Mark 1

Verses

1

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,

• Christ = Messiah; anointed one; Greek word
• Son of God = no doubt, who Jesus was
• Good News = gospel; good news for mankind
• beginning = something new is starting; old is over
• we should learn to speak and write like Mark (and other Biblical writers); they condense lot of ideas into a short sentence without any ambiguity
• All old testament prophecies fulfill in Jesus

4

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

• People went out to meet John; Jesus went to meet people. He mingles with people; see how it is different in Go into the city
• confession of sins (v5 talks about confession), repentance, baptism & forgiveness are prominent in the new testament starting with John
  • Not sure if baptism is in OT #myquestion
  • confession → forgiveness → baptism → repentance (change of heart); this progression has to happen; otherwise it is a mockery
  • it can take multiple iteration; for some it is immediate though
  • God forgives; and as an image of God we should forgive too
  • but there has to be repentance - change of heart;
  • baptism is the public announcement of a private decision

7

And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

• John was confident to say, I'm not the one; it comes from self-confidence, in knowing one's calling
• confidence comes from knowing who you are; what your place in the scheme of things
• humility comes from knowing who you are not; not a false sense of self - either lower or higher
• when both are combined (knowing who you are and who you are not), you get clarity on your ministry; this clarity is needed to be effective

8

I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

• is this the first time baptism with the Holy Spirit is mentioned? #myquestion
• this is fulfilled much later - not during Jesus's time in the world; but after his resurrection ⇒ certain parts of prophecies might be true and fulfilled but another part might take time

12

At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,

• Spirit sends Jesus to the wilderness;
• Jonah had the storm because he ran away from God; Paul had storm because he ran for God; Handling storms; there is no one answer to most life question
• Wisdom = knowing the differences in situations and handling them differently ⇒ maturity
• Baptism, Anointing, and temptation before ministry - even for Jesus; much like in Psalm 23 = after walking through the valley of darkness comes "my cup runs over"
• When you have gone through those three, then you have the power of the Holy Spirit and when you call, people follow you much like John & James
• Ref Genesis 12#10