Mark 1 - 2

Jesus, The Messiah

Note: Today's reading completes 9 weeks and starts the second book of the New Testament.

Mark's Gospel (considered by many to be the first Gospel written) presents Jesus as a Servant.  His Gospel is an extended introduction to Christ's suffering on the cross.  Because He is a servant, no ancestry or lineage is provided, like in Matthew and Luke, and nothing about His birth or childhood is written in Mark, only the events of His ministry are presented.

Jesus' ministry caused controversy among the religious leaders of that day.  Nearly everything He did and taught was questioned by the Pharisee and scribes but readily accepted by a group that had been cruelly oppressed by the ruling government, the Romans, and spiritually suppressed by the fastidious religious hierarchy exacting offerings and holding ex-communication over the heads of the Jewish people for even the slightest offense.

Then Jesus comes with healing and salvation and a new attitude towards the Law. This disturbance of the status quo caused consternation among the leaders. In chapter 2, after a group of people with near fanatical faith, lower a man through the roof of the building where Jesus was teaching so that their paralyzed friend could be healed (vs. 1-6), the "teachers" were upset that Jesus forgave the man of his sins (v.7).

After calling Levi and other tax collectors and dining with them, the "teachers" were fault-finding stating that Jesus consorted with sinners (v.16).  They could find nothing good in Jesus.  They thought his disciples should fast (v. 18) and were upset that they gathered and ate grain on the Sabbath (v. 24). Nothing about Jesus was going to please them because, in their hearts, they knew they were hypocrites.

May God bless you and bless the reading of His Word