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March 11 - Mark 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday.
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  It's the 11th of March, and it is so good, So good that you
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  have joined me today because today is one of these
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  crackerjack days where we are going to open up not just a new
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  book of the Bible, but a new gospel of the Bible.
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  Today we are going to read the second gospel as you'll find it
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  in your New Testament. Yes, that's right.
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  We are going to read together the book of Mark.
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  And while Mark might sit second in your list of four gospels, it
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  is actually the OG, the original, the first gospel to be
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  written. In fact.
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  Now, most scholars look at Matthew and Luke, and they see
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  evidence that both of those authors used Mark as a source to
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  help write their gospels. Mark's Gospel is a frenetic
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  journey through the life and teachings of Jesus.
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  It's only 16 chapters long. It's by far the shortest and it
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  moves so quickly and broken completely in half.
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  The 1st 8 chapters whizzed through Jesus miracles and
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  movements and the narrative of his life and then the second
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  half really settles into Jesus teachings.
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  It is a glorious book written by Mark who sat at the feet of
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  Jesus friend Peter and recorded everything that Peter shared and
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  put it together in this gospel. So really this is some people
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  call it the Gospel according to Saint Peter but of course you
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  and I know it as the Gospel according to Mark.
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  So let us dive in and read this brilliant account of Jesus life
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  and teaching as we open up and read together.
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  Mark chapter 1. This is the good news about
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  Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God.
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  It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written.
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  Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will
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  prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the
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  wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord's
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  coming. Clear the road for him.
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  This messenger was John the Baptist.
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  He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be
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  baptised to show that they had repented of their sins and
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  turned to God to be forgiven. All of Judea, including all the
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  people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John, and when they
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  confessed their sins, he baptised them in the Jordan
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  River. His clothes were woven from
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  coarse camel hair and he wore a leather belt around his waist.
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  For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
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  John announced Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am.
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  So much greater that I'm not even worthy to stoop down like a
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  slave and untie the straps of his sandals.
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  I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy
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  Spirit one day. Jesus came from Nazareth in
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  Galilee and John baptised him in the Jordan River.
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  As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens
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  splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a
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  dove. And a voice from heaven said,
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  You are my dearly loved son, and you bring me great joy.
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  The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness where
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  he was tempted by Satan. For 40 days he was out among the
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  wild animals and angels took care of him.
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  Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee,
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  where he preached God's good news.
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  The time promised by God has come at last, he announced.
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  The Kingdom of God is near. Repent of your sins and believe
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  the good news. One day as Jesus was walking
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  along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his
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  brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished
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  for a living. Jesus called out to them.
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  Come follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.
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  And they left their Nets at once and followed him.
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  A little farther up the shore, Jesus saw Zebedee's sons, James
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  and John, in a boat repairing their Nets.
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  He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their
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  father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men.
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  Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum.
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  When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and
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  began to teach. The people were amazed at his
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  teaching, for he taught with real authority, quite unlike the
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  teachers of religious law. Suddenly a man in the synagogue
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  who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out.
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  Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
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  Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One
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  of God. But Jesus reprimanded him.
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  Be quiet. Come out of the man, he ordered.
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  At that the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a
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  convulsion, and then came out of him.
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  Amazement gripped the audience and they began to discuss what
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  had happened. What sort of new teaching is
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  this? They asked excitedly.
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  It has such authority even evil spirits obey his orders.
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  The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire
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  region of Galilee. After Jesus left the synagogue
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  with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew's home.
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  Now Simon's mother in law was sick in bed with a high fever.
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  They told Jesus about her right away, so he went to her bedside,
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  took her by the hand and helped her sit up.
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  Then the fever left her and she prepared a meal for them.
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  That evening after sunset, many sick and demon possessed people
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  were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the
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  door to watch. So Jesus healed many people who
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  were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons.
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  But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to
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  speak. Before Daybreak the next
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  morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to
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  pray. Later Simon and the others went
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  out to find him. When they found him, they said,
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  everyone's looking for you. But Jesus replied, we must go on
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  to other towns as well, and I will preach to them too.
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  That is why I came. So he travelled throughout the
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  region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out
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  demons. A man with leprosy came and
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  knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed.
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  If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean, he said
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  moved with compassion. Jesus reached out and touched
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  him. I am willing, he said.
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  Be healed. Instantly the leprosy
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  disappeared and the man was healed.
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  Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning.
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  Don't tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and
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  let him examine you. Take along the offering required
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  in the Law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy.
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  This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.
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  The man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone
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  what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon
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  surrounded Jesus and he couldn't publicly enter a town anywhere.
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  He had to stay in the secluded places, but people from
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  everywhere kept coming to him. Oh Jesus, as we read this gospel
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  story, it's just so striking how people are just drawn to you,
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  drawn to you with the the simplicity of your message and
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  the generosity of your love and the immediacy of your compassion
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  and your actions. Lord, you don't sit around idly
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  on the sidelines. You dive into the mess of
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  people's lives. You heal them.
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  You think about the details, like taking the right offering
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  so that they can be publicly declared to be healed and whole
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  again. Oh Jesus, you are so compelling,
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  so full of love and authority. And here you are, hearing our
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  prayers with your heart open, your arms open wide, with love
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  in your eyes, looking to us now. You are incredible, Jesus, our
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  world changing, ever surprising, but ever consistent and loving.
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  God, we love you and we lift you up and we worship you because
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  you alone are worthy of our hearts and our worship.
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  We pray all of this in your saving name, Amen.