Mark 1:19 - Go Fish or "Go Fund Me"?

The Verse

Mark 1:19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.


My Paraphrase

Going just a little further, Jesus saw James and John working on their nets.


My Thoughts

Again, we see Jesus quietly observing men before calling them. Again, this is a moment before the moment. In this verse, we catch James and John--two of the most influential and beloved disciples--in this "pre-" state. In this verse, they were just James and John, sons of Zebedee. In the next verse, they would become "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). I never bothered to think about these "moments before moments" before I started studying this book verse by verse. It's amazing what jumps out when you slow your study down! What a precious moment in time to have the Creator of all things physically observing His creation, and yet. . .being in mortal form, having the willing suspense of "What will happen next?" and "These two men will become my best friends, and they don't even know it yet." Have you ever had that moment when you see a person across the room for the first time and think, "I am pretty sure he/she and I would get along. . ."? It's a strange human anomaly. Some people call it serendipity. I call it Providence. Anyways. . .that's what is happening here.

But what REALLY stands out to me in this verse is this point: The men are working. How many people (Christians notwithstanding) do you know that are just sitting around waiting for jobs and purposes to drop into their laps? In fact, with the advent of social media apps like "Go Fund Me" a trend has formed not just to ask for supplemental mission support or temporary help in a moment of destitution, but rather to ask for entire support in lieu of working at all! What is it that tells us that we don't need to be proactive about our own futures, but yet entitles us to foist that responsibility onto other people? I think a lot of times we say, "My future is in God's hands," so much so that we act like we are completely powerless. This isn't true. The Bible plainly tells us that we have been given His power (II Timothy 1:7) and that a man who doesn't want to work, shouldn't eat (II Thessalonians 3:10). 

God calls people who are diligent. Think about it. If you are just waiting around for an opportunity to drop into your life and not actively working, why would God bother to call you? An earthly boss doesn't give a promotion unless a worker has done good work. Why would God be any different? God doesn't promote lazinss. Ever. Think of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The only ones who are rewarded in that story are the ones who worked hard to make good investments. It's not God's job to fix all our problems. That would actually be spiritual rape, if you think about it. God doesn't force Himself onto people--even during times of pain and hardship. It is up to us to hear God's voice above the cacophony of life.  It's God's job to make us stronger, and that can only happen if we are willingly and actively seeking His plan in those hard times. 

True, in this particular story, James and John aren't exactly suffering. They are just doing their daily routine jobs, that is, only if the word "preparing" means "getting ready." However, most translations translate the word as "mending" or "repairing."  If that is the case, then we do in fact, see a problem here. Maybe they were suffering a little, after all. Apparently, these once-working nets had ripped. If that is the case, then we do see them struggling in life. If that is the case, this adds to the point that they were extremely hard workers. Not everything was perfect in a fisherman's life. Sometimes, one even had to forgo time spent fishing with preparation and mending. If they hadn't spent this time working on the nets and getting them to their optimal state, the entire time spent fishing would have been wasted.  These were not men who went to work unprepared.

Jesus observes them as they work to make their own lives better, and knows that the life He was about to call them toward would only make their lives seemingly harder: More responsibility, more time, more heartache, etc.. However, He could see by their prudence and industry that God would receive glory through these diligent men. These men who would take the time to work on damaged nets, would eventually take the time to work on people with damaged souls. It would be a hard life, but it would be a life of legacy and ultimately a life of fulfilling God's plan.

But it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't already been working.  

 I think this means that we--instead of sitting around waiting for God to call us--need to be diligent and hard-working, performing tasks already set before us--as lackluster and mundane as they may appear.  Throughout the gospels, the disciples continue to fish, so we can't automatically think that God will call us to be lazy or tell us to quit our regular jobs for some "higher calling." The jobs we are already in are either preparing us for our "higher callings" or are already our "higher callings"! Actually, this point is observable throughout the entire Bible. Ruth was gathering food when she was noticed. Samuel was living and working in the temple when he was called. David was tending sheep. Even Paul, who was a persecutor and murderer of Christians, was working when he was called! I think there is an important lesson to learn here! Diligence is important to God! 

Whatever job you are currently working, you are in the exact right place. And. . .if you aren't working. . .GET A JOB!

Mark 1:18 - Drop Your Nets

The Verse

Mark 1:18 At once they left their nets and followed him.


My Paraphrase

Immediately, they dropped their nets to the ground and followed Him.


