.The Temptation January 22
Mark 1:13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Jesus is in the wilderness forty days. In the Bible, a period of forty days is often a period of testing or trials. Think of Noah’s forty days of rain, the spies in Canaan for forty days, and Jonah preaching in Ninevah for forty days. There are many more examples regarding the number forty. We understand Jesus’ forty days to represent that He is fully tested, and found worthy.
The wilderness protects us from the influences of our culture that would have us return to the old self. It is an insulation against interference with the transformation that is occurring.
This is not to say the place is safe, only that its dangers are different.
In the quiet of solitude, Satan’s voice is clearly heard, and we know it is his voice. The tempter, the accuser of God and the brethren, makes arguments to the self that must be denied in the isolation of the wilderness.
If Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden that was abundance, think how much more forceful the temptation in the desert that is scarcity.
Mark’s reference to wild beasts is curious. Strong’s says this is the diminutive form of the word for a “dangerous animal (venomous, wild).” This brings to mind that serpent of old, the snake of the Garden. That the animals are venomous and/or wild is at odds with Jesus’ restoration of the kingdom of God on earth. This puts these wild beasts in Satan’s camp, at least, until the new earth.
Ministry of Angels January 23
Mark 1:13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Mark does not go into the details of Jesus’ temptations. Matthew and Luke write of the temptation of food for a starving man, the temptation to test God, and of the offer of a worldly kingdom now. These are hard tests, and appropriate tests for the person that is Jesus.
We will find the unique temptations that are peculiar to our own self equally challenging.
Satan’s temptations of Jesus will not necessarily be ours. And the point is not the nature of the temptation, but the nature of the refusal.
“It is written” are the words Jesus uses as a preface to His refusal of each temptation. Jesus quotes the Scripture available to every person. He does not use anything supernatural. He uses what is available to us.
Angels minister to Jesus. As the messengers of God, angels bring a constant flow of love and encouragement, counsel and support. This outpouring of God courses through His angels into all of Creation, even when not heard or refused.
Each of us can know the correct response to the temptation. Each of us can act on this knowledge with the power of the Holy Spirit within us. We dare not rely on secular knowledge or human will alone.
Angels do minister to Jesus while on this prolonged stay in the desert.
And we are promised the Holy Spirit when we face temptations. With the Spirit’s help, we will not be given more than we can bear.
Jesus Begins His Ministry January 24
Mark 1:14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God…
Mark picks up with Jesus in Galilee again. With John the Baptist imprisoned, Jesus calls for repentance because the kingdom of God is at hand.
Jesus does more than pick up the refrain from John concerning the presence of the kingdom of God. His mission is greater. His task is to shepherd those who will come into the kingdom here and now.
The call for a new kingdom is a threat to those content with their current master. Jesus is bringing a spiritual kingdom, and the secular and religious kingdoms sense they will lose power.
Replacing traditions of men, not everyone will welcome the kingdom. Amos 5 speaks of “the day of the Lord” as a day of woes for the enemies of the kingdom of God:
7 “You who turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”…. 11 “Therefore, because you tread down the poor....
And take grain taxes from him,”…. 21 “I hate, I despise your feast days....",
And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.”
John was sent to prison for speaking truth to power, for telling Herod that he had sinned by marrying his brother’s wife, a marriage that was the result of two divorces. The message of John, and then of Jesus, of the kingdom of God being at hand, is not well received by Herod, or some others.
From Amos 5 again,
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is the day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.”….
The Time of the Gospel January 25
Mark 1:15 …and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
“The time is fulfilled….” The future of prophecy becomes the “now” of Israel. The future has a way of slipping into the now unnoticed as we continue to overlook the present in favor of gazing into the future.
In retrospect, we can see the reasons why God might have chosen for Jesus to come at the time He did come. The prophets had spoken of the coming of the Messiah, but only Daniel (Dan. 9:24-27) had put a time frame to his prophecy. And the time is approaching.
Some reasons for Jesus’ birth at what we call the beginning of the first century A.D. (Anno Domini, the year of the Lord) might include the following:
That the time is fulfilled is evident simply because the Son of God does come, bringing with Him the kingdom of God.
The Time Is Now January 26
Mark 1:15 …and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
This is good news, and part of the Good News for those who believe. With the character of the citizen of the kingdom of God, the believer experiences the peace of that kingdom regardless of circumstances.
The physical world does not appear to be changed to anyone other than the new believer of the Gospel. The change is in the perspective and how the old reality is now interpreted.
The good news discussed on the first day of this study is a firm foundation, One may stand upon it as a person who has stepped from the boat rocking on the sea of uncertainty onto the solid land of a continent.
The causes of events in this world may be the acts of other people, the inevitable effects of natural forces, or be the hand of God. These are all permitted.
We also know that the love of God that first formed the world held a perfect design. We still can partake of that love that flows through creation.
