Mark 1:2-8, John and Us

​Today we’re going to look at John the Baptist in Mark’s Gospel account! This is exciting as John is a very interesting character in the Gospel accounts. His ministry, as we will hopefully see, is similar to our ministry. As we consider what he was in relation to Jesus, let us also consider our places, relative to our Savior. 

​Starting in verse 2 of chapter 1, we get to prophesies about John. This alone should key us into the fact that John is a very important figure. Now the Hebrew Bible is similar to our Old Testament with some slight differences. It is called the Tanakh, which is a acronym for its composition: the Torah, which are the five books of Moses, the Nevi’im which is the prophets, and finally the Ketuvim, which is the writings. Within these lie some differences with our Old Testament such as Daniel being one of the writings, not within the prophets and Joshua, Judges, Kings, and Samuel being found within the prophets. This is all to say that when Mark refers to Isaiah in verse 2, he is quoting from the Nevi’im as a whole, as we can see from verse 2 being a quote from Malachi and verse 3 being a quote from Isaiah (3:1 and 40:3, respectively). Malachi also foretold that John would have the spirit of Elijah (4:5). 

​From these prophesies we see John’s mission, to prepare the way for Jesus and to make His paths straight. And so, in verse 4, we see John appearing in the wilderness preaching baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This is interesting on many accounts. First, John is in the wilderness preaching this, not Jerusalem or the Temple or a synagogue or anywhere else we might normally expect. Second he’s telling them to repent. Now we know from Luke’s Gospel account that John as a Nazarite from birth. This interestingly puts a parallel between John and another famous Nazarite, Samuel. They both were Nazarites, they both preached repentance, and they both attempted to turn Israel back to God and eventually to their King (David and his descendant and Lord, Jesus). 

​Next in verse 5 we see all the country of Judea going and people of Jerusalem, to be baptized in the Jordan River (an Old Testament symbol for the baptism of the Israelites in Joshua). These people came confessing their sins and were so baptized. Now we know that baptism is a symbol of death and dying to self (Romans 6), and so these people were agreeing to die to themselves and repent (turn back to God). 

​Verse 6 tells us of the character and nature of John. He wore simple clothes of camel’s hair and a leather belt and ate locusts and honey. This is a very simplistic life. It shows first that he was not attached to the things of this world. Also it shows his dependence upon God. Surviving in the wilderness is no small task and locust and wild honey cannot be grown or produced (otherwise it wouldn’t be wild!). John was fully dependant on God to carry out God’s mission for John. 

​And he was preaching, in verses 7-8, that Jesus would come and be greater than John. So much so that John would be unable to even loose the thongs of His sandals. (What humility on John’s part, in spite of the many people coming to hear his message and to be baptized!) This coming person would baptize with the Holy Spirit, unlike John’s baptism of water. This shows not only that the Spirit is about to bring life in contrast to the water’s death, but also the magnificence of the person to come! By agreeing to this baptism the people were, in effect, agreeing to die to themselves and to follow whomever John pointed out as the one who would baptize with the Spirit. This is quite a confession! 

​It is amazing to consider the work that John performed and his unique ministry in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His was to be no small role and the prophecies of him reflect that. Yet our ministry is very similar to his. He was called to point people to Christ, we are called to point people to Christ. He baptized people who agreed to follow the one who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit, we the church, baptize people with water who have agreed to follow He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John had the people repent and confess their sins so they might be forgiven, as we do with new disciples today! Finally, John foretold the coming of the Messiah, and so we to are to foretell of the Second Coming of the Messiah of Israel. 

​Brothers and Sisters let us consider our role in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, albeit a minor one. We have such a privilege to share this Good News with others. We are to subsist purely on God for all of our needs. We need to point people to Christ in a similar way with as much humility as John. Remember, we too are not worthy to loose the thongs of His sandals. May we carry out our mission with reverence and humility and not lose sight of Jesus, who is coming again to rule and reign. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Mark, Introduction

​We have decided to cover Mark’s account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ next! This is exciting as it is the first book study we’ve covered since this Lifegroup’s inception. It is only fitting that the first book we study as a fellowship of Christians is the life and ministry of Jesus the Messiah. In order to fully understand Mark’s Gospel, we should first of all cover who Mark was and why he chose to write the things in his account of the Gospel he did. Obviously, the Holy Spirit is the true author and Jesus is the Word incarnate, but there are things we can glean from studying the human author as well. 

