The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Mark 1

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

Many today are preaching a gospel (which they define as “good news”) that is very different from what is written here. The gospel of Mark speaks of the Son of God and of a kingdom that differs greatly from the kingdoms of men’s religion. When Jesus entered the scene, the word “gospel” was already being used on special occasions in the Roman Empire to announce a change of kings or kingdoms. “King” and “kingdom” derive from the same root word in Greek. The kingdom is everything that falls under the authority of the king, including persons and territory.

When a new king came on the scene (after the former king died or was killed or deposed), he brought with him a change in government, and the “gospel” was the new king’s proclamation of this important change. Since humans are corrupted by power, the former king had likely become very corrupt and even tyrannical, so it was usually “good news” to the people when they learned that the king had been replaced. Today, most countries have elections every few years, but in ancient times, when the psalmist declared that the days of our years are seventy, and of the most valiant eighty years (Psalm 90:10), it could take thirty, forty, or even fifty years before a new king took the throne. Imagine having to wait that long for a change in government!

When the Caesar was at last dead or deposed, heralds were sent forth under armed escort into every corner of the empire to blow their trumpets and proclaim the good news of the advent of a new king.

The early Christians likewise had good news. The greeting among them was “Jesus is Lord,” and the reply was “Yes, he is Lord indeed!” These words were part of the beginning of the gospel, the good news that the Lord Jesus is our new king. We may accept him or reject him, but he is still sovereign. The word “gospel” doesn’t just mean “good news,” but it refers to the specific good news that we have a new king. No longer do we have to serve Satan, the old despot.

The Romans, on the other hand, believed that Caesar was God, and when the “good news” of the new Caesar was proclaimed, everyone was expected to kneel, swear allegiance to him as their lord and king, and henceforward worship him. The Roman soldiers dealt swiftly with any who dared to refuse, a stand which led to the deaths of many Christians who had given themselves to the Lord Jesus and rejected any demand to worship Caesar.

The gospel we’re going to look at in this book was written down by John Mark, who was a young disciple at the time of the events. You will recall that on the night Jesus was betrayed, prior to the crucifixion, the disciples abandoned him and fled the garden of Gethsemane. Amongst their number was a young lad clothed only in a sheet. When the Roman soldiers grabbed the sheet, the boy fled, naked (Mark 14:50-52). John Mark may have been that boy.

Peter called Mark his son (1 Peter 5:13), and it is very likely that this book of the Gospels was written down by Mark with input from Peter, who was an uneducated and probably illiterate fisherman when Jesus called him. When the early church fathers were establishing the canon of the sixty-six books of the Bible and separating them from spurious books, one of the key criteria was that the true books of the New Testament had to have been written, dictated, or authorized by one of the apostles who had received his commission directly from the Lord Jesus. The fact that a book written by Mark was accepted into the canon, even though he is never mentioned as an apostle like Peter or Paul or John, gives credence to the theory that Peter played some part in its writing. After he denied the Lord three times before the rooster crowed twice, the chastened Peter became very humble (Mark 14:72; John 21:15-19), and he may have not wanted to sign his name to this work, preferring God to get all the glory.

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

Imagine Simon Peter dictating this and young John Mark writing it down. Jesus was known to love children and young people, and John Mark may have tagged along with him and the disciples and witnessed many events. The Gospels are composed of eyewitness accounts.

1:2 as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.

1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.

Here the writer is referring to Isaiah. The passage in Isaiah reads:

The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places made plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be manifested, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it. The voice that said, Cry. And I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the mercy thereof is as the open flower of the field: The grass withers, the flower fades because the spirit of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass withers, the open flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:3-8)

What does this mean?

When we live here on earth in the flesh, our lifespan is like that of grass, which lasts for a very short time. Even when we’re born the second time and blossom with gifts from God, and the Holy Spirit flourishes in our being, our state is very transitory. Its purpose is to produce the fruit of righteousness, the mature character of God in our being, for this fruit of the Holy Spirit will endure forever.

Peter quotes Isaiah in 1 Peter 1:23-25, when he refers to man being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

We see that Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had a concept of the gospel that is very different from the one endorsed by much of our present church of modern-day lukewarm Laodiceans.

1:4 John baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.

The Greek literally says “baptism into repentance.”

