Day 14 - Mark 1:21-28

This is the story of the first exorcism. This can also be found in Luke 4:31-37.

I won't spend a lot of time on some of these verses. Capernaum was a fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.

I think it's interesting, phrases like "He spoke with authority unlike the teachers of the law." So the priests and rabbis of the day didn't speak or teach with authority. Or maybe they did, but they didn't have a fraction of the authority that Jesus had. The word "author" comes from the same word as authority. It means ultimate control. An author has ultimate control over the words they write and the fictional world they create. The authority of God refers to Him being the Creator of the universe and the ultimate power He has. Jesus spoke with the same authority, power, and sovereignty that God has.  Authority in speech means the ability to influence those around you. Jesus had/has the power to change the hearts and minds of the people. Which is something a lot of people struggle with. Well, God can change our minds, so why doesn't He force us to obey Him? He has the power, but that's the beauty of God, he values us and respects us and wants us to make the decision on our own to believe and obey.

Onward to the rest of the passage, I hate using the word "exorcism" mainly because people think of modern exorcism and how it's used in culture and how the meaning of exorcism has been distorted. If you don't already know this, I'm a word nerd. I looked up the origin of the word exorcism. Exorcize (not exercise. And no, exercism is not a real word) comes from Greek ex (out) and Greek horkos (oath). Over time and translated a few times, it ended up as exorcise, originally meaning to conjure up or command an evil spirit. And of course -ism is to take a verb and make it into a noun. 

Cultures and religions worldwide have used "exorcisms" to control or drive out demons from a person or place for centuries. I have no idea if cultures and other religions were practicing exorcisms before Jesus' time or if they started doing them after. I tend to believe the latter. That the Good News was spread to all nations and when the priests of other religions heard it, they probably didn't believe Jesus was God. They probably figured, "if that rabbi can control an evil spirit, so can I". And I believe that the spirit was indeed "driven out" because the possessed person believed it would work. Power of the mind and all that. You probably are thinking, "Power of the mind? Not power of God?" Wait, I'm getting there. 

I believe that a demon can control you or Satan can influence you if you allow it. You make the decision to give in to temptation or to resist it. You have the power to fight back if Satan is trying to grab hold of you. So the only way that a demon is able to control someone is if they have given up fighting and allowed the demon to enter. But in comes in a priest who believes he can make the demon go away. And when you allow the exorcism, you believe the demon can go away too. Therefore, the exorcism "worked". So if what Jesus is doing in this passage have been "successfully" repeated over time, then why is it considered a miracle? Why is it in the bible? Why is it even special at all? It is a miracle because 1) this was the first exorcism. No one had done this before and only the Power of God could do it. 2) the man had allowed this demon in, or at least he had succumb to the demon and given up the fight, and the man didn't believe the demon could go away. But Jesus controlled the demon and made it go away. 

Remember that Jesus IS God in flesh form. Remember that God created Satan (Satan was good when he was created) and God also created all the demons. So remember when you feel like your life is surrounded by demons and you are fighting your hardest to keep them back, GOD IS IN CONTROL. God has power over every demon, big or small. 

The same astonishment that the crowd had when Jesus cast the demon out of the man is the same astonishment that still happens today when people can see the effect that Jesus has had in your life by casting out the darkness. 

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.

Day 11 - Mark 1:1-8

Today's section is very short, with only 8 verses. But it continues with how Luke set up his book. Luke began with the birth of John the Baptist, and so Mark begins with John the Baptist preparing the way. This story can also be found in Matthew 3:1-11, and Luke 3:2-16. The same story under 3 different author's flair.

Before we get into this, we haven't done anything on Mark before. The same way that I introduced you to the book of Luke, I'll introduce you to Mark. Luke read like a broadway musical, remember? With all the song and dance. Well, Mark reads like an action movie. Event, event, event, event, event. Mark's words are like camera directions, which is awesome to think that he had that type of brain even before cameras were invented. He pans over crowds and then zooms in on the "main character", Jesus. Mark doesn't focus on dialogue and personal narrative the way the other writers of the bible do. mark doesn't reflect on Old Testament or Jewish law much. This leads scholars to believe his "target audience" was the Roman Empire who were new to not only the Christian faith, but to Judaism also. Mark wrote to the Gentiles, the "non-Jews".
The New Testament was written in either Greek or Latin, because the Roman Empire controlled Israel. Mark's book is written in Greek. He uses the Greek "hurry-up" adverb 42 times, it was recorded into English with a variety of synonyms: at once, immediately, etc. He wanted to captivate his audience and entice the reader who would be bored by dialogue and personal narrative. He tells mostly the same stories as the other Gospels, he just has his own way of saying things. So without further ado...

