DCLM ADULT STS LESSON 74 CHRIST BEGINS HIS MINISTRY
MEMORY VERSE: “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14,15).
TEXT: Mark 1:1-45; 2:1-28
The writer of this gospel is “John, whose surname was “Mark” or Marcus, son of Mary and cousin of
Barnabas (Acts 12:12,25; Colossians 4:10). Though nothing is known about his father, his mother who resided in Jerusalem was a consecrated believer. It was in her house that the early Church held a prayer vigil that resulted in the release of Peter from prison. John was most probably converted in one of such meetings by Peter who calls him his “son (1 Peter 5:13). As a growing believer, Paul and Barnabas considered him serviceable and allowed him to accompany them on their first missionary journey. He, however, turned back at Perga in Pamphylia for lack of preparedness and maturity to endure the hardship and hazards of missionary work (Acts 12:25; 13:13). Barnabas’ insistence that Mark should accompany them on the second missionary journey three years later to which Paul disagreed for being undependable brought a “sharp contention” between them and they parted (Acts 15:36-40).
Barnabas parted ways with Paul, took Mark with him to Cyprus and groomed him to spiritual stability and maturity. Christ like love prevailed at some point as both Mark and Paul reconciled and he was with the Apostle in his first imprisonment at Rome. As a remark of true forgiveness of the past unfaithfulness, which was known to the Colossians, Paul had to instruct them to “receive” him as a true evangelist and ‘fellow laborer’ (Colossians 4:10: Philemon l:24). His instruction to Timothy later that: “Only Luke is with me. “Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11) reveals that both Luke and Mark who wrote two of the synoptic gospels were with Paul. After Paul’s death, Mark joined Peter in Babylon from whom he must have learnt so much of the firsthand account of the life and ministry of Christ that he wrote in his gospel (1 Peter 5:13). From the foregoing, believers must learn the importance of absolute surrender of life and resources for God’s use, spiritual tutelage, agape love that produce forgiveness and reconciliation from sanctified hearts and acknowledgment and affirmation of other believers’ usefulness.
The gospel according to Mark is primarily addressed to the gentiles Christians. Therefore. Fewer references to the were made to the Old Testament prophecies. The book provides explanations of Jewish words and customs contained therein (Mark 3:17; 5:41; 7:1-4). It portrays Jesus Christ as the Servant of God, hence there is no account of His genealogy as we have it in the books of Matthew and Luke. It focuses on Christ’s threefold ministry of preaching, teaching and healing, which confirm the Saviour’s dominion over sin, sickness, demons and death. Our lesson illustrates Christ as our perfect Example in ministry and conduct in the face of opposition.
1.CHRIST’S PREPARATION FOR A FRUITFUL MINISTRY
Mark 1:1-13; Matthew 3:13,17; Luke 3:21; Matthew 28:18-20; Isaiah 40:29-31
Mark opens this gospel with the revelation of Christ as the Son of God: “The beginning of the Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. He anchors the subject matter of discourse on Scripture prophecies of Christ’s advent and that of His forerunner, John the Baptist. Concerning the ministry of the forerunner, Mark affirms that John was faithful and “did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins… saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (verses 4,7,8). The book proceeds to the preparation of Jesus Christ for His ministry. “And it came to pass in those days. That Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan” (Mark 1:9).
Christ’s baptism was His first public appearance in about three decades. Before this time, He lived unnoticed and unknown but was manifested at God’s appointed time. True children of God must learn from their Saviour to wait for God’s will and time in all their actions and expectations. Christ submitted Himself to John the Baptist for water baptism to fulfil all righteousness and as a model that all who genuinely repent of sin and believe the gospel should be baptized in water (Mark 16:15,16). As demonstrated ‘by Jesus Christ, water baptism is by immersion in water once, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19), Every local church is expected to carry out this al-important ordinance on young converts as regularly as possible without any delay. As soon as Jesus came out of the water, He received approval from God the Father by the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him: “And there came a voice from heaven, saying,. Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).
In spite of the open approval from heaven, Jesus Christ decided to engage in a forty-day fasting period in the wilderness by the leading of Holy Spirit in preparation for His earthly ministry. Christ is our perfect Example and we learn from His preparation for ministry that: One, we must submit for water baptism as He did if we are genuinely converted.
Two, Jesus waited upon His Father before His public ministry to be empowered. Thus, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (Acts 10:38).
Three, though our Lord was alone in the wilderness when the devil tempted Him, He did not sin, neither did He yield to the temptations of the devil. He was conscious of the Father. He overcame the temptation and angels ministered to Him there. Engaging in fasting and prayer does not shield any believer from temptation but we are assured of victory the same way our Lord overcame, received strength and anointing for His ministry.
2.CHRIST’S POWER OVER SIN, SICKNESS AND DEMONS
Mark 1:14-45; Luke 24:46,47; Colossians 1:12,13; Philippians 2:9,10; Isaiah 53:4,5; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Matthew 7:7,8
Jesus Christ started His earthly ministry in the city of Galilee after forty days of fasting. His message was “…the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). This is the pattern for all believers to follow. The message of repentance as a requirement for obtaining the forgiveness of God runs through the entire Scripture. It’s indispensability made Christ to emphasize it even after His resurrection (Luke 24:46,47). Every evangelistic message should emphasize the following:
One, Repentance: this is the conscious turning away from sin and its deceitful pleasures to righteousness.
Two, Faith in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ: atonement is the appeasement of the offended God through the sacrifice and shedding of the blood of the ransoming Lamb, Jesus Christ, for sinful humanity to be reconciled to the Almighty.
