Jesus's Twelve Apostles and His True Brothers and Sisters

Continuing a Bible study of the gospels:

(Mark 3:1) And He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand.

In the last chapter of Mark, Jesus had come back into the city of Capernaum after a short stay in the wilderness, and He now went back into the synagogue there.  There was a man there who had a withered hand.

(2) And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the sabbath day, that they might accuse Him.

The scribes and Pharisees who had been accusing Jesus's disciples of "work" on the Sabbath at the end of the last chapter, now watched Jesus closely to see if He would heal a man on the sabbath day.

(3) And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Stand forth."

Surely knowing what the scribes and Pharisees were thinking in their hearts, Jesus told the man with the withered hand to stand before them.

(4) And He said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life or to kill? But they held their peace.

Jesus asked the scribes and Pharisees whether it was lawful to do good on the sabbath days or to do evil.  Was it lawful to save a life or to kill?  They did not answer Him.

(5) And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch forth your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Jesus looked around at the scribes and Pharisees about Him, angry and distressed at them because they were so heartless they would not want to see a man healed just because it was on the Sabbath.  He then told the man with the withered hand to stretch it forth, and when he did, the hand was restored whole just as his other hand.

(6) And the Pharisees went forth, and immediately counseled with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

The Pharisees who were supposed to be the oracles of the church, went out of the synagogue and met and counseled with the Herodians, who were supporters of the government.  Even though these two groups were usually at odds with each other, they found common ground in their desire to get rid of Jesus, and that is what they plotted together to do.

(7) But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea, (8) And from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond Jordan, and those around Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came to Him.

Jesus, surely knowing the plotting against Him, withdrew from the city of Capernaum, and He and His disciples went to the seashore of the Sea of Galilee.  A great multitude of people followed Him from Galilee, from Jerusalem and Judea, from Idumea, which was Edom, and beyond the Jordan River, and from as far west as Tyre and Sidon.  When these people had heard what great things Jesus did, they came from far and wide to Him.

(9) And He spoke to His disciples that a small boat should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they crowd Him.

Jesus told His disciples to get a small boat ready for Him in case the crowd of people began to press in too hard on Him.

(10) For He had healed many, so that they pressed upon Him to touch Him, as many as had plagues.

Because Jesus had healed many people, crowds of people with plagues or diseases pressed upon Him just to touch Him in hopes they would be healed by just His touch.

(11) And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, "You are the Son of God!"

The unclean spirits that possessed people in the crowd recognized Him, and the bodies they possessed fell before Him when they saw Him, crying out that He was the Son of God.  Evil spirits cannot stand in the presence of God; they are in complete subjection to Him.

(12) And He sternly charged them that they should not make Him known.

The spirits could not help but fall before Jesus, but He once again silenced them so that they would not make Him known to the people.  Evil spirits were certainly not the best preachers!

(13) And He went up in a mountain and called whom He wanted, and they came to Him. (14) And He ordained twelve that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach. (15) And to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out devils.

The account in Luke states Jesus went to the mountain to pray and stayed there all night.  When it was day, He called His disciples to Him, which were probably many followers in the beginning, and He chose among them twelve to be His righthand men, so to speak, men He could send out to preach, to heal, and to cast out devils.  Note He chose twelve to have that power; they wouldn't have naturally had the power to do such things without Jesus giving it to them.  Of course, the significance of the number twelve can't be overstated.  It was obviously the number of the twelve tribes of Israel.

(16) And Simon He surnamed Peter.

The first of the twelve disciples was Simon whom Jesus surnamed Peter; He was called Simon Peter, but most often just Peter.

(17) And James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and He surnamed them Boanerges, which is "Sons of Thunder."

Then Jesus called James and John and gave them the surname of Boanerges which meant "Sons of Thunder."

(18) And Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite.

Jesus also called Andrew, who was Peter's brother, and Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, to distinguish him from James the brother of John.  Jesus also called Thaddeus and Simon the Canaanite, again an addition to distinguish him from Simon Peter.  He was also called Simon the Zealot.

(19) And Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

Lastly, Jesus chose Judas Iscariot, who, of course, would betray Him.  Certainly Jesus knew that when He chose Him, even though Judas could not have known it at that point, but He chose him to fulfill the purposes of God.  Jesus and the twelve disciples then went into a house, probably the house of Peter and Andrew which seems to be the place Jesus stayed when He was in Capernaum.

