Mark: Modeling ourselves on Christ

In the first chapter of Mark the reader has a clear picture of who Jesus is, what He has come to do, and how He is going to do it. Right from the outset we are told that Jesus is the Son of God, and then this is confirmed in and through His baptism (we looked at both of these this past Sunday). In the next section, Jesus demonstrates what He’s come to do: to proclaim the good news of God (the Gospel)! He teaches and instructs His disciples and others about God and His plan of redemption, but He doesn’t just stop at teaching people, He also demonstrates what this Kingdom looks like. Over the rest of the first chapter Jesus teaches the good news by being good news! He heals, He casts out demons, He calls others to walk with Him, and He does all of this by being connected with His Heavenly Father. He speaks only by and through the direction of the Spirit.

As followers of Christ we are called to do just that, follow Him! We are called to carry on the work that He began, and point people to Him since it is only through Him that people can be saved. But we need to see how He did things so that we can pattern our life after His. Jesus called others to join with Him in His mission, and we need to do the same. It is impossible to truly follow Jesus apart from the body of Christ, His church. We need others, and they need us, and we especially need God. Jesus demonstrated this through His prayer life, and His time alone with God. If Jesus needed to do this, I think it’s safe to say we do as well! Finally, Jesus was where the people were. If we are going to bring the good news to people, we need to go to people who don’t yet have the good news! While it is good to encourage, care for, and instruct fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we can’t stop there. We need to go where there is a need, where people are lost, and bring them the hope and joy that we’ve found in Jesus. Please note, we will never be Jesus, and we’re not called to be! We will never save a single person through all of our efforts, but we can and should point people towards the One who can.

This Sunday we continue our look at the Gospel of Mark. I’d encourage you to read through the first chapter for this week, and sometime in the near future to read through the whole book in one sitting. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!! Hope to see you Sunday at 6pm.

Pastor Mike