Mark 1

It’s rare that Bible writers describe a person’s fashion sense and eating habits. Mark reports this about John the Baptizer, “John wore clothes woven from camel hair, which he tied around his waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6). Why do you think Mark reported this?

John told the people, “I baptize you with water. But he’ll baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). Some Bible experts say this suggests that once the Holy Spirit comes, you won’t need to get baptized with water anymore. How do you react to that?

Mark says that when Jesus was baptized, “he saw the heavens open and the Spirit come down to him like a dove” (Mark 1:10). The footnote to that verse suggests that Jesus saw a vision of the Holy Spirit coming down to him like a dove. But the Gospel of Luke says, “The Holy Spirit came down in physical form, like a dove” (Luke 3:22). There’s no indication that either writer had ever met Jesus. Both seem to have collected their information about Jesus from various sources. How you react to the apparent inconsistency in these two reports?

After Jesus was baptized, Mark says a voice from the sky said, “You are my Son. I dearly love you. And I want you to know how pleased I am with you” (Mark 1:11). Luke 3:22 reports the same quote. But one ancient manuscript adds to Luke’s quote, “Today I have begotten you.” Some Bible experts say that this addition suggests that on the day Jesus was baptized, God adopted Jesus as his. A Christian group known as Ebionites taught this idea early in the Christian movement. How do you react to the fact that this phrase shows up in an ancient copy of the Gospel of Luke?

Mark has one sentence about Satan tempting Jesus: “Satan came and tempted him” (Mark 1:13). The Gospels of Matthew and Luke each use about a dozen verses to tell the story. Why do you think Mark gave it just a hurried mention?

“Jesus told everyone, ‘God’s kingdom has come’” (Mark 1:15). Bible experts don’t agree that this quote of Jesus is correctly translated. Some say Jesus was saying God’s kingdom is near. What kingdom do you think he was talking about, and how was it near?

As Mark reports it, Andrew and his brother Simon, better known as Peter, instantly accepted the invitation of Jesus to become one of his disciples. “They left their nets and off they went” (Mark 1:18). Ditto for the brothers James and John (Mark 1:19). Really? What would you guess is the backstory here? Why did these disciples drop everything and follow Jesus like it was some kind of emergency?

Some Christians don’t buy into the idea that Satan is a sentient spirit being at work in the world. They prefer to think of satanic evil as a pervasive and perverted behavior that manifests itself in a lot of different ways, including some that could be confused with demon possession. But in the stories of Jesus exorcising demons, he’s talking out loud with them. How do you think Christians who would reject the idea of Satan as an entity would explain what’s going on with these exorcisms?

One of the big “why” questions in this chapter is why Jesus would heal a man of leprosy or whatever the skin disease was, and then tell the man, “Don’t say a word to anyone about this” (Mark 1:44). I mean, come on, we have leprosy one morning, we get healed in the afternoon, someone asks us what happened, and we say, “Can’t say.” Not going to happen. Why would Jesus tell him to keep it quiet?

LIFE APPLICATION. The Casual English Bible says John the Baptizer taught that baptism “would show that: they regretted their sins, they were going to start saying no to sin, and their sins were forgiven” (Mark 1:4). The footnote to the verse adds this: “A more literal translation says that John preached ‘a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.’ Bible scholars have different ways of explaining what this means.” What do you think baptism means to most Christians today?

LIFE APPLICATION. The Greek word that describes the compassion Jesus felt when he saw the leper is splanchnizomai (splonk-NEES-oh-my). It means “guts” or “intestines.” The Casual English Bible explains it this way: “What Jesus saw made him sick to his stomach. Moved with compassion” Jesus healed the man (Mark 1:41). There are plenty of wrenching illnesses and diseases that sicken us when we see them tearing people up. What are some you have seen that bothered you most?