Mark 1:26 - A Tantrum of Demonic Proportion

The Verse

Mark 1:26 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.


My Paraphrase

As the demon came out, he threw a big tantrum, shaking the man and shrieking.


My Thoughts

Lots of things to note in this verse. My main question: Why did Jesus allow the demon to make such a scene? I mean, He's Jesus, right? If He has power to calm a storm, surely he can cast out a demon perfectly and quietly--no muss; no fuss, right? Well. . .since we know Jesus is perfect, we can assume that this was the most perfect way to cast out a demon. There are plenty of reasons that Jesus didn't completely silence the demon outright, so read on. 

(1) To sober us to the severity of demonic stronghold. The shrieking and shaking could have been directly related to the strength of the dependence that the man had in the demon. When Jesus cast it out, the demon had been so deeply embedded into the man that in coming out, shaking and shrieking were inevitable. Jesus allowed the scene so the on-lookers (and readers like us) could learn a lesson on the severity of strongholds.

(2) To give us a heads up that exorcism is not something to take lightly, nor does the enemy go quietly. If demons make a scene in front of God Himself, than we can expect at least the same when we confront them. This doesn't need to intimidate us, and we can go ahead and realize that a big noisy scene is par for the course.

(3) To create a witness and testimony. If the demon had gone quietly into the night, the rest of the synagogue could have assumed that there was really nothing wrong with the man. They could have explained the miraculous away. Sometimes, people need a "show" in order to "get it."

(4) To illustrate that actions have consequences. It was the man that had allowed the demon to come in in the first place. Demons don't just inhabit willy-nilly. They only come in when invited either directly by occult invitation or indirectly by sin. If you are going to make a self-destructive and disobedient choice, you can expect some "violent shaking" when God removes it. That's a scientific anomaly called "cause and effect." Did God pull the Israelites out of horrible fates time and again? Did the prodigal son get to return to his father with full forgiveness? Yes, but look what it took--what pain they had to go through--to get there. Bottom line: If you want the path of least resistance, don't create resistance! This is exactly why we are called to peace (Colossians 3:15).

(5) To prove demonic disregard for human life. Demons don't care about you. All they care about is torture and destruction. Even at their last contact with you, they are going to do all they can to stress you out, scare you, shake you, and hurt you. So. . .turn your life over to God and stop living for yourself. Otherwise, you're only hurting yourself.

(6) To show that demons are spoiled brats. Think of the brattiest child in the trashiest of Wal-Marts throwing the biggest tantrum you can picture and know that doesn't even compare to the fit a demon could pitch! Even the most unruly child still has a conscience somewhere deep inside (having been created in God's image, after all). However, a demon cannot and will not ever operate within moral standards. (Incidentally, think about the tantrum Satan will throw when he is finally cast into hell for eternity--"Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth" doesn't quite cover it!) A being becomes a spoiled brat when he/she lacks gratitude for a position or situation, yet feels overwhelming entitlement. Satan himself said, "I will be like the Most High" thinking his former appointment as heaven's worship leader as something he'd gotten of his own volition. No thankfulness whatsoever. Talk about bratty entitlement! Demons are just spoiled angels. Remember that everything you have is a gift from On High: your house, your job, your talents, your intellect--the second you take credit for these things is the same second you open yourself up for bratty, demonic influence!

(7) To prove that demons operate out of fear and intimidation. The fact that they put on such elaborate shows during exorcism is sort of their last hurrah of incurring fear in people. Since all they know is fear and intimidation, their demise includes screaming and shaking to the very end. However, this also shows how stupid they are. It's like, you know what? You can scream and shake all you want, but you're still getting defeated! The demon's little charade may have amazed the onlookers, but it didn't take Jesus by surprise. It shouldn't take us by surprise either.

(8) To further emphasize Jesus' Messiah-ship. You'd think demons would be smarter and not bring so much attention to Jesus being God's Chosen, but they are true idiots. Go ahead and scream, you're only furthering the Gospel!



