Tag Archives: Gospel of Mark

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Mark 15:42-16:8

Mark's Gospel -Study Notes, Pastor Rick's Study Notes, , , , , , , ,

Good Friday & Easter Sunday 2022

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Mark 15:42-16:8

(PRT)

vv.15:42-43 And evening had already arrived, and now that it was the Preparation Day before the Sabbath, and Joseph of Arimathea who was a respectable member of the Jewish Council and was waiting patiently for the Kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. vv. 44-45 This made Pilate wonder if Jesus was already dead, so he called the captain of the guard, asked him whether or not he had already died; then, learning from the captain that Jesus was dead, he gave Joseph the body. v. 46 And he brought a linen burial cloth he’d purchased and lowered Jesus from the Cross and wrapped him in the burial cloth. Then he laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock and then rolled a boulder against the entryway of the tomb. v. 47 Now, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

vv. 16:1-2  And awhile past the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices and scented oils hoping to return and anoint Jesus. Then, very early as the sun was rising, they come to the tomb. vv. 3-4 And they talked among themselves: “Who will roll back the boulder away from the entryway of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw the boulder was indeed very large, but was rolled away. v. 5 And when the women entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe seated to the right and they were totally overwhelmed with amazement. v. 6-7 Then he said to them: “Do not be distressed! Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are looking for who was crucified? He is risen and no longer here. See! Here’s the place where they laid him. But, you need to go and announce and explain to his disciples and to Peter that he going on ahead into Galilee. That’s where you will see him, just like he explained it all to you.” v. 8 So they got out and ran from the tomb gripped and trembling with amazement they spoke to no one for they were afraid.

Study Notes:

vv. 42-43 And evening had already arrived, and now that it was the Preparation Day before the Sabbath, and Joseph of Arimathea who was a respectable member of the Jewish Council and was waiting patiently for the Kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Joseph did the risky thing. He was respectable and known and “in the know.” Now he was a Jesus-lover. Now he has risked his reputation to do the honorable thing.

vv. 44-45 This made Pilate wonder if Jesus was already dead, so he called the captain of the guard, asked him whether or not he had already died; then, learning from the captain that Jesus was dead, he gave Joseph the body.

Even Pilate, who condemned Jesus to the Cross, wondered that Jesus had already died after only around 5-6 hours. Some would later use this “quick” notification of death as the reason that Jesus was “resurrected (e.g. that he was not really dead.) That has real problems. 1) the Centurion cohort killed him by nailing him to the cross and raising a spear through his side. 2) All the witnesses there saw him die. 3) Joseph brought him down dead from the cross. 4) The cohort of guards buried and sealed him. 5) Most importantly, each Christ-follower there went to his death with the same proclamation: Jesus is risen. There was nothing normal about Jesus’ death. A convicted man would last a while then would be flung into the group burial pile. No one mourns. No one lays claim. Ignored. Gone. For Jesus, Not in the group burial pile. Not ignored. Not mourned. Not long on the cross.

It’s almost as if Jesus saw “the day’s work completed” and moved on to complete the sacrifice by breathing his last. Tetelistai, last breath.

v. 46 And he brought a linen burial cloth he’d purchased and lowered Jesus from the Cross and wrapped him in the burial cloth. Then he laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock and then rolled a boulder against the entryway of the tomb.

He came prepared to risk it all. The cloth he brought him down with may have become the cloth he wrapped him in.  All that time and money Joseph invested in his own tomb, he gave up for the one who loved him,

v. 47 Now, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

I’m so glad we have Mark 16:1-8. Otherwise, the Mary’s are left grieving. They followed Joseph to the tomb with a plan but had no clue what the Father planned. Remember, they heard the same clear teaching over the ministry of Jesus. I’m here to be taken by evil men, to die, to be buried, to conquer death, and to return to the seat of power and the seat of intercession.

vv. 16:1-2  And awhile past the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices and scented oils hoping to return and anoint Jesus. Then, very early as the sun was rising, they come to the tomb.

Keep the timeline in mind here. They saw Jesus taken in the dark of what we would call Thursday, but for the Jewish week, sundown begins the new day (evening and the morning). So Jesus is handed over to evil people (Friday), abused, tried, convicted and crucified (Friday). Died and quickly buried before sundown (Friday). In the grave all the Sabbath (our Saturday – or day two of his “Passion.”) That night, most likely, (Sunday – evening and morning is the day, right) the Mary’s shop and gather what they need for the early morning walk in the dark (Sunday.) Jesus risen (Sunday) just before the Mary’s return. Three days in the grave.

vv. 3-4 And they talked among themselves: “Who will roll back the boulder away from the entryway of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw the boulder was indeed very large, but was rolled away.

