Mark 1, 2

January 13, 2011

Mark 1, 2

Overview:  Mark begins with John the Baptist in the wilderness and quickly introduces Jesus and by Chapter 2 is into an accounting of his ministry.

Jesus practice of ministry is clearly the model for the ministry that is given to the church - it's instructive for me just to let that settle in and find a placet to take root.  Here we find Jesus in Capernaum, healing people, meeting needs and getting a great response from the public.  So Jesus, in the morning, withdraws off by himself.  The disciples find him and tell him, "Everyone is searching for you."  Jesus doesn't respond by saying that this is great and the plan must be working.  Instead he says, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."  Two things jump out at me.  One there is a crowd coming to see him and he goes on to the next place.  This is a man and a ministry on the move.  It's not about getting a bunch of people in one place and then trying to hold them there.  It's about mobilizing people for God's kindgom.   Second, Jesus knows what he is about.  He had a message and he intended to proclaim it - it was his purpose and he was commited to fulfilling that purpose.  As a blueprint for ministry in the local church it is good to be reminded that we are not called to gather people for the purpose of gathering people.  Certainly there is nothing wrong with gathering together and the more the better as it means more people are seeking Jesus.  However, the point of the gathering together is to get sent forth once again, if we are gathering and not sending we are something other than what we are supposed to be.  We also can benefit from seeing Christ's determination to stick to his purpose.  It is easy to let momentum for minsitry disipate in the midst of the variety of directions we might go at any one moment.  Jesus model for us here is to keep ever before us what it is we exist to do - to share God's good news with the world.
Also want to call attention to the activity of the Holy Spirit in Mark 1:10-13.  The Spirit is present at Christ's baptism, "descending like a dove on him" as he is named the Beloved Son.  Then "the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness" where he faces the temptations of Satan."  That detail always fascinates me. Jesus is in the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan.  How did he get there?  The Spirit drove him there.  The Spirit will drive, send, cajole, move us to places we'd not choose to go on our own.  Some of them may result in euphoric experiences, some of them may seem a lot like the wilderness.