My Thoughts

They don't even hesitate. They drop their nets right where they are and they go with Christ. According to a parallel passage, in John 1:40-42 Andrew had actually brought Simon to Jesus prior to this event, so they both already knew who He was and that He was endorsed by John the Baptist. Jesus had even changed Simon's name to "Peter" during that prior meeting. (Side note: I wonder what Peter thought about this Man and His constant, holy wordplay: "Peter/petros" and "fishers of men"! Did he find it as weird as I think he did?)

However, at this particular moment, I am personally struck by their immediate reaction to drop the nets. What fueled that instantaneous obedience? I think it's easy for us to get all "Holy Renaissance Painting" about it and imagine that these men were just really righteous and informed and that they knew exactly what Jesus was wanting and what kind of lives they would live as a result. But I honestly don't think that was the case. They were just men like you and me. True, they'd been followers of John the Baptist (or at least Andrew had been for sure) and his teachings on the Messiah to come, but did they really know what "Messiah" meant? No. They didn't. Not in the sense that He was God incarnate and that He would die to save souls. No one really understood that until after the Resurrection. All these men had to go on was John's endorsement and Jesus' winning personality!

Listen, I know plenty of charismatic people, and I'm not dropping everything I have for them. So why did Jesus' command compel them to drop everything?

Did they leave their nets out of coincidence because they'd just been talking about this Jesus a second before He showed up? Did they truly follow out of this blind obedience that we've come to imagine? Did they follow out of hopeful zealotry--did they think Jesus would over-throw the Romans? Why were they so immediate with their obedience? Did they even know it was obedience? It almost seems like a supernatural magnetism, rather than a conscious choice, that compels them to follow this Vagabond. Were they simply drawn by curiosity? It would seem so from the text at face value--a guy tells them he will make them fish for people. 
"What in Galilee does that mean?" 
"I have no idea. Let's find out!" 

Whatever their personal reasons for following, to drop everything put them at risk of losing their jobs--or at least losing the day's catch. Apparently, they thought following Him was worth that risk. One day, on the other side of heaven, I intend to have a little chat with Peter.


However, in the here and now, here's what I find really interesting and the point I was setting up in my last post about verse 17. Being a fisherman isn't intrinsically wrong or sinful. Your actions and career and hobbies are not intrinsically wrong or sinful either. But look at this beautiful metaphor that we have been given in this verse: The nets. Can you get a more perfect illustration for life's entangling pursuits than fishermen's nets?


While fishing isn't sinful, here is the problem with the lives they were leading prior to Jesus' calling: They were letting the nets define "fishing" instead of letting God define it. Prior to verse 18, their identity had been bound up in the nets. In verse 18 and after, their identity was now found in Christ. When they gave the nets power over their lives, they remained fishermen. However, this wasn't God's plan for them. When they gave Jesus power over their lives, they were fishers of men who became something far greater than themselves. That was God's plan for their lives!

This paradigm shift was spiritually illustrated by their physical spurning of the nets.

So what nets do you need to drop--spiritual and physical? Listen, these men remained fishermen until their dying days. The subject of the fishing changed, but the ability didn't. So, tying in Jesus' command over their abilities from the last verse and Simon and Andrew's literal dropping of the nets in this verse, my question is this: What are your abilities and what are your nets? What entanglements of the world are you letting determine your skills and identity? There is a big difference between nets and skills, so think about the difference in your own life. When you figure this out with God's guidance, simply leave the nets behind and allow God to define your identity. Instead of trying to effort your Christianity, just become willing to think differently about who you are, and let God redeem what He's already put within you!


If a handful of redeemed fishermen could change the world, imagine what God can do with you!

Mark 1:17 - God Can Redeem Your Abilities

The Verse

Mark 1:17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."


My Paraphrase

"Come as you are and follow me. I will send you to fish for people," Jesus said.


My Thoughts

Notice here that Jesus doesn't beat around the bush. He doesn't ask or suggest. He commands. He doesn't even word it like, "If you follow Me, then you will receive such and such. . ." No. Instead He gives nothing but a totally authoritative command. As a result, Simon and Andrew have only one of two choices to make: To follow or not to follow. He knows His audience--that they are men of action--and He commands them accordingly. 

However, at the same time, he makes a joke. I wonder what Simon and Andrew thought about the joke. "Fish for people?" Think about how weird that statement would be if you'd never heard it before. What is this Man even talking about?

