The Gospel of Mark - Part 4
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Mark Chapter One:
I. Forerunner
II. Fisherman
III. Freedom
II. Follow Me
II. Follow Me
II. Follow Me
A. Jesus’ Preaching
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.”
John’s ministry is brought to a close and Jesus comes on the scene with full power and authority.
Verse 15 is the thesis statement of Jesus’ entire preaching ministry.
“The time is fulfilled” was a term of a season or a favorable period of time, and not necessarily a chronological time frame. (there were other Greek words to better indicate chronology)
John the Baptizer was the last of the OT prophets, the time of preparations was complete, and the kingdom was “at hand” or near.
This is a statement of sovereignty, kingship, and royal rule.
The kingdom was at hand because the King of the kingdom was standing right in front of them!
Jesus will have a literal, earthly, 1,000 year Kingdom in the future, but this was call to recognize that God was doing Kingdom work in and through Jesus of Nazareth RIGHT NOW!
Although the Kingdom was, in fact, being offered to Israel at that time, they rejected it - they could not accept it because God’s Word must be fulfilled.
So why make an offer they must refuse?
This was a Messianic claim - only the King could offer the kingdom.
Jesus was proclaiming His Messianic identity and calling Israel to turn to God.
Like John, Jesus was calling the nation of Israel back to pure Judaism (pure Scripture - Judaism had become corrupted), so that they could understand what was happening before their eyes.
Jesus was not ready to begin His earthly kingdom yet:
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus’ preaching of the good news (the gospel) of the kingdom of God was that God’s next part of the plan was unfolding right before their eyes.
In other words, Jesus was saying, “the Kingdom is within reach - Jesus was present - God is doing something new - pay attention and understand the kingdom from Scripture!”
John called the people to repent and be baptized.
Notice that Jesus is not calling for baptism, but instead repentance and belief.
The word “gospel” literally means “good news” - While Jesus had not died and rose again yet, the Scriptures foretold of that very event - the appearance of the Suffering Servant!
The heart of the gospel has always been the same: by grace, through faith.
The Heart of Gospel: The good news of God’s grace, accessed by faith.
The Heart of Gospel: The good news of God’s grace, accessed by faith.
This has been true from Adam to us, everyone is justified by God’s grace accessed by our faith. (cf. Hebrews 11)
But it is fleshed out differently for the Jews in the OT economy (which was the theological economy of the gospels) vs. the Church Age (our theological economy)
For us today, the gospel (the good news of God’s grace accessed by faith) is fleshed out on the cross and the resurrection. (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
But for the Jews of Jesus’ day, living in the OT theological economy), the gospel (the good news of God’s grace accessed by faith) was fleshed out by the appearance of the Messiah and the Kingdom. Jesus was calling them to believe in Him (access by faith) as Messiah (the embodiment of God’s grace to the Jews).
We must be careful not to read Paul back into Mark - the church age began in Acts 2, after Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. (i.e. New Testament vs. Old Testament lens that Pastor Rich spoke about)
As we study Mark together, we must keep in mind that Jesus (even though He is setting the stage for the transition to the Church Age) is operating within the OT theological economy - that is the lens we must read the four gospels through.
The Church is NOT spoken of in the OT - it is the MYSTERY that Paul would later write about.
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
Even the disciples did not understand the full extent of God’s plan until the Church Age began.
At the tomb, they found the grave clothes, but did not understand.
IT WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME!
9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
Even after the resurrection they did not understand that before Messiah was the Conquering King, He would have to be the Suffering Servant:
25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
(Cf. Acts 17:2-3)
Even up to Jesus’ ascension, the apostles were looking for the kingdom:
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
But Jesus was not here to set up the Kingdom. He came to prepare Israel for the future kingdom and to prepare the apostles for the church age.
Jesus, like John before Him, was calling the Jews back to pure Judaism, (Judaism had become corrupted!) to look closely at the Scriptures and see for themselves that the Conquering King would indeed come, but first salvation had to come through the Suffering Servant.
Jesus was, in a sense, saying “Follow me” to the nation of Israel as a whole.
