Mark 1 - Epilogue

Introduction:
Mark, though the shortest among all the Gospels, is one master storyteller. Mark is structured in a way such that for the first half of the Gospel (till middle of Chapter 8 - Peter's Confession of Christ), we will be looking at Who is Jesus? Then thaat point onwards, we will look at what it means to follow Jesus.

Please do read through Mark 1 and ask questions along the lines - Who is Jesus?

Chapter 1:

v1. The Gospel is about Jesus Christ, Son of God.

v2. "I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way"
Mark quotes Malachi 3:1 - dated about 430 B.C. Malachi talks about the "Day of The Lord", a day when God Himself would be coming down from heaven.

v3. "A voice of one calling in the desert", "Prepare the way of The Lord"
Mark quotes Isaiah 40:3 - Isaiah speaks of God comforting his people(Isa 40:1), and also that "The Lord" is coming to his people (Isa 40:10)

v4-8. John is corresponds to the messenger in the desert region. He announces that One will come who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

v9-11 As there is the messenger, so "The Lord" would correspond to the person that John points out, i.e. Jesus. God testifies of Jesus as His Son.

Extra note up to this point:
As a whole, Mark is pointing out that Jesus is The Fulfillment of the prophecy of the long awaited God-King who will come for Israel.

v12-14 The antagonist, Satan, appears for the first time in the Gospel of Mark. As readers, we are now aware that Jesus is not alone. This quickly follows with a report that John (the messenger) is thrown into prison. After the temptation, Jesus ministry begins.

v15. "The time has come", "the Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news" - Within immediate context, the time would refer to the time where the Kingdom of God is near. Thus far, Jesus ministry is proclaiming the good news - calling people to repent, and believe the good news. The good news will be the continuing pages of Mark which we will read more of.

Jesus' Authority

v16-20 We see that Jesus has the authority to call men to Himself. Whether he has favour with men, or favour with God - we might not be able to conclude how He has the ability to do so. But from the text, we know that Christ has such authority.

v21-22 Jesus taught (the Scriptures) with authority. Jesus taught it with authority, so much so that people were amazed as He spoke differently from the teachers (of the law) of the day.

v23-27 Jesus has authority over demons. "Be quiet, come out of him" is simply a command - that the demons have to obey Jesus' words, unlike what the media portrays (people holding crosses and sprinkling "holy water" and shouting chants).

v29-31 Jesus has authority over sicknesses. Jesus simply touched Simon's mother-in-law and the sickness left.

v32-34 Further records of Jesus work on healing and exorcism.

Extra note up to this point:
From v24-25 and v34 we are introduced to the concept of some secret. Normally known as the "Messianic Secret" - we read of Jesus making effort to conceal His identity for some reason. Yet, we also see that Jesus continues to do works that demonstrate His Deity.

v35 After a whole day (cf. v32 evening) of ministry, Jesus departs to a place where He could pray. He departs early in the morning while it was still dark, perhaps He did not want anybody to see Him, and simply to be alone for some time with God in prayer.

v36-39 Everybody is looking for Jesus. From previous verses, it is most probable that there were more diseases to be healed and demons to be casted out. The disciples were eager about it - but Jesus had a different focus. Jesus plainly declared that His purpose of coming was to preach (the Gospel - the Good News), to teach. Jesus continues to teach (primary focus) and drive out demons.

v40 -45 Though the main aim of Jesus was to preach, the people continued to come to Jesus for their physical ailments. "Filled with compassion", Jesus continues to heal the people - yet the man who once had leprosy did not obey Christ's word, so much so that what he thought of as "spreading the good news" became a hindrance to Jesus ministry.
v44 - This is an Old Testament Law from Lev 13:49 and Lev 14 concerning lepers who are healed.

Chapter Summary:
Jesus fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus Authority (call men, teach, heal, drive out demons) and the centrality of preaching the Gospel.

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