I wonder how good and stable a job fishing was back then. It was probably pretty steady and probably competitive as we learn that so many of Jesus' followers had this job as well. We even see in the next verses that it was a time-honored job passed down through generations. It was probably a completely normal and expected working-class job of the area and time--much like industrial work today. It wasn't a high-end job, but it was a respectable and secure job. People always need to eat, so fishermen would always be necessary.

Yet, here comes a Guy--who we've already established cares very little for luxury or job security--yelling for people to repent, telling everyone that He is the fulfillment of prophecy, healing, and doing all kinds of crazy things. Yet we see Him here stopping for a moment to watch these humble , run-of-the-mill fishermen. Men just going about their daily work routine. Nothing very special. Minding their own business. Just working. Then He bends down and says, "Come follow Me. . .Take on the life of the unknown. Leave your comfort and job stability behind." 

Yet, He doesn't leave it there. Besides commanding them to follow, He also makes the connection between their skill sets and His requirements. He doesn't come to them and say, "You are humble fishermen. Leave it all and become wise, bookish theologians." No. Instead He says, "Okay, so you can catch fish. Let's use those same skills, but let's use them for a higher purpose." I think sometimes, we as Christians, think we have to change who we are when we get saved. It's true that repentance has to do with change. But the word "repentance" only has to do with the mind. "Think differently" is the literal translation. The disciples didn't have to stop being fishermen, but they did have to think differently about what fishing meant. Just because you had certain skills pre-salvation, doesn't mean that all those skills are bad. It's not necessary to quit being who you are just because you are now in Christ. God made you who you are. You simply need to think differently about who you are. When you do this, you continue being yourself, while God redeems the parts of you that are self-destructive. This means that if you were a psychedelic drug-addicted rocker, leave the drugs behind and rock out to God's glory like Brian Welch! If you were an atheist scholar, accept the God who is right in front of you, and become a Christian academic like C.S. Lewis! If you were a high-class prostitute, stop selling your body and become a "Hooker for Jesus" like Annie Lobert! 

Perhaps you, pre-salvation, weren't as "dirty" as these examples I've just mentioned. After all, these fishermen weren't horrible, rotten sinners just because they were fishermen. There is nothing morally wrong with fishing. . .or plumbing or being a lawyer or an office worker. But even the best fisherman, who fishes unredeemed, is headed for the same end as the "worst of sinners," you know?

So if they weren't dirty, rotten sinners, what was the real problem? Where was the need to change? The answer is in the next verse. . .(Hint: It has to do with nets.)

Mark 1:16 - The Moment Before the Disciples

The Verse

Mark 1:16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

My Paraphrase

Walking beside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus watched as fisherman brothers, Simon and Andrew, threw a net out to catch fish.

My Thoughts

In this verse, it's almost like we see Jesus taking a break. In taking a leisurely stroll, He comes upon two fishermen brothers, Simon and Andrew. I wonder what thoughts ran through Jesus' mind as He watched them. As God, did He flash their childhoods through His memory? As a man, did He watch, notice, and appreciate the fisherman skills a poor carpenter would not have known? As God, did He think about the future Peter denying Him three times before His crucifixion? Did He see Peter as the amazing leader of the church that he then becomes? As a man, did He see their huge muscles--a fisherman's necessity for pulling large nets--and have any sort of hesitation about what He would command them next?

It also makes me wonder how long He watched them before speaking. Was it instantaneous? Or did He watch for several minutes before speaking? Was He in full view of them before approaching them? Or did He hold back and silently gaze before stepping forward and stating His purpose? The whole scene seems so lackluster and normal compared to the amazing miracles that are to follow, but yet these men's lives and destinies were about to change forever, so it is worth it to slow down and consider this moment.

So much can happen in just a moment. This verse catches that last vestige of Peter's and Andrew's lives as mere fisherman, just working class cogs in a worldly Mediterranean machine. In the next two verses they will suddenly start becoming spiritual forces with which the devil himself could not reckon.

Mark 14:32-42 - Jesus, Trauma, Irrational Fears, and PTSD

I realize that I am skipping far ahead in Mark with this blog post from where I last left off, but I felt compelled to share a thought that God has been teaching me the past few weeks.
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MY EXPERIENCE WITH PTSD

Earlier this month (August 3rd), I went through a very traumatic event involving the finding of the body of a friend who had shot himself. I didn't actually see the body, but I heard the screams of his best friend who found him, (Please keep praying for him. He is very strong, but please keep praying for him.) and just knowing the guy's body had been there all day, just feet away from where I'd been working all day--a lot of it by myself--was enough to give me some really frustrating symptoms on top of the normal grieving process that occurs when someone dies.