(20) And the multitude came together again so that they could not so much as eat bread.

When Jesus came back into town into the house, a crowd of people came together again to the house, so as He and His disciples could not even eat.

(21) And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is beside Himself."

The word that was translated as "friends" meant a closer relationship than just a friend.  It meant those who were of Him, so either very close friends or more likely family and relatives, heard about what was going on with Jesus and went to get Him, for they said He must have been out of sorts, or out of His wits, as the word "existemi" more accurately meant.  Jesus's closest friends and relatives did not understand who He was at this point.

(22) And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils, He casts out devils."

The scribes from Jerusalem declared that Jesus had the spirit of Satan, and it was by his power that He was able to cast out demons.  That is the very reason that Jesus always made the evil spirits possessing people to be silent so as not to engender this belief, that they listened to Him because He was of them.  These last two verses illustrate what Jesus's own people thought of Him, that He was insane or possessed by demons.  John stated in John 1:11 that Jesus came into the world to His own, but they did not receive Him.

(23) And He called them and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?"

To the scribes who said that Jesus cast out devils by the power of Beelzebub, He asked in parables, or metaphorically with illustrations, how it was that Satan could cast out himself.

(24) "And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand."

Jesus continued with His illustration of that fact by comparing it to a kingdom that was divided against itself that could then not stand.

(25) "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand."

Likewise, Jesus told them a house divided against itself could not stand.

(26) "And if Satan rises up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end."

Jesus showed them the logical conclusion to their absurd argument that He cast out devils by the devil.  If the prince of the devils fought against his devils, and his kingdom was divided, he could not stand and would be soon destroyed.

(27) "No man can enter into a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house."

Having proven the point that He could not be casting out demons by the power of the prince of the demons because Satan would be undoing his own work, He went on to say that no man could enter into a strong man's house with the intention of seizing his goods without first binding the strong man.  The point was that Jesus could not use the strong man's own power to plunder the strong man (Satan); He must bind the strong man in order to free the one possessed by him.

(28) "Verily, I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men and whatever blasphemies with which they shall blaspheme."

Jesus said that all sins and even blasphemies against God would be forgiven a man, obviously being after he repented of those things and brought Jesus into his heart.

(29) "But he who blasphemes against the Holy Ghost never has forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation," (30) Because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Because the scribes had said that Jesus had an unclean spirit, He sternly warned them.  He said any sin against Him, even blasphemies against Him and Father God, could be forgiven, but they could never be forgiven for blaspheming the Holy Spirit.  I believe to blaspheme the Holy Spirit one has to know the Holy Spirit.  For instance, I believe a sinner could utter blasphemies against God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, railing against them all because he "knows not what he does" (Luke 23:34).  I certainly don't want to speak for Jesus something that is not true, but in my heart I truly believe this to be the case.  The reason Jesus was warning the scribes was that they were supposed to know the Holy Spirit of God.  Once a person has accepted Jesus into his heart and has the gift of the Holy Spirit, he intimately knows the Spirit, and at that point knows what he does when he blasphemes the Spirit of God.  Although the scribes did not yet have Jesus, they supposedly knew God and His word, and should have known the Spirit of God; therefore Jesus sternly warned them not to blaspheme the Spirit they should know and recognize in Him.

(31) There came then His brothers and His mother, and standing outside, sent to Him, calling Him.

It appears that at this point Jesus was still in Peter's house.  His mother and His brothers came to the house and from outside, they sent word calling Him to them.  Whether these were His blood brothers, or half-brothers as they could only be as sons of Mary and Joseph, or just relatives, they were certainly family accompanying His mother.  In verse 21 we were told Jesus's family was trying to take hold of Him because they thought He was "beside Himself," and that might have been the intention of His brothers at this point.

(32) And the multitude sat around Him, and they said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers outside are seeking You."

A multitude of people sat around Jesus listening to Him preach and teach.  The message came through that Jesus's mother and brothers were outside the house looking for Him.

(33) And He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" 

Jesus answered those who had sent Him the message asking the question just who were His mother and His brothers?

(34) And He looked around at them who sat around Him, and said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! (35) For whoever shall do the will of God is My brother, and My sister, and mother."