As a nation, Israel officially rejected this call.
But there were some who did so on an individual basis when Jesus called them to follow Him as His students:
II. Follow Me
A. Jesus’ Preaching
B. Jesus’ Calling
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.
19 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.
Notice that Jesus does not say to them, “Believe in Me” or “Believe the gospel”…He says, “Follow Me”.
I believe that this was because these fisherman had already believed in Jesus’ message - they had heeded his call to go back to the pure, untainted truth found in the Scriptures - they had “ears to hear”, so they were ready to learn.
This call to “Follow Me” is the call of a rabbi to a student.
It was a call to follow as a disciple of Jesus:
To walk with Him
To live with Him
To learn from His teaching
To apply it and to live it out
To fully obey and imitate Him
Normally in this culture, it was the student who would seek out the rabbi, and had to perform certain tests for the rabbi to see if he was a worthy student, but not so with Jesus - He required nothing but faith they already had in Him to forsake all and to follow Him. So first faith, then following…first Relationship then Fellowship.
Jesus is calling us to do the same thing!
Salvation/Eternal Life is a free gift…BUT -
Sanctification/Discipleship is costly.
III. Freedom
III. Freedom
III. Freedom
Mark gives us a number of ways that the Lord Jesus brings freedom into people’s lives.
A. Freedom of Truth
Mark 1:21–22 (NKJV)
21 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Notice the immediacy that Jesus moves with as He assumes His role as the supreme Teacher.
He knew His mission and He wasted no time to act upon it.
Don’t forget to see the Father, invisible to the eye, but it was He who told Jesus to go and teach…and don’t forget to see the Spirit, giving Jesus the power to teach with such authority.
This theme of authority is repeated over and over again as Mark presents the God-Man of action in action!
Here, Jesus taught from His own position of authority, not needing to quote other rabbinical teachers or texts…He simply taught the truth with an expectation that those listening would believe Him.
No human-only teacher can teach like this…we all must appeal to a higher authority, but Jesus could appeal to no authority higher than Himself - His teaching was a subtle message to the hearers that He was unlike any other teacher…He brought His own authority and taught them out of it.
This pure, untainted truth brought freedom!
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
OUR SIMPLE STEPS KEY VERSE!
III. Freedom
A. Freedom of the Truth
B. Freedom of a Clean Life
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!”
This man had been there, listening to the authoritative manner in which Jesus was teaching and the demon inside him knew exactly who Jesus was.
The phrase “What have we to do with You..” is a translation of a Hebrew idiom (saying) that basically expressed the incompatibility of two opposing forces…in other words, the demon understood the absolute antithesis between Jesus and the demonic world.
The demon also understood that Jesus had the authority and the deific power to destroy all of the demonic world - “us?”.
The demon then attempts to stir up a controversy among those at the synagogue who were so impressed by Jesus’ teaching - if the demon could get the worshippers arguing over some theological beliefs, he figured that he could disrupt Jesus’ ministry.
But Jesus would not allow it and used His awesome authority once again:
25 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.
And now this tormented man could enjoy the freedom of a clean life - one without a demon’s constant oppression.
27 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.
Once again, Mark is highlighting the authority of Jesus - both in His teaching and in His commanding demons.
Also - notice that Jesus’ popularity is growing exponentially. He is becoming a famous person - overshadowing even the notoriety of JtB. John is decreasing, while Jesus is increasing.
III. Freedom
A. Freedom of the Truth
B. Freedom of a Clean Life
C. Freedom From Sickness - Part 1
29 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
Notice that the disciples are already beginning to learn just who this Jesus of Nazareth is - they waste no time in bringing the matter of this woman’s fever to Jesus attention.
They knew He could handle it because they had seen what He had already done with the demoniac.
Notice the instantaneous nature of this event: they tell Jesus “at once”, His touch makes the fever leave “immediately” and she begins to serve them some food.
III. Freedom
A. Freedom of the Truth
B. Freedom of a Clean Life
C. Freedom From Sickness - Part 1
D. Freedom From Sickness - Part 2
32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
We’ve seen Jesus’ authority over demons and over disease…and now we see it again and multiple times over!
