Mark: Journeying With JesusSample

When we see the order and beauty of the world and the human body, or think about what it means to be human, or grieve at the suffering of the world around us, it forces us to ask these questions:

Does God really exist or did we just make him up ourselves? Why is the world so full of injustice? Is there any meaning to life?

As we journey in Mark, the eyewitnesses will tell us again and again, God does exist. And we should know. Because we met him in the person of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus speaks or acts, what sorts of things happen?

Mark 1:21-22

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

The Jewish people realized they weren’t just studying the Scriptures as they would do on any other Sabbath with any other teacher. Jesus’ teaching provided clear answers to the most difficult, obscure questions. And all of this from a man who had no education to speak of. The only explanation they seemed to find made them only too amazed.

And Jesus was no hypocrite. His life was totally consistent with his teaching.

Jesus was teaching with author-ity. He didn’t hide behind anybody else’s authority - he claimed authority of his own. Jesus, the divine author, who inspired the human writers of the Scriptures, was right there. God himself, in the flesh, speaking and acting.

PRAYER | Heavenly Father, please help us to be amazed again. May we find exclusive time with you to marvel in your words and to find ourselves again, in complete awe of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Amen.