For two days after, I couldn't stop shaking. For the first week, I didn't even recognize my own face in a mirror. It was an event that caused me to keep my back against walls--constantly looking out my periphery. It caused me to jump at the least little sound. It affected my sleep as the tragedy tended to replay itself in the morning just before I woke up and assured that I couldn't go back to sleep. It made me scared to be alone, when I, a true introvert, derive a huge amount of pleasure and joy from being by myself--which then adds frustration to the mix. It has made me uneasy to enter my place of work, my church, because that is where the event happened. I actually wanted to break down and cry when I thought of going into that building by myself for the first three weeks.

Apparently, these are symptoms of PTSD.

I guess I've lived an incredibly sheltered life, because I had no idea how life-altering the effects of trauma could be. They certainly don't show those sorts of things in the movies.

I am happy to report that most of these symptoms are much less intense than they were four weeks ago when the event happened. The last symptom has been my sleep, because that is the hardest one to consciously control. Last night was the first night in four weeks that I've gotten eight hours, for instance.

I wrote this paragraph three weeks after the event (when I first started writing this post):

"Here is the thing. I don't break down and cry. I do stand with my back open to space. I do sit by myself alone--I am right now, in fact. I don't allow it to paralyze me, and I am no longer shaking with fear. However, I do all these things now with the knowledge that I have to choose to be strong, whereas before I had done them without even thinking. I know that God is in control, but now I have to make the actual choice to believe that God is in control and act accordingly. I knew it before. Now I have to choose it."

It is really weird to have to choose consciously that God is in control with every step and move. It's exhausting, and when you aren't getting enough sleep already, it's doubly exhausting. I am happy to report that it is getting better, though! I know that my emotional state is coming more into balance as time is passing, but I know for sure that the majority of my "issues" have dissipated because people have been praying for me. I know that they have because the paralyzing part of the fear is completely gone. After the first week, my pastor's wife prayed over me, and the next day, I actually tried to feel scared, just to see if the fear was there, and it wasn't. It was gone. The weird voices in my head that started telling me to doubt everything and that everything is hopeless were gone. Those sorts of things only go away by prayer.

You can hide them by ignoring them or with wishful thinking, but they don't actually go away without prayer.

When this event happened, I knew myself. And more than that, God knew me. He knew that if I were left alone to deal with this and never asked prayer, I could go to a very dark place very quickly. God really helped me because I hate bothering people for prayer--which is stupid to hate, granted--but He directed me to reach out to so many friends and family members.

If you are one of those people, thank you so much.
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LESSONS LEARNED

I learned some valuable lessons through this that may help you if you are in a traumatic situation.

First of all, you need to talk to people right away.

Secondly, if the people you initially run to aren't hearing you the way you need heard, go to someone else. There are very specific demons who oppress you during trauma by telling you that no one cares and who want you to shut yourself off from humanity. Why? Their main purpose is to get you so isolated that you eventually do something stupid like commit suicide, so that you can be the subject of the next traumatic event and therefore traumatize others. You are nothing but a domino in a never-ending game of dominoes to them, and you need to know that they are there and what they are up to.

Those voices in your head are not from God. Do not act like, "Well, I tried," and give up. There is always someone who will connect with you on the level you need. For me personally, some people seemed disinterested as I explained my dark emotions and told me that I needed to trust God more, not even 24 hours after the event! There were some who wanted to change the subject and start talking about themselves. There were even people who wanted to make it into a kind of joke! I'm the kind of person who wants everyone on my side and when people don't understand what I'm saying, I want to beat the proverbial "dead horse" until they empathize. I am so thankful that God taught me this lesson instead. He compelled me to keep going to other people and keep asking other people for prayer, and you know what? I really got what I needed far more than I could have otherwise. In fact, the people who listened far exceeded the number of those who didn't. God is in control, and God is all we need, but many times God knows that you need to get His love through other people. So to simplify my point: If the first people don't listen, look for others who will, and don't give up.

I do want to say that I don't fault any of these people. I'm actually pretty sure that I have reacted in all three mentioned ways more than once. This is what happens: Sometimes people who love you just aren't in the right head-space, just can't relate, or are going through their own trauma currently and just can't help you. It's not that they won't or don't want to. They just can't. I have learned that I need to give these people grace (especially since I have been the offender myself!) and not take their reactions personally. This is a big reason that you need to align yourself with God, because when you do, His Spirit actually indwells you and helps you to learn these lessons without the resentment that builds up without Him.