After He posed the question, Jesus looked around at the people sitting around Him, and declared that they were His mother and brothers, for whoever did the will of His Father in heaven were His brother, sister, or mother.  They were certainly His spiritual brothers and sisters, Christian brothers and sisters.  In declaring this, Jesus indicated that His true spiritual disciples were closer brothers and sisters than His fleshly family.  Furthermore, if it was His fleshly family's intention to take Him away at that point, they certainly were not doing the will of God.  I don't believe Jesus was being disrespectful to His mother, but was rather showering respect on His disciples and followers.  His mother did become a believer and follower, and therefore a spiritual sister, as well; but if she hadn't, Jesus had made it clear before that anyone who loved family more than Him (Matthew 10:37) was not worthy of Him.  Likewise, those who loved Him more than family who might oppose Him, were worthy to be called His true brothers and sisters.

Jesus Calls Matthew and Teaches the Spirit of the Law

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 2:1) And again He entered into Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.

At the end of the last chapter, Mark said that the fame of Jesus had grown so much that He could no longer stay in the city, but had to stay in the wilderness.  It appears that after some days He did come back into the city of Capernaum.  Although I am sure He came privately, it was soon heard that He was back in the house, which would have been Peter's house.

(2) And immediately many were gathered together so that there was no room to receive them, no, not even at the door. And He preached the word to them.

As soon as word got out that Jesus was there, there gathered so many people that there was no room for them in the house, not even about the door.  Jesus preached to the people.

(3) And they came to Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, who was carried by four men.

Four men carrying a man sick of the palsy, or paralysis, on a mat or bed as told by Matthew in Matthew 9:2, attempted to come to Jesus in the house.

(4) And when they could not come near to Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was, and when they had broken through, they let down the bed where the paralytic lay.

When the men carrying the paralytic saw that they could not get near to Jesus because of the crowd of people, they uncovered the roof above where Jesus was preaching.  When they had uncovered a large enough area, they let the paralyzed man on his bed down through the opening.

(5) When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."

When Jesus saw the great faith of the men in that they would work so hard to get the paralyzed man to Him, knowing He could cure Him, He said to the paralytic that his sins were forgiven.

(6) But there were certain scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, (7) "Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?"

There were some scribes in the crowd who, upon hearing Jesus's words, began to reason and question within their hearts about why "this man" would speak such blasphemies; after all, only God could forgive sins!

(8) And immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?"

Jesus, demonstrating one of His Godly abilities, showing that He knew what they were thinking, asked the scribes why it was that they questioned within their hearts the things they heard Jesus say.

(9) "Which is easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, and take up your bed, and walk'?"

Jesus continued to speak to the scribes questioning within their hearts, and asked them which was easier for Him to say to the paralytic, that his sins were forgiven, or telling him to get up, take up his bed, and walk, thus suggesting (actually proving) to them that He could do either, or both, for that matter.

(10) "But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins," (He said to the paralytic), (11) "I say to you, arise, and take up your bed, and go your way to your house."

Then telling the scribes that He would show them that He indeed had the power on earth to forgive sins, and to heal the man, He told the paralytic to rise up, take up his bed, and go to his house.

(12) And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything in this manner."

Indeed, the paralyzed man rose up, being completely healed from his paralysis, and took up his bed and walked out before all the people.  They were all amazed and glorified God, and said they had never witnessed anything like that before.

(13) And He went forth again by the seaside, and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.

Jesus then went out again by the seaside of the Sea of Galilee, or Tiberius, as it was called at Capernaum, and a multitude of people came to Him there, and He taught them.

(14) And as He passed by, He saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt office of customs, and said to him, "Follow Me." And he arose and followed Him.

Jesus passed by the tax office, and saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting in the office.  Jesus called to him to follow Him, and he immediately did.  Levi was also called Matthew, as men often had two names in those days, and sometimes names were added to distinguish men with the same names from each other.  Interestingly, as I am noticing for the first time, Levi was called the son of Alphaeus.  In Matthew 10:2-4, the second James (not the son of Zebedee) was called the son of Alphaeus.  It would appear that Matthew and James were brothers.  However, as the scriptures often point out the sets of brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John, it never pairs Matthew and James together, so these were probably sons of two different Alphaeuses.  These people known by only one name can be very confusing!  Nothing is as confusing as all the Marys!  

