Mark 1:2-45

It starts with Isaiah the prophet, who wrote: Listen! I am sending my messenger ahead of you and he will prepare your way! He is a thunderous voice of one who shouts in the wilderness: “Prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord YAHWEH, and clear a straight path inside your hearts for him!” John the Baptizer was the messenger who appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the complete cancellation of sins. A steady stream of people came to be dipped in the Jordan River as they publicly confessed their sins. They came from all over southern Israel, including nearly all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. John wore a rough garment made from camel hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and honey. And this is the message he kept preaching: “There is a man coming after me who is greater and a lot more powerful than I am. I’m not even worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals. I’ve baptized you into water, but he will baptize you into the Spirit of Holiness!” One day, Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth and had John immerse him in the Jordan River. The moment Jesus rose up out of the water, John saw the heavenly realm split open, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. At the same time, a voice spoke from heaven, saying: “You are my Son, my cherished one, and my greatest delight is in you!” Immediately after this he was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go into an uninhabited desert region. He remained there in the wilderness for forty days, enduring the ordeals of Satan’s tests. He encountered wild animals, but also angels who appeared and ministered to his needs. Later on, after John the Baptizer was arrested, Jesus went back into the region of Galilee and preached the wonderful gospel of God’s kingdom. His message was this: “At last the fulfillment of the age has come! It is time for God’s kingdom to be experienced in its fullness! Turn your lives back to God and put your trust in the hope-filled gospel!” As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he noticed two brothers fishing: Simon and Andrew. He watched them as they were casting their nets into the sea and said to them, “Come follow me and I will transform you into fishers of men instead of fish!” Immediately they dropped their nets and left everything behind to follow Jesus. Walking a little farther, Jesus found two other brothers sitting in a boat, along with their father, mending their nets. Their names were Jacob and John, and their father Zebedee. Jesus immediately walked up to them and invited the two brothers to become his followers. Jacob and John dropped their nets, stood up, left their father in the boat with the hired men, and followed Jesus. Then Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum, and he immediately started teaching on the Sabbath day in the synagogue. The people were awestruck by his teaching, because he taught in a way that demonstrated God’s authority, which was quite unlike the religious scholars. Suddenly, during the meeting, a demon-possessed man screamed out, “Hey! Leave us alone! Jesus the victorious, I know who you are. You’re God’s Holy One and you have come to destroy us!” Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Silence! You are bound! Come out of him!” The man’s body shook violently in spasms, and the demon hurled him to the floor until it finally came out of him with a deafening shriek! The crowd was awestruck and kept saying among themselves, “What is this new teaching that comes with such authority? With merely a word he commands demons to come out and they obey him!” So the reports about Jesus spread like wildfire throughout every community in Galilee. Now, as soon as they left the meeting, they went straight to Simon and Andrew’s house, along with Jacob and John. Simon’s mother-in-law was bedridden, sick with a high fever, so the first thing they did was to tell Jesus about her. He walked up to her bedside, gently took her hand, and raised her up! Her fever disappeared and she began to serve them. Later in the day, just after the Sabbath ended at sunset, the people kept bringing to Jesus all who were sick and tormented by demons, until the whole village was crowded around the house. Jesus healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. But he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew who he really was. The next morning, Jesus got up long before daylight, left the house while it was dark, and made his way to a secluded place to give himself to prayer. Later, Simon and his friends searched for him, and when they finally tracked him down, they told him, “Everyone is looking for you—they want you!” Jesus replied, “We have to go on to the surrounding villages so that I can share my message with the people there, for that is my mission.” So he went throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the Jewish synagogues and casting out demons. On one occasion, a leper came and threw himself down in front of Jesus, pleading for his healing, saying, “You have the power to heal me right now if only you really want to!” Being deeply moved with tender compassion, Jesus reached out and touched the skin of the leper and told him, “Of course I want you to be healed—so now, be cleansed!” Instantly his leprous sores completely disappeared and his skin became smooth! Jesus sent him away with a very stern warning, saying, “Don’t say anything to anyone about what just happened, but go find a priest and show him that you’ve been healed. Then bring the offering that Moses commanded for your cleansing as a living testimony to everyone.” But no sooner did the man leave than he began to proclaim his healing publicly and tell the story everywhere. Jesus’ growing fame prevented him from entering the villages openly, which forced him to remain in isolated places. Even so, a steady stream of people flocked to him from everywhere.