Under the law, if someone became unclean, the person had to be washed with water. There were many ways for a person to become unclean, but John was preaching that the entire nation was unclean. Those who sought him out for baptism were publicly recognizing that they were unclean and therefore not acceptable to God.

Repentance is different from the crocodile tears we may see on public display. Repentance means making a full course reversal of a hundred and eighty degrees. If we’re heading downhill, we have to turn around and make our way back up the slope. If we’re heading south, we must turn and head north. If we’re going our own way and seeking to satisfy our own desires, we need to turn and go God’s way and seek to satisfy his desires. God can offer us a time and place to repent, but if we fail to respond, there’s no guarantee that we’ll be given another opportunity later.

John’s ministry of baptizing the Jewish people into repentance began about six months before Jesus came upon the scene. John was commissioned to immerse these sinners into repentance, and he used water as a symbol. Later, in the gospel of Luke, it’s implied that those who received baptism at John’s hands “justified God” and were able to understand his plan and purpose in Jesus Christ, whereas those who refused John’s baptism rejected the counsel of God against themselves (Luke 7:29-30).

Those who refused to repent were subsequently unable to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. They remained clueless. They wanted a Messiah who would implement a grand kingdom and restore their nation to a glory even greater than that of Solomon’s. When Jesus said that his kingdom was not of this world, some were very disillusioned. They did not understand that Jesus came to announce a very different kingdom, which he started by planting an incorruptible word. Scripture states that the word comes forth we know not how, first the blade, then the flower, and finally the fullness of the fruit (Mark 4:27-28). Of this whole process, however, it is only the fruit that will remain.

John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus, and he did this by preaching repentance and baptizing into repentance those who responded to his message. Later, when Jesus was about to leave this world, he told his disciples that they were clean, not because of the baptism of John, but because of the word that he had given them (John 15:3). True cleanness comes from hearkening to the word of the Lord and hearing his voice. When we receive his word by faith, he provides the grace to bring forth his word in us as obedient reality.

1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judea and those of Jerusalem and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

These people desired a new beginning with God so that he would blot out their past and allow them to start over. “Jordan” means “to flow down,” and in our natural state all of us are flowing downwards, headed for death and decay. John submerged the penitents in water as a symbol of death to all their own sins and ambitions so that they could begin new lives seeking the kingdom of God.

1:6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he ate locusts and wild honey

1:7 and preached, saying, There comes one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

The most that human ministry can accomplish is to baptize someone in water, and the water is only a symbol. Only as we operate in union with Jesus can someone be submerged into the Holy Spirit. Many who are baptized come up out of the water as corrupt as they were before, with no miraculous change. They come out of the water wet, and possibly a bit cleaner on the surface, but if the Lord Jesus doesn’t effect a work deep within the person and bring him (or her) to genuine repentance and baptize (immerse) him into the Holy Spirit, that person will not enter the kingdom of heaven. This is why the only hope for all of us is to trust our Lord.

John came in the spirit and power of Elijah (see Malachi 4:5; Luke 1:17), in at least a partial fulfillment of Malachi 4. At his first coming, not too many Jews were really reconciled to God, and the land was completely destroyed by AD 70. Back then, however, most were not aware that the Lord would come twice.

There exists another ministry like the ministries of John the Baptist and Elijah. It’s a ministry that is calling everyone to repentance, prior to the second coming of the Lord, and this time it is not just a single individual who is doing the calling. God is raising up many people in many lands to blow the trumpet and announce this gospel of the kingdom that shall be preached to the ends of the earth, after which the end will come (Matthew 24:14). God is sending his messengers to prepare the way for the second coming.

1:6a John was clothed with camel’s hair

The camel was an unclean animal, and its skin was not fit for a priest’s clothing, but John was no ordinary priest. Although he was a descendant of Aaron, born of Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, and although his father, Zechariah, had executed the priest’s office before God (Luke 1:8), John did not dress like a priest, nor did he minister in the temple like his father. Instead, he dressed like Elijah and ministered in the desert. The skin of a camel symbolized a creature that could handle the desert and go for long periods without food or drink.

God promises to prepare his people in the desert. This can be either a literal desert or a spiritual desert, but in order to qualify for the fullness of the kingdom of God, we must go through a desert place in one form or another. God also places ministry in the desert (or wilderness), and those who carry out this desert ministry are like the prophets. Even in the New Testament, God raised up ministry to feed the “woman” in the wilderness (see Revelation 12:6).

