Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Mark 1:35

Sometimes life can get stressful and hectic. I know that only too well; we were a member of staff down in my department last year, and we all had to work extra hard to compensate. When I’m feeling stressed and under pressure, I like to go and think and refocus for a little while, free from the many interruptions of my busy daily life. I have a fantastic little place where I go for peace and quiet known only to me. I’d love to tell you that when I’m in my quiet place I think spiritual thoughts and spend the time in prayer – that’s what you might expect to hear from someone who runs a Christian website. But more often than not, I don’t. Just like many of you, I suspect, I find prayer hard. My mind whirrs away, and, whilst trying to take my worries to the Lord in prayer, those things I should be doing always pop into my mind; have I marked those essays? Have I remembered to pay my credit bill this month? What’s on at the cinema tonight?

In today’s verse, Jesus escapes from the crowds that have been following him for the last few days, desperate for him to heal them or to cast out demons. Jesus wanted to escape for a bit of peace and quiet. And what did he do when he was there? He prayed to God the Father. I think that’s quite a powerful message for us. Jesus was so close to God that he was God, yet he still turned to God the Father in prayer. He still wanted time to speak and listen to his heavenly father.

What a great model for us to follow. When we’re busy, tired and stress, we too should take time out to just be peaceful and pray.

I’ve said I find this difficult myself, so please do not think for one moment I have this sussed. But I’ll do a deal with you – if you try harder to follow this example of Christ, then I will too. Perhaps we can support each other. Let me know in the forums how you get on.

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Mark 1:38

At the tender age of 30, I already find that I’m becoming quite forgetful.  I’m renowned at school for being absolutely hopeless at remembering names.  I also occasionally suffer from that problem that older people often tell me about – that one where you walk into a room and can’t remember what you went there for.  At home, my study is in the attic room.  Sometimes, when I’m working on my laptop in the sitting room, I’ll think of something I need to get, walk up two flights of stairs, then get into my study and completely forget what I went in there for.  Normally I remember as soon as I get back to the sitting room and have to climb the stairs again!  Still, it’s good exercise, and I certainly need that at the moment!

Jesus didn’t seem to suffer from this problem.  He always knew his purpose for being on earth, and never lost sight of his ministry.  You wouldn’t have found Jesus wandering around first century Palestine wondering what he went there for.  He is quite explicit in this verse – he had come to be amongst his people with the specific purpose of preaching the gospel. He knew exactly what his mission on earth was – to tell people about the good news, that if we believe in him, accept him as our saviour, and repent of our sins, we will have eternal life with God in the new creation.  He was consequently looking out for new places to preach.  He didn’t simply focus his efforts on the big cities, either.  His was an inclusive ministry; he doesn’t neglect the smaller towns and villages because not so many people lived there, but went to share the gospel with these smaller population settlements.  Here, Mark tells us that Jesus wanted to visit the nearby villages so that he could preach there also.  Jesus has already used the language of fishing for people; here it becomes clear that he’s not just concerned with getting a big catch, but for ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to hear him.

Clearly Jesus considered his gospel worth sharing.  Perhaps we should make sure, therefore, that we are listening.  Even more than that, perhaps we too should be concerned with sharing the gospel with everyone we can, even when our catch might be small in number.  Maybe that is our purpose for being here too.

That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door.

Mark 1:32-33

When I worked in London, I used to sneak out from work occasionally to get myself a coffee from Starbucks.  I worked right in the middle of the City, and the nearest Starbucks was the other side of St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Tourists were a perennial problem for us City workers as we tried to grab our coffee, so I got quite used to fighting my way through crowds.  On one occasion, however, there were substantially more crowds than normal outside St. Paul’s.  Being quite nosey, I tried to see what was going on, and was just in time to see the back of the Queen’s head as she walked into the cathedral.

I’m sure the Queen is used to crowds.  I’m sure that everywhere she goes she is surrounded by large numbers of people.  I guess you get used to it being a Head of State, and a global icon.  She has had quite a long time for her fame to spread around the world, after all!

In today’s verses, Jesus is besieged by crowds of people.  Here we are, still in the first chapter of Mark’s gospel, and Jesus has barely begun his ministry.  Already, however, crowds are gathering.  He’s not rich, he’s not a head of state, he certainly hadn’t had years to get himself known, but already people are coming to see this man Jesus.  Clearly news that he can heal the sick and cast out demons had spread far and wide, and people had enough faith in him to make the journey to see him.  Perhaps some remembered his teaching in the synagogue, where he spoke as one with real authority.  I’m sure that many would still have been talking about his baptism, when the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove came upon him, and God himself announced that Jesus was his son with whom he was pleased.

