Day 13 - Mark 1:14-20

I wanted to start of by apologizing for being SO late in this post. I didn't mean for my computer being with geek squad to mean 2 weeks away from my blog. 

Today, we'll only be covering 7 verses. I'm coming to find Mark has very short sections. I know I told you that a few posts ago, that Mark prefers action rather than dialogue and inner monologue. I guess I didn't realize how short it really is. This story is also found in Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 5:2-11, and John 1:35-42.

We don't know when John was put in prison, or what for, yet. I'm sure it is specified in a different or parallel passage. It probably was because John the Baptist was "disturbing the public" with his radical speeches. But after John had been put in prison, Jesus went out among the people and shared the same message that John had said, to repent their sins and open their hearts to accept the good news that the Kingdom of God was upon them, that Jesus brings the Kingdom of God to the people, and Jesus was there.

I see this scene as an old political ad, where they drive around with a megaphone, "Vote for Mayor for mayor!" (Powerpuff Girls reference there) So there's Jesus with his megaphone, walking all throughout the land, and he walks beside the sea and sees two fishermen, Simon and Andrew. He tells them to drop their nets and come be fishers of men. I'll come back to this phrase in a second.

Jesus went a little further and finds James and John with their father Zebedee. In enters "other John" along with the confusion of "is it John the Baptist or John the Disciple?" This comes up a lot in the scriptures. But they were two very different men. These guys were getting ready to fish and "without delay" (another action phrase of Mark's), meaning with no hesitation, Jesus calls them to follow. Jesus didn't get Simon and Andrew and walk off and then double-back, "Hey, you guys wanna come too?" No. He saw them, He knew the purpose He had for them and he called to them. Also without hesitation, they left their father in the boat with his hired workers. No hesitation means they didn't sit there and think, "Hmm, should we?" or "Dad, is it ok if we go?". They didn't even know who Jesus was, but they "knew" and they could feel the Holy Spirit's pull on them and they left.

Fishers of men. For the longest time, this phrase totally confused me. Maybe because I grew up a Christian so phrases like this were "normal" and used in daily conversation without explanation to what it really meant. To be a fisher is different from being a hunter. Fishers are patient and wait for their catch, as opposed to hunters who chase it. Fishers are passive, while hunters are aggressive. Notice Jesus didn't find hunters to be his disciples. 4 men, which means 1/3 of His disciples were fishers. Fishers were important to Jesus and he used His men to tell the Good News, the way that shepherds are used to tell stories in both the Old and New Testament. Fishers catch fish by laying down nets or baited lines and the fish come to them. Hunters attack their prey by surprise or long distance. When Jesus finds fishers and asks them to be fishers of men, he is asking them to a) leave their lifestyle, career, home and family and b) to lay down their life and their story to lead people to Christ. Jesus is not finding disciples to hunt down people and forcibly make them believe in Christ.

These same words apply to today. Here I am, writing this blog, laying down my time, energy, words, stories and life in the hopes of leading people to Christ. I can only hope that the people reading this are doing the same and leading others. I'm not pounding on doors and holding a gun to your head demanding you to repent to save your soul. That kind of person is a hunter, not a fisher. As you live your life and speaking to others about Christ, ask yourself if you are doing so as a fisher, or as a hunter.

Day 12 - Mark 1:9-13

5 verses. This seems like a very short section today. And... quite frankly, it is. Just wait until we get into the minor prophets and the whole book is a blink of an eye. You will find that many things in the gospels are told numerous times because it is the same story written by 4 different men. That doesn't mean that you should just read one and move on. Each man had their own perspective and insight and thoughts about the same event. This story is also found in Matthew 3:13 to 4:11 and Luke 3:21 to 4:13. Personally, I like the Luke version better because it contains the genealogy of Jesus and the dialogue between Jesus and Satan when he was tempted. It gives you more of an understanding. But I'll stay here in Mark and know that we'll get to that section in Luke another day.

At the time, when John was baptizing people in the Jordan for purposes of preparing their hearts for Jesus, Jesus himself came to John to be baptized.

What a glorious picture this would've been to witness. Mind you, Jesus did not have his disciples yet, or any other followers. There might have been a group getting baptized all together that day. We don't know. It could've been just Jesus and John. But what a great thing for John to have witnessed.
When Jesus came out of the water, the clouds parted and the Holy Spirit descended on them.
In the Old Testament, when God wanted people to visibly see Him, the Holy Spirit came as a cloud of smoke (I.E. in Exodus 14) or as fire (I.E. in Exodus 3). So when the bible says that the Holy Spirit descended, picture either smoke or fire or both. But it also says descending on him "like a dove". So a dove on fire? A smoking dove? A dove flying through smoke and fire? I don't know. Doves are used all over the Bible for various symbolism. Noah used doves to see if/when it was safe to look for land when the rains had stopped during the flood and a dove holding an olive branch has come to symbolize peace because the bird finding the branch meant God's punishment was over. The cooing sound of a dove is what what described as the mournful sound of the Israelites during their various hard-times. Doves were used for sacrifice, maybe God's way of foreshadowing Jesus as a sacrifice. Doves have come to represent the Holy Spirit, whether it is descending upon someone, or the imagery of it being there.
So the Holy Spirit is descending on Jesus and a voice came from heaven (voice of an angel? I think it was the voice of God. Because of the dove and because if it was an angel, the angel usually is actually mentioned). The voice says, "You are my Son." God is declaring to the people that this is the Son of God. "whom I love." He is showing that He is a loving God. "with you I am well pleased." We know that Jesus didn't sin, but God is saying this because by being baptized, Jesus is ticking another box on his check-list as the Messiah.

The Spirit sent Him out into the desert (notice the "at once" there, signature of Mark). Jesus is following this dove into the desert. Jesus knew what to do, but I think the dove was there to show the people that this was God's will to lead Him there.

Jesus was in the desert 40 days. It isn't said in this version, but it was 40 days of fasting. No food. Little to no water. Jesus is God, He can do anything, but Jesus was also man and he was hungry. This fasting made Him tired and weak. So, naturally, Satan comes along to tempt him. We'll get into the temptations later.

He was surrounded by wild animals who could've eaten Him at any moment, but He wasn't killed because He is God. He probably talked to the animals. And angels were at His side. Know that when you are in your period of hardships, you don't have to be the Messiah for angels and the Holy Spirit to be at your side. Both come to comfort you and to give you strength to get to the end of your hardship.

I hope today didn't feel rushed. I'll be back tomorrow with the next section.