Here is the Servant of the Lord - taking His entire evening to heal and redeem a host of people - what compassion!
It is often hard for us to slow down enough…to take the time it takes to minister to people’s needs.
Think of how exhausted He must have been - preaching all morning at the synagogue, looking forward to a nice evening of rest at Peter’s home, eating some great food after healing Peter’s MIL - and then, “knock, knock” on the door, and the whole town has shown up with all their problems! …and they expect you to fix them!
But that is why Jesus came:
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Jesus didn’t come so Peter’s family could serve Him a nice Shabbat meal - He came so that He could serve everyone that needed Him.
III. Freedom
A. Freedom of the Truth
B. Freedom of a Clean Life
C. Freedom From Sickness - Part 1
D. Freedom From Sickness - Part 2
E. Freedom To Obey
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37 When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” 39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
Because of His complete obedience to the Father and His empowering from the Holy Spirit, Jesus was free to move about as He was being told.
He didn’t have to weigh His ministry strategies and His time management decisions based on what others thought - He was not bound to popular opinion...He was free to leave because He was walking with the Father!
Notice Jesus’ priority of prayer - He was awake and up and out before the sun in order to have the needed time in prayer with His Father.
Jesus ministry would not have been the same without regular, intimate fellowship with God the Father.
And neither will ours! We cannot afford to go even one day without talking to Father - He leads us and helps us and shows us what to do and when to do it.
And then we are FREE to do what He says, even if others disagree. (although we must use extreme caution because many times God uses other people to help us see that a direction we want to go is not God’s will)
III. Freedom
A. Freedom of the Truth
B. Freedom of a Clean Life
C. Freedom From Sickness - Part 1
D. Freedom From Sickness - Part 2
E. Freedom To Obey
F. Freedom From Sickness - Part 3
Mark 1:40–42 (NKJV)
40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
Leprosy was a horrible fate in the first century.
A better translation might be “skin disease”, since the leprosy that we know of today (Hansens’s disease) is likely a different disease than that spoken of in Scripture.
Leprosy begins with small, red spots on the skin which get bigger, turn white, shiny or scaly in appearance. Spots spread over body, hair falls out, along with finger and toe nails. Teeth are lost, and the leprosy continues to eat away at the face until the nose, palate and even eyes are wasted away. Eventually the person’s body is consumed with the rotting waste and life ends in a brutal, horrible way.
The Mosaic law describes how the Israelites were to deal with leprosy. The priest played a significant role in both declaring the leper unclean or clean if the disease was healed.
Of course, the if the person was declared unclean, they had to leave the camp (or the dwelling) and be isolated for life if the disease did not stop. No one could touch them!
Jesus, the ultimate High Priest, both made and declared this man cleansed!
Notice how Jesus chooses to heal this leper: He TOUCHED him! But instead of Jesus being made unclean, the leper is made clean!
43 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.” 45 However, he 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.
Jesus wanted to follow the Law of Moses - remember He was in complete obedience to the Father, which means that He obeyed the Law PERFECTLY, and would have wanted others to do so as well.
<READ Lev. 14:1-32 for more information!>
The healed leper does not obey Jesus’ command, which is not a right response to the one who has just healed him.
Jesus was not surprised by this, nor was the Father or the Spirit, but it is not what Jesus wanted him to do.
45 However, he 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.
The word for proclaim here is a word for spreading good news.
This did inconvenience Jesus - this is an important detail:
Are you ever inconvenienced?
Do those inconveniences cause your plans to change?
Notice that Jesus was inconvenienced - so He knows what that feels like…He can identify with us when we are inconvenienced.
But He also shows us that an inconvenience does not mean a defeat!
Look at that last phrase: “[He] was out in desert places; and they came to Him from every direction.”
The ministry was not stopped - it was rerouted! Remember that your plans might face a rerouting this week…you might be inconvenienced..don’t let that stop you from doing the things that your heavenly Father has called you to do!