(15) And it came to pass that as Jesus sat at the meal in his house, many publicans and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples for there were many, and they followed Him.

The account in Luke tells us that Matthew made a great feast in honor of Jesus, and that is where Jesus sat.  As Matthew had been a tax collector, it is reasonable to expect his friends also at the feast to be in the same line of work.  Therefore, Jesus and His disciples sat among many tax men and sinners for many had followed Him into the feast.

(16) And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with publicans and sinners?"

When the scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus eating with publicans, whom they looked upon as lowlifes and sinners, and Gentiles whom all called sinners, they asked His disciples why He did such a thing.

(17) When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "They who are whole have no need of the physician, but they who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

When Jesus heard what the scribes and Pharisees were asking His disciples, He told them that He was with the people who needed Him.  The righteous did not need His healing, but the sinners did.

(18) And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

At that time the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came to Jesus and asked why it was that His disciples did not fast as they did.  In the beginning, all the questions of the Pharisees were not necessarily bad.  They had more knowledge so as to ask more questions.  It's what they did with the answers in their hearts that mattered and began to show later.

(19) And Jesus said to them, "Can the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast."

Jesus said that the bride and bridesmaids of the bride chamber could not be expected to fast when the bridegroom and the time of the wedding had come.  That was a time of celebration, not fasting.  As Jesus was considered the bridegroom with the church as His bride, His analogy, of course, meant that while He was present with them, it was a time for celebration, not fasting.

(20) "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days."

Jesus went on to say that there would come a time when He the bridegroom would be taken away, and then it would be a time for fasting.

(21) "No one also sews a piece of new cloth on an old garment, or else the new piece that filled it pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse."

Sewing a new unwashed and unworn piece of cloth on an old garment would not work because the new piece would shrink and pull away from the old fabric and cause a bigger tear.  Jesus's point was that now that He was here, some rules did not fit.  Bringing the new for the people Messiah into the scene did not fit for the old ways of fasting, but for joy and celebration, a new thing now that their much anticipated Messiah was there.

(22) And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine bursts the wineskins and the wine is spilled and the wineskins will be ruined; but new wine must be put into new wineskins."

Likewise, Jesus said that new wine could not be put into an old wineskin for it would burst the old skin; it must be put into a new wineskin.  This new thing with Jesus now on earth among men called for a new way.  That is not to say that Jesus came to change the old law; He didn't, but He did come to teach the spirit of the law and to do away with the legalistic laws of man.  Another way to look at this is that Jesus bringing His message of repentance and salvation to the old scribes and Pharisees would only fill them with rage and fury to the point they burst, metaphorically.  This new testament was better received by sinners who would be new Christians.

(23) And it came to pass that when He went through the cornfields on the sabbath day, and His disciples began as they went to pluck the ears of corn, (24) The Pharisees said to Him, "Behold, why do they do on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?"

Then came the time when Jesus and His disciples walked through the cornfields on the sabbath day, and His disciples began to pluck ears of corn.  The Pharisees asked Jesus why it was that His disciples did that which was not lawful for them to do on the Sabbath.

(25) And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he had need and was hungry, he and those with him? (26) How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to them who were with him?"

Jesus asked the Pharisees if they had ever read about David, the man after God's own heart, when he was hungry and in need of food, had no difficulty in eating the shewbread, which by law was meant only for the priests and their families.  He not only ate it, but gave some to those who accompanied him.  I like the way Matthew Henry put it, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "Ritual observances must give way to moral obligations; and that may be done in a case of necessity, which otherwise may not be done."  God is love, and His laws were made to teach us how to love God, our neighbors, and our parents and authority.  When we become so legalistic and strict about the letter of the law that we cease to love and actually hurt people because of it, then that law should give way to love and moral obligations.  

(27) And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

Jesus went on to tell them that the Sabbath was made for man, for his good and not for his hurt, a day of rest for both his body and his soul.  Man was not made for the Sabbath of which laws he must obey even at the cost of hurting himself and others.  I can't help but think of environmental laws we have on the books that would save a tiny reptile at the expense of denying people water.  There is a moral order to things, and people are more important than animals that God put on earth for man.  A baby's life is more important than the convenience of its mother.  Doctors and hospitals must work on the Sabbath in order to save lives.