And when we accept that love and let it flow through us to the rest of His creation, we become changed. Rather than taking an event personally, we view it in a larger context. What is lacking in the other who hurts us? The answer is their identity as the child of a loving God.
The future is with us, as is the past, in this moment of now. Return to the love of God. As St. Francis said, preach this gospel; if necessary, use words.
Believe now and it is done.
Follow Me January 27
Mark 1:16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
The first chapter of the Gospel of John records Jesus’ baptism and His introduction to Andrew and John, the young man who became one of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. Andrew goes and gets his brother, Simon, saying, “We have found the Messiah!” (John 1:41).
The excitement of those who witness the Baptist’s identification of Jesus as Messiah is immense. The double baptism of water and Spirit further enhance the drama of the moment.
And then Jesus disappears for forty days. His preparation must come before His ministry. We can only wonder how the witnesses to the revelation of Jesus’ identity feel during the period of His absence.
Simon (later called Peter) is a man of action, not one content to wait. He will be employed in useful activity. He goes fishing. Being practical, there is a living that must be earned.
Jesus appears to Simon and Andrew again, after His temptation in the wilderness. The brothers are at work, fishing. Jesus says, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
The men who fish follow Jesus because they already are aware of His identity. They answer His call.
Speaking Their Language January 28
Mark 1:19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
Jesus speaks the fishermen’s language. He will rechannel their efforts from fish to men, from the waters of a lake to the nations of the world. He says, “Follow Me.”
In Israel of that day, teachers often had men come to them and desire to be their disciples. Jesus reverses the process. He calls to those who would be His disciples to follow Him.
Like Simon and Andrew, James and John have returned to their work while Jesus has completed His transformation in the wilderness. While Simon and Andrew are using their nets to catch fish, John and James are repairing their nets to hold fish.
Repairing the nets is no less useful than casting the nets. Nets that are torn will not hold fish.
Bringing people into the flock to follow Christ is vital work. Those who will tend to the sheep and keep them in the fold are vital, as well. How many have come into a church only to find there is nothing to hold them there?
Jesus calls those who can do the various tasks required in the building of a following. Four fisherman are the foundation, solid workers skilled in the art of casting whole nets in the right places to draw in the greatest number.
Head knowledge is helpful, but a heart for the work is required for success.
Next day
Mark 1:13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Jesus is in the wilderness forty days. In the Bible, a period of forty days is often a period of testing or trials. Think of Noah’s forty days of rain, the spies in Canaan for forty days, and Jonah preaching in Ninevah for forty days. There are many more examples regarding the number forty. We understand Jesus’ forty days to represent that He is fully tested, and found worthy.
The wilderness protects us from the influences of our culture that would have us return to the old self. It is an insulation against interference with the transformation that is occurring.
This is not to say the place is safe, only that its dangers are different.
In the quiet of solitude, Satan’s voice is clearly heard, and we know it is his voice. The tempter, the accuser of God and the brethren, makes arguments to the self that must be denied in the isolation of the wilderness.
If Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden that was abundance, think how much more forceful the temptation in the desert that is scarcity.
Mark’s reference to wild beasts is curious. Strong’s says this is the diminutive form of the word for a “dangerous animal (venomous, wild).” This brings to mind that serpent of old, the snake of the Garden. That the animals are venomous and/or wild is at odds with Jesus’ restoration of the kingdom of God on earth. This puts these wild beasts in Satan’s camp, at least, until the new earth.
Ministry of Angels January 23
Mark 1:13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Mark does not go into the details of Jesus’ temptations. Matthew and Luke write of the temptation of food for a starving man, the temptation to test God, and of the offer of a worldly kingdom now. These are hard tests, and appropriate tests for the person that is Jesus.
We will find the unique temptations that are peculiar to our own self equally challenging.
Satan’s temptations of Jesus will not necessarily be ours. And the point is not the nature of the temptation, but the nature of the refusal.
“It is written” are the words Jesus uses as a preface to His refusal of each temptation. Jesus quotes the Scripture available to every person. He does not use anything supernatural. He uses what is available to us.
Angels minister to Jesus. As the messengers of God, angels bring a constant flow of love and encouragement, counsel and support. This outpouring of God courses through His angels into all of Creation, even when not heard or refused.
Each of us can know the correct response to the temptation. Each of us can act on this knowledge with the power of the Holy Spirit within us. We dare not rely on secular knowledge or human will alone.
Angels do minister to Jesus while on this prolonged stay in the desert.
And we are promised the Holy Spirit when we face temptations. With the Spirit’s help, we will not be given more than we can bear.
Jesus Begins His Ministry January 24
Mark 1:14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God…
Mark picks up with Jesus in Galilee again. With John the Baptist imprisoned, Jesus calls for repentance because the kingdom of God is at hand.