Another thing I learned is that PTSD is real. I mean, I knew it was real because of stories of military veterans, and women who have miscarried, but I never understood this stuff first-hand. Now I do. It's more than just irrational fear or paranoia. Irrational fear and paranoia occur when there is really nothing to fear. PTSD happens when worst fears have come true. It's more than just irrational fear or paranoia because those feelings can be reasoned with. You can talk yourself out of being scared over what has never happened simply because it hasn't happened. When worst fears come true, it's a lot harder to reason with those fears.

Another lesson I learned is that writing about the experience really helps. Last week, when I started this post I was still in pretty bad shape, but working on this post has really helped me organize my thoughts. Apparently, organizing thoughts is helpful when your thoughts are scattered to the wind. Who woulda thought?

And now I come to the final lesson and the main reason for this blog post. If something like this happens to you, you need to know that PTSD is more a physical reaction to trauma than psychological. It is basically the "Flight" side of "Fight or Flight" energy and it is just a normal human reaction. It becomes psychological when you start to buy into the demonic lies that no one understands, that you are weird, that you will never get over it, that trauma is going to keep happening and happening and you will never have a normal life ever again, etc.. It's weird to outsiders--especially ones that haven't experienced it or who have ignored it--because it looks like you aren't trusting God. It looks like you are weak and faithless when you are uneasy or scared or startled easily or spontaneously cry or can't sleep. You need to know that those symptoms have nothing to do with the strength of your faith. Totally nothing to do with it.

And I can prove it with the Bible. . .Jesus Christ, in fact.

God gave me the following verses:

Mark 14:32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them.“Stay here and keep watch.”

35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,[f] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,”he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

So this is what stood out to me by that story: Death freaked Jesus out too. 

Let me explain.

If this had been any other man in this situation, how many of us would have criticized Him as "not trusting God enough"? I mean, look at Him. Even His own disciples had no idea how to take Him. This is the guy who proved to them that God could make them walk on water, that God could calm the storms, that God was capable of anything. And yet, here is the same Guy totally freaked out, "deeply distressed and troubled. . .to the point of death," who tells them to keep watch for a danger that has never happened before (talk about seeming paranoid!). He falls to the ground and starts moaning about God taking a cup from Him. Other gospels tell us that He was in such shock and stress that His sweat was like drops of blood! That doesn't seem like what "trusting God" should look like.

(One more point is that the above verses come from Mark, who as most scholars point out, is the least emotional or embellishing of the gospel writers, and even he records Jesus behaving in this extreme manner. That should tell you something. Jesus was totally freaked out. And that is probably an understatement.)

Yet. . .This IS Jesus we're talking about. Not only was He trusting God, He is God. 100%, in fact--to both points. So how could He have so much trust and still react with such seeming fear? I mean, think about it. He knew what was about to happen to Him (I guess we could call it PRE-Traumatic Stress Syndrome), and while all of His crucifixion was utterly horrendous, He knew what would happen right after that, right? He would be forever glorified at the right hand of God the Father! He would save humanity from hell! Then why was He so worried? Shouldn't he have just "taken it like a man,"  got it all over with, and just focused on the glory to come afterward?

How many times have you been given that kind of advice during trauma? Don't listen to it! It's not Biblical!

This is the logic that so many Christians have when it comes to other Christians going through trauma. "Let's get past it. Let's not dwell on the trauma. Let's move on. God has better things for us." And while that looks great on paper, and while we shouldn't make trauma and grief into a morbid life's focus, we MUST be aware that we not try to "Out-Jesus" Jesus! If Jesus reacted to death and suffering with such utter grief, and since we can say for sure that He--being perfect--wasn't over-reacting for attention, and since we know that His reaction was a totally justifiable one, we need to remember that death and trauma cause physical stress to our bodies that is outside the umbrella of "not trusting God." Jesus was fully human. Therefore, He was undergoing a fully human reaction to trauma. In other words, being freaked out by death does not equal distrust in God.

Furthermore, because Jesus reacted this way, we should probably realize that it's okay to react this way too. One purpose He came to earth was to undergo all human experience to now be glorified as our holy Example. That means that He had to undergo all human emotion, spiritual attack, physical trauma, and all other life experience so that we could learn from His example. What I mean is: Don't think that just because you have shut down your emotional reaction to trauma, that you are being strong. Strength is not ignoring or trying to move on too quickly from a situation. Remember, Jesus was the strongest man who has ever lived, and He was so traumatized by His impending crucifixion that He wanted to die before He got anywhere near the cross. Again, don't try to "Out-Jesus" Jesus. If you have experienced a tragic loss, you need to have as many people pray for you as you can, versus just ignoring it.

