenses and save themselves. But if the king defeats the invading army, he sends back messengers (heralds, good-newsers) with the news: ‘We have defeated the enemy. Rejoice and live in that victory.’”
News is about something that has happened. The gospel is good news. Here is the “good news”: the waiting is over. The time has now come. God is doing something new, something that the whole world has been waiting for centuries to see. What is it? The kingdom of God has finally come near. God’s reign has finally arrived.
Mark 1:16-22 – “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”
Because Jesus preached with authority, He was able to call men from their regular occupations and make them his disciples. Jesus didn’t invent the term “fishers of men.” In the first century, it was a common description of philosophers and other teacher who “captured men’s minds” through teaching and persuasion.
How do we become fishers of men? We commit to follow Jesus wherever He leads us. How do we do the job. We become “good-newsers” and invite others to live in victory with Jesus Christ.
The third scene that demonstrates Jesus’ authority is His command over demonic powers. Mk. 1:23-28 – “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘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!’ ‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’ The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.’ News about him spread quickly over
the whole region of Galilee.”
Doesn’t it make you wonder how many synagogue services this man had attended without revealing what was going on inside of him? Jesus had already shown his authority over Satan. Dealing with one of Satan’s minions was easy.
It was the demon who verbalized both Jesus’ humanity as well as His deity. The demon called him “Jesus of Nazareth” as well as “the Holy One of God.” The demon was terribly afraid of what Jesus could do. Jesus showed his authority by commanding the demon to be quiet and by casting him out of this man. We understand why Jesus cast the demon out but why command him to be quiet? Jesus did not need the help of Satan or his army to tell people who He was.
The people were amazed and astonished at not only the authority of Jesus’ teaching. They were also amazed and astonished at Jesus’ actions. Both go hand in hand.
The Bible teaches us that the devil is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), and that he comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). We’ve seen Satan and his works. Jesus shows us that the announcement of the kingdom is the announcement that he was authority over evil, and that evil will be completely declawed and defeated.
THE SERVANT’S SYMPATHY
Two miracles of healing are described in this section separated by a description of Jesus’ practice of prayer.
The first miracle is the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. Mk. 1:29-34 – “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.”
The account of the miracle in verses 29 and 30 is the shortest miracle account in all the gospels. Upon leaving the synagogue on the Sabbath, Jesus, James, John, Andrew and Simon Peter go to Simon Peter’s home. We find that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is in bed – sick with a fever. What did Jesus do? He went right to her, pulled her to her feet and the fever left her. She went right to work feeding these men.
Once Jesus heals her, she doesn’t even need a period of recovery. She’s up serving the guests. She’s completely back to what she would have been doing. Jesus even cares for mothers-in-law.
Jesus has a heart of mercy. He has a heart of grace. He is sympathetic to our problems and troubles. He desires to help. Do you trust him for help in your situation? After you’ve trusted Him, are you willingly serving Him?
The result of what happened at the synagogue brought a constant stream of people to Simon Peter’s house so they could experience Jesus’ healing power. It was a long and busy night.
Prayer was important to Jesus. Mk. 1:35-39 – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’ Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’ So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.”
Late hours and busy days did not keep Jesus from talking to the Father. Now matter how busy we are, we are never too busy to pray. If Jesus needed time alone with the Father, we need it even more.
The second miracle is the healing of a man with leprosy. Mk. 1:4-45 – “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.’ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.”
Not only does Jesus heal a leper, but he touches the untouchable. Instead of the leprosy making Jesus unclean, Jesus’ touch makes the leper clean.
Jesus points us to a day that there will be no need for hospitals, nursing homes, or treatment centers for addiction or psychiatric treatment centers. He will straighten everything that’s crooked. He will restore everything that is broken. The world will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God; Satan will lose all his power; everything will be restored to the way it should be. Everything sad will become untrue and everything good will become reality
CLOSE
As the Gospel of Mark begins, Mark gives us an introduction to who Jesus is. And he then gives us the central thrust of Jesus and his ministry through summary and example. Best of all, he invites us to join the community of his disciples and to follow him.
The invitation is extended to ordinary people to join Jesus in his extraordinary mission. The good news is that God’s kingdom has come in the person of Jesus Christ. But the good news demands your response.
Walking with Jesus. That’s what this message series is all about. Are you walking with Him today?
