Mark 1:28

 Mark 1:28 says, And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.  After Jesus cast the unclean spirit out of the man, His fame began to grow.  I believe that many of these people who heard about what Jesus did were more curious than aware of Who He was.  Many people today hear of Jesus and all that He did, up to and including dying on the cross for the sins of mankind, and they are curious but do not believe that He really is the only Savior of mankind. Verse twenty-nine adds, And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  Verse thirty continues, But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.  Jesus and the four disciples with Him, Simon or Peter as he would be known, Andrew, James and John, went to Peter's house, and found his mother-in-law sick with a fever.  We may think of the disciples as young single men, but we know that some, at least Peter, had families that they were responsible for.  I don't believe that God expected them to ignore that responsibility, and neither does He expect us to today in the name of serving Him.  Verse thirty-one concludes, And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.  Jesus took Peter's mother-in-law by the hand, and her fever left her.  She then ministered to their needs.  When God heals us, He heals us to serve others under His direction and by His power.   If you are one of those who has simply been curious about Jesus Christ but have never accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, curiosity is never enough to save anyone. You have to believe that He is Who He says He is to be saved and accept Him as your Savior by faith.  Verse thirty-two says, And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. As word of Jesus' healing power spread, people were even bringing those in need of healing to Him after dark.  Even though they were not necessarily coming for the right reason, which would have been for spiritual healing, Jesus did not turn them away.  People today often come to Jesus for the wrong reason, but He does not turn them away.  Of course, they may never come to accept Him as Savior and Lord, but that will be because they rejected Him and not because He rejected them.  Verse thirty-three adds, And all the city was gathered together at the door.  Mark said the whole city was at His door.  It would be wonderful if we could get that many people to come looking for Jesus today, even if many came for the wrong reason.  Verse thirty-four continues, And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.  Jesus healed many people of different diseases, and He cast out many devils, forbidding them to even speak.  Again, there was no great war in casting out these devils.  They were powerless before Jesus.  If we have faith in Jesus, we have no reason to fear the devils or demons of this world.  The devils obeyed Jesus because they knew Who He was, which is probably more than many of the people gathered there knew.  We must know Who Jesus truly is in order for Him to have any power in our life today.  The devils knew Him and had no choice but to obey Him.  We, on the other hand, may know Him but have a choice as to whether or not to obey Him.

Mark 1:23

Mark 1:23 says, And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,  Mark said there was a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue.  I believe that many people would have thought that he shouldn't be there, but where is a better place for those who are filled with unclean spirits to be if they are going to find forgiveness and restoration to God.  Verse twenty-four adds, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. The unclean spirit recognized the power and authority of God.  Mark said that they asked, which would imply either more than one unclean spirit or the man speaking for the unclean spirit and for himself.  Either way, the question was asked as to what they had to do with Jesus, since He was the Holy One of God.  The implication would be that Jesus would be corrupted spiritually by having anything to do with the man.  We can never feel that we can have nothing to do with sinners today if we are a Christian because we are simply sinners saved by grace.  Just as this demon possessed man could not corrupt Jesus, neither can sinners, even those who might be demon possessed, corrupt us spiritually as long as we put our faith in Jesus Christ and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us.  Verse twenty-five states, And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him   Verse twenty-six adds, And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, even though it says he tore the man, with a loud voice he came out, which tells us there was only one unclean spirit.  There was no big battle where Jesus had to fight the unclean spirit.  If we have complete faith in Jesus, if we encounter an unclean spirit, there should be no big battle to cast the unclean spirit out through the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.  Mark said the people were amazed and asked who Jesus was and by what authority could He command the unclean spirits, and they would obey Him.  It would seem that the unclean spirits recognized Who Jesus was and His authority before the rest of the people around Jesus in the synagogue did.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we must recognize His power and authority before He can cleanse us of all unrighteousness. There is no unclean spirit that can stand between God and you if you put your faith in Jesus Christ.  

