September 16, 2015 (Wednesday)
We completed our study of the Book of Acts at Bethel Baptist Church, Ingleside, and this evening we will begin learning from the Gospel of Mark.
The scholars tell us that Mark probably wrote this book during the 50’s, which makes his gospel the earliest of the four gospels in the New Testament, and probably the first book of the New Testament.
It is a book of action. Mark is fond of the word, “immediately.”
It does not begin with Jesus’ birth, like Matthew and Luke, or even allude to it, like John, but with the baptism of Jesus, his public entrance into his earthly ministry.
In all likelihood, Mark got his information from the Apostle Peter, and Peter was a man of action, and therefore likely to recall the deeds of Jesus rather than his words. Not that the words of Jesus were unimportant, but the emphasis of the gospel of Mark is what Jesus actually did, as he reached out to people and touched them by his merciful deeds.
At our first session, we will study the first 8 verses of the book,* which tell us about the work of John the Baptist, who prepared the hearts of people for the ministry of Jesus during the ensuing years, culminating in his death, burial and resurrection.
Jesus began teaching, healing and helping people in a public way when he was 30 years old. For the next 3 1/2 years, his life was not about what he would do if he could–it was about what he actually did. He came on a mission and he has sent us into our world on a mission like his, saying, “As the father has sent me, so send I you.”
Eliza Doolittle, in My Fair Lady, made a plea to her bashful would-be sweetheart, “Sing me no song, read me no rhyme, don’t waste my time, show me! The gospel of Mark reminds us that Jesus showed us how much he loves us, and he wants us to show him how much we love him.
Mark 1:1-9 (MSG):
The good news of Jesus Christ–the Message!–begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
Watch closely: I’m sending my preacher ahead of you;
He’ll make the road smooth for you.
Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!
John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.
As he preached he said, “The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism–a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit–will change you from the inside out.”