​Our first introduction of Mark (as many scholars believe) is in Mark’s own Gospel narrative! In chapter 14 of Mark’s Gospel account, we come upon Jesus’ arrest and betrayal within the Garden of Gethsemane. 

 

And they all left Him and fled. A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked. Mark 14:50-52

 

​First we see Jesus’ disciples leaving Him en masse. However one person stayed behind: a nearly-naked youth. Literary critics believe this is Mark’s way of showing himself. In a similar fashion, John, in his Gospel account, refers to himself as ‘the beloved disciple’ or ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’. This was, as scholars tell us, a way for authors to show themselves within their text. 

​If this is Mark, however, what does this tell us about him? First it shows his faithfulness to follow Jesus even after His own disciples had left Him. It also speaks to Mark’s boldness as there was a massive cohort of individuals there to arrest Jesus, yet Mark persisted in following. It also shows peculiarly that Mark was underdressed, as it were. This may be an allusion to not yet having the Garments of Salvation, which Isaiah spoke of, but it certainly tells us that this youth made a brash and probably instantaneous decision to follow Jesus into the garden, and especially so to follow Him after He was arrested! 

​We also encounter Mark, also called John, in Acts 15:37-41, where Barnabas and Paul have a disagreement over Mark. Paul argues that Mark is unfaithful having deserted them in Pamphylia and does not wish to take Mark with them. Barnabas, however, being an encourager by nature, and someone who in the past encouraged Paul when Paul’s ministry first began, wishes to take Mark with them and encourage Mark along the way. The disagreement was so harsh (v. 39) that they had to separate and go their separate ways. While neither Barnabas or Paul was wrong in what they believed, per se, we (given the glorious benefit of hindsight and the completed Word of God) know that Mark went on to write one of the Gospel accounts of Jesus. 

​Also even Paul saw Mark’s usefulness later in life, as in his final epistle, written to Timothy, he writes and asks that Timothy should pick up Mark and bring him with Timothy because he is useful to Paul (2 Timothy 4:11). Mark, it appears has come quite a long way from being a naked youth, to a deserter, to someone useful to Paul. This takes us to the Gospel according to Mark. 

​First it should be known that Mark is writing his Gospel account primarily to Romans. Whereas Matthew wrote to Jews, Luke to Gentiles, and John to the church as a whole, Mark is writing to people whose culture and heritage was particularly Roman. This means that Mark places a lot of emphasis on things that would appeal to Romans. These include a sense of immediacy (he uses the word ‘immediately’ frequently), the sense of Jesus having a purpose or mission and carrying out that mission as a perfect soldier/servant, and finally it shows Jesus’ obedience to His Father. These things in particular would appeal to Romans whose chief exemplar of model citizenship would be a Roman soldier. 

​With this in view, let’s look at Mark’s introduction:

 

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark 1:1

 

​This simple introduction to Mark’s Gospel account actually says a lot. First off, he begins with the word beginning. This same word is found to begin both the book of Genesis and John’s Gospel. This is to show that this is a new beginning. A new start for humanity, found through Christ. Next he calls Jesus the Christ, which means ‘anointed one’ in Greek (or Messiah in Hebrew). This signifies that Jesus was anointed for His ministry. Christ has come to mean savior to many people, and they’re not entirely wrong to think that as Jesus was anointed to save, but it means anointed one. Finally Mark refers to Jesus as the Son of God. This denotes not only Jesus’ submission to God the Father (remember Romans seek obedience), but also His prophesied role (Proverbs 30:4 for instance) (and His mission).

​This is quite a thing to study and I simply cannot wait to get into Mark’s Gospel account. Let us take Mark’s example. Though he started out a brash youth without much fortitude, he ended up being useful to Paul and also God and went on to pen a Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. What an amazing journey! Consider dear friends, the same God who was at work in Mark’s life is in work in you. Though you may at times fail or desert your post, Jesus came to forgive you of your sins, so that you might carry on His righteousness and tell the world about the God News of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel. Amen!

Law IV: A Harsher Law

​A lot of people suggest that living under the Law would’ve been so difficult, and they are certainly right. No one but Jesus Himself was able to keep the law perfectly. That said, how much more difficult was it for the Jews in the Old Testament than for modern believers? Do we have any laws that are difficult to follow, and how do they stack up to the Old Testament Laws. 