The prophets wore a mantle of camel’s hair as one of the signs that God’s way isn’t an easy one. It is hard on the flesh, for the path to follow the will of God may lie in the midst of great difficulty. Although John the Baptist didn’t deal in signs and wonders, he had a powerful message, and the people left the comfort of the towns and cities to go out to the desert and see what was going on with him at the Jordan River.

John, and later Jesus, led multitudes in the desert where there was nothing, not even any food. If John had sought his own comfort, he could have been a priest back at the temple, perhaps even the high priest, but here he was dressed in camel’s hair in the desert.

1:6b and with a girdle of skin about his loins

Do you imagine this girdle as some sort of belt? No, it was his underwear! And over the top of it, he wore his mantle of camel’s hair. John was a rustic-looking individual.

The history of the girdle of skin (or leather) goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. After they got into trouble and knew they were naked, God was not impressed with their improvised clothing made of fig leaves (this covering made of fig leaves appears to have been man’s first attempt at religion). Instead, he covered their nakedness with leather girdles, which meant that something had to die, since blood must be shed before leather can be obtained. Later, the Israelites were not allowed to kill an animal whenever, wherever, or however they pleased. The act had to be part of the blood covenant with God and carried out according to his orders. Scripture states that the life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11) and that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). This background was designed to point to the supreme sacrifice that would be made by Jesus Christ, whom John described as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

John had his intimate parts covered with a girdle of skin as a reminder that he was in a blood covenant with God. The law (that is, the old covenant) requires an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life (Exodus 21:23-24). Under the new covenant, however, Jesus is not only our redeemer, but also our avenger, and we are not to take the law into our own hands, for Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19). We must see things from the Lord’s perspective and yield to his authority, but the rewards of doing so are great. The psalmist David summed it up like this: For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light (Psalm 36:9).

John demonstrated understanding of the covenant. We must do God’s will and not our own. We are to live his life and not our own. We are to decrease and he is to increase. The city of the religion of men is not a proper starting place for a relationship with God. The covering of men was not the covering of John the Baptist, nor was he covered by an ordination certificate from the priests at Jerusalem. He had no certificate declaring that he was the son of the high priest, nor did he wear a priest’s robe. His camel’s hair covering was unclean in the eyes of religious men, but he was covered directly by God.

When John arrived on the scene, Israel had been some four hundred years without a prophetic voice from God. Then came John, emulating the prophet Elijah, who had last been seen many hundreds of years before.

1:6c and he ate locusts and wild honey

Those who lived in ancient Israel might face a number of serious problems that could have arisen during their lifetimes. One was a foreign army coming through and trashing everything, but another was locusts showing up. There could be clouds of them, made up of millions of locusts, and they would eat any green thing they found. Sometimes the resulting famine would last for years or even decades. It could even be of such magnitude that the people would have to leave the land. Abraham experienced this, as did Jacob and his sons (Genesis 12:10; 45:16-28). Many times God’s people had a worse time with the locusts than with two-legged enemies who wielded swords. It was because of famine that Naomi and her family went to the land of Moab, where one of her sons later married Ruth (Ruth 1:1-4).

In Revelation 9, the locusts are a symbol of demonic enemy forces. When the fifth trumpet sounds, a horde of locusts comes out of the pit to attack and sting all men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

The locusts that were the terror of Israel, however, were lunch for John the Baptist. Everyone else feared the arrival of locusts because the locusts ate every green thing in sight, but for John it was the other way around: he ate the eaters. For him, the locusts were a blessing!

Those who live to feed their flesh on the “grass” of the word of God, as if they were cattle in a pasture, fear the coming of locusts. That is, they are afraid that enemy forces will take away all their earthly goods. But those like John the Baptist, who live under a different type of covering; who aren’t trying to please their flesh; who seek to please the Lord and serve the people of God; such people know that unto those who love God, all things help them unto good, to those who according to the purpose are called to be saints (Romans 8:28). For these people, when the demons show up, they only serve to further the purposes of God that are hidden to the natural man.

Brethren, this is extremely important to understand. The devil is not our most serious problem. Why do you think the Lord has allowed all these devils to roam loose for such a long time? Why hasn’t he put them on ice or even back in the pit? Fear not. He will do so at the proper time. For now, however, they fulfill a useful purpose.