Mark 1:16

 Mark 1:16 says, Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  As Jesus began His ministry, He began calling disciples.  The first were two brothers, Simon, later to be called Peter, and John, who were fishermen. This was not a recreational thing for them but was the way they made their living.  They were not rich men, nor highly educated.  They were simple hardworking men.  God calls us today from wherever we are to be His disciples, those who put their faith in Him and follow Him by faith.  Our worldly status has nothing to do with being His disciple.  Verse seventeen adds, And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.  Jesus told Simon and Andrew to follow Him, and He would make them fishers of men.  This required them to give up their way of making a living and follow Him with nothing said about how they would now be able to make a living.  When Jesus calls us, we need to have that same type of faith, where we are willing to walk away from everything in order to follow Him.  Verse eighteen continues, And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. They immediately left their nets, their source of income, and followed Him.  They did not make excuses for why they couldn't do what Jesus asked of them, and neither should we. Verse nineteen says, And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.  A little further along, Jesus saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were also fishermen, and He called them to follow Him.  Verse twenty adds, And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.  They didn't hesitate either, leaving their father and his servants in the boat and following Jesus.  When Jesus calls us to follow Him, we cannot allow even our family to come between Him and us.   Verse twenty-one continues, And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.  Even as Jesus was calling His disciples, He went to the synagogue, a place of worship, on the sabbath day.  We should not allow our busy lives to keep us from gathering together to worship God.  While in the synagogue, Jesus continued to teach.  When Jesus is teaching us today, and as Christians we should always be learning as God works in our lives, we need to ensure that we do not get too busy to listen.  Verse twenty-two concludes, And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.  The people in the synagogue were amazed because Jesus taught as One that had authority.  Jesus still teaches us with that same authority today, and always will.  Jesus did not teach as the scribes did, because they did not have the authority of Jesus.  They were well versed in the scripture, but they were not as qualified to teach as Jesus was and were amazed at how He taught.  We today may be well versed in the Bible, but we still need to rely on God to guide us as we proclaim His gospel to the world.  God not only calls us to proclaim the gospel, but He empowers us to do so, and we must make sure that what we proclaim is God's word and not our own.  In order to do so, we must first accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.

Mark 1:9

 Mark 1:9 says, And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. As John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing for repentance, Jesus came to him and was baptized.  We know that Jesus had nothing to repent for, but He gave validity to baptism as a symbol of His coming death, burial and resurrection and also to validate the ministry of John the Baptist.  John had always said that he was just a forerunner of the coming Messiah, and Jesus was and is the only Messiah.   Verse ten adds, And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened, and the Spirit descended on Him like a dove.  This is the only baptism that this happened at, and it was God's endorsement of Jesus and His baptism.  Still, as followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit descends on us, not at baptism, but at the moment that we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and then we are baptized to symbolize Christ's sacrifice for our sins.  Baptism did not bring salvation to anyone in John the Baptist's day, and it still doesn't.  Verse eleven continues, And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  After the dove descended on Jesus, a Voice came from heaven saying, “Thou art My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased."  Today, even though we may not see the heavens open nor hear a Voice, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, God will always be well pleased.  Verse twelve says, And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.  After Jesus' baptism, He was immediately led by the Holy Spirit into the desert.  Once more, we should not attempt to make Jesus and the Holy Spirit into two God's, because They are One with the heavenly Father.   We accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, which restores us to a right relationship with the heavenly Father, and then we are led by the Holy Spirit, but these are not three Gods, but One God Who manifests Himself in three ways.  After we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we should immediately be led by the Holy Spirit to do what the heavenly Father has for us to do.  Verse thirteen adds. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.  Mark does not say what temptations by Satan Jesus faced, only that He faced them and was ministered to by the angels after defeating Satan's temptations.  We do not have to know what temptations another person has faced in their Christian life, but it is good to know that they have overcome them.  Matthew gives us an account of the temptations, but Mark was not led to do so, which is why we need to read and understand the whole Bible to the best of our abilities under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  We will never understand it all and will never understand any of it without God revealing His truth to us.  Bible study is not an intellectual understanding of what the Bible means but is a spiritual understanding of what the Bible means.  Verse fourteen continues, Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, Mark tells us that after John the Baptist was imprisoned that Jesus began preaching the gospel in Galilee.  Jesus preached that the kingdom of God was at hand, and people needed to repent and believe the gospel.  Verse fifteen concludes, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.  Jesus was and is that gospel, and since He died on the cross for our sins, the kingdom of God has been at hand.  It doesn't matter when Jesus Christ returns, because God's kingdom has already been ushered in.  As followers of Christ, we are not going to be a part of God's kingdom one day, but we become a part of God's kingdom as soon as we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Of course, we must first believe the gospel, which tells us that Jesus Christ died for our sins and if we put our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord that our sins are forgiven forever.   