​Let’s consider some of the Ten Commandments again, since they should be fresh in our minds from last week. The first one we’ll look it is the commandment not to murder. This seems simple enough at first, but confusing afterwards. What is the difference between murdering and killing for war? Was Joshua justified in killing for God when He went to war? Surely he was, as God commanded it. How about when one Hebrew would kill another? Well if it was premeditated it would be considered murder and they would be put to death. If, however, it was accidental, the Hebrew could flee to a city of refuge and if found not guilty of murder, he would be allowed to live within the city of refuge for the rest of his days (or until the high priest passed away). 

​Now for Christians there are not cities of refuge so it shouldn’t be ambiguous for us, right? Well many Christians will argue over things like the death penalty for the worst criminals and whether this constitutes as murder for us. Or they will argue whether Christians should be police offers or members of the armed services where deadly force may be necessary. Unfortunately (or fortunately) these questions are outside the scope of what we’ll be discussing, but they need to be brought up as they pertain to the difference between Christians and an Old Testament Hebrew living under Mosaic Judaism. 

​Let’s look at Matthew 5:21. Jesus explains that while they have been told to not murder, He expounds on this to include not only murder but also harboring anger towards a brother. Jesus equates having anger for a brother to actually murdering one! Now let’s consider our Old Testament law of simply not murdering. How does Jesus’ take on it compare to the simple reading? Surely Jesus expects even more!

​How about Jesus’ take on adultery in verses 27-28? Jesus says that simply by looking at a woman with lust, one is guilty of adultery! Is this more difficult than simply not committing adultery in the Ten Commandments? Surely it is! 

​How then are we to think of the law compared to our law (the Law of Christ 1 Corinthians 9:21)? Surely our law is harsher. Jesus expects more of us than was expected under the Old Testament version of these laws. How then are we able to comply if no one could keep the less harsh version of those laws? Through the Holy Spirit, grace, and mercy of our God and by remaining humble through all things. Dear brothers and sisters, let’s strive to keep Jesus’ commandments and to be perfect as He is perfect, fully knowing that we are not perfect this side of eternity, but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the plurality of the church, and through our own sanctification we can become more like Christ each day. Amen!

Law III: Ten Commandments II

​This week we’ll continue to look at the Ten Commandments, but this time with a different focus. In order to fully understand the law as Moses would’ve seen it, we need to understand our verticals ↕ and our horizontals ↔. Verticals↕ have to do with humans, humanity, God, salvation, and the relationship between all of these things. In present day Christianity, the majority of what preachers and Bible teachers speak on is vertical ↕. Horizontals ↔, however, have to do with God’s overarching plan for humanity. For instance Creation in Genesis 1 would be an example of something horizontal. So too would be the Old Testament Law, as Israel was to be a kingdom of priests (Leviticus 19:6). 

​With this in mind, let’s take another look at the 10 Commandments in Deuteronomy 5. The first four commandments are most certainly vertical ↕. They have to do specifically with God’s relationship with His people. Having no other Gods, having no idols, not taking the Lord’s name in vain, and keeping the Sabbath are all examples of our relationship with God on a vertical ↕ scale. The next six commandments, however, deal primarily on the horizontal ↔ scale. They deal with man’s relationship with others and are, therefore, a representation of what God’s plan is to be through the execution of His Chosen People.

​Next let’s look at the correlation between these laws. The first two laws come with a warning that God is jealous and He will bless those who love Him, but will curse those to the third and fourth generation due to iniquity (verses 9-10). First off this is a vertical ↕ commandment, but look at the penalty. Does keeping this law result in salvation? Not at all! Instead it results in God blessing His followers temporally. These are a vertical↕pair of laws with a horizontal ↔ blessing.  Let’s look now at verse 16, and the commandment to honor parents. This too comes with a similar blessing. God will prolong the days of those who honor their parents. Why are these two blessings so similar? It’s because they have a direct correlation. By affirming parent’s authority, you are affirming (horizontally ↔) God’s authority (vertically ↕). God has established that parents are to have authority over their children and so by acknowledging that authority, you are inherently acknowledging God’s authority to delegate parental authority. 