This brings up one last point. . .Wouldn't you think that the demons and the devil would have recognized Jesus as the Messiah? And. . .honestly, they probably did. Here's the thing though: 

(9) This tantrum proves that demons had NO IDEA WHAT "MESSIAH" MEANT. Clearly they didn't. Every time they see Him they say, "If you are the Son of God..." or "What do you want with me/us?" I mean, listen. . .If you'd seen God create the universe from nothing, felt His wrath as he threw you out of heaven, plus had seen all the Old Testament miracles firsthand, do you really think you'd ever say "If" to Him or try to intimidate Him? Those are tactics that work on men, not God. They had no idea that the Messiah was Him...like with a capital "H"! No one did! Remember how the Bible says that Jesus was "of no reputation" (Philippians 2:7-9) and that if we looked upon Him, we'd never "esteem Him" as anything important (Isaiah 53:4)? Revelation and all that hadn't been written yet and demons don't know the future. I don't think they even get an inkling of Jesus being God Himself until at least chapter 5. . .so. . .stay tuned!  

Mark 1:24 - The Stupidity of Hell (A One Act)

The Verse

Mark 1:24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”


My Paraphrase

"What are you going to do to us, Jesus?  Will You destroy us?  I know you're God's Chosen One!"


My Thoughts

(If you are just tuning in, I am doing a verse-by-verse study of the Book of Mark, and it helps me to think when I reword the verse. I'm not suggesting that my paraphrase is Scripture or anything. It's a little Bible study tactic I learned from a Priscilla Shirer simulcast.)


 So many things in this verse and where to begin. . .


So first of all, whenever I have read this verse in the past, I tended to read it as though the demon had all the information that we do today. (Just like how I used to read the temptations of Jesus as though Satan actually knew with Whom he was dealing in verses 12-13. . .You know what? Go here if you don't know what I'm talking about.), so I used to think that maybe the demon was being sarcastic like how Goliath was all, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with a stick?" (I Sam. 17:43)  Like. . ."Is this tiny person supposed to scare me?  I'm so much scarier!  Bwahahaha!"  


When I was little, I used to be really scared of demons, so I think that now--even as an adult--I have just given them too much credit.  Honestly, I think the demon in this verse was just going on whatever information Satan was able to give him from his "Temptation of Jesus." 

Which, honestly, was not much.  During "The Temptation," Jesus hadn't done any miracles.  He hadn't tried to fight.  He hadn't tried to prove Himself.  All He had done was to withstand temptation--which, granted, had exceeded most Old Testament men's decisions (Think: David and Bathsheba, Noah and his daughters, King Saul and. . .everybody....*cough*) 


So here's how it probably went down: Satan tempts Jesus.  Jesus withstands temptation.  Satan concludes, "This Guy must be at least a prophet--and a good one at that. . .But is He that blasted "M" word?. . ."  Remember, it's the Messiah that he has been trying to thwart all the way since the Garden of Eden, so any prophet up to this point has been fair game.  (Talk about being a nervous wreck!  Satan has known this Messiah to be his undoing for millennia!)  

So, anyway, Satan gathers his minions (Like. . .the actual definition of the word.  Not the adorable one-eyed yellow rip-offs of the Aliens in Toy Story. . .). Satan tells them, "Okay, Guys. This Man needs constant surveillance--I couldn't even crack Him!"

Obligatory gasps.  

"What in bleepity-bleep is Yahweh up to???"  Satan notices one demon in the crowd that didn't gasp.  He's too busy playing Words with Enemies on his cleverphone.  

"You!"

All hell is silent as all eyes fall on this demon.  His buddy next to him nudges him.  He shoots his buddy a look of death and then realizes the situation.  He is mortified.  His cleverphone zips out of his hand and up onstage onto Satan's podium.

Satan looks at the phone, holds up his fist to smash it, stops at the last second, and then starts speaking. . .patiently, yet through his teeth, "Since you obviously have a lot of time on your hands, you will go to that synagogue, and when this Jesus starts preaching, I want you to FINISH HIM!"

