Mark 1 - The Good new of Jesus Christ
The way that the author wrote the gospel of Mark regarding Jesus Christ in chapter 1, is centered on His personhood, life & ministry. It began with a great prophet of that 1st century in Israel, John the baptist that prepared the way for the Lord & then lifted Him up as someone how is more powerful & even John felt unworthy to stoop down to untie the strap of His sandals. John baptized with water which is leading people to confession & repentance, however when our Lord Jesus Christ will baptized with the Holy Spirit, that is power. The authority & power is in Holy Spirit, it’s not a gift from the Holy Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit.
Notice that when Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan, coming up out of the water, the heavens torn apart & the Spirit descended upon Him, then our Father in Heaven authorized or affirmed His personhood, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased” This was not from men but from God Himself. After that, Jesus Christ was tested in the wilderness but He prevailed as the Holy Spirit strengthened Him where He relied on correct interpretation of scriptures to resist the temptation that comes from satan. It’s important that satan always uses this tactic to tempt believers by taking scriptures out of context & then twist it’s meaning, I’m not saying those who are still learning & was beguiled into believing what was taught by their leaders, many who are blinded are actually led by the blind because of the deceptive works of satan. So we should pray for them for God to open their eyes to the truth & for God to lead them to the truth.
After our Lord Jesus Christ prevailed the temptation in the wilderness of 40 days, He begun His ministry by proclaiming the good news of God, called His first disciples, Simon Peter, Andrew, James & John to become fishes of men, they immediately left their vocation & followed Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was teaching with authority different from the scribes that even the unclean spirit obeyed Him and was cast out from a man. He did miracles by healing the sick with various diseases & cast out many demons.
Our Lord Jesus Christ not only come to save us with that mission in His mind but also with compassion in His heart for those who are in need & suffering. A man with skin disease have no social life, there’s no internet nor devices, he would lived totally isolated, there’s no comfort at all, he was filled with low self-esteem & poverty, so when he begged Jesus Christ, Our Lord was moved with pity in His heart & said “I am willing. Be made clean!” Our Lord Jesus Christ can even heal to that extent because He too has been tested in the wilderness 40 days. He is 100% man & 100% God, that’s how we have a High Priest that is always relatable to us & always interceding for us.
It’s a reminder that the core of Christianity is the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ & that’s what we ought to proclaim as believers. May the Holy Spirit strengthened us to keep on running without weariness on proclaiming & living the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.