​If you aren’t confused (which I pray you aren’t!) let’s continue on to the next commandment, do not take the Lord’s Name in vain. This is again, vertical ↕, but God warns those who do that they will not go unpunished (↔). The horizontal ↔pairing for this commandment is the list of commandments 6-9. They all start the same way “do not” and the idea is that by not murdering, stealing, committing adultery, or bearing false witness you are affirming God’s Holy Name. Remember when we studied prayer how Holy God’s name was and is. Only people who know God can take His name in vain, because only they know Him well enough to do so. By murdering or breaking those other commandments on a horizontal ↔ scale, you are defaming His name (↕) as His people.

​Finally the Sabbath and coveting have the same ending pattern. These two should be the most obvious to correlate because they go on and on about who should rest on the Sabbath and who/what you aren’t to covet, down to servants, oxen and donkeys. The idea is God has control over all things, time and things and by working on His holy day, you are profaning Him. So too coveting something that isn’t yours suggests you want/need something God hasn’t provided for you and questions His capabilities/authority. 

​This was a dense subject, but hopefully you can get a grasp on verticals ↕ and horizontals ↔ as well as see the Ten Commandments in a new way you hadn’t before. The way God through Moses intended. God is omniscient and He placed these bits of grain for us to find, to be fed through His Spirit, that we might worship Him more fully.

Law II: Ten Commandments

 Does your house have a "no playing football in the house" rule? If it does  how did you come to have that rule? More often than not, it's because someone was playing football in the house and something broke. How does God create laws? Surely He knows all things and makes them according to His personality and to His knowledge, but from our perspective He can also make laws that remind us of the past and our interaction with Him. This is certainly true of the most famous of the Old Testament laws: The Ten Commandments.
 First let's consider the first commandment: Have no other Gods before Him. This should immediately bring up thoughts of the creation narrative. In Genesis 1 we don't see any interaction with other gods, we only see the assumed nature that there is only one God. We also see that we aren't to have any idols for number 2. In Genesis 3 we see Eve and Adam make an idol out of themselves by trying to become gods themselves through the forbidden fruit. Paul tells us that greed amounts to idolatry, that certainly would be true of Adam and Eve.
 Next we seek that we shouldn't take the Lord's name in vain. Hopefully this brings to notion our relationship with God. We should know who God is, but also know Him personally. You cannot take His name in vain if you don't know Him. You might know the President of the United States, or you might just know who they are. This was broken when Adam & Eve ate the fruit, betraying God, whom they knew. The Sabbath should be plainly obvious being drawn from Genesis 1. Just as God rested we are to rest.
 Honor our parents should be obviously from both Adam and Eve's rebellion against their Father in Heaven. The next few, do not murder, commit adultery, or bear false witness are also seen in this part of Genesis. Murder is brought about through the eating of the fruit, and thus death entered the world. Adultery shows purity which was lost when Adam and Eve realized they were naked and then bore false witness to God by hiding and then casting the blame one after the other from Adam to Eve to the Serpent.

 Finally, the idea of coveting comes from Eve's looking upon the forbidden fruit. The serpent tempted her and she coveted being like God. So she coveted the fruit as it was desirious to the eyes, looked delicious to eat, and was boasted to give her wisdom.

 Hopefully this has shown that the 10 Commandments weren't arbitrarily formed, but rather God, through His wisdom ordained them based upon past human failures to show us His excellence, His standards, our shortcomings, but also God's foreknowledge and over-arching plan. May this encourage us to strive continually to be like Jesus, and have peace knowing that God is in control whether we succeed or fail.

Introduction to the Law

​When people think of God what attributes come to mind: omniscience, omnipresence, mercy, or wrath? Do people relegate some attributes to the Old Testament God rather than the New Testament? We Christians know that God is the same and does not change (the immutable attribute), but sometimes we fall into a worldly pitfall and think of God differently in Leviticus than we do in Romans. In order to understand the law and all its intricacies, we must first understand why we need a law in the first place. As with everything else, our reasons begin in Genesis. 

​In Genesis 1 we see the order in which God created all things. We see His omniscience when He names things like “Day” and “Night”, but we also see Him not name things like the stars and the planetary bodies. This is not a glaring oversight, but it is to show His sovereignty. False gods in the middle-east would name the stars or perhaps the stars would be gods themselves, according to their respective tradition. In Judaism and Christianity, outer space (also known as the second heaven) is considered almost unimportant, except to show the power and infinite nature of God. Everything of significance occurs upon either earth or Heaven (the third Heaven, where God is). 

​We also see in Genesis the fall of Adam and Eve. They were tempted by the serpent and gave in. First of all they gave in because they didn’t know the scriptures, but also because of their covetous desire. It was in their fall that sin entered the world, thus ensuring the need for a law. At their time they had only one law: do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fact that this law was broken illuminates why every other law was broken from this time forward. 