What purpose is that?

At least part of God’s purpose for them is to make sure that anyone who wants to live according to their own desires, do their own thing, and indulge their own selfishness and arrogance will have to reckon with the possibility of “locusts.” To fall into the hands of the devil is serious business. Here in Colombia, it is relatively easy to fall into the hands of bandits or guerrillas or corrupt officials and get stung by the locusts, who take from you the earthly money and possessions that you’ve stored up. This is the way of the devil. And even after the devil has been locked up for a thousand years, God still plans to let him loose again for a short time (Revelation 20:7).

John the Baptist came to prepare the way for those who desire to serve the Lord. This is the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; and for those in it there shall be someone to go with them, in such a manner that the foolish shall not err therein (Isaiah 35:8). Could this anonymous someone be a prophetic reference to the Holy Spirit? The Way of Holiness is a highway where no demon can prosper. It’s a way where we don’t lose our hard-earned savings to the enemy, because we’ve learned to invest in heavenly treasure that is completely beyond his reach. This is a way where the tables get turned, and instead of us being the food and prey of the enemy, the enemy becomes our food and our prey!

This is the gospel according to John the Baptist and according to Jesus from God’s perspective.

It’s rather like the wedding supper described by the Lord. The invited guests, for the most part, didn’t show up. They were busy inspecting land with which to enlarge their private kingdoms, and they were trying out new yokes of oxen to see how much they could “evangelize” in the flesh. They had no time to go to the great feast of the Lord (Luke 14:18-24).

In another parable, the servants were to go to the highways and gather everyone, bad or good, and bring them to the wedding feast. One person was thrown out of the wedding, however, not because of his goodness or badness, but because he wasn’t wearing the proper attire or covering (Matthew 22:1-14).

What is the Lord saying?

If we submit to his authority and agree to do his will, then we come under his covering.

What covering is this?

In Revelation 19:8, the white robes of fine linen, clean and bright, are the righteousness of the saints. Covered by these robes, all we have to do is to eat the clean food that God provides, for we shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Revelation 19:9 states: And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are those who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true words of God.

This is a call to feed upon the true words of God. If we receive the covering that he provides, and if we eat the food that he supplies, he’ll take care of everything else. Wearing these robes and eating this food, we can walk through hordes of demons and they won’t be able to cause us any eternal damage. They can only destroy the things of this world, and the kingdom of God is not of this world (John 18:36)!

There has been some confusion here because the word translated as “world” is “cosmos” in the Greek. This refers primarily to the system and the manner of doing things. Remember, the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). In other words, God is going to put his government upon the earth. But he won’t do it by taking over the White House or the Palace of Nariño or the Vatican or the World Court or the United Nations. No, the Bible is very clear: all of the kingdoms of this world are going to come tumbling down (Daniel 2:31-45; Revelation 11:15).

God’s kingdom, however, begins with another way of doing things: his way, as he transforms hearts one by one. It will all be revealed at the proper time.

And when he was asked of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation; neither shall they say, Behold it here! or, Behold it there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, Behold it here, or Behold it there; do not go, nor follow them. For as the lightning, which shines from the region under heaven, shines in that which is under heaven; so also shall the Son of man be in his day. (Luke 17:20-24)

In what day?

In the day of the Lord, which is even now at our very door.

Over the long history of the church, many have made and are still making tragic mistakes as they attempt to take over the kingdoms of this world in the name of God. They forget that John the Baptist didn’t attempt to take over the government of the temple in Jerusalem, even though he could have been a very important priest. Instead, he chose to live in the desert and eat locusts and wild honey.

The honey he ate wasn’t processed, so it retained all its natural ingredients. Honey is a symbol of the Word of God. There are warnings in the Old Testament about eating too much honey (Proverbs 25:16), because under law and without the Spirit of God, the natural man cannot digest very much of the Word of God without getting spiritual indigestion. John the Baptist, however, could live on “honey,” and so can the people of God who have learned to walk in the desert. Such people can absorb great quantities of the unadulterated Word of God, flowing and flowing and flowing, but it must be a Word of God that has not been processed by theologians or denominations or Bible institutes. The “honey” must be administered directly by God. This was the diet of John the Baptist as he also munched on a few locusts from time to time. As Mark says:

1:6c he ate locusts and wild honey

1:7 and preached, saying, There comes one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

In the desert, shoes are a symbol of preparation. It’s impossible to travel over hot sand and razor-sharp rocks without shoes. People in those days could go barefoot in the farms and towns and villages, but if they had to venture into the desert, they prepared by having appropriate protection for their feet. Moses had to take off his shoes at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5) because the preparation for life that he had been taught at the house of Pharaoh had to be left behind. He had to forget what he learned there in order to be able to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land. Joshua, too, had to remove his shoes when he met with the prince of the LORD’s host (Joshua 5:15). Even the years of preparation in the wilderness by Joshua’s great mentor, Moses, had to be left behind when he entered the Promised Land and came into the direct presence of the prince of the LORD’s host.

Jesus, however, had experienced a different preparation. He had shoes that even John the Baptist was not worthy to stoop down and unloose. In other words, John wasn’t qualified to touch Jesus’ shoes, even from an attitude of humility and worship. The Lord Jesus had a very special preparation and formation for his ministry. Who are we to modify this and say that we can do things in a different manner? Jesus was ordained by God and approved by God. He had no human credentials, no certificates from Herod or the Sanhedrin or the high priest, and he gave no written diplomas to his apostles. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receives whomsoever I send receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me (John 13:20).

When Saul of Tarsus was persecuting the believers, he went forth with letters of authorization from the high priest and from the “authorities” in Jerusalem. After the Lord Jesus captured him, his letter of recommendation was his life and the lives of the people who had been transformed by the power of God under his ministry (2 Corinthians 3:1-3). According to Mark, John the Baptist described the difference between his ministry and the ministry of Jesus in these words: I indeed have baptized you with [Greek: into] water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8).

To baptize is to immerse. John immersed people in water, but made it clear to them that Jesus would immerse them into the Holy Spirit, into a new life, into a new nature with new desires. However, the baptized person had to take that next step and seek Jesus. Some, it seems, didn’t grasp this important message, because years later the apostle Paul encountered people who had received the baptism of John but claimed they hadn’t even heard of the Holy Spirit (Acts 18:24-19:7).

1:9 And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth a city of Galilee and was baptized of John in the Jordan.

1:10 And as soon as he was come out of the water, John saw the heavens opened and the Spirit like a dove descending and resting upon him;

1:11 and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my dear Son, in whom I delight.

We see that Jesus’ Father was delighted with him even before he began his ministry, and immediately upon Jesus being baptized, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven to fill him. Paul writes about the earnest (that is, the down payment or deposit) of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14), which even a child can receive in measure. What Jesus received at the Jordan River, however, was not the earnest; it was the fullness of the Spirit without measure. God doesn’t give this type of anointing to those who are still seeking to promote their own lives and their own kingdoms. He will not give this anointing to anyone whom he does not expressly send (John 3:34).

Jesus could have been an excellent Messiah at age twelve, but he would not have saved us. In order to save us, he had to fulfill every detail of the plan of God, and part of God’s plan is that no one can have a ministry in fullness without coming to maturity. For the Jews, this happened at age thirty. The boy Jesus, who confounded the wise among the priests and scribes at the temple, had to humble himself and go home with Joseph and Mary and wait another eighteen years, even though he already knew that he must be about his real Father’s business (Luke 2:49-52).

Jesus Christ is the one who is perfect and mature. We can never achieve this on our own. Yet if we trust him, his life and his words can flow forth, even from little children.

When Jesus came into the fullness of the inheritance from his Father, the fullness of the Holy Spirit, he immediately encountered some tremendous trials.

1:12 And immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness.

1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days and forty nights and was tempted of Satan and was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered unto him.

When we receive new things, when new avenues open up, when we receive new gifts, when we come into money or other forms of prosperity, there will always be new temptations.

What will we do with this prosperity? What will we make of it and of ourselves?

There are people who have done well with the Lord while they were in prison or even in a concentration camp. After many years, however, when they were able to escape or were released and found their way to North America, some of them promptly went down the drain in the land of prosperity and plenty.

Why?

When the rain (of blessing) falls, it waters all the seeds in the garden. When fertilizer is applied, it will fertilize everything that is growing in the field. If there are thorns and briers as well as fragrant flowers (that could develop into good fruit) in our heart, prosperity will cause them to prosper. Everything will come up together.