...a bit of knowledge. The first sentence just talks about the name of Jesus. Jesus has countless names, but here, we already have 3.
Jesus - this is actually the Latin translation of the name Joshua, which means "God saves". And it's really cool. The other famous biblical Joshua was the one who lead the Israelites through the desert after Moses had died. He's the one who actually got God's people back to their land. Being the leader, he represented the fact that God saved them from slavery. Now with Jesus, He is the savior. He is the flesh image on earth and proof that God saves. Through Jesus, God saved His people from sin. Now, I don't feel so bad about the hispanic families who name their child Jesús. It's "the same" as naming your kid Joshua, I guess.
Christ - this word is actually the Greek translation for the Hebrew word Messiah. (You'll see this mentioned in the footnotes of the biblegateway link above) I should've mentioned this when we were going through Luke, but whenever you see the word Christ, think of Messiah. Both mean "Anointed One", but with Messiah, you remember that the Israelites waited 400 years for their Messiah. You remember the prophesies and the promises they desperately waited for. Or at least that word makes me think of those things.
Son of God - some translations don't say this here, they stop at "Jesus Christ", but this being in here is important. It is telling/reminding the reader that this man was not only a savior and the anointed and long-awaited Messiah, but He was also the Son of God. He is not separate from God. He does God's will because He is part of God/He is God.
Also, the term "gospel" means: 1) the life/teachings/revelations of Jesus, 2) a thing that is absolutely true, and 3) a set of beliefs.

So this first sentence, Mark quickly said, "This is the true story of the life, teaching, and revelations of Jesus; the long-awaited savior and Anointed One who is God."

First He quotes Isaiah in Malachi 3:1, and then in Isaiah 40:3. Isaiah spent his life just telling people what God told him. in these two particular prophesies, he talks about a man who will "prepare the way for the Lord." Every time I read those words or type them, I think of the song, "Did you feel the Mountains Tremble?" during the chorus. Don't mind me as songs keep going through my head. But the term "prepare the way" refers to preparing the people. Make the people ready to see and believe the Messiah. Get them ready to understand His words. They were already waiting for their King, so John's job was to get them hyped up about it. 400 years is a long time to wait, and John had to light the fire under them again.

As I was reading though verse 4, I came upon some questions: What is a baptism of repentance and how is it different from the baptism we practice today (Christ's commandment to publicly baptize to proclaim your faith). Why were the disciples and Jesus baptized before Christ gave the commandment and before His death and resurrection? Luckily enough, other people out there had the exact same question. And here is a well-written out answer. If you don't have time to read it, here's a quick sum-up. John's baptism of repentance was in accordance with his call to prepare the way for Christ. John had to not only light a fire, but soften a heart to accept Jesus. He called people to ask for forgiveness of their sins and by baptizing, they would wash it away. It allowed the people to understand and accept when Jesus offered forgiveness of all sins and ended up being a sacrifice for their sins. (He couldn't give away that spoiler to the people)

So the people went to him and confessed their sins and were baptized. John was fulfilling his purpose.

But John, was a little bit of a weirdo. And this is the neat thing. You find scattered all throughout the bible are weirdos and cast outs and cowards and people that are not your typical hero stereotypes. But God uses the weirdos. He takes their inadequacies and makes them stronger and uses them as his vessels.

John wore clothing made from camel hair. The "common man" had clothing made of goat hair. Camel hair was expensive. But John lived in the desert and spent his time wading in the Jordan River. It'd be like wearing cashmere while you're living in the slums or painting a house. People probably thought he was a crazy idiot for wearing camel hair clothes.

With a leather belt around his waist. Why is this important and why was the previous statement about the camel hair important? It ties John the Baptist to Elijah, the prophet. In 2 Kings 1:8, Elijah is described to wear a hairy garment (or be a hairy man, we aren't sure) and wear a leather belt. It signified that both of these men were Jesus' preparers, set in different times to aid in Israel's waiting process.

He ate locusts. Firstly, ew. For some reason, as a child, I dint know what a locust looked like, so I just imagined various bugs I don't like when Sunday school taught about the 10 plagues. But locusts are the swarming phase of certain short-horned species of grasshopper. So a grasshopper. So we don't forget what we're talking about, I'll just call them grasshoppers from now on and gross myself out a little bit more. Grass hoppers are actually very nutritious. Grasshoppers are still commonly eaten in Arabia. But in Jesus' time, eating grasshoppers meant you were a hermit and you couldn't afford "real food".

And wild honey. Wild bee honey was a common thing to eat back then, but some people think that the sweet substance he ate was the gum from the tamarisk tree. It is tasteless, yet nutritious. Either way, his diet literally only consisted of grasshoppers and liquid. Feels like Timon and Pumbaa's diet.

If you haven't already got the word "weirdo" plastered all over John the Baptist, check out this really famous song by dcTalk. If you've already heard it, you might not have caught the straight-from-the-bible rhymes.

BUT(!) God used this weirdo. Mark and Matthew both point out John's weirdness because despite all of his quirks, people still came to this out cast and listened to what he had to say. And this is what he told the people:

After me will come one more powerful than I. He's telling the people that somebody way better is coming soon. Jesus was already born, but John was saying that He will soon be public.

The thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. What an interesting image. I am not worthy to get close enough to get down on my knees to touch his shoe. Which is interesting because later, Jesus values when Mary of Bethany sits at His feet to listen and later when that same Mary pours expensive perfume on His feet, He says she did the right thing.

I baptize you with(in) water, but He will baptize you with(in) the Holy Spirit. Being baptized by water can only clean your skin and your outward appearance. And later baptism becomes an outward display of faith. But Jesus uses the Holy Spirit to cleanse you thoroughly; your insides, your spirit, your mind.

I'm glad I only did 8 verses today. Who knows if that is what analyzing the short writing of Mark will always be like.