Whatever the draw was, people flocked to see Jesus.  He had something that they wanted.

In offering us all eternal life, Jesus has given something that we should all want, that we all need.  Are we desperate to catch a glimpse of him?  Do we have the confidence to drop what we’re doing and seek him out?

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

Mark 1:21-22

Everyone remembers a good teacher. But everyone remembers a bad one too! When I was at school, I had experience of both. I had a Biology teacher, who I’m sure had been good at his job at some point in the past, but a combination of family problems and loss of vision meant that by the time I had him his lessons were dull, and not particularly stimulating. He knew his stuff, but failed to communicate this to pupils in an interesting way. My History teacher, however, was superb. Not only did she live and breathe her subject, and have a deep fascination with the past, but she was also extremely skilled at making her lessons fun, lively, interesting and memorable to her students. Consequently, I did much better in History than Biology – and subsequently went on to be a History teacher myself!

One of the features of Mark’s gospel I find most interesting is Mark’s emphasis on Jesus’ teaching; he makes it absolutely clear that teaching was at the heart of Jesus’ ministry, and stresses that he was good at it. In these verses we see Jesus teaching in a synagogue, and the people being astonished not just by what he said, but also the way he said it. They were used to the scribes, who like my Biology teacher, almost certainly knew their subject well, but lacked the passion and excitement that would grip their listeners.

The people listening to Jesus are clear why he is such an astonishing teacher; he teaches with authority. Here is someone not just repeating the platitudes of others, but teaching as one whose views are definitive, and against which no-one can argue. This, of course, is because he is the Son of God, and therefore teaches with the wisdom and understanding of God.

The challenge then goes out to you today; will you listen to Jesus teaching as we go through Mark’s Gospel? Will you prepare to be astonished?

21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out,24“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” 28News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

29As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

Mark 1:21-34

Every so often, someone appears who really surprises you. Maybe it’s a singer, who seems to have the perfect blend of song and voice. Sometimes it’s an actor, who delivers a performance so scintillating, so authentic, that you really believe they are who they are portraying. Just occasionally, I read a book so outstanding that I feel myself drawn into it, living in its pages, and desperately hoping it’s never going to end. Of course, it always does. I always have to return to my real life. Even the singer and the actor sometimes disappoint: the singer releases an album so undeniably bad that you wonder why you ever liked them in the first place (remember Robbie Williams?), or the actor appears in a series of films that are complete turkeys and you begin to forget that once upon a time you thought they were the best thing on the screen.

In this mile of our marathon, we encounter someone who simply amazes everyone around him. He teaches, he heals, he expels demons, and people are amazed by what they see. He is like nothing they have ever seen before. Here is someone who takes everyone around him completely by surprise.

When we meet Jesus at the beginning of this passage, he is right at the very start of his ministry. The first place he decides to visit, after being tempted in the desert, and choosing his disciples, is the synagogue. The synagogue was not quite like a church, in that it was a teaching centre for the Jewish people; worship and sacrifice would have taken place in the temple. A synagogue would not have had a full time, paid teacher, but Jews who lived in the area would “take to the pulpit,” so to speak, if they felt that they had something to share. Usually, these preachers would back up everything they said with scripture – this was the source of their authority. Jesus, however, teaches in a way they have never heard before; he taught with passion and captivated his audience, but what they noticed most of all was that Jesus taught as if he, himself, had authority. We, of course, have the benefit here, because we know how the story ends; we know who Jesus is. For the people in the synagogue, however, Jesus was an unknown quantity. They recognized just how good a teacher he was, and, as Mark tells us, were “astonished” by what they heard. Here, then, is someone who surprised and amazed those who heard him.

The people gathered in the synagogue were not just amazed by Jesus’ teaching, however. Jesus is taunted by an evil spirit who recognises exactly who he is – the Holy One of God. But Jesus has already shown that he has power over Satan in the wilderness, and there is nothing that the devil or his followers can do to stop him as he seeks to spread the Kingdom of God. Jesus manages to subdue the spirit with just his words. People would have been used to bizarre sorcerers claiming to be able to draw out evil spirits, but this would usually be accompanied by strange chanting and rituals. Jesus needs none of that – he simply tells the spirit to be silent, and come out of the man, and it does exactly that. If the people were astonished by Jesus’ teaching, they must really have been quite shocked by this latest development, and many would no doubt have been left pondering who, exactly, this man was.