The demon whines, "But, Sire!  It's not fair!  I'm only second level!  I haven't even been given grave wandering rights yet, let alone execution ones!"

Satan, hot with (self-) righteous anger, yells, "Oh my...G-Gog and Magog!!!" grabs a lightning bolt from his stack, and is about to hurl it at the demon.  Just then, the guy on Satan's left taps his shoulder, whispers in his ear, Satan turns to listen, after two seconds pushes him away, looks back at the demon in question, and waves his hand. "Okay, so.  Whatever.  Avada-Kedavra! Boom! You have them now, Okay?"

Another frantic tap to Satan's shoulder.  More whispering.  Lots of pointing and "No"-nodding and hands making an "X" like, "Not the best idea with this one. . ."  Satan looks perplexed, smacks his forehead, and whispers under his breath, ". . .So hard to find good help these. . .ever. . ."  He looks up realizing he said that into the microphone.  To the crowd he says, "Just another perk of running hell.  Am I right?"

The crowd laughs nervously, thankful for a little tension release.  

Satan turns back to the demon with feigned composure, "Can you. . .inhabit?'

The demon says, "Yes."  Buddy nudges him again. "...Sir!"

"Can you intimidate?" 

"Probably. . .Like. . ." The demon furrows his brow stupidly, "That means yell, right?"

Satan rolls his eyes, "Yes. . .Yell!. . .Wave the guy's arms!  Froth at the mouth!  The regular routine!"  Satan grabs the podium with both hands trying to restrain anger, "I mean...anti-Christ!  Do I have to spell it out for you???  Just get him to reveal His plan!. . .If you can, do the--" Just then a thought pops into his head and he begins pacing onstage as he brainstorms,  "Here!  I know what to do!--I can't believe I didn't think of this before!  When I had my one-on-one with Him, I kept qualifying His title with an 'if,' as in, 'if you are the Son of God,' and that didn't work, because it was too easy to brush off!  It wasn't in-your-face enough!"  Satan stops pacing, looks at the demon, and starts wagging his finger, "What you need to do is look Him right in the face and, as eloquently as you can, get him to divulge His secrets!"   

"But how--" Nudge. "--Sir?"

At this point, Satan ignores the demon's ineptitude because he is so excited with his super intelligent plot, "Try calling Him. . ." He puts a hand to his chin and then releases it, "The Messiah!--No, no, that's not grandiose enough. . .Try, 'The. . .The Holy One of God'!--Yes!!!--and see where that gets you!"  Satan claps for emphasis and then crosses his arms, standing tall,  "If you puff Him full of smoke and flattery, maybe that will trip Him up!"

The demon slowly repeats the words, calculating how they feel in his mouth, "The. . .Ho-o-oly Wu-u-un of G--"

Satan interrupts, "--But remember!  Be eloquent!. . .Remember what you learned in 'Inhabiting an Atheist Professor' class!"

The demon looks a little confused, but says "Uh.  Okay. . .Right. . .Yeah."  Then, his face changes to spoiled boredom and he says indignantly, "I can do it.  Okay?  Whatever.  Can I have my cleverphone back now?"

Satan lifts his fist upward and shakes it as he yells, "Intertestiment-tennials!!!"

---------------------------------------

So the demon leaves, finds someone easily inhabitable in the synagogue, and finally the big day comes.  He's confident.  He's rehearsed his speech a thousand times. . .or at least twice.  He has bullet points.  He has rebuttals.  He even has pauses for laughter.  The whole shebang.  So he gets his guy to sit down in the midst of the crowd.  He's ready.  He's golden.  Then Jesus comes in.  All of a sudden the demon is struck with a strange overwhelm.  His guy's heart rate goes up.  Just be cool, he whispers to them both inside his guy's head.  Jesus starts preaching.  But His words are like nothing he, or his guy, have ever heard before.  Such authority.  Such amazing grace.  So. . .truthful.  All of a sudden, the demon starts losing his bullet points. . .Wait.  What was point one?  Was it, "How can there be a loving God if there is pain and suff--?. . .Errrrrr was that point two?. . .Was it. . .Wait. . .Evah. . .No. .. Evo. . .lu-tion?--No, no no! That one doesn't come for another 1800 years!!  His guy's palms start to drip from sweat.  Wait. . .What's my name again?. . .Not your name, Stupid! Mine!  Just then Jesus looks right at him, he panics, and the guy's leg straighten.  He's up.  Oh no.  Everyone is looking.  No going back now.  And he blurts out,