Three, The certainty of judgment on all unrepentant sinners: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). At the outset of His ministry, Jesus Christ called the first set of His disciples (Peter, Andrew, John and James). He took them along to the city of Capernaum, a city on the seacoast of Galilee where He taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath day with an unusual authority. There, He encountered a man with an unclean spirit that confessed His deity. “And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And.. he came out of him” (Mark 1:25,26). Christ manifested His authority over the powers of darkness. He has also given believers authority over powers of darkness (Luke 10:19). Demons tremble at the mention of the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:9,10). Christ‘s authority over sickness was also demonstrated as He left the synagogue for the house of Simon Peter.
There, He healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a febrile illness and subsequently healed all that was brought to Him. “And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils…”(Mark 1:32-34). Divine healing and health remains the covenant right of every child of God. It is a vital of our full salvation in Christ (Matthew 15:26-28; Ephesians 2:12-21;2 Peter 2:9,10). Sickness, in whatever form, is of the devil and he uses it to captivate and oppress people (Job 42:10; Luke 13:16,12; Acts 10:38). Jesus has conquered sin, Satan and diseases on our behalf. He bore our infirmities, sicknesses and diseases so that we would claim and enjoy full release and deliverance. Disobedience to God’s word, misuse of the tongue, unbelief and disobedience to the law of nature (inadequate rest, lack of exercise, poor hygiene among others) can make one not to enjoy the expected healing and health promised by God. It is instructive to note the centrality of prayer in ministry as demonstrated by Christ. He did not skip prayer after a very busy outreach (Mark 1:35).
Ministers must continue in prayers after every evangelistic outreach to avoid spiritual dryness. As no individual can continue to live without breathing, likewise no believer can remain spiritually alive without praying. It is important that believers and ministers maintain a vibrant devotional life if they are to remain spiritually fresh and strong. The healing of the leper further lends credence to the omnipotence of Christ. Having healed a man of his leprosy, Jesus “…saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them” (Mark 1:44). This instruction was given in the Old Testament on handling cases of leprosy (Leviticus 13:37). Rather than obey Christ, the man went on to publish his testimony of divine healing everywhere. His disobedience affected Christ’s outreach as he could no longer openly enter the city to continue His good works. Thus, He had to retire to desert places where only those who could come out of their places met Him.
There were other instances where Jesus gave a similar instruction to recipients of divine touch and revelation not to tell anyone about their experiences (Matthew 17:9; Luke 8:54-56; John 12:10, 11). At another instance when He cast out demons from the maniac of Gadara, He instructed “Go home to thy friend, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee” (Mark 5:19). The Lord knows where testimonies of His great work will endanger lives or hinder His ministry or advance it. We must learn to always obey the Lord whether we understand the rationale behind His demand or not.
3. CHRIST’S POSTURE IN THE FACE OF OPPOSITION
Mark 2:1-28; 1 Peter 2:21-23; John 8:48-49; Hebrews 12:3
After the healing of the leper in Galilee, Christ went back to the city of Capernaum. His arrival was greatly publicized such that there was no adequate space for the people who gathered to hear Him and be ministered to. He “preached the word unto them”. Every crowd-pulling minister should learn from Christ that the most important need of their lives is the word of God. Thronged by a huge crowd that made it difficult for anyone to get close to Jesus Christ for any personal attention, four men had to break the roof to let down a paralyzed man to Christ’s presence in the house. Jesus commended their faith and “said unto the sick of the palsy, son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5).
This pronouncement elicited accusation of blasphemy from the scribes who were ignorant about His deity. After revealing the discontent in their heart concerning His authority to forgive sin, He healed the man to prove His deity to them. Thus, the man received double blessings of forgiveness and healing. Jesus “went forth again by the sea side” and there He taught the multitude that followed Him. It was while passing by that He saw Levi “at the receipt of custom, and said’ unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him”. Christ leveraged on the opportunity of a dinner organized by Levi (Matthew) whom He had Just called to reach out to publicans and sinners. The scribes and Pharisees were again critical of His association with sinners.
The Lord’s response here is instructive: “When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). By this statement, Jesus Christ revealed that His primary goal in ministry was the salvation of sinners- rich or poor, educated or illiterate, religious or irreligious. Priority of every believer regardless of any opposition. A question was also posed to Him on why the disciples of John and those of the Pharisees fast and His disciples do not (Mark 2:18-20). He told them that His disciples were going to fast after His death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. Fasting is a scriptural, beneficial and spiritual exercise that can accomplish great things when done with prayer of faith. Christ taught His disciples the indispensability of fasting when they failed to cast an evil spirit from a child (Matthew 17:19-21).
Both John and the Pharisees belonged to the Old Testament and there is no ground for comparison of the old with the new dispensation of grace which Christ’s ministry represents. So, “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse” (Mark 2:21). This simply implies that the new doctrines do not match the old rites of the Pharisees. In another encounter, the Pharisees accused the disciples of plucking ears of corn unlawfully on the Sabbath day. Jesus…said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath”. Since the period of the resurrection of Christ, New Testament believers are not bound by the rite of Sabbath. The Lord’s day (Revelation 1:10) or first day of week has now replaced the Sabbath day (Acts 20:7: 1 Corinthians 16:2). And it is lawful to do good works of love and mercy every day of the week. In conclusion, believers learn obvious lessons from Christ’s ministry, preaching and prayer life, and those who desire to succeed must follow His footprints.
Questions For Review:
- How can an immature and unfaithful believer become a great instrument in the proclamation of the gospel of Christ?
- What do believers learn from Christ’s submission for water baptism?
- What was the major role of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s earthly ministry?
- How can sinners and backsliders benefit from the healing covenant?
- How can believers maintain spiritual freshness?
- List examples of good deeds permissible on the Lord’s day.
- What can present-day believers who desire to succeed in ministry learn from Christ’s approach to His ministry?
The Lord is our strenght