(28) "Therefore, the Son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

Jesus the Messiah, God on earth, the Supreme lawgiver, who made all things, had the right to dispense with any law He had made.  In this case, it's not so much that He was dispensing with the law, but He taught the spirit of the law, and how it was meant for the good of man.  Therefore, plucking and eating a few ears of corn on the Sabbath when they were hungry, especially when you consider their jobs were ministry and not tending farms and preparing food, was not a sinful act.

Jesus Is Baptized and Begins His Ministry

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 1:1) The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Mark began his retelling of the gospel, or good news, of Jesus Christ.  He acknowledged He was the Son of God.  Mark began by stating that what followed was the good news of Christ, not so much a life story, but the part that pertained to the salvation over death.

Mark was one of the extended group of disciples or followers of Jesus, a member of the early church.  The disciples met at his mother's home (Acts 12:12).  The early church leader Papias (c. 60-135 A.D.) wrote that Mark transcribed the teachings of Peter, so he had the eyewitness reports of Peter.  It is possible he witnessed the arrest of Jesus, as there is a veiled reference to that in his gospel account.  Called John Mark in references in the Bible, he probably wrote his account about 20 years after the death of Christ.

(2) As it is written in the prophets, "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."

Mark began his gospel account with the prophecies in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, that God would send a messenger before Jesus who would prepare the way for the Messiah.

(3) "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.'"

The rest of the prophecy speaks of a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.  This was, of course, John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah.  He did so in the wilderness that represented the lost world, and he made straight the crooked paths of false doctrine and faulty judgment.

(4) John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Mark went on to describe what John did in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord.  He preached repentance and performed baptisms as a sign of repentance for the remission of sins.

(5) And there went out to him all the land of Judea, and those of Jerusalem, and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

People from Jerusalem and all the region of Judea came out to see and hear John and were baptized by him in the Jordan River, after confessing their sins.

(6) And John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt about his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

John came very plainly, not in royal pomp and circumstance, but he lived an austere life in the wilderness, wearing animal skins and eating only what was readily available to him.  His only purpose was to proclaim the coming Messiah and prepare the way for Him.

(7) And preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen."

John preached about One coming after him who was much greater than he was, meaning, of course, the Messiah.  He described himself as being totally unworthy to even unstrap His sandals.

(8) "I indeed have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost."

It was as if John was saying not to rest solely in his water baptism.  His external water baptism was just a sign of a repentant heart, but the greater One coming after him would baptize the inner man with the Holy Spirit.

(9) And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

While John was preaching and baptizing in the wilderness, Jesus came to him for the expressed purpose of being baptized by him according to the account in Matthew (Matthew 3:13).  Jesus was indeed baptized by John in the Jordan River.

(10) And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him.

As Jesus came up out of the water of His baptism, the heavens opened up, and the Holy Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove lighting on Him.

(11) And there came a voice from heaven, saying, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Matthew described it as the voice saying "This is My beloved Son..."  Mark described the voice as speaking directly to Jesus.  The point is that the three distinct persons of the Holy Trinity were represented here and well pleasing to God:  God the Father in heaven above, His Holy Spirit, and His Son in human form on earth.

(12) And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.

Immediately after His baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit deeper into the wilderness.  Matthew added in Matthew 4:1 that this was for the purpose of being tempted by the devil.

(13) And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Mark gave a very concise account of Jesus's temptations in the wilderness.  According to Matthew 4:2-11 Jesus was indeed there in the wilderness forty days and He was fasting, at which point Satan tempted our Lord when He was at His weakest as a human.  Of course, Jesus, having no sin in Him, did not give in to the temptations, and sent Satan packing, at which time the angels came and ministered to Him.

(14) Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

In the concise manner that Mark wrote this, it shows that when John's work was done and he was put into prison, then Jesus came into Galilee and began His ministry, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God.

(15) And saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel."

Jesus preached that the time of the Messiah, as foretold by the prophets, was at that time come.  He called the people to repent and believe His gospel.

(16) Now as He walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

As Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon, who was also called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, as they were fishermen.

(17) And Jesus said to them, "Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."

Jesus called to Simon Peter and Andrew to come follow Him and He would make them fishers of men, surely a more excellent employment.