They chatted about their plan as the made their way in the dark toward the cliffside where Joseph had been preparing what he thought would be his own tomb. Salome looks at the Mary’s “but you know that stone will be a huge boulder.” And they turn the corner: “It is a huge boulder; but has already been moved!”

v. 5 And when the women entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe seated to the right and they were totally overwhelmed with amazement.

Amazed as in overwhelmed and all but falling over.

v. 6-7 Then he said to them: “Do not be distressed! Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are looking for who was crucified? He is risen and no longer here. See! Here’s the place where they laid him. But, you need to go and announce and explain to his disciples and to Peter that he going on ahead into Galilee. That’s where you will see him, just like he explained it all to you.”

I like to think angels have accents (like a New York downtown cabbie). “Wait you’se. Don’t blow a gasket! Jesus, you know, the Nazarene. (snaps fingers under nose) Hey. Pay attention here: the one you’re here looking for? He’s not hear. Nope. That’s his tomb, but he ain’t here. Now, here’s the plan. Go get the disciples (and make sure Peter gets this, too, right). Get to Galilee. He’ll meet you there. Hey. Weren’t you listening? It’s what He told you’se all along.”

v. 8 So they got out and ran from the tomb gripped and trembling with amazement they spoke to no one for they were afraid.

And the news was out. That’s a hard place to end the original Good News account. But in some ways, what if this is where it ended. They got the story, believed it, and went away processing it. Afraid to speak because they didn’t want to break the sense of amazement. Then Luke picks up the rest in Acts 1. The oldest manuscripts of Mark stop here. Later manuscripts add a verse or two to summarize the rest of the story or even expand on Jesus’ commissioning of the disciples. But these continuations are not in the style, vocabulary, or flow of Mark’s writing. They aren’t wrong and are read in the context of the other Gospels. Some say a scribe took liberties; others that the original ending was lost and someone replaced it the best they could; and others that the New Testament church culture filled in the gap. My take is, the gap is there to remind us we walk away from the salvation story amazed, and with a lifetime to live out the Gospel story. The Kingdom is coming all through the church age; breaking in, amazing us, showing us the evidence of the risen Lord.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Mark 11:15-18

Mark's Gospel -Study Notes, , , , , , ,

Pastor Rick’s Translation: Mark 11:15-18 (PRT)

v. 15 When they arrived in Jerusalem  and was going through the Temple, Jesus began to drive out those busy peddling their wares and doing business buying and selling in this sacred place. And he flipped over the tables of the currency exchange rate dealers and benches of the sacrificial dove hucksters.

v. 16 And he would not give space for anyone to carry their goods through the Temple.

v. 17 Then, he taught them and said: “Has it not been written, ‘My house will bear the name House of Prayer for all tribes and nations; but you have turned it into a safe house for robbers and gangsters.”

v. 18 And the chief priests and religious legal experts heard this and they plotted how they might kill him; for they all feared him because they saw the crowd was amazed at Jesus’ teaching.

Study Notes:

v. 15 When they arrived in Jerusalem  and was going through the Temple, Jesus began to drive out those busy peddling their wares and doing business buying and selling in this sacred place. And he flipped over the tables of the currency exchange rate dealers and benches of the sacrificial dove hucksters.

The passage prior is the physical “parable” Jesus presented with the fig tree with plenty of show, but no fruit, and its subsequent removal from the fruit-bearing stage. This fig tree near Bethphage (“the place of the winter fig” is what its name means) showed all potential through its “profession” to have fruit, but with no performance. Jesus proclaims through his actions what the national order of Israel had adopted: many words, but no fruit.

Jesus then faces the display of this very loud and physical activity of “profession” without producing fruit in the Temple. As Jesus walked through the courtyard known as the “outer court” or the “Court of the Nations,” he saw a return to the cacophony of a marketplace that had supplanted the purpose of the court – a place of prayer for all nations.

And in the progression of walking through, he became zealous once more for the place which His Father designated for His purpose usurped by greed and evil. There were people peddling their wares at tables and booths where the holy act of seeking the Father’s will and presence should hold sway.