Mark 1:1

Mark 1:1 says; The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;  Mark does not begin with the birth of Jesus, but with the beginning of His ministry, which he accurately refers to as the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Recognizing Jesus for Who He truly is will always be the beginning of the gospel. We can learn all about the historical Jesus, but unless we acknowledge that He is the Son of God it does us no good.  Verse two adds, As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  Mark tells us that the Old Testament prophets wrote of the coming of a messenger to prepare people for the coming of Jesus Christ.  Verse three continues, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  This messenger was to call on them to prepare the way of the Lord and make His paths straight.  Though this messenger, whom we know to be John the Baptist, was calling on them to make ready for the ministry of Jesus then, we as Christians have the same commission to proclaim the gospel today and call on people to make ready for the return of Jesus Christ and to make their paths straight in accordance with God's word. We do not accept Jesus Christ and then just go our own way, but we must follow the leadership of God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit once we are saved by God's grace.  Verse four states, John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Mark said John baptized for the remission of sin by repentance. The physical act of baptism did not bring about the remission of sin, but repentance through faith in the coming Messiah did.  It still does today, though now it is in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Who has already come. Verse five adds, And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.  Mark tells us that many people from throughout the land of Judea and Jerusalem came to John to be baptized after confessing their sins. We still must call the lost to repentance today and also to put their faith in Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation. Verse six continues, And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; John was baptizing people for repentance, but he was not what we might expect a preacher to look and act like.  He was not concerned with the wealth of the world and what would be considered normal behavior but was dedicated to preaching about the coming of the Messiah.  We may need to be less concerned with what society says is normal today and more concerned with proclaiming the gospel.   Verse seven says, And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.  John was not preaching to call attention to himself, but to call attention to the coming Messiah, whose shoes John said that he was unworthy to stoop down and unfasten.  This is the same Messiah, or Savior, that we put our faith in today, so we can never afford to become filled with self-righteousness.  We are still unworthy to unfasten the shoes of Jesus Christ.  Verse eight adds. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.  John said he baptized with water, symbolizing the forgiveness of sin, but the coming Messiah would baptize with the Holy Ghost.  We may go through a physical baptism when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but the important fact is that as soon as we accept Him, we are baptized with the Holy Ghost.  This is true of all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, and not just a select few at a later time.   

2 Chronicles review continued

As already stated, the book of 2nd Chronicles begins with Solomon building the temple of God and the palace of the king.  He was known as one of the wisest, richest men to ever live, because he was being obedient to God and asked Him for this wisdom.   If we want to be wise and spiritually rich, we must look be obedient to God, starting with accepting His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as our personal Savior and Lord.  There was peace in Israel during this time, and there should be peace in our soul if we are Christians.  David had wanted to build the temple but wasn't allowed to, but he still began to gather the things necessary to build it.  We may have a desire to do a particular thing for God and be denied the right to do so, but if it is something that needs to be done, we still need to work to prepare so that someone who is called by God can do so.  The kingdom of Israel was also prosperous during Solomon's reign, and if we as followers of Christ are to be spiritually prosperous, we must be obedient to the Holy Spirit.  After Solomon died, his son, Rehoboam decided to be even more severe on his rule over the people of Israel than Solomon had evidently been, and this led to the kingdom being divided, but the other person, Jeroboam, who was made king of most of Israel was not of the house of David, but of the house of Ephraim, so he was not the one that God placed on the throne.  Throughout the rest of the book, the kingdom of Israel was divided, until it was finally defeated and carried away captive once more.  We as followers of Christ must be united in serving God, and we also must make sure that those we have in power in the church are called by God to their position.  Next, we will look at the book of Mark.