The Introduction To The Introduction To The Introduction
A couple of years ago, my ministry group developed a theme called Make Your Mark, which is subsequently led us to deriving the whoel module from the book of Mark. Since then I have been fascinated by shortest gospel.
I always need to remind myself that the bible writers were real people, living in real times, and enduring real life problems. Yes they wrote with the Spirit’s inspiration, but they still wrote what they wrote in their character. This allowed them to share their thoughts and agendas. That might sound a bit assuming, but everyone has an agenda, I saw a lot of that happening a few weeks ago during the World Cup. But in all seriousness, Paul reminds us to that in everything we do may we do it for the Glory of God. Mark was a real person who lived with a mission that had an agenda of making God known. While rereading Mark 1 here are some things that popped out at me:
1. Reading through chapter 1 a few times, the movie “A Knights Tale” came to mind. If you have watched this film, Chaucer introduces William, who impersonating a Knight, to the audience by bring context to Williams existence. Check it out:
Mark has laid down the foundation for his audience to have a context of who Jesus is. Jesus has been the trending topics for previous generations, Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus has authority, Jesus has the power to physically and spiritually restore people. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is the man!
2. There is a dual dimension presented within the first chapter. It starts of by stating an existence of a Kingdom of God, followed by John the baptizer who was baptizing people into God’s Kingdom, who then said that Jesus would come and baptizes with the spirit that will change people inside out. Then there are the moments that Jesus chitchats with his old minions, the demons, who actually acknowledges who Jesus is.
3. Jesus was on a mission. Jesus had an agenda. Check out v35 for those of you who are mission-leaders (Hint Hint).
4. And probably the section that I most resonate with is when Jesus is putting his gang together. Reading that Simon, Andrew, James and John just drop everything to follow Jesus seems like a scene that it comes out of the iRobot movie. But I would go out on a limb to say that Jesus by character was very relational, Jesus must have had a previous relationship with those boys before calling them to leave their jobs, families, and everything they owned to go hitch hiking for rest of their lives.
You see, it would be defiantly hard to drop everything to follow someone you didn’t personal know at some deep level. As I lead out in my mission groups I have worked with people who believe that through their relationship with Jesus there has been a redaction in their life’s course and desires.
One Year In Mission (oyimssd) is a testimony to that fact. I have met people who have decided to put their studies on hold for a year (and more), who left behind friends and loved ones, who took time off work or even resigned from work just to be the hands and feet of Jesus. That takes special kind of friendship for that kind of commitment. So, Mark 1 its an introduction to the introduction to the introduction to a story that is about Jesus. My prayer is that you, whoever stumbled on this link, will find that Jesus is real, Jesus heals, Jesus transforms, and Jesus lead’s a mission that if you chose to accept and partake can leave marks of restoration everywhere you go.