This is why the Lord starts us out in a desert (spiritual or otherwise). He wants to make sure that there are no weeds left in our hearts. Each time we receive something new and excellent from God, it will be accompanied by a test. We don’t simply receive a new gift or talent or capacity from God; we will be tested on how we are going to use it. We can use it according to his will and for his kingdom and the good of others, or we can use it to achieve personal gain and to augment our own pride and arrogance.

I know of many sad stories here in Colombia of people who began to cultivate drugs and then got involved in the drug trade, thinking about all the good that they were going to do with the money they made. Instead, not only were they ultimately destroyed by their own avarice, but they caused major damage to those around them and to society in general.

1:14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God

John was put in prison for preaching the truth to King Herod. Later, they chopped off his head. After John was beheaded, Jesus sent forth his disciples with authority and power, and they became known as his apostles. No religious commissioning service is recorded (Mark 6:7-30). The typology here is very interesting. According to Scripture, there was none born of women greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he (Matthew 11:11).

What did Jesus mean by this?

In our human condition, even with gifts and callings and ministries from God, the most that we can expect to attain is to reach the same level as John the Baptist. However, if we truly desire to enter the kingdom of God, we must understand that it is a different realm. To enter it, we must lose our own headship and come under Jesus Christ. John had the revelation that he was to decrease so that Christ could increase (John 3:30). We must be prepared to do the same.

Paul wrote that he was a prisoner of the Lord (Ephesians 4:1). Jesus desires to take us prisoner so that we can no longer implement our own will. This is the same as the way of the cross. The cross is not an instantaneous death. It is not a bullet to the head of the old, carnal man. It is a long, slow, agonizing death to the old man as, drop by drop, he loses his lifeblood of the nature of Adam. However, if we are nailed to the cross with Jesus, we will not be able to accomplish our own will, and the old man will no longer rule us as he dies.

1:14 Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God

1:15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the gospel.

Notice that Jesus took up John’s message of repentance and added another step. Not just repent, but repent and believe! Believe the gospel. Trust the new king and depend upon him. You don’t have to continue under Satan’s kingdom of darkness.

The time is fulfilled! Now, today, if you will hear his voice and have faith in him, he will grant you sufficient grace and mercy to accomplish his will. The gospel of Jesus Christ involves repentance and faith which, even if we are willing, can only be accomplished in us by his grace and power.

1:16 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.

1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

1:18 And straightway they forsook their nets and followed him.

Jesus didn’t say, “Follow me and I will make you hunters of men. I will give you sharp arrows and you will shoot men with the truth.” No, he told them that he would teach them to fish for men. This is an activity that requires patience.

My father was a good fisherman. He had more patience than I do. He was fond of telling me that his secret was very simple. In order to be a good fisherman, you must be smarter than the fish! You must have what they desire, know where they are, and be prepared to spend a great deal of time luring them in. Hunting can be different, in that if the hunter stalks his prey, the prey have no choice.

True disciples must leave everything if they are to become fishers of men, but there are many would-be evangelists today who are not prepared to do this. They want to be in the ministry, but they are not willing to leave their pride and arrogance behind. They cling to their own criteria and refuse to discard the doctrines of men. They continue to augment their own kingdoms and insist on retaining their boats and nets and equipment. The Lord, however, may not need them to retain any of these possessions.

1:19 And when he had gone a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

1:20 And straightway he called them; and leaving their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, they went after him.

1:21 And they entered into Capernaum, and straightway on the sabbath days he entered into the synagogue and taught.

“Capernaum” means “city of Nahum.” (“Nahum” means “consolation.”)

1:22 And they marvelled at his learning, for he taught them as one that had power with him, and not as the scribes.

1:23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out,

Jesus did a great deal of ministry in their synagogues. He went to the places where the leaders, in their religiosity, had added thousands of conditions and additions to the Word of God. The law of Moses doesn’t mention synagogues, yet Moses’ descendants had them, and it was in “their” synagogue that the man with the unclean spirit was found. It took a clean word from God to reveal, silence, and cast out the unclean spirit.

When men stir up religion for their own purposes, they attract unclean spirits instead of the Holy Spirit. These spirits may seem like the Holy Spirit to those who lack discernment. Look at what this spirit said and consider whether these are the sentiments a demon might express.

