The Gospel of Mark

Mark 1:1–26

We begin our Bible Study in the Gospel according to Mark. Mark is one of the 4 Gospel Books that accounts Jesus’ life and Ministry. Mark is a very fast paced book that covers a lot of doctrinal information in short sections of Scripture. This week we will cover:

• The importance of John the Baptist
• The Trinity
• Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness
• The beginning of Jesus Ministry
• Jesus calling His first disciples

I told you it would be fast! In this layout I will put the section of Scripture covered followed by the points covered in the Bible Study.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare[c] the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Watch this YouTube video to learn more about John the Baptist:

Here we see John the Baptist introduced. John was Jesus’ cousin but he did not meet him until this time. Without John the Baptist laying the foundation and ministering as God had planned, Jesus would not have been able to come at this time because Old Testament prophecy had to be fulfilled by one coming before the Messiah. John was called for this purpose. 2 important points about John the Baptist are:

• He prepared the way for Jesus
• His ministry was characterized by repentance and water baptism.

We also see the reference of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit that Jesus does after a person is saved.

The Baptism of Jesus
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus lives out the example for water baptism here. Water baptism is symbolic of the old dirty sinner dying and the new creation being raised to life. This process is done spiritually when a person gets saved, not through water baptism but it is a symbolic proclamation to the world of what has happened to a person once they get saved. Even though it is symbolic, Jesus certainly desires that Christians be baptized.

We also see the Trinity clearly shown here. Jesus, the Son of God, is baptized, the Holy Spirit comes down upon Him, and God, the Father, says “This is my Son in whom I’m well pleased.” The Trinity is a deep doctrinal point that is often questioned. A simple way to explain it is: Jesus is not the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not the Father, and the Father is not the Son but each is God. Christians are monotheistic, serving One God, not Polythestic, serving many Gods. 2 world examples that may help are:

An Egg, The shell is not the white, the white is not the yolk, and the yolk is not the shell but each is egg.

H2O, Ice is not liquid water, liquid water is not steam, and steam is not ice but each is H2O.

If this is still confusing take a look at the graphic below and/or contact Pastor Matthew.

The Temptation of Jesus
12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Other Gospels expand on Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness but here we see it briefly mentioned. Jesus battled Satan in the wilderness for 40 days and overcame Satan’s temptation by the use of Scripture. Jesus showed us that we overcome the devil by knowing God’s word, the Bible.

Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30 and ministered for 3 years before He was hung on the cross. Jesus was 100% God and 100% man at the same time. He followed God’s timing before He began His ministry. Always follow God’s timing.

Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”[e] 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus called fishermen to be His first Disciples. He told them that they would now be “fishers of men.” We as Christians are called to share the Gospel message with others. We are called to be “fishers of men” just like the disciples. Even though we do not have the power to save someone, our witness (The life that we live and the things that we say) influence others and point them to Christ who can save them. We are not called to a passive roll but an active roll. We must share the Gospel and tell others (Testify) what Jesus has done for us. The way to become a skilled fisherman is by doing these actions as often as possible. Share with your family, friends, neighbors, and people you see at the grocery store. If you are not comfortable with sharing the Gospel with others, talk to one of the Pastors of Cornerstone or with your parents. Role playing the scenario might be a good place to start in becoming more comfortable with telling others the good news of Jesus Christ.

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