The money changers were there first to give a way for pilgrims to pay their share, but it  had to be in temple tender. The dove and animal traders maintained a spot where they would sit on a bench with animals and cages awaiting purchasers. Fraud and price gauging were common. Still, this is neither a condemnation of capitalism as some might hold, nor a judgment of churches who ask for a donated price for a coffee mug or t-shirt; it is a condemnation of a religious culture that has supplanted the purpose of God’s people and their worship and prayer with schemes that push God’s purposes to the margin.

On top of all this, the Court of the Nations had become a market short-cut for loads of supplies, goods, and animals. You can see and hear (and smell) the scene! The press, the noise, the odor of animals and the travelers replaced the scent of worship, the sweet sound of prayer, and the weighty presence of God’s glory.


Jesus had enough.

v. 16 And he would not give space for anyone to carry their goods through the Temple.

And he shut down the corridors and pushed them to return to their normal paths of merchandise outside the courtyard.

v. 17 Then, he taught them and said: “Has it not been written, ‘My house will bear the name House of Prayer for all tribes and nations; but you have turned it into a safe house for robbers and gangsters.”

The temple is a place not “of” but “for” prayer for every tribe, language, culture, and geography; that God-fearers might seek the Father.

Instead, it has become a safe house for brigands, usurers, and gangsters in league with the cartel of priests, animal merchandisers, and money brokers.

v. 18 And the chief priests and religious legal experts heard this and they plotted how they might kill him; for they all feared him because they saw the crowd was amazed at Jesus’ teaching.

The result is reinforced that Jesus has to go. This man, this single person, must be sacrificed for the good of the nation of Israel (e.g. the established money-making scheme and the status quo); hence the “prophecy” of the High Priest that “validated” Jesus’ murder.

Because the people hung on Jesus words, the religious ruling class was cautious in proceeding in the plot to kill Jesus. The words mean a continuous action of plotting and conniving and watching in order to accomplish what was in their hearts.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes Mark 7:1-15

Mark's Gospel -Study Notes, Pastor Rick's Study Notes, , , , , , ,

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes

The Power of a Moment: One Divide Mark 7:1-15

First Impressions:

This passage demonstrates the divide between earning one’s way into heaven and receiving the free gift of redemption. The priests were concerned about their dirty hands; Jesus cleanses dirty hearts. They want to keep the colon clean; Jesus wants to keep the lifestyle clean.

Illustration: The “traditions of the elders” are like most systems of tradition. Who knows why something is done except someone did it and they codified it? I’m reminded of the husband’s conversation with his wife as they were preparing to cook a roast. She cut about two inches off the end before she put it in the oven, and he asked why the waste? She had always done it but called her mom who had always done it and she called her mom. The grandmother confessed her pan was too short for a full roast, so she always had to cut two inches off to make it fit.

Pastor Rick’s Translation (PRT):

Mark 7:1-15

1 Some Pharisees and religious legal experts from Jerusalem got together and came to Jesus.  2 And they watched some of his disciples eating bread with ceremonially unpurified and unwashed hands. 3-4 (After all, the Pharisees and all the proper Jews are very careful not to eat unless they first wash their hands so that they maintain the traditions of the forefathers; and when they come from the market, if they do not wash they do not eat and this is along with other practices they embrace which were passed down like washing cups and cooking pots and dishes and tables.) 5 And the Pharisees and religious legal experts questioned Jesus about the reason why his disciples do not live in line with the traditions of the forefathers but eat bread with ceremonially unwashed hands. 6-7 Then Jesus said to them “Isaiah was right when he foretold about you hypocrites, that ‘these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are absent and far away from me. And further, they worship me in hollow and fruitless ways, teach the rules of men as doctrines.’ 8 They walk away from God’s commands by holding dearly to the traditions of the forefathers.”  9 And he said to them, “You nobly discard the commandment of God just so you can carefully hang on to your traditions.” 10-12 “For example, Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘The one who reviles and abuses his father or mother must perish in his death;” and you further say, “It is taught that when a man says to his father or mother, this gift belongs to God (meaning you say to them ‘it is a gift that you cannot benefit from)’, you no longer allow him the ability to give anything to his father or mother.”  13 “You invalidate and override the Word of God with your traditions that you’ve handled like handcuffs alongside many other things you do like this.” 14-15 Then Jesus called the crowd to pay attention and he said to them, “Listen up, everyone, and get this: There is nothing outside a person that goes inside that can make him unclean. It’s the things that comes out from the inside that make him impure.”