​As we begin our study of the law it is important to keep these two things in mind, first that God is the same today as He was when He gave the law to Moses. Also that our salvation is contingent upon Messiah always and that keeping the law either during the time of the Old Testament or today will not assure you of salvation, only grace through faith in Jesus. Second, that we all fell in creation and that the law will be predicated upon the assumption of our knowledge of this. Job had no knowledge of Genesis, we however, do. Let’s use this knowledge to interpret the law through a historic and Biblical lens, to better understand what it meant for Old Testament believers and modern ones.

Prayer final

​We’ve been talking about prayer and what it means for Christians, as well as how to pray and prayer as a science. Today we’re looking at the culmination of these studies. For that, let’s look at the Lord’s Prayer for His Disciples in Matthew 6:5-13. This prayer should be familiar to most, if not all, Christians. This is the most quoted prayer and the most memorized passage of the scriptures with Psalm 23 being a close second. This is how Jesus taught to pray and so there must be plenty we can learn from this prayer, or rather that we have already learned. You see for the past ten weeks we’ve been studying this prayer.

​“Our Father who art in Heaven,” was studied in week 4 when we looked at incense and prayer throughout the Bible and where it culminates in Revelation. We know that our prayers last forever in Heaven and are a soothing aroma to God. We also know that we pray to God the Father specifically, who resides in Heaven. 

​Next we studied “Hallowed be thy name,” by looking at what it means when we pray in Jesus’ name. We concluded that it was as if Jesus was praying Himself. That it was stamped with His approval. Just as the Roman Centurion sent people in his name who were recorded as if he himself went, so too when we pray it should be as if we were requesting things precisely as Jesus would request and petition them. 

​“Thy kingdom come, they will be done , on earth as it is in Heaven,” was studied through the context of the Holy Spirit working within us. You see, when we walk by the Spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). There are two options for people to be ruled by, either the flesh or the spirit. If we walk according to the flesh we will certainly sin. If we walk by the spirit, however we will do things according to God’s Will. The only time we can pray with confidence is when we pray in the spirit. If everyone were to walk according to the spirit, we would have Heaven on earth (spoiler alert: the Millenial Reign of Christ). 

​“Give us this day, our daily bread,” was studied in the context of what need both spiritually and physically. In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, but to take concern for today. This should be the attitude of every believer. We are not to have worry, but to have confidence in God. He has and will continue to provide for us. This also equates to our daily knowledge and faith, just as the Israelites gathered in the Manna in the wilderness. We take as much as we need and none will be left over. All the more prescient that we read God’s Word and pray daily. 

​“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” was dealt with in the context of praying for others. We concluded that first we need to be walking the spirit, but also that if we are praying for someone they need to be walking in the spirit also. Our greatest and only prayer for nonbelievers then should be for their salvation. What use is it to pray for their physical well-being if their soul is on a fast-track to torment? Believers, however, should be prayed for spiritually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Their overall being is our concern as it is also Gods. The roadblock to all of this prayer however is sin. Sin prevents us from praying as we should. It also prevents non-believers from any prayer other than for Jesus’ mediation. Sin is pervasive and so we should pray that believers do not sin. 

​Which leads us to “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” as we pray that sin would not affect us or keep us from doing God’s Will. We know that God tests us for our benefit. He knows how we will respond to tests, but we don’t. Temptations, however, come from Satan, the world, and our flesh and try to get us to walk according to the flesh, not the spirit. It is while walking in the flesh that we will certainly sin. Believers should therefore pray that no one give in to temptation but rather that they should flee from them.

​It is important to realize that this prayer is expressed in the plural. Believers are not meant to be by themselves, but rather they are meant to be in a group such as a church congregation. We are not individual beings, but rather part of the Bride of Christ. In order to fully carry out God’s Will we must be in a church. 

​Hopefully this study has been informative as well as enlightening. The goal isn’t for you to solely understand prayer better, but rather that you would pray better. Knowing the functions of prayer and how it all works is important, but not as important as praying itself. Please, please pray often for all your needs and remember just how holy God is, yet His great concern for you a sinner. We owe Him much more than our prayers can afford, so we should give Him our prayers in abundance. Take a moment now to pray the Lord’s Prayer and consider its ramifications.