Month: September 2020

Morning Musing: Mark 1:21-22

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“They went into Capernaum, and right away he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. They were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not like the scribes.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I’ve had the chance to sit at the feet of some pretty remarkable teachers over the years. From seminary to the various conferences I’ve had the chance to attend, I have gotten to learn from published authors, nationally recognized speakers, and world-renowned experts on a variety of topics. These men and women were all brilliant and absolutely deserving of the acclaim they received. Without exception, though, when they spoke, experts though they were, when they taught, they consistently made reference to other experts to back up what they were saying. That’s just how people teach. It’s how they have always taught. When you say something that you really want people to believe, you find some other widely recognized authority on the matter and cite their work for support. Anyone who doesn’t do this kind of thing is either incredibly arrogant, a genius of the first order, or Jesus.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 1:16-18

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“As he passed alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea–for they were fisherman. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told them, ‘and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Would you follow Jesus if He came calling? If you’re already a Jesus follower, I suspect your answer to that question was a quick and enthusiastic, “Yes!” If He came calling out of nowhere and you were already in the groove of your life, though, would you really drop everything and follow Him? If you’re not already doing it, the answer just may not be quite so affirming. Now as a follower of Jesus, if He came and asked you to leave everything familiar and go some place new, would you do it? These men did and it changed the world. Let’s look at why they did it.

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Morning Musing: Mark 1:15

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“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
— ‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:15‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Jesus said a lot of things. At the end of John’s Gospel, the apostle includes a note that he only presented a sampling of what Jesus did and said. Speaking only somewhat hyperbolically, he observed that if he had written down everything, it would have filled several books. But, Jesus was a teacher. That was His primary mission and goal. For all of the things He said, though, there was one big idea that beat at the heart of all of His messages.

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Morning Musing: Mark 1:14

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“After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever read something in one place, read something else in another place from a purportedly friendly source, and something about the two accounts didn’t quite sit right? We often see this today in modern politics. One person says one thing and another says something slightly different; different enough that the contradiction is glaring. Generally speaking, people don’t tolerate contradictions very well. Contradictions reveal either duplicity or hypocrisy, or both. This is bad enough when it comes to life in general. It’s even harder when we seem to find them in the Scriptures.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 1:11-12

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“And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.’ Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Growing up is hard. It’s hard on every level. Your body changes and stretches and that doesn’t always feel good. It seems like just when you get really comfortable with one phase, another one comes along and bumps it out of the way. You manage to overcome one set of challenges, to ascend to the top of a hill, only to discover that there is a whole other range of mountains still waiting to be climbed beyond that one. Yet climb on we must because the path to the best stuff is always forward. This is exactly what we see Jesus experiencing here in our next step forward into Mark’s Gospel.

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