Mark 1:14-20

Once Jesus has finished his desert preparation and John has been taken out of the picture, Jesus begins his life in the public arena.(Mark 1) He begins preaching a prophetic message of repentance. He calls on people to believe in the good news. And he calls people to come follow him.

The most striking thing about the calling of Andrew, Peter, James, and John is the immediacy. They are out working on the boat, fishing and mending nets, when Jesus calls them. Jesus says, “Follow,” so they drop their work and walk away from it to follow him. James and John do the same except they also leave their father in the boat mending the nets. Jesus tells them that they'll be fishers of men.

This passage makes me think of two things. One, I think Mark intended for us to be struck by the 'immediately' thing. No hesitation, no thought for the future, no looking back. Jesus tells them what to do and they do it. How many of us act that way? Do you know anyone that sold out? I'm envious of that kind of commitment.

Second, Jesus calls for his listeners to do three things: repent, believe, and follow. I think all three of these words are different ways to saying the same thing. These words define being a disciple of Jesus for us and for them.

Mark 1:9-13

The sequence of events is hard to ignore. Because Jesus is baptized by John, he receives approval from the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and approval from the Father in the form of a heavenly voice. (Notice the trinitarian passage if you're big into them.) The gospels, or the Bible in general, doesn't note the voice of God very often, so when it happens, we should probably take special notice. Jesus gets special encouragement here from his Father, as he begins his public ministry and moves his way toward the cross.

From the baptism, Jesus taken immediately into wilderness by Spirit. In the wild, Mark sets up a scene with Jesus, Satan, wild beasts, and angels. We know that Satan is there to tempt Jesus. And although the purpose of the wild beasts isn't revealed, I doubt that their presence is pleasant. Add the angels to the mix, and there seems to be some type of spiritual battle happening.

Although many commentators might disagree, the connection of wilderness and the number 40 seems too much of a coincidence to me. After leaving Egypt, Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. They were not ready, as a people, to enter the promised land, so the wandering gave them an opportunity to get prepared and learn dependance on God. Jesus spends 40 days in the wilderness as a time of preparation as well. He prepares for three years of homelessness, conflict with people, conflict with evil, healings, suffering, and ending with execution. Both Jesus and Israel underwent temptation and preparation. Where Israel fails repeatedly, Jesus succeeds. The forty days are probably not pleasant for him, but they are necessary in order to get ready for tougher times ahead.

Jesus goes immediately from hearing the direct approval of God to surviving temptation in the desert.

The sequence reminds me of how our lives can go from high to low on a dime. Most of the greatest Christian people I have known have gone through some really tough times. I remember a friend losing his job, not once but twice in a short time. A preacher that I respected and admired being rejected by his church. A woman who was kind and showed great energy for God being deserted by her husband. Someone I respected getting cancer multiple times.

Maybe these people are my heroes in faith because they went through these things, not in spite of them. Our faith and character are not usually built by the easy and simple times of our lives. Difficult lives make for more maturity. Or as my friend George said, “No one's life ever got easier because they became a Christian.” We are formed during the hard times.

Mark 1:1-8

The summer of my 18^th birthday, I worked for Mr. Ted. His construction company had contracted to rebuild the sidewalks around the football stadium at the University of Tennessee Martin. As we were pouring the concrete into the sidewalk molds one day, Mr. Ted decided that we needed some motivation to work faster, so he told us, “Let's go boys! Do you know how to spell concrete? Its spelled W-O-R-K. And I bet you thought it started with a C.” We poured a lot of concrete that summer, and all of the sidewalk plans were carefully made to guide the traffic on campus. When I read Mark 1:1-4, the image of all of those sidewalk paths came to mind. Just like we were preparing a way for people, Mark uses the Old Testament to point to one who was preparing the way for Jesus.

“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

Mark begins his gospel by taking these quotes from Isaiah and Malachi and applying them to John the Baptist, making the primary task of John clear: he was to prepare the way for Jesus. The divine plan for John was to call Israel to repent, be baptized, and be forgiven. As John played out his role, God provided the results. People came from all over to hear his message and respond, so when Jesus arrived, John had prepared the public to hear his message of the kingdom. Because someone had prepared the way for him, Jesus was able to begin his ministry.

Our job is much like John's: we are to make straight paths where God can work. We are to submit ourselves to the work that God puts in front of us on a daily basis. Every day, we face opportunities where we can make a difference, where we can be salt and light and where we make straight paths for God to act. As we prepare the way for the Lord with each situation, God does His work of creating results.

John isn't portrayed as a man who personifies greatness. He lives in the wilderness. He dresses differently, and he eats wild food. For most of us, we won't be in front leading the way for all to see. We won't be accomplishing great things that are publicized. Some will, but most won't. Our task isn't to create a resume of accomplishments for the kingdom but to be faithful with what we are given. Or as Mother Teresa said, “God calls us to be faithful not successful.”

As a teenager, I considered being baptized and had given it a lot of thought, but I hadn't acted yet. One day during that summer, my cousin wrote me a long letter from college, in which he encouraged me and gave me some new thoughts about my decision. Within a couple of weeks, I was immersed into Jesus. To my cousin's credit, he performed the work of John. His letter created a straight path that helped God to work in me.

John was humble about his role. He admitted that he was unworthy of the one who was coming after him. We can share in that humility by acknowledging that our contributions are small but can be used by God for His own glory. All of Jesus' disciples should be about the task of preparing a way.