Mark 1:1-8 Bible Study

INTRODUCTION

What I want to do is go a little deeper into the passage from Mark 1 tonight

So tonight, we will look at three topics from Mark 1:1-8 and make some personal application

QUESTIONS ABOUT MARK 1:1-8?

1) SON OF GOD (v 1)

What do you think it means that Jesus is called the Son of God?

PRIMARILY THAT HE IS EQUAL TO GOD

Jesus is called the Son of God, not because he comes from God the Father, but because He is EQUAL TO GOD THE FATHER

How?

Jesus is of the same essence as God

John 5:17–18 “But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”

My Father works and I am working, Jesus says He has the same nature as God.

In other words, Jesus does exactly what God does

Think about a son and a father relationship

A son who is born of a father has much of the same essence of the father

Looks

Voice

Height

personalities

Jesus is also equal in power to God the Father

John 5:21 ““For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.”

God raises the dead, Jesus raises the dead

Jesus has equal authority

(v 21) Jesus gives life to whom He wishes

This speaks of His own authority to give life to whomever He wishes

Jesus has equal judgement

John 5:22 ““For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,”

Jesus has the same judgement as God the Father

Jesus has equal honor

John 5:23 “so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

JESUS IS DIFFERENT FROM GOD ONLY IN PERSONHOOD

Yes Jesus is God, but He is not God the Father. There is ONE GOD who exists in three persons. All are co-equal, co-eternal personas.

God the Father is not the same person as God the Son

God the Son is not the same person as God the Holy Spirit

QUESTION: Is it correct to say that Jesus is an expression of God?

NO, that is saying that there is one God (person), who reveals himself in 3 different persons.

He images into the Son when the Son is needed

He images Himself into the Spirit when the Spirit is needed

This is called modalism: Not three persons, but three separate revelations of God

2) JOHN THE BAPTIST (v 2-4)

QUESTION: Who was John the Baptist and why is he so important?

John was a fulfillment of OT prophecy:

Malachi 3:1 ““Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.”

Malachi 4:5 ““Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.”

Isaiah 40:3 “A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”

He was the messenger who was promised to come before the Messiah

If there was no Elijah, then the people knew it was not the Messiah

Matthew 11:14 ““And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.”

John prepared the people for the coming of Jesus

John was like a modern day evangelist who preached the good news of the gospel to prepare them to meet Jesus

His message was clear and not real popular among the self-righteous, or sinful people.

Matthew 3:2 ““Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””

What does that mean? That was the essence of John’s message.

With the arrival of Jesus, so is the arrival of God’s Kingdom which is His rule and reign on earth.

The Kingdom of God is present here on earth, not in its fullness as will come at the end of this age, but it is here.

God rules His people, and now the opportunity has come to the entire world to enter into that Kingdom, come under the rule of God, and look forward to it coming in its fullness.

QUESTION: What is John’s role in bringing people into the Kingdom of God?

QUESTION: What does that tell you about every person that is a part of God’s Kingdom

QUESTION: What does it mean to live a repentant life?

3) BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (v 8)

What John is referring to is a greater baptism, one that could only be received from Jesus.

When Jesus ascended to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to Earth

QUESTION: What does the Holy Spirit mean to you?

Jesus said the Holy Spirit will:

Be our helper: John 14:16–17 ““I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

Disciples have the ability to know and relate to the Spirit just as they knew and related to Jesus

This is a personal relationship with the Spirit

The Spirit would indwell them and remain with them just as Jesus was with them

The Spirit would teach and guide the disciples in all truth

John 16:13 ““But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

The Spirit bears witness to Christ

John 15:26 ““When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,”