"What do you want with us, Jesus?. . . .To destroy us??" . . .Wait. . .that wasn't right!. . .Idiot!  Just keep going.  Oh!  I remember now,  "I know who you are!  The Holy One of God!"  Yes!  There!  At least I did something right!--err--wrong. . .?

And then his guy thinks to himself, "Well, that's it for me here.  Guess I better see if they're hiring in Damascus!"


[Aaaaaand. . .Scene!] 



Okay, I'm pretty sure that's not how it went. . .


Still, how completely gauche and pedestrian is it to blurt out "Why are you here??? To destroy us???"  Seriously.  Giving away the punch line before the joke is even told?  No class at all.  How can you scare Someone who clearly scares you and fills you with such paranoia?  


The stupidity of hell. 


Lastly, look at this demon's tactic:  He tries to intimidate Jesus by "blowing His cover."  It's like he's taking the glasses off Clark Kent and everyone is supposed to gasp in horror or something.  "I know who you are--The Holy One of God!!!"  This, of course, is what is so hilarious about that statement: In trying to "out" Jesus, he is actually helping to solidify Jesus' Messiah-ship.  How many non-believers became believers that day just because of this demon?  Answer: Plenty of them did.  (Spoiler Alert: Skip ahead to verse 27.)  Way to go, Satan.  Playing right into God's hands.


As per usual.


That's the thing about Jesus, Y'all.  You can tell me that Jesus was just a good man, and that He's nothing special.  So why do demons react to Him like this, then?  Why do people who reject Jesus reject Him so much? 

In the words of Billy Shakespeare, "Methinks thou dost protest too much. . ."

Mark 1:14-15 - Jesus Preaches the Gospel

The Verses

Mark 1:14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”


My Paraphrase

After John's capture, Jesus proclaimed the gospel in Galilee. "You're wait is over. God's Kingdom is right here. Turn from sin and believe the Gospel!"


My Thoughts

Since John was a harbinger of the Gospel, his job was done. He says in other gospels that he must decrease while Jesus increases. Jesus now takes over the role as repentance-commanding prophet, but becomes so much more than that. I find it interesting that Jesus didn't just start His ministry healing people, preaching love, and doing miracles. Like. . .Listen guys, He's gonna start doing miracles in a just a few days, but He doesn't start there. He started with repentance. Repentance is super important to God, so much so that He had a guy come and lay the ground work before He even got there. 

Likewise, we cannot jump into the story of Jesus without repentance. Otherwise, He makes no sense as our Savior and just becomes another figure in history for us to study. I mean, think about it. Why did Jesus change history more than any other figure? Lots of guys have healed. Lots of guy have run their mouths for the cause of an agenda. Lots of guys have rallied for revolution. None of them are as big a deal as Jesus, because Jesus is our Savior and fulfillment of repentance. For salvation, repentance is key.

I wonder what people thought when they heard Jesus tell them that time was fulfilled. What a truly bold statement! "Your wait is over! Here I am! God's gift to all of you!" (I mean, we see people who act like this all the time. . .And. . .you know what I'm sayin'?) This was a ballsy move, not only because the message He proclaimed had a certain potential arrogance about it (arrogance only if it hadn't been true, of course), but also think about this: John had just been thrown in jail because of preaching the Gospel--which I'm sure was no secret to anyone, since "the whole Judean countryside and all. . .of Jerusalem" (vs. 5) heard him and knew about him. I wonder how many people John had openly baptized who went into hiding at this point--fearful of Herod's muscle-flexing. Fearful of what fates they might suffer if Herod caught wind of their being "John Followers." But then, just at the moment when everyone is on edge and full of anxiety, here comes his Cousin--right out in the open--yelling the same message (with a decidedly MORE poignant twist) throughout Galilee! Like, at least John did all his stuff out in the wilderness and didn't claim to be God Himself! 

