Mark 1:4

“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”

                Now, as we know – John wasn’t baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit here – signifying the death, burial and resurrection. He was baptizing in order for the people to outwardly show that they had changed and were done with their old sins. The people were outwardly stating that they were moving on with that life.

                There are many things that I hold on to, that I need to move on with – and stop. But for some reason, this flesh is unable to do it on it’s own.

                Lord, please give me the strength to always do what I must, instead of falling time and time again.

Mark 1:3

“’Someone is shouting in the desert, Get the road ready for the Lord: make a straight path for him to travel!’”

                As I mentioned in my last IBS, the messenger would go before the king and tell them he was coming. The people, in response, would clean the road and repair it to make it an easier path for him to travel.

                What John was doing was much the same thing. He was to prepare the hearts of the people to receive the Lord. He was telling them to repent and be baptized for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In doing the Lord’s work, he was readying the people to listen to Jesus when he came, and accept him when he departed.

                More than likely, you weren’t saved all at once the very first time you heard the name of Jesus. You likely heard it again and again, and were persuaded. Or little things in your life prepared you to accept him when you did.

                God prepares our hearts for the tasks ahead, and for the things in our life that are coming. It reminds me of one of the girls who was critically wounded at the Aurora shooting in Colorado. The bullet went through her nose, into her head. When the doctors did a cat-scan, they realized that she had a birth mutation; a canal that traveled through her brain with nothing but fluid in it. The bullet happened to pass directly through that canal, and stop safely on the other side.

                God knows what’s going to happen, so we need to lean on him. Today, I pray for the kids hearts to be readied, and for my own to be readied. That I would be prepared for Spanish class today, and continue to work with all my might, and not get lazy.

Mark 1:2

“As it is written in the Prophets: ’Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’”

                This is the only time Mark quotes the Old Testament on his own (without the words of Jesus). Obviously, since his audience was to the Gentile Christians, it would be silly to be constantly spouting off Jewish references, but he does do this one.

                In ancient times, when kings were riding into a city, they would send messengers before themselves to announce their arrival and their intent on coming. In response, the community would often repair the roads the king would be traveling on before he came.

                Isn’t that exactly what happened with John the Baptist? He came and announced that the King of all Kings was coming, and that they needed to repair their hearts (repent), and acknowledge him when he came… because he would take those sins away if they believed.

                Think now about John’s past. The son of a priest, a few months older than Jesus, his cousin. His entire life, he has had time to know what Jesus is. But God had been working on his heart from the very beginning… until he finally led him to the spot he was in right in this moment. Telling the people that Jesus was going to begin his ministry.

                God works on our hearts for a long time before things come to fruition. Thinking about even where I am now, in Costa Rica as an intern for Potter’s Field Ignite, I remember that it all was from a bunch of little steps. God did a bunch of little things in my life that led me to where I am. It wasn’t always the giant moments. It reminds me of a saying, “Every single day of your life has led you to where you are now. How will you use it?”

                Today, I will do my best to do what I can for his kingdom. God give me the strength, courage and boldness I need today to teach English to kids that speak close to nothing of it, while I only speak a little Spanish. Give me the words to say and the things to do. I will study my Spanish today before going in front of those kids.

Mark 1:1

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

                Mark wrote his gospel from the retelling of Peter. So in a way, you could call this “The Book of Peter”. Mark’s gospel was written primarily in the interest of the Gentile Christians, seeing as Peter was also sent to the Gentiles.

                The very first thing he does is tell the readers exactly what this book is about. He’s not wishy-washy about it – he’s not kidding – he’s not pretending to write about something else to interest them more. He’s flat out. He tells him “This is about Jesus, who was the very Son of God himself – and this is the good news about him.”

                He wanted his believers to immediately understand that Jesus was the Son of God. He came down as a representative of God to the earth. He doesn’t even give them a chance to question it. Mark/Peter oozes a confidence about who Jesus is.

                Peter showed this confidence in Jesus before, when Jesus asked who they say that he is. Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” But Peter also lost his confidence when his flesh feared for his own life. Peter’s amazing testimony continues though, when he listened to the voice of God when it came to the gentiles, and then (as church history tells us) going to the point of death to be a martyr for Christ’s sake.

                Oh, that I would have this confidence. Lord, today, please grant me the confidence in you to speak your word, even when I don’t understand the language. Help me to know your words, and that you would put them in my mouth.