Many people over the years have considered Jesus to be a great showman, who attracted attention through his strange acts and miracles. Next in our passage, however, we see an example of Jesus not playing to the crowd, but healing Simon’s mother-in-law in the privacy of her own home. The disciples had not spent a great deal of time with Jesus by this point, yet they invited him into their home, and told him of their concerns about this woman. Jesus, showing great compassion, simply took her by the hand and lifted her up, and she was cured. Again, people would have been used to itinerant teachers and healers, but even by those standards Jesus was someone quite special; there was no chanting, no weird potion – he simply touched her, and she was healed. The disciples must have been constantly surprised by the actions of this man – and, indeed, the consequences of his actions.

News clearly spread very fast in first century Palestine. By the evening, news had got out that Jesus had the power to cast out demons and heal the sick, and Mark says that the “whole city” was gathered at the door of Simon and Andrew’s house – not just a few, but huge numbers of people. Jesus, no doubt fairly tired by this point, nevertheless showed great compassion, and healed the sick and cast out demons from many of those who had gathered at the door. Yet again, the demons recognize who Jesus is, but he commands them not to tell anyone; the time would come when Jesus identity would become clear, but at this point he was just beginning his ministry and had much more still to do.

Mark continues his Gospel account in the way he began – at breakneck speed, showing us just some of the amazing things Jesus did. What I find most fascinating in this passage is not so much the fact that Jesus had the power to heal and expel demons, although clearly they are amazing feats, but the way he chose to begin his ministry in a synagogue. His primary concern is to preach the word of God, and to tell God’s people how they should respond to God’s love for them. How important it is, then, that we listen to God’s word and learn from it. If Jesus saw such importance in telling people’s God’s word, perhaps we should make sure that we’re listening.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’.

Mark 1:14-15

Sometimes I get excited about the most ridiculous things.  Over the last few years, I’ve got into the Harry Potter novels.  I have to get the latest volume as soon as it comes out, and will then sit there and read it from cover to cover.  When I’ve finished one, I’m desperate to get my hands on the next one to find out what happens next to Harry, Ron and Hermione.  By the time the next volume is published, however, I’ve usually forgotten what happened in the previous book, and can’t remember why I was getting so excited!

The Jewish people had been waiting for the Messiah for generations.  I’m sure that many of them had forgotten what precisely they were waiting for, and why they were getting so excited.

Here, though, we see Jesus entering Galilee to begin his ministry, and hear him speak for the first time.  The waiting is over, and people will finally now see God’s plan fulfilled.

So with what words does Jesus begin his ministry?  He proclaims the gospel of God – the good news of God’s plan to save everyone who repents.  He tells people that the time is now, the waiting is over, the Messiah who is to save God’s people has arrived.  He says that the kingdom of God is upon us – the restoration of God’s heavenly order.  And since the kingdom of God has arrived, he calls on people to turn away from their sins, all the things they have done wrong, so that they may be a part of this kingdom.  In this way, the kingdom will grow, and grow and grow.  When people have repented, he urges people to believe in the gospel – the good news that Jesus has come to save people from eternal damnation and enable them to have eternal life.

The same plea goes out to you.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Will you repent and believe in the gospel?

An Impressive First Impression!

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

2It 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 desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ “4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

12At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Mark 1:1-12

It’s funny when you meet someone for the first time.  It’s human nature to size them up – look at what they’re wearing, how their hair is styled, and how they talk.  From this information, we very quickly decide what sort of person this is we’ve met, and whether we’re going to get on with them.  First impressions are incredibly powerful.  We’re always told, “you only get one chance to make a first impression,” and so often this piece of advice is absolutely right.  If the first time you meet someone, you accidentally spill your soup over them, they’re going to think you’re clumsy, and there’s very little you can subsequently do to alter this perception!

Mark, in his gospel, is determined to demonstrate that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah.  This is the person that the Jewish people had been waiting for for generations, and who they were convinced was going to save them.  Mark is clear that Jesus is not just a respectable moral leader, an inspirational teacher, or a good man.  This is clear from the very first verse of his gospel – this is the gospel, he says, “about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  He couldn’t be any less ambiguous if he tried!  Here he is, setting out his stall right from the very beginning.  He leaves his reader in no doubt at all what his views are of the subject of his work.