I think there is a silent message within these verses that if we are to follow Christ's example truly, we definitely shouldn't fear men. If it's our time to go, then we go down proclaiming Christ. Otherwise, if it's not our time to go, there's really NOTHING anyone can do to us!

(Note: Of course in later verses we are going to see Jesus constantly telling people not to talk about Him and not to tell people about Him, but that's only after He starts doing miracles and He gets so popular it hinders His actual ministry. . .Like, hinders as in. . .not being able to walk through town because of all the people in the way wanting "a piece.")

Mark 1:11 - Why Is Jesus the Only Way to Please God?

The Verse (NIV)

Mark 1:11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.

My Paraphrase

God's voice said, "You are my cherished Son. You bring me joy."

My Thoughts

While John was the only one who saw the "dove" situation, we can probably assume that everyone nearby heard the voice. I think this especially since the other gospels have God speaking in 3rd person ("This is my beloved Son..."). I mean, who else would need to hear it? Either way, God is very clear that Jesus is the One who is His Son and who makes Him "well-pleased." If we continue the idea that this scene is prophetic foreshadowing of Christ's death, burial, resurrection, and glorification it makes sense that God is well-pleased with Jesus after baptism. This eventually would represent God being so pleased in Christ that He gives Jesus a place of ultimate honor and authority in heaven--His right side. 

Furthermore, we can assume that in order to please God, we must follow Christ's example. This probably doesn't mean that we are all to be crucified, but what it does mean is that if God wants us to do something, we should follow as Jesus would, were He in our same situation. It is also important to remember that since God is holy, He cannot commune with sinners apart from those who have turned to Jesus. Since Jesus is the One who is God's only Son "whom I love," this same love is imparted to us only through the person of Jesus Christ. This is why I believe that the onlookers were able to hear this statement. Everyone needs to hear this: If we want the same favor with God, then we should follow The One whom God loves. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Mark 1: 7-8 John the Baptist: It's Okay to Be Different. . .Icky Feet. . .God's Certainty. . .and Baptism: Water vs. Holy Spirit

I was told by a friend that when I colored these three sections--verses, paraphrase, and thoughts--I had made them very straining on the eyes, so. . .in an effort to make my posts more readable, I am just going to make the three sections different fonts. Maybe one day, I'll get this system down!




The Verses:(NIV)

7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with[e] water, but he will baptize you with[f] the Holy Spirit.”

My paraphrase:

7 This was his gospel: "The Messiah is coming and He is far greater than I am. 
8 I can baptize you with only water, but His baptism is the Holy Spirit."


My thoughts:

This verse completes the whole strange picture (You can scroll down to the former entry if you are wondering what strange picture I'm talking about). So here's this guy. He's in the middle of the desert. If you want to go see him, you're gonna have to stop your regular life and leave your comfort zone--by the way, it's the desert. When you get there, you see he's dressed like Fred Flintstone and yelling at you to give up being selfish and turn to God. By the way, this God he keeps yelling about hasn't actually talked to your or anyone you know and the last recording of His human interaction was over 400 years ago. Then, this same guy urges you to believe in a promised Messiah that no one has seen since the beginning of time. 

Then, to top it all off, this weirdo dunks you in a nasty river!

It's just like God to draw people to His message in the last way you'd ever expect!

It does make me wonder, though, if John--mid-dunking someone--ever had a self-aware moment going, "Wait. . .What in the world am I doing?. . .And why am I dressed like this?" Obviously, the fact that Mark bothers to describe him--when he's not a detail-oriented writer--proves that John is a little different.