1:24 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.

This demon spoke the way many preachers do today: “The Holy One of God, Jesus of Nazareth, comes to destroy all the ungodly. . . .” How often do we hear this message preached? This message was coming from a demon, and Jesus didn’t respond by saying, “Very well, there’s no harm in him, and I must be tolerant. He’s preparing the way for my message, he identified me correctly, and he knows who I am.”

No, this is what the Lord said:

1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out of him.

1:26 And the unclean spirit tore him and cried with a loud voice and came out of him.

1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this?

The person with the unclean spirit may have been one of the most eloquent doctors of the law in the city. The leaders at these synagogues were teaching that the Messiah would come and destroy their enemies with fire and impose a golden age for Israel, and the demon started off along these lines. But this wasn’t the line that Jesus took. It wasn’t what he had come to preach when he opened his mouth to announce the gospel. He didn’t say that he had come to destroy, but rather that he had come to save. It’s true, however, that the result of the rulers not receiving him or his message was ultimately destruction.

Jesus didn’t come fulminating with condemnation. Instead, he said Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 5:3).

Jesus’ message was positive, not negative. He came to encourage people and lift them up and cause them to understand. The poor in spirit (in Greek) are really the poor or destitute regarding pride. Jesus was asking them to allow God to deal with their pride so that he might become their king. He said this in a manner that was perfectly comprehensible to those who had been baptized by John, yet completely unintelligible to arrogant religious persons. And they marvelled at his learning, for he taught them as one that had power with him, and not as the scribes (Mark 1:22).

Notice this progression: First came the encounter at the Jordan River when Jesus submitted to a baptism that John didn’t think was necessary; Jesus chose to identify with death from the very beginning. Then came trials and testing in the wilderness. After this, his clean word in their synagogue was able to confront, silence, and cast out the religious spirit that they had mistaken for God. Then miracles began to flow, as shown in the succeeding verses.

1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? for he commands the unclean spirits with power, and they obey him.

1:28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

1:29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

1:30 But Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick of a fever, and soon they told him of her.

1:31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up; and the fever left her by and by, and she ministered unto them.

1:32 In the evening, when the sun was down, they brought unto him all that were diseased and those that were possessed with devils.

1:33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.

1:34 And he healed many that were sick of diverse diseases and cast out many devils and suffered not the devils to speak because they knew him.

1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place and prayed there.

This is completely backward to what many current religious “healers” do. Today, they start by advertising that people can expect to see a multitude of miracles in the great meetings they’re holding at the stadium that they’ve rented. They sell tickets and encourage the people to prepare their offerings in exchange for blessings. The contrast between Jesus’ approach and theirs is very striking.

Jesus spent his first twelve years under the law of his father and mother. Then he voluntarily spent another eighteen years at home, out of the limelight, while according to Scripture he grew in grace and in favor before God and before men, until he reached the point where God approved of him in the waters of the Jordan, when he publicly demonstrated that he was willing to lay down his life. John declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sin of the world. At this time, Jesus received the fullness of the inheritance of his heavenly Father, the inheritance being the Spirit without measure (John 3:34).

Then the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world, but Jesus turned down his offer.

How did the devil show Jesus all those kingdoms? Well, the devil, too, can give visions. He showed Jesus all these things and supernaturally took him to the pinnacle of the temple to see if he could get Jesus to show off in front of the crowd. These were tremendous experiences (Matthew 4:1-11). Many who go through this type of testing come out of it saying that they’ve received great things from God, when in reality, their visions and experiences have come from the devil, the prince of this world!

Jesus rejected all of the devil’s temptations. Then he was able to go to “their synagogue” and uncover, silence, and evict their religious spirit with a word. The unclean demonic spirit had been preaching what appeared to be great things, but the words it spoke didn’t convey the message of the Lord or the gospel of his kingdom. What the unclean religious spirit had been preaching was not good news for anyone, and Jesus put a stop to it.

Today we still have churches and synagogues full of demons, where leaders are preaching messages that many believe are from God, yet which in reality are not our Father’s word. The most dangerous lies are those that have the highest content of truth. Rat poison is only one percent poison and ninety-nine percent rat food. If it were the other way around, no rat would be so stupid as to eat it. Are we less discerning than a rat?

