Mark 1: 1-20 (HG)

Mark 1: 1-20 – Home Group (WOW Lounge)

We approached Mark through the inductive method.

First we observed (who, what, when, where).

Who were the participants?

Jesus

John

The Spirit

Zebedee

All the people of Judea

Isaiah

God, voice from heaven

Simon

Andrew

Satan

Angels

James

John

What was happening? When (in what order) did it happen? And where was it happening?

Mark introduces Jesus with the prophecy from Isaiah

John came from the desert, to the river Jordan, and was baptizing for repentance of sin

All of Judaea and Jerusalem came to be baptized

Jesus came from Nazareth to be baptized

The Father was pleased and the Spirit came down like a dove

The Spirit sent Jesus to the wilderness to be tempted

John was put into prison

Jesus came to Galilee and recruited the first of his disciples

Interpretation was a round of question and discussions

Since John was not the inventor of baptism and was not the only one baptizing at the time, what made John unique?

He came from the desert, was dressed in camel skin and was eating locusts and wild honey

He preached baptism by water as a repentance of sins, not just a cleansing process or a public display of beliefs

He was the only one with firsthand knowledge that the Messiah had come, so his message regarding the prophecy would be more directed to the current time.

Since Jesus was sinless, why did Jesus need to be baptized for the repentance of sin?

To associate himself with us and to show his humanity

To complete a customary act and show that he was not here to change the civil law and traditions

To transform the reason for baptism from a Providence by Law to a Providence by Grace. Jesus showed that baptism, or any other religious tradition, really had nothing to do with law or tradition. It was an independent, conscious act on his part to observe and acknowledge God’s will. He did not have to be baptized, but he chose to be baptized.

Based on the fact that he chose to be baptized, could Jesus have sinned?

Yes, but he chose not to. He did not have the sinful nature that compels every other human to sin. If he could not sin, then he would not have had free will. Free will is simply the ability to either choose to sin or choose not to sin. In order to have that ability, you must be able to sin. Otherwise, the choice is not free.

Application of what was studied

Understand how Jesus changed the concept of religion from one based on traditions, customs, and laws to one based on grace.

We should choose to follow the Bible, not because of custom, but because of the original intention which is to show our acceptance and desire to be in God’s will.