(18) And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

Immediately they left the tools of their livelihood behind to follow Jesus.  There must have been some Holy Spirit guidance to have them give up all at Jesus's first call.

(19) And when He had gone a little further from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the ship mending their nets.

Jesus went a little further from where He had called Peter and Andrew, and He saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee, also in the ship mending their nets.  Perhaps He had seen Peter and Andrew on one end of a ship casting their nets while James and John were mending their nets at the opposite end of the same ship, or perhaps also meant that they, too, were employed with nets for fishing.

(20) And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Jesus called James and John immediately upon seeing them, as you can be sure that they had been called long before their births for that time.  They also left their livelihoods and their father to join Jesus and follow Him.

(21) And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the sabbath day, He entered the synagogue and taught.

Jesus and His disciples went to Capernaum.  It seems it was on the Sabbath, and Jesus immediately entered the synagogue and taught.

(22) And they were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

The people were astonished at Jesus's teaching, for He taught as one with authority, one who really knew God and His doctrine, not as the scribes who would merely read off the pages.

(23) And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, (24) Saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God!"

There was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit, or spirits, as it appears from what they said to Jesus.  Perhaps rather the spirit was talking for all the other demonic spirits that possessed people all over the region.  The evil spirit recognized Jesus right away, even though the man it possessed probably did not up to that point.  If that doesn't prove Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against...spiritual wickedness..," I don't know what does!  If only we could remember that!  The spirit asked Jesus to leave them, all evil spirits, alone, saying they had nothing to do with Him, which of course they didn't, but He certainly had something to do with them as they destroyed men's souls.  The evil spirit asked if Jesus had come to destroy them, recognizing Him as the Holy One of God, who was quite capable of doing just that.

(25) And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Hold your peace and come out of him."

Jesus told the spirit to be quiet and commanded it to come out of the man it was possessing.

(26) And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried with a loud voice, it came out of him.

The evil spirit had to obey Jesus's command, but on its way out of the man, it caused the man to convulse and cry out in a loud voice.

(27) And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him."

The people in the synagogue were amazed and began to talk among themselves, wondering what they were witnessing.  They were hearing a doctrine spoken by someone who seemed to have authority, and they had never heard anything like that from the scribes.  He also had authority over unclean spirits that had to obey Him, and they had certainly never witnessed anything like that!

(28) And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region around Galilee.

Jesus's fame spread beyond Capernaum where He had taught in the synagogue and driven out the evil spirit, throughout all the region beyond Galilee, as people reported what they had witnessed.

(29) And immediately after they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

The sermon in the synagogue being over, Simon Peter and Andrew went home, and apparently invited Jesus, James, and John into their home, as well.

(30) But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and at once they told Him about her.

There in Simon Peter's home was also his mother-in-law who was sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her right away upon entering his house.

(31) And He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered to them.

Jesus came to the woman, took her by the hand, and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  She was so completely recovered that she then began to serve the men.

(32) And at evening when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were diseased and those who were possessed with devils.

In the evening, after the sun had set, and the Sabbath was over, when it was now seen as lawful to heal, they, either His disciples with Him at the time or more likely people hearing of his fame, brought to Jesus all manner of people who were diseased and those who were demon-possessed.

(33) And all the city was gathered together at the door.

All the inhabitants of the city of Capernaum were gathered at Peter's door to witness the healing of the people that had been brought to Jesus.

(34) And He healed many who were sick of diverse diseases, and cast out many devils, and did not allow the devils to speak because they knew Him.

Jesus healed many who were sick with various different diseases and He cast out many demons.  The verse does not mean to suggest He did not cure them all, but rather that the number who were cured was many.  The evil spirits who possessed people all knew Jesus, but He did not allow them to speak this time.  I believe the spirit was allowed to speak the first time to demonstrate to us that the spirit knew Jesus, but now it was not helpful to have all those demonic spirits testifying of Jesus, as it might seem to the people that He had a confederacy with them, as the Pharisees had suggested back in Matthew, that He worked miracles by the power of the devil.

(35) And in the morning, having risen a great while before day, He went out and departed to a solitary place and there prayed.

Very early the next morning Jesus left Peter's house and went to a solitary place to pray.  It is worthy to note how often Jesus prayed.  You would think as God, He didn't need to pray.  However, as man, He may have used prayer to strengthen Himself for the work at hand, or perhaps most importantly to teach us that we should pray about all things.