What this means to me: If God had a plan for John to be different, then it's okay if God gives me a different plan from everyone else's. Sometimes, I feel like the crowd of believers around me has been called to a certain task. Should I join them just because it is a good thing? What if I haven't been called to join them? What if I have been called to study the book of Mark a little every day, for instance? I should probably do what I've been called to do and not what I haven't--even if it's a good thing. This doesn't mean I should find a sense of superiority in my given task, and it doesn't mean that I can only do one task and shun the others. It just means that God wants us to be a body of believers (eyes, ears, arms, etc.) not cookie-cutters, and that's okay. If I am using my task as an excuse to get out of doing another task, that is also not right, obviously. That's not my point. My point is John was different, so I can be different, and I don't need to feel guilty about being different.


Part of Verse 7 again: "I'm not worthy to untie his sandals." 

Dealing with a master's feet was the lowest job of a servant, and for logical reason. Feet are dirty and disgusting. They were back then, and they still are today. (Yes, I'm probably a bit of a germophobe. . .However. . .) Your feet gather all kinds of germs--from sludge, to fecal matter, to disease--and the gathering is completely unavoidable as walking is our general mode of daily transportation. 

John describes here that even if he were to perform the lowest act of servanthood for Jesus--something only the lowest of the low was expected to perform--that he would consider this humble act as infinitely disrespectful due to the superiority and divinity of Christ. This is no small thought, and we really should stop and think about it rather than gloss over it. Think again about it, this is John the Baptist we're talking about. Jesus Himself said that John was the greatest prophet ever to have lived! Yet, John considered himself unworthy even to touch Jesus' feet. This is a humbling thought. If you don't feel humbled, then ask yourself: Has Jesus ever called me the greatest prophet ever to have lived? My guess is, no, since that superlative description has already been designated to John. Furthermore, it should be even more humbling to think about how later in His ministry, Jesus Himself deigned to wash His disciples' feet. What pure humility is that? Unfathomable.


Another John thought:

The fact that God used John to prepare the way for Jesus shows me two things: (1) John had to appear because he was fulfilling prophecy, and (2) God always prepares his people for messages they should hear. John was immediate preparation for God's people to be ready to hear from His Messiah. Jesus wasn't out-of-the-blue. His coming was calculated and well-groomed. God never leaves us high and dry--expecting us just to guess His plans. He told His people in Isaiah and Malachi that a prophet would come to prepare the way, and that's exactly what happened. This shows us that God loves us. We may not know everything, but we always get to know exactly what we need to know, and we get to know it at just the right time. 

Contrast this with the total uncertainty of literally ANY other faith, religion, or belief system.


Regarding verse 8 (The part about baptizing with water vs. the Holy Spirit): 

John makes the point that he baptizes with water, but Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. I imagine this sounded very nice, but also very cryptic to the hearers. "Baptize with the Holy Spirit?" What could that have meant to them? Up to that point, the Holy Spirit was something outside of themselves. He was a Spirit that would indwell those chosen followers who seemed to be elite--think of David or Moses or even King Saul at times--(Although they really weren't elite at all. They were literally just people like you and me, but you know how the enemy will get in your head and tell you that God has "special people" and that you might not be one of them?) I'm not saying that the hearers did think this way, I'm just asking the question, "How could people have possibly understood this statement?" Obviously, they did understand what they needed, because look how many people John reached. "The entire countryside of Judea and the city of Jerusalem." Look how many people repented as a result of his "cryptic" preaching. 

This shows me that God is far more awesome than the credit we give Him. He says things that can make a certain type of sense to the hearers of the time, but then the same statements mean a totally different--or maybe just deeper--type of sense to hearers afterwards.

Anyways, of all human beings, John had, arguably, the most right to feel full of himself. He could look at himself and his ministry and pat himself on the back. But he didn't. John made the observation that while he could preach and reach many many people--in the end, all he was doing was merely just "water." Water is good. Water is symbolic. Water can clean. Water is necessary for life. Water is, like...what? 75% of our bodies or something. However (and therefore), water is human. 