Now...In Jesus' situation, the disciples didn't come through as the prayer warriors they needed to be for Him. He had to rely totally on the other parts of the Trinity. Fortunately for us today, our Christian friends have the Holy Spirit to guide them, and even if they don't know how to pray for us, they just have to be willing and the Spirit does the work (Romans 8:26)! Even simple prayers like, "Lord,. . .uh. . .please be with her. . .?" have power when the Holy Spirit is involved!

Okay, I'm not exactly sure how to end this. I probably should have organized my thoughts even further, but I'm just going to publish this, because I've said all I need to say, I think. But I hope these thoughts encourage someone the way they encouraged me. 

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 1:12-13 - Satan Has No Clue

The Verses (NIV)

Mark 1:12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[a] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.


My Paraphrase

Immediately the Spirit sent Him to the wilderness for 40 days. He was tempted by Satan. He was among dangerous animals, but angels took care of Him.


My Thoughts

(In case you are wondering why I paraphrase the verse first, it just helps me to think more about the verse if I have to write it in my own words--even if it's pretty much the same thing.)


First of all, we see complete obedience to the Spirit's command. He is baptized and He immediately goes to the wilderness. No hesitation. He had a job to do, but the Spirit wanted Him to fast and pray first--before starting His ministry. So He obeyed. I bet a huge portion of us Christians have never even thought about fasting for answers to dilemmas in our lives. I know I barely ever do. It's hard not to eat. I have a huge prayer request right now where someone dear to me is making a huge life-long mistake, and reading this verse really convicts me about fasting about it. If we want God to mean business in answering our prayers, can we not just forgo a little bit of food every now and then to show that we are totally relying on Him?

We look at His situation--no food, no human contact, in a desert--going, "That sounds awful!" especially since, not only was he being tempted by Satan himself, but there were also a lot of wild animals that could attack at any second! It's like, this poor guy can't catch a break! But that's just the point. The Spirit calls us to be dangerous, not to be comfortable.  Jesus didn't feel sorry for Himself.  We can assume that He "counted it all joy" like James tells us to, because the Father--in the prior verse--just said He was well-pleased with Jesus. The actions Jesus took brought Him (and as a result, us) joy. 

I heard a great teaching once by Pastor Dennis McCallum explaining this temptation by Satan. We take for granted that Satan knew everything about Jesus, but Satan is actually extremely limited. For one thing, he isn't omniscient, so he doesn't know everything. If we look at the facts that Satan was privy to at the time, all he really knew was that this Guy was some kind of "higher David"--another of "God's men." With that in mind, the temptations themselves make a lot more sense. For instance, if Satan knew who Jesus really was, why would he have offered Him all the nations of the world? Jesus created every nation, for heaven's sake! All Satan knew was that he had successfully tempted past "God men" with fame and glory and had made them fall. If he could just now get the greatest of them to fall, what a delightful feather in his cap! 

However, Jesus passed all tests and came forth as gold, which: brought further glory to God (glory which, incidentally could not have been brought had Jesus not had temptation); salvation to us (It's not just Jesus' death that brought us life. Every test He passed proved His perfection and the newness of life he offered.); and total befuddlement to the enemy (Satan never saw it coming, and by "it" I mean the crucifixion bringing salvation.)!


I never noticed the part about the wild animals before.  According to my Archaeological Study Bible, back in the day, there were many wild animals in that part of the world (remember Sampson and the lion carcass?). I just never thought about how Jesus had so much to deal with out in the wilderness. However, in the midst of Satan and the wild animals, we see that God did send angels to take care of Him.  I wonder if they talked or if they were invisible as they are to us today. Either way, it's worth remembering that even in our darkest times, God still sends us His attending angels. We don't need to pray to them or anything like that (Speaking to anyone invisible--except for God--is a bad idea.)! Still, it is nice to know they are there. 

In another gospel, one of Satan's temptations was for Jesus to throw Himself off a building because Satan wondered if the angels would actually save Him. Obviously, they were there and they probably would have, but that would have been showing off and Jesus isn't a show off. It would also have been indulging Satan, and. . .for obvious reasons, Jesus wasn't going to do that! Lastly, it would have been testing God--expecting God to do a magic trick in the event of doing something stupid, potentially suicidal, and disobedient.