Before we meet Jesus in this gospel, we come across John the Baptist.  Mark straight away links John the Baptist to a prophecy in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, in which a messenger is sent ahead, to prepare the way for the Messiah.  Mark clearly believes that John the Baptist is precisely that messenger, and so, if we were in any doubt at all about Mark’s understanding of who Jesus is, he once again makes it explicit for us that Jesus is the Messiah.

Mark next turns to the message of John the Baptist.  John was clearly quite a character, as he had managed to attract quite a crowd!  We’re told in verse five that, “the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.”  Not just a few, not a couple of dozen, but everyone!  They weren’t just pointing and laughing at the man with camel hair clothes who ate locusts and honey, though.  Oh no, they were confessing their sins to him, telling him of their darkest misdeeds, and putting themselves forward for baptism.  There was clearly something magnetic, something remarkable, about John for all of these people to come forward!

Imagine how all these people would have felt, though, when John told them about who was coming next.  Here was an incredible man who had drawn everyone for miles around to him, and who was getting people to confess their sins – quite a special guy, really.  But he then tells them that after him will come someone even more powerful!  Talk about building him up!  This next person, John says, will not just baptize with water, but with the Holy Spirit.  I don’t know how many people would have understood this at the time, but it certainly sounds pretty special!

I somehow doubt that people would have been disappointed when Jesus appeared.  He himself was baptised by John the Baptist – but amazing things happened when he was, things that had not happened when John had baptised anyone else.  As Jesus came up out of the water, the skies were ripped open, and the Holy Spirit, shaped like a dove appeared, and went to Jesus.  Not a normal, everyday baptism, then!  Here it was, the Holy Spirit, of which John had spoken, appearing from heaven; one of the three parts of the Trinity appeared, and went to Jesus, a second part of the Trinity.

That was not all, though!  From heaven, a loud voice was heard, saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  God the Father, the other part of the Trinity, spoke, and declared his love for his son, Jesus!  How could anyone present not now think that Jesus was the Son of God!

What is the first impression we get of this guy, Jesus, from the opening verses of Mark’s gospel, then?  Well, firstly, Mark leaves us in no doubt at all that Jesus is the Son of God – he tells us that in his very first sentence.  Secondly, he introduces the most famous man around, who tells us that the next guy, Jesus, is going to be even more powerful than he is.  Then, when we actually meet Jesus, the Holy Spirit flew out of heaven to be with him.  Finally, God the Father speaks from heaven and tells us that this is his son, whom he loves, and with whom he is well pleased!  That’s certainly some first impression!

I’m sure that what happens next would also have been a surprise.  If I’d been in the crowd watching all of this, I would have expected Jesus to march into Jerusalem and claim his throne as King of the Jews.  What did he do, though?  He was driven into the desert, where he spent forty days with the wild animals, being tempted by Satan.  As the Son of God, he could have done anything, but he chose to hide away from the crowds and live as a human, suffering temptations as we might do.  In this way, right at the start of his ministry, he demonstrated that perhaps people’s expectations of him were wrong, and chose to experience life as an ordinary man.

Mark has tried to make it absolutely clear to us in just thirteen sentences that Jesus is the Son of God.  He shows us that Jesus is going to challenge everyone’s expectations of what the Messiah is.  And he certainly challenges us.  If Jesus really is the Son of God, how should we respond?  This will become clear as we get further into Jesus’ teachings.

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:17

I moved house recently.  I used to live in a flat at the school where I work, but I have now moved into a house in East Grinstead, which belongs to one of my colleagues, and which I share with another colleague.  We like to keep it in the family!  Having suffered from a recent period of illness, I have been a little bit naughty and not told my GP that I have moved; the thought of having to register with a doctor where I now live and having to explain everything that’s happened seemed like a bit of a nightmare!

It was in the news yesterday, however, that the UK Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, has announced that within a year, it will be possible to register with a doctor anywhere you like, taking away the hassle of having to change doctors when you move house.  That could make things a lot easier!

Wherever one sees a doctor, however, it tends to be for a broadly similar reason; illness.  I don’t know of anyone who goes to see a doctor when they’re well – that’s probably a sure fire way to get ill!

Jesus recognizes that it is the sick that need a doctor, and uses this to explain why he is associating with social outcasts; it is not the spiritually sound who need to hear Jesus’ words as a matter of life or death, but those whom without Jesus would not hear of the path to salvation.  Similarly, it is not those that do not think they need to hear the words of Christ who need to listen to him, but actually those who recognize that they do, and therefore listen carefully to what Christ has said.  It is necessary, therefore, to recognize that spiritually, we are all sick.  We all need to hear Jesus words, precisely because we all need the salvation that he promises.