Verse-by-verse Notes:

1:1 Some Pharisees and religious legal experts from Jerusalem got together and came to Jesus.

These religious leaders set the rules. They demanded the respect because they wielded the rod of reprimand. They had a bunch of laws focused on outward behavior and heaven-forbid anyone threaten this power. Then came Jesus.

Got together could be that they colluded; but it could mean that they got together with Jesus. Either way, they got together in Jerusalem and came after Jesus.

They were quite a few miles from Jerusalem (120 miles) and had to wait until the Feast days would allow them to travel. They had plenty of time to think about what they would seek to trap Jesus in. And they got hung up on hand-washing!

This passage is the third in a series of rebukes of the religiosity. The first was about who you could associate with, the second about the Sabbath and worship, and this one about what makes one holy inside and out. The answer to all three is Jesus’ way of turning their world upside down. Hang out with who needs your compassion, hold onto worship all week long, hand your heart to the Father for his holiness.

v. 2 And they watched some of his disciples eating bread with ceremonially unpurified and unwashed hands.

I added “ceremonially” to the mix as this is what the phrase means. They snuck in to a gathering and spotted at least a few of the followers forget to wash up before they sat down. Clean hands is a good thing; making it a provision to being right with God is religiosity. The word is “unclean” – the same word a leper cries out as he or she approaches people.

The word for “unpurified” is “common as in koine.

vv. 3-4 (After all, the Pharisees and all the proper Jews are very careful not to eat unless they first wash their hands so that they maintain the traditions of the forefathers; and when they come from the market, if they do not wash they do not eat and this is along with other practices they embrace which were passed down like washing cups and cooking pots and dishes and tables.)

They had it down to a religious practice – the word actually means “to the fist.” So they wash up all the way to the joint where the fist meets the wrist. They would angle the hands made into a sort of fist so the water stayed on the hands and didn’t pass the wrist (presumably so the unclean-ness wouldn’t trek up the arm.)

And everyone knows that, when you rub shoulders with people in the open market, you’re bound to have the sinfulness of the world rub off on you. Unlike Jesus who took the Good News of the Kingdom to the marketplace.

This was a culture that ate with their fingers; of course the disciples cleaned their hands before they chowed down. But they didn’t do the full ceremonial act; and it ticked off the religious leaders!

Ablutions today are important in Islam. In fact, five times a day unless the ceremonial washing is done perfectly, the prayers are rejected.

The word for cooking pots and dishes is a Latin word that Mark pulls from the Romans – it means a reusable kitchen container, usually made of wood or metal. The clay ones were not reusable and binned.

The word for table means not just the table but the whole of the reclining, eating, banquet “design” – the couch, the cushions, the table, that was for reclining to eat at. Table fits the purpose here, but dining room might be more accurate.

Illustration: The Traditions filled in every nook and cranny that the Law wasn’t specific about. Just like today, legalists among the church take this beautiful symphony of freedom in Christ where there are definite notes of boundaries with open spaces in the score where our walk with the Holy Spirit fills in with the freedom of following Him – and they jam notes to their making or presumption and it becomes a wall of sound that allows no improvising or harmony.

v. 5 And the Pharisees and religious legal experts questioned Jesus about the reason why his disciples do not live in line with the traditions of the forefathers but eat bread with ceremonially unwashed hands.

Their issue wasn’t with anyone else but Jesus, so they attack his leadership of his followers by accusing them of not following (the word means “line up” or match the requirements) the elders’ traditions.

Eating bread was a colloquialism for eating food. But the word is clearly “bread” so I’ll keep it that. It means they ate food.

v. 6 Then Jesus said to them “Isaiah was right when he foretold about you hypocrites, that ‘these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are absent and far away from me.’”

It’s clear that Jesus doesn’t address his disciples for not “obeying” the letter of the legal experts’ laws. He is good with his disciples’ actions. But he has clear issues with the Pharisees and scribes. They might have the right activity based on the OT and the laws; but they are so far removed from God that they aren’t even marked present. They are far from His voice, even as He speaks to them.

