After just finishing up the book of Exodus, which took a long time; I'd like to jump into the New Testament and go through that as a virtual book club-slash-blog devotional. (As opposed to slugging through Leviticus right now...)
The great Kyle Key (former Chi-Alpha Christian Fellowship University of Texas Campus Pastor) once said: "The book of Mark is a great one to read to children, because it's compact and full of lots of action. There's not many sentences that go by where there's not an action verb. Jesus is doing this; they're going there..." So, since we've done Matthew here before, I think Mark is a good place to start now.
Biblical scholars mostly agree that the author of the book of Mark was John Mark, "a close associate of Peter," who listened extensively to his teachings and kept a record of them, which is this book. John Mark is mentioned in Acts 12:12, where the believers met at his mom's house.
This Mark guy had a falling out with Paul, where he deserted Paul and Barnabas in Perga. I was thinking about this earlier when someone in our life group mentioned how there was x-number of denominations on the planet. I think the number given was in the thousands, which seems kinda high to me. I imagine that I could only list about 24 off the top of my head, and another 10 or 20 with the help of a phone book. Anyway, I think the vast number of denominations are a good sign and reminder that God uses humans to do His work. He left us (normal people that simply believe in Him) to further His kingdom on earth. Even from the beginning, there have been disagreements and splits. Mark and Paul, Peter and Paul, and on down through each denomination. About every single denomination was started over a disagreement (fight) that couldn't be resolved. On a later missionary trip, Barnabas proposed taking Mark with them. Paul refused. It was later on in Paul's life where he welcomed the guy and his work.
We have our differences. Some think that speaking in tongues is pretty darn important; others think that it's not a real work of the Holy Spirit anymore. Whenever we meet together for a unifying event (the March for Jesus is one example, Billy Graham crusades are another, Promise Keepers is another), it shows that we can have differences, but look beyond them to our unifying point -- Jesus.
The book of Mark starts out talking about John the Baptist, who was foretold about in Isaiah the prophet:
"I will send My messenger ahead of you
who will prepare your way --
a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for Him.'"
John talked about how,
"...After me will come One more powerful than I, the thongs of Whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
When Jesus arrived, He went to the Jordan and was baptized by John. A voice came from heaven and said: "You are My Son, Whom I love; with You I am well pleased." That's an intense confirmation and affirmation of His identity, huh? Then Jesus immediately went out into the desert, at the urging of the Spirit. He was out there forty days, being tempted by Satan. "He was with the wild animals, and angels attended Him." There's an action sentence for young ones! He was with "wild animals." That's intense right there...
Jesus went out and gathered disciples for Himself. He was kind of witty, telling a couple fishermen, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Something about what He said, the delivery, or His presence caused the men to immediately drop their nets and follow Him. When He called James, son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, who both left their dad and the hired men in the boat. Did Jesus not call the others? It seems that way. The others didn't get the up-close-and-personal 3-year adventure that these disciples did.
Jesus went into a synagogue and began to teach. He spoke with authority, which was a stark contrast to the teachers of the Law. It's interesting that He was able to teach. Apparently, there was a custom where visiting teachers could participate in the worship service by invitation of the synagogue leaders. A demon possessed man spoke up, asking Jesus what He was doing.
"...Have you come to destroy us? I know Who You are -- the Holy One of God!" Jesus told the spirit to be quiet and to come out of the man. The man was shaken violently and the spirit left with a shriek. That's where we get our Halloween creepiness from, I bet -- real experience with evil from ancient times.
It's interesting how the people marvelled that the evil spirits obeyed the words of Jesus. It makes one think that others had tried to tell evil spirits what to do and were ignored. This would indeed have impressed them. Very soon after a busy ministry sprang up, where people that were demon possessed or sick were brought to Him for healing. A man with leprosy was later brought to Him. The man bowed on his knees before Jesus: "If You are willing, You can make me clean." It says that Jesus was "filled with compassion" and then He healed him. Jesus told him sternly: "See that you don't tell this to anyone. BUt go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."
Instead, the man went out "and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to Him from everywhere."
It reminds me of the night I came back to the Lord. I received a message from a brother filled with the Holy Spirit not to talk about the spiritual warfare I had witnessed that day. It was such an intense experience, though, that I chose to tell my friends back in Austin about it when they asked me about my conversion to Christianity. I effectively disobeyed God by my testimony. He had told me to shut up about it and I blabbed all about it to those who would listen. And you know what? That testimony fell flat on its face. I bet if I would have stuck to the facts about Jesus in my life instead of talking about demons, that maybe they would have listened.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at October 20, 2008 11:19 AM