"But," as John says, "Stay tuned! There is one coming who will fulfill and explain all the symbolism and tradition and mysterious messages in Scripture! There is one coming after me who will cleanse you in a way that no dirt, grime, or filth can ever defile again! There is one coming who will slake your thirst once and for all! He comes with the Holy Spirit, and this is real power. Yes, repentance is the first step, but when He comes, you are going to want to repent! The life He will bring you will be such that there will be no going back, nor the desire to go back to who you used to be! What He brings you is eternal. It is pure. It is true. It is far greater than anything I could ever give you. It is divine. It is God Himself."

Mark 1:1-3...Jesus is God. . .and. . .A Picture of Repentance

I attended the Priscilla Shirer Simulcast 2016 a few weekends ago, and one point that she made is that Bible study really doesn't have to be all that difficult. She encouraged us to get in the Word even if it is just a few minutes a day. She also encouraged us to get a journal Bible. (A journal Bible is like what you see above. It has extra wide margins for taking notes, writing thoughts, and organizing ideas. Some people even use them to draw very ornate embellishments of key verses.)

She had a list of five "P's" that were supposed to help you when you study.

I will tell you, I have forgotten all of them. . .

But! I do remember the basic gist, and that is to go verse by verse and paraphrase each verse (or sentence) in your own words, and then either explain what that verse means to you personally, or point out something you've never noticed before about the passage. Of course it helps to read the verses in context first, take your time (it's not a race!), and come to study time prayerfully.

Okay, with that said, I have just purchased an NIV Journal Bible, and I will be blogging about what I find. I am starting with Mark because most people believe that was the first gospel written. (I want to go through the gospels chronologically.)

Some background into today's post: I recently watched a debate between a Muslim and a Christian. The Muslim scholar pointed out that since Mark was the first gospel written, and that the book of Mark never claims that Jesus was God, that Jesus' divinity was actually added later in subsequent gospels.

I found something really interesting in the first three verses of Mark that pretty much cancels that claim.

So without further ado. . .
-------------------------------------------------------------

Mark 1:1-3

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,[a] the Son of God,[b] 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

My paraphrase - 

Vs. 1-2 "The gospel started with the fulfillment of Isaiah's (and Malachi's) prophecy: "My messenger will come first, preparing Your way.

3. "His sign will be 'One calling in the wilderness,' and saying, 'Repent!'"

My explanations - 

1. Jesus is God.

Mark has a heart to tell the gospel. Muslims criticize that Mark never called Jesus, "God"--that this idea came later from the other gospel writers. However, the actual wording of Isaiah's and Malachi's prophecies state: 

"I will send my messenger before ME. . .[emphasis added]." (Mal. 3:1)

Obviously, God is speaking. 

"Prepare. . .for the LORD; make straight. . .for our GOD [e.a.]" (Is. 40:3)

Mark knew what he was quoting! 

Mark uses the pronouns, "I will send my messenger before YOU," and, 

"Prepare. . .for the LORD; make straight. . .for HIM [e.a.]," 

Notice the difference in pronouns. In Malachi God says, "I. . .Me," but Mark says, "I . . .You." Isaiah says, "Lord. . .God" and Mark says, "Lord. . .You!" Interestingly, not only is Mark calling Jesus "God" by doing this, but he is also alluding to the Trinitarian concept that Jesus is both "I, Me" and "I, You." He is both God and the person of Jesus Christ!

2. A Picture of Repentance.

The wording "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him" is a great way to describe true repentance, as repentance does not mean "feeling guilty," but rather, "a change of mind." How does one prepare the way for the Lord to enter one's heart? He makes straight paths. There is a sense of urgency here. A sense that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and that the line needs to be made now. There is only one way to heaven--faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. True repentance is allowing that simple, straight, non-embellished, non-additive fact into one's head and heart! God's way is straight and narrow. It is pure simplicity: Jesus. His yoke is easy and His burden is light!