(36) And Simon and those with him followed after Him.

Simon Peter and probably just those who would have spent the night in Peter's house, certainly Andrew and perhaps James and John, followed after Jesus.

(37) And when they had found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for you."

It seems they may not have immediately followed after Jesus and seen where He had gone, but rather had to search for Him.  When they found Him, they told Him that everyone was looking for Him.

(38) And He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came."

Jesus was not concerned with the multitudes who were looking for Him, but rather suggested to His disciples that they go into other towns to also preach there, for that is the reason He had come into this world, to preach the Gospel.

(39) And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

Jesus indeed preached in the synagogues of the towns throughout Galilee.  Jesus also cast out devils.  Mark doesn't say here that Jesus healed people, but that He cast out devils.  I'm sure He did both, but it makes one wonder if many diseases are demon-caused?  Perhaps Mark was just making the point that Jesus came to destroy Satan and death.

I had to wonder at this point if Jesus was preaching throughout Galilee with just the four disciples He had called up to that time.  The answer can be found in Papias's description of Mark's writing, "Mark became Peter's interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done by the Lord."  Although Mark was accurate, he did not write events in the order that they occurred, so it is very likely that the twelve disciples were with Jesus by the time He taught throughout Galilee.

Another point of interest regarding the writings of Mark, is that Luke, when beginning his gospel account, wrote in the first verse of the first chapter that he would "set forth in order" the events in the gospel, and then again in verse 3, "It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you in order..."  It really does seem that Luke is making the point that his gospel would be in order, whereas others, probably particularly Mark, had not written the events in order.  That is not to say that Luke disputed anything that Mark wrote, as he appears to have quoted Mark more often than any other source.  Luke 1:2 acknowledges that "...those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us."  However, Luke set out to write it in a more orderly fashion.

(40) And there came a leper to Him, beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying to Him, "If You will, You can make me clean."

While Jesus was preaching in the towns throughout Galilee, there came to Him a leper on his knees begging Him to heal him.  The man had no doubt that Jesus could heal him, but he asked that He be willing to do it for him.

(41) And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean."

Jesus was moved with compassion for the man who had so humbly sought His help.  He reached out and touched the man, which was actually unlawful to do, to touch anything unclean.  He told the man He was willing to make him clean, and commanded so.

(42) And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

As soon as Jesus spoke the command to be clean, the leprosy left the man and he was cleansed.  It was not necessary that Jesus touch the unclean man; He could have just commanded he be healed.  I believe the reason is in the statement that Jesus was moved with compassion, with love for this poor man who had so long suffered, who had come to Him humbly, having faith He could cure him if He wanted.  Jesus loves all us poor sinners, and He came to be in the midst of our filthy sinful world to rescue us all.  I believe with His gesture, Jesus showed us that no sin is too unclean or too bad that He cannot forgive and heal us.  Another way to look at this is that Jesus saw the man as he was, as God created him to be.  He was not unclean; he was a victim of sin in a sinful world.  As Jesus touched him, he indeed was made clean.

(43) And He sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, (44) And said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

Jesus sternly warned the man to say nothing about Jesus's healing of him, but to go immediately to the priest, make his offering as commanded by Moses in the law, and be pronounced clean by the priest as the law required, and that would be his public testimony.  Although he was completely cleansed by Jesus, at that time, Jesus wanted to have him obey the law and not bring unwanted attention too soon to Jesus's ministry.  It was not the time yet.  Besides, another reason might have been that people would not have judged him to be truly clean if they knew it came from Jesus and not from the priest's proclamation that he was genuinely cured.

(45) But he went out and began to publish it much and blaze the matter abroad, so much that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every quarter.

Despite Jesus's stern charge, the man went out spreading the good news of his healing far and wide.  I'm sure it was not with any bad intention to disobey Jesus, but he was so overjoyed, he could not contain himself.  However, the result was that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but He stayed out in more deserted places, but still the people came to him from all over.

In this first chapter of Mark, he tells how Jesus began His ministry.  He did not write about Jesus's birth and early years, as some of the other gospel writers did, but began with what he called from the beginning, "the gospel of Jesus Christ," His message and ministry.