July 6, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Mark? Here’s today’s reading:
Mark 1 (NIV)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ .…..Continue Reading
How incredible the life of Jesus was. He was so important that He needed someone to go before Him to let people know God was on the move, doing something unique and sending someone that we all desperately needed. John’s whole purpose was to point people to someone who would come after Him. And therefore it is no wonder that Jesus starts off His ministry by being baptized by John to give an opportunity for Jesus to be identified for who He is. After being tested and tried, He begins proclaiming the good news and calling people to follow Him. It is clear Jesus knew who He was and He wasn’t shy to let people know. His power and authority were evident in the things He said and the things He did. His ministry and life would be marked by the ability to heal and have power over evil spirits, all pointing to Him being who He claimed to be, the Son of God. How quickly people were drawn to this power and sought Jesus ought to address things they could not resolve on their own. And yet even at the beginning Jesus sets a pattern to spend time alone with God and pray. Even He needed to maintain that connection with God and seek the fellowship and guidance from His Father. How foolish we are to endeavor to do anything outside the same connection and dependence on God!
I was really struck by the statement:
“Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.”
John is calling people to faith/follow but there isn’t really any “faith” required actually. God is IN YOUR FACE. He is sending John as a physical herald of Himself in Jesus. Jesus’ healing miracles and knowledge of the unspoken are physically viewable.
And yet believing that what is right in front of you is the answer/solution….
Fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah….how may years later ? shows the calling and the courage of John, to preach with boldness about the baptism of repentance and the forgiveness of sin and the “one” who is to come. God’s plan of salvation unfolding in His timetable, which is so different than ours. So often it doesn’t make sense to me that by embracing His plan and His timetable, strangely and uniquely brings order in revealing he best version of my life.
Mark 1&2
Mark or John Mark is believed to have been the author of this book. He was the son of Mary in whose home the Jerusalem believers met to pray when Peter was imprisoned by Herod Agrippa 1 [ Acts 12;12]. Mark was sometimes called by his Jewish name, John, and sometimes by his Roman name, Mark. John Mark was kin to Barnabas [ Col. 4;10]. After Barnabas and Paul completed a relief mission to Jerusalem , they took Mark with them when they returned to Antioch [ Acts 12;25]. [Holman Bible Dictionary ]. Turning to the book of Acts you can see how this all played out. At some point Mark left the work and there was contention between Paul and Barnabas over Mark so much so that Paul and Barnabas departed from each other and each brought the man that they wanted with them. Barnabas whose name means son of encouragement didn`t want to give up on Mark his kin. Paul apparently felt that Mark wasn`t a faithful man but latter we see in scripture that Paul thinks differently of Mark for he now believes that he is a faithful man for he says to bring Mark who is useful to him. [2 Tim. 4;11] Other scripture references are Philemon 24, Col. 4;10 , 1Peter 5;3. In this verse Peter refers to Mark as his son. Probably a son as teaching him the ways of the Lord. The scriptures do show that Mark was with Peter at times and also at times with Paul. According to early church tradition, Mark recorded and arranged the memories of Peter, thereby producing a Gospel based on Apostolic witness. [ Holman Bible Dictionary ] Just some information on who Mark was. I just can`t imagine what would had happened to Mark if no one gave him another chance to grow and be faithful. We wouldn`t have the book of Mark. But God is faithful and didn`t give up on Mark and led others to help him to grow. God bless all.
I love the balance Jesus had between doing absolutely amazing miracles and spending quiet time with His father. He went to God in pray all the time and yet possessed the power of God at the same time and yet so often I forget to consult God in my daily endeavors. If the Son of God constantly made time to stop and pray why would I think I could go it alone!
Jesus did so many amazing works and I love to imagine the crowds gathering in a time before video and cell phones and yet word was out and everywhere He went there were people following if just to hear or touch Him….must have been such a sight to see!
Mark 1
Isaiah the prophet foretold around 700 years ago. This was one of the many prophecies that told of Christ`s coming and in this case the person who would prepare the way. John was to prepare the way for Christ. John says that he baptizes with water but the Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit. In this passage and others it is clear that water baptizing does not save a person. It is only a step in following Christ as disciples. When Jesus got baptized the Spirit with the appearance of a dove descended upon Him. This was for the believers benefit so they could see it I believe. There was also a voice from heaven that said that this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Then Jesus went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan for 40 days. He calls in this first chapter 4 of His disciples. These 4 are fishermen. They are two sets of brothers and they are Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Then throughout preaches in synagogues, and heals the sick, casts out demons, heals a leper, and heals Peter`s mother in law of a fever. It says that Jesus when the sun had set kept healing and casting out demons. Then Jesus arose in the morning a great while before day and went to a quiet place to pray. Jesus prayed. How much more should we pray. I always have found it interesting the 12 disciples He chose to follow Him. Many were fishermen like these four. Some we don`t know what their profession was. There was a tax collector, a zealot. What we can be sure is that they were hard workers that looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. Of course they thought that the Messiah would come as king. They didn`t realize that He would come as a lamb the first time. God bless everyone.
John the Baptist fulfills what is written in Isaiah more than 700 years before Jesus was born. This is just one of the many examples justifying why the Bible is true and that Jesus is Lord.
Jesus prays in a solitary place and it enables him to discern confidently what he must do next – go throughout the villages in Galilee to preach there. Our prayers to God are essential to understanding what he wants us to do with our lives. Guide me in the ways that I can best serve you Lord, and grant me the wisdom to know where you want me to go.