Note: we can be close, but inside far away. We can be in the seat, but absent from the room. We can have God’s message go in the ear, but never register in the mind and heart. We can lift our hands, we can make the activity match what others should see if we love God; but our hearts and souls are far away bowing to someone else.

Jesus uses a bit of sarcasm and/or irony here – Isaiah was spot-on to describe you as such. I carry this tone into the sentences following.

Illustration: We can take the actions that “show” people we are Christ-followers, make them a part of our personalities, and they become cover for an empty heart and callous over our hardness toward Jesus. We default to the outward to keep from giving our hearts away to the God who woos us.

vv. 7-8 “And further, they worship me in hollow and fruitless ways, teach the rules of men as doctrines, and walk away from God’s commands by holding dearly to the traditions of the forefathers like ceremonially washing cups and dishes and other such thing like you do.”

Their hearts make the acts of worship hollow and they bring no benefit to themselves, to those they lead, and to the nation they are to serve. They supplant God’s Word with man’s rules. They are so bent toward protecting their power that they chase down Jesus and others for breaking the rules; and that chasing leads them further away from a heart malleable to the Spirit.

v. 9 And he said to them, “You nobly discard the commandment of God just so you can carefully hang on to your traditions.”

Nobly is a bit of sarcasm but he seems to be drawing a sketch of what they project to the people. You act nobly before everyone in your traditions; but you discard God’s intent in His Word.

vv. 10-12 “For example, Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘The one who reviles and abuses his father or mother must perish in his death;” and you further say, “It is taught that when a man says to his father or mother, this gift belongs to God (meaning you say to them ‘it is a gift that you cannot benefit from)’, you no longer allow him the ability to give anything to his father or mother.”

They might say, “you can take your riches and declare “corban” – or “for the temple” – over it; that means you don’t have to support your parents in their need and then can use it for your own or you can leave it to the temple. Then, if the son has a change of heart and wants to reposition his resources to help his parents, the Pharisee will say, “Oh no, your vow sticks. You cannot help your parents with this.”

The one who curses or reviles can also mean abuses them by action and words. And that person doesn’t just “earn” death – he dies the death.

The Pharisees looked backward to Moses as the source of the “unwritten” traditions; Jesus refers to Moses in his written Word from God to contradict and condemn them. The Jewish man would say, according to archeologist’s findings: All that a man may find to his profit in the ossuary is an offering to God from him who is within it.  In other words, if you want to profit from my stuff, you are taking it from God Almighty. Beware!

v. 13 “You invalidate and override the Word of God with your traditions that you’ve handled like handcuffs alongside many other things you do like this.”

The “traditions” was really a body of laws that were said to have been given verbally to Moses from God, but never written down back in the day. And it was passed down as the traditions. It became primary to God’s Word. After speaking so harshly to the Pharisees from all over who had come to trap him, he addressed the crowd directly. Although I believe they were hanging on the words Jesus was saying. And it all started because the disciples forgot to wash up like they were supposed to!

v. 14-15 Then Jesus called the crowd to pay attention and he said to them, “Listen up, everyone, and get this: There is nothing outside a person that goes inside that can make him unclean. It’s the things that comes out from the inside that make him impure.”

He gathered the crowd around him and got their attention.  It’s the heart issue that makes a person need Jesus. Jesus’ call to “pay attention” is in the form of a prophetic declaration to the people of God. Jesus takes the role of teacher and prophet in these fifteen verses.

This really is Jesus’ answer to the original scribal gripe. What makes a person unclean? And he answers this at the level the charge was issued. He answers his disciples before the crowd. The scribes invited this injunction.

Once again, the disciples (Matthew declares it was Peter) don’t quite connect the dots. They were raises on the outward religion as the means for inward cleansing. And they would never, ever eat bacon!

The next eight verses explain what he means about the heart:

  1. It’s not what you eat that corrupts (all food is good).
  2. It’s what we determine to do with what our hearts tempt us with – hatred, lust, greed, pride, foolishness – that makes us unclean.  The thoughts lead to desires that lead to intent that lead to action that lead to darkness that lead to death.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes on Mark 1:1-15

Mark's Gospel -Study Notes, Pastor Rick's Study Notes, , , , , , ,

Pastor Rick’s Study notes:

Mark 1:1-15 (PRT – Pastor Rick’s Translation)

v. 1 The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ the son of God. As v. 2 it has been written recorded in Isaiah’s book, “See this, I send my messenger before you who will prepare the way for you.” v. 3 “the voice of one crying in the desert places, prepare the way of the Lord; make straight and level His path. v. 4 John came baptizing in the desert places and announcing a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. v. 5 And all from the region of Judea and from Jerusalem went out to him and, confessing their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River. v. 6 And John was dressed in camel’s hair clothing with a leather belt around his waist living on locusts and wild honey. v. 7 And he preached, saying “He who comes after me is mightier than me, for whom I am not worthy to bend down and untie his shoestrings.” v. 8 “I baptized you with water; but beyond this, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” v. 9 And it happened, that in those days of John’s preaching and baptizing, Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee came and was baptized by John in the Jordan. v. 10 And straight away, in that moment, as Jesus was rising up from the waters, he saw the heavens splitting open and the Spirit in the form of a dove descending to rest on him. v. 11 “You are my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well-pleased,” came a voice out of the heavenlies. v. 12 And straight away, in that moment, the Spirit compels him deeper into the desert places. v. 13 And for forty days, Jesus was in the desert places being tempted by Satan and he was with the wild animals and the angels served him. v. 14 And after John’s surrendering over to custody, Jesus came into Galilee announcing the Good News of God. v. 15 And he proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is near; repent and believe the Good News.”

v. 1 The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ the son of God. As…

STUDY NOTES:

Mark’s account of the good news first declares that Jesus of Nazareth is both Messiah and son of God. The King who came and God with us.

v. 2 it has been written recorded in Isaiah’s book, “See this, I send my messenger before you who will prepare the way for you.”

The story of the Bible has been leading up to this point, to the time when the Father would send one to prepare the way for His Son. The creation. The Fall. The flourishing of man. The Family of Israel. The Judges. The King. The Division. The Captivity. All the Prophets throughout. All pointed to the Redemption and the Restoration the Good News brings.

v. 3 “the voice of one crying in the desert places, prepare the way of the Lord; make straight and level His path.

This passage is a royal welcome passage. Get the worn-out paths wide and level; prepare each step of the way so that the welcome celebration can happen. Why in the desert? Why does it start with John? Each Gospel writer began at a difference point of reference: Matthew with the genealogy to show the Jews that Jesus fit the prophecies, Luke with the birth of John as the miraculously sent forerunner, John with the pre-incarnate Christ. Mark with the message of John that sets the stage for Jesus.

With John’s quote here, the verses hearken to when this was originally spoken – to prepare the captives in Babylon for God’s intervention and nearness to rescue. A prophet’s words often have both near and far meanings.

v. 4 John came baptizing in the desert places and announcing a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins.

It could be “toward freedom or release from sin’s bondage.” He baptized to announce freedom from the guilt and bondage of sin was possible based on a heart that renounced and turned away from sin. This prepares the heart for restoration and redemption through the Good News of the Kingdom. Note that John preached the Kingdom come near; to preach the Kingdom present is reserved for King Jesus and His followers. John “came” – the word has a meaning of high importance, epochal.

John was baptizing Jews as if they were foreigners needing to enter the Kingdom of God. All of us need to repent, be baptized as a picture of this repentance, and see God’s hand of forgiveness.

v. 5 And all from the region of Judea and from Jerusalem went out to him and, confessing their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

This would put much of John’s ministry nearer to Jerusalem and Bethany than to Capernaum in Galilee. Did everyone? Not a literal “all” but all heard, and a steady stream of people entered the waters upon turning from sin and making the heart change of repentance. Certainly, all means all strata of the culture came to John’s baptism; tax gatherers, centurions, religions, businessmen, fishermen, rich and poor, etc.

v. 6 And John was dressed in camel’s hair clothing with a leather belt around his waist living on locusts and wild honey.

Quite the contrast from all other rabbinical lifestyles, John lived on what he found in the desert. The original bohemian lifestyle, a mashup of Essene, prophet, and Bedouin.

v. 7 And he preached, saying “He who comes after me is mightier than me, for whom I am not worthy to bend down and untie his shoestrings.”