Jesus does more than pick up the refrain from John concerning the presence of the kingdom of God. His mission is greater. His task is to shepherd those who will come into the kingdom here and now.
The call for a new kingdom is a threat to those content with their current master. Jesus is bringing a spiritual kingdom, and the secular and religious kingdoms sense they will lose power.
Replacing traditions of men, not everyone will welcome the kingdom. Amos 5 speaks of “the day of the Lord” as a day of woes for the enemies of the kingdom of God:
7 “You who turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”…. 11 “Therefore, because you tread down the poor....
And take grain taxes from him,”…. 21 “I hate, I despise your feast days....",
And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.”
John was sent to prison for speaking truth to power, for telling Herod that he had sinned by marrying his brother’s wife, a marriage that was the result of two divorces. The message of John, and then of Jesus, of the kingdom of God being at hand, is not well received by Herod, or some others.
From Amos 5 again,
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is the day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.”….
The Time of the Gospel January 25
Mark 1:15 …and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
“The time is fulfilled….” The future of prophecy becomes the “now” of Israel. The future has a way of slipping into the now unnoticed as we continue to overlook the present in favor of gazing into the future.
In retrospect, we can see the reasons why God might have chosen for Jesus to come at the time He did come. The prophets had spoken of the coming of the Messiah, but only Daniel (Dan. 9:24-27) had put a time frame to his prophecy. And the time is approaching.
Some reasons for Jesus’ birth at what we call the beginning of the first century A.D. (Anno Domini, the year of the Lord) might include the following:
- Centuries of domination by foreign powers had humbled Israel
- Roman peace allowed safe travel across large distances
- The commonality of the Greek language helped the Gospel spread
- Greek philosophy and science plus Roman gods had left a spiritual void
- Religion in Israel had become legalistic, leaving a hunger for God
That the time is fulfilled is evident simply because the Son of God does come, bringing with Him the kingdom of God.
The Time Is Now January 26
Mark 1:15 …and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
This is good news, and part of the Good News for those who believe. With the character of the citizen of the kingdom of God, the believer experiences the peace of that kingdom regardless of circumstances.
The physical world does not appear to be changed to anyone other than the new believer of the Gospel. The change is in the perspective and how the old reality is now interpreted.
The good news discussed on the first day of this study is a firm foundation, One may stand upon it as a person who has stepped from the boat rocking on the sea of uncertainty onto the solid land of a continent.
The causes of events in this world may be the acts of other people, the inevitable effects of natural forces, or be the hand of God. These are all permitted.
We also know that the love of God that first formed the world held a perfect design. We still can partake of that love that flows through creation.
And when we accept that love and let it flow through us to the rest of His creation, we become changed. Rather than taking an event personally, we view it in a larger context. What is lacking in the other who hurts us? The answer is their identity as the child of a loving God.
The future is with us, as is the past, in this moment of now. Return to the love of God. As St. Francis said, preach this gospel; if necessary, use words.
Believe now and it is done.
Follow Me January 27
Mark 1:16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
The first chapter of the Gospel of John records Jesus’ baptism and His introduction to Andrew and John, the young man who became one of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. Andrew goes and gets his brother, Simon, saying, “We have found the Messiah!” (John 1:41).
The excitement of those who witness the Baptist’s identification of Jesus as Messiah is immense. The double baptism of water and Spirit further enhance the drama of the moment.
And then Jesus disappears for forty days. His preparation must come before His ministry. We can only wonder how the witnesses to the revelation of Jesus’ identity feel during the period of His absence.
Simon (later called Peter) is a man of action, not one content to wait. He will be employed in useful activity. He goes fishing. Being practical, there is a living that must be earned.
Jesus appears to Simon and Andrew again, after His temptation in the wilderness. The brothers are at work, fishing. Jesus says, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
The men who fish follow Jesus because they already are aware of His identity. They answer His call.
Speaking Their Language January 28
Mark 1:19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
Jesus speaks the fishermen’s language. He will rechannel their efforts from fish to men, from the waters of a lake to the nations of the world. He says, “Follow Me.”
In Israel of that day, teachers often had men come to them and desire to be their disciples. Jesus reverses the process. He calls to those who would be His disciples to follow Him.
Like Simon and Andrew, James and John have returned to their work while Jesus has completed His transformation in the wilderness. While Simon and Andrew are using their nets to catch fish, John and James are repairing their nets to hold fish.
Repairing the nets is no less useful than casting the nets. Nets that are torn will not hold fish.
Bringing people into the flock to follow Christ is vital work. Those who will tend to the sheep and keep them in the fold are vital, as well. How many have come into a church only to find there is nothing to hold them there?
Jesus calls those who can do the various tasks required in the building of a following. Four fisherman are the foundation, solid workers skilled in the art of casting whole nets in the right places to draw in the greatest number.
Head knowledge is helpful, but a heart for the work is required for success.
Next day