Demons inspire people to preach what appears to be the word of God, but there is a problem. They try to get us to focus on our own lives and on how to use God to get what we want, whereas God wants us to leave our own lives behind so that we can enter into his. The devil tells people that God wants to see them destroyed (unless they jump through all the hoops of religion), but God wants us to leave the old life behind so that we may be blessed in his new life.

It is not just the message; it is not just about the truth; this also has to do with the way in which things are presented. Only the Lord has the anointing that breaks the yoke. After Jesus silenced the unclean spirit that had taken over their synagogue, miracles began to take place. This spate of miracles gathered force not in the synagogue, but in the house of Peter and Andrew. Then, after the entire town had been blessed and enthused, Jesus got up very early and disappeared.

What well-known preacher of today, after winning a huge battle with demonic spirits, after performing many miracles, after congregating the entire city, would simply walk away from it all and disappear in the middle of the night? Many modern preachers continue to fill stadiums, take offerings, proselytize the people, and have the attendees fill out “decision” cards so that the preachers can continue to augment their churches and organizations as long as it’s possible for them to do so.

1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place and prayed there.

1:36 And Simon and those that were with him followed after him.

1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

Lord, you don’t understand. Lord, look what you started – we have to consolidate this. We have to make sure that all those new people get inducted into the synagogue so that all the local scribes and Pharisees can follow up.

1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, for truly I came forth for that purpose.

1:39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and cast out devils.

“Their synagogues” were scattered throughout Galilee, and there were many devils to be found in them. Notice that Jesus cast the devils out of Galilee from the very start. Later on, when Jesus was rejected by the people, it couldn’t be blamed on the demons, because he had cleaned them all out. In fact, he was rejected because the people did not wish to surrender to the true king. If Jesus were to reign, it would mean the end of their lives the way they currently lived them, the end of their synagogues, and the end of their religion. Even so, Jesus continued to preach the gospel during the allotted time.

1:40 And a leper came to him, beseeching him and kneeling down to him and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

1:41 And Jesus, having mercy on him, put forth his hand and touched him and said unto him, I will; be thou clean.

1:42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was clean.

1:43 And he straitly charged him and forthwith sent him away

1:44 and said unto him, See thou say nothing to any man, but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

1:45 But he went out and began to publish it much and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places; and they came to him from every quarter.

Leprosy can be a symbol of terminal sin. Yet it doesn’t matter how advanced the leprosy, how bad the sin, how serious the problem that we are in; if the Lord gives the order for us to become clean, we shall become clean. If the Lord decides to touch us in our unclean state, he doesn’t become unclean like us, but rather we become clean like him.

Notice that Jesus did not desire the credit for his miracles. There are many preachers today, even some whom I highly esteem, who don’t pass this test. If a blind person or a leper or someone who is crippled is healed under their ministry, they are incapable of instructing that person not to tell anyone. Instead, they start another crusade! They publicize their ministry according to the ways of the world, to attract attention and manage the crowd.

Jesus, who is the model for all of us, did not come to attract attention to himself. He came to glorify his Father in heaven.

Despite Jesus’ specific instructions, however, the former leper was unable to keep his mouth shut, and Jesus became even more famous. Note that this all happens in the first chapter of Mark’s account of the gospel.

Why did Jesus no longer openly enter into the city?

Because he was announcing and seeking a kingdom that was not of this world. Later on, he told Pilate that if his kingdom had been of this world, then his followers would have fought (with earthly weapons). He also told Pilate that all those who love and seek the truth are really seeking him (that is, Jesus). But Pilate didn’t even know what the truth was. He asked, “What is truth?” yet the Truth in person was standing right in front of him (John 18:36-38).

The anointing that destroys the yoke of sin, of leprosy, of sickness, of demons, of “their synagogues,” only comes with the person of Jesus Christ, and he has other criteria for his kingdom. His kingdom is different, for it is not of this world, and his true ministers do not seek their own glory. This is the witness of the true followers of Christ.²

² For further reading, see Uncovering What Religion Has to Hide: The Witness of Simon Peter, by Russell M. Stendal.

Let us pray.

Lord, we ask that we may be able to see with greater clarity. We desire that your life and your kingdom may be seen in us and that there may be a great company of those like Elijah and John the Baptist to prepare the way for what you are planning to do next. May we do your will, under your headship and authority. May we receive your covering and feed exclusively on your Word. Amen.