The lowest of servants in a large household got the task of unstrapping guests’ sandals after their trek through the city and town streets filled with dust, refuse, and animal droppings. It was a lowly job; and John was not even that worthy. Let’s see how we feel doing that for a day. His perspective was spot-on. He is Lord of all, and we are not worthy; we are in by grace alone. And did Jesus find it the right illustration to do the same for each person in his circle of disciples – even the ones who doubted, denied, and betrayed him.

v. 8 “I baptized you with water; but beyond this, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

What was the Baptizer’s pneumatology? What did he mean? I’m guessing that, on this side of the Pentecost outpouring, John saw prophetically the redeemed inundated with and immersed in the present and consuming Spirit that filled him when he preached. Both are needed. Often, one is emphasized over the other.

v. 9 And it happened, that in those days of John’s preaching and baptizing, Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee came and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Jesus broke into the great work John was doing by humbly submitting to and sanctioning John’s baptism as a valid ministry that prepared people to receive the King. He came from a town so redneck that the normal rednecks laughed at it. A town that didn’t even warrant a mention in the Old Testament. It was a one-flashing stoplight town.

v. 10 And straight away, in that moment, as Jesus was rising up from the waters, he saw the heavens splitting open and the Spirit in the form of a dove descending to rest on him.

And let the “in that moment’s” begin, with the falling of the Spirit like a dove to rest on Jesus. The picture is incredibly vivid. John takes Jesus under the water and, just as the water clears Jesus’ eyes, the Father splits the heavenlies, opens the space between temporal and eternal, and sends in the form of a dove, the Spirit of God to rest on His Son. Father, Son, Spirit all declaring “in that moment.” Look up heavenlies in Ephesians (ouranon). In Ephesians, “heavenlies is “epiouranon” – that heaven above the heavens. God split open like a curtain the divide that separates the physical from the eternal, the earthly from the heavenly, and Jesus and John both at least saw the “heavenlies” that Paul writes of in Ephesians.

How many times does Mark use “straight away” or “immediately?” As many as 44 or more.

This is the same word used for splitting the curtain in the temple and letting us see into the holy places.

John saw this, too, as the Gospel of John records. So, the heavenlies were made visible from earth for Jesus and John to both see and hear what the Father was doing.

v. 11 “You are my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well-pleased,” came a voice out of the heavenlies.

Jesus had not performed a miracle, preached a message, or begun a public ministry; he had satisfied the Father’s longing before a single act or word that would set his ministry apart. When we are satisfying to the Father, we serve well; we don’t serve to satisfy the Father. The Beloved = His own dear son.

Three times the Father breaks in with His voice – here, at the transfiguration and in the Temple after he cleanses it and declares “It’s time.”

v. 12 And straight away, in that moment, the Spirit compels him deeper into the desert places.

The same Spirit of God who affirmed Him now tests Him. Jesus is compelled further into the deserted places toward the Dead Sea. This is the place the OT calls the Desolation or Horrible Desolation.

The word here is the same as the Spirit compelling workers into the harvest.

v. 13 And for forty days, Jesus was in the desert places being tempted by Satan and he was with the wild animals and the angels served him.

The angels kept him safe, served him by providing drink and encouragement. They served like deacons to the point of need Jesus had. Desert places find a significant place in the story of the Good News and the story of God’s kids. We find victory in the midst of temptation; we find nourishment; we hear from God; we see angels.

1 John 3:8 Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil. His first work after his baptism and infilling was to face the enemy in the desert places.

v. 14 And after John’s surrendering over to custody, Jesus came into Galilee announcing the Good News of God.

Did John have to leave the scene in order for Jesus to step into the Good News of the Kingdom? John was placed in the dungeons of Herod. Jesus preaches the Good News on the heels of John’s repentance message. They go hand-in-hand. Good News is just that for those who turn from a “me-centered life” toward a Jesus-centered life.

Between vv. 13 and 14, a lot happens. Jesus has met his first disciples, gone to a wedding in Cana, visited Jerusalem, met Nicodemus, purged the Temple the first time, and met the woman at the well on the way back to Galilee.

v. 15 And he proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is near; repent and believe the Good News.”

The Kairos has filled up and, in that moment, the Kingdom has come near. Our response is to repent and throw ourselves into the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of time came, God sent His Son Jesus.

Speak about time chronos, Kairos, etc. The perfect moment.

I’ve begun a series called Book-by-Book. This is a Chapter-by-chapter series.

In relation to time. Jesus in Mark 1 declared about the Kingdom present, “it’s here,” in John 12 declared about the Kingdom victory through the Cross, “it’s time,” and on the Cross in Luke about the Kingdom redemption and restoration, “it’s finished.”