King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, October 05, 2024
Chapters: Mark Chapter 1, Luke Chapters 3-4
Message: John the Baptist’s Call From God
Hello My Friend,
Those who serve God in His ministry are not just given some calling out of the blue, it was actually something that God has been preparing them for. Now, when He does call them, He knows what they are capable of and therefore it can seem like something out of the blue, but by then God long been working on them, [2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.]
Do you see that? Even our salvation was planned at the right time so that we might become testimonies of the true Gospel of Christ transforming our lives. Yesterday, we learned of John, the Baptist and how he met Jesus for the first time and he baptized Him. As we return to the reading of Luke, we learn that he also gives the account of John, preparing the way for Jesus to begin His ministry. Luke, goes into detail about John’s ministry and how God called him to preach.
[Luke 3:1-3,6 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.]
[Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor] Tiberius, was the Emperor of Rome when John got the call from God to begin his ministry. Tiberius, was one of three of the Caesars that we come to know from the history books; Julius was the first, Augustus the second, and Tiberius. We also learn of some names that would become quite famous, Pontius Pilate, the governor and Annas and Caiaphas, the high priests.
[baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;] The word remission means to be forgiven or pardoned from death from sin. Their being baptized in the water was not an actual cleansing from sin, the only thing that was capable of that was a blood sacrifice. These people were getting baptized as a public profession of their faith in Christ becoming that sacrifice to pardon and cleanse them, [Hebrews 9:13-14 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?]
The message that John preached spread fast throughout the region and the main reason why people traveled miles to see him was because he was the first prophet to speak in over four hundred years, even though he never thought of himself as a prophet. Here is this man preaching a message not only from God, but of hope for all believers. John, is reading from the Scriptures of Isaiah when he notices the crowd.
[Luke 3:7–9 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.]
[generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee] The viper is a beautiful creature that look harmless, until it gets agitated and shows how deadly it is. So, these religious men boasted of, and trusted in, their being the seed of Abraham to save them, had the appearance of being devout Jews, but in reality they were just like their fathers before them who killed the prophets, [Luke 11:47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.]
[the axe is laid unto the root of the trees:] John, did not mince words, we will come to discover that he preached to them an almost identical message that Jesus would preach. This was his way of telling them that being a child of Abraham is not going to save them from hell. So when the people heard this they wanted to know how they could be saved.
[Luke 3:10-14 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.]
[the soldiers likewise demanded of him,] Wow, the words that these men were hearing seemed kind of doable, but what must they do to be saved. The whole purpose of John giving these instructions was not to show them that their works would save them, it was to change their heart, and a change of heart would lead them to seek the needs of others rather than their own. Now, since these were words that they never heard of that lead them to question who he actually was, in fact, many started to wonder if he is the Christ they had been long awaiting. That prompted him to put an end to the rumors before they went any further.
[Luke 3:16-21 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. 21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,]
[that he shut up John in prison.] I keep thinking about what John said, Jesus, must increase and I must decrease and he was not kidding, [John 3:28-30 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.]
In order for those who are saved to reach their full potential in their ministry they need to decrease in the works of their flesh and increase in the works of Christ. While Luke mentions that Jesus was baptized of John, he does not go into detail about it. Now, up until Jesus was baptized, He was only known as Joseph’s son. Luke, goes on to give an account of the genealogy from which Jesus would descend in the flesh.
[Luke 3:23,31-32,34,36,38 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, 31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, 32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, 34 Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, 36 Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, 38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.]
[being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph,] Luke, just like Matthew, makes it a point to show that Joseph was not Jesus’ father, and also something else, that Adam was also God’s son. Jesus, is known as the second or last Adam, with Adam being the first, since God created him first in regards to the flesh, [1 Corinthians 15:45-47 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.]
The Gospel of Mark is the second book of the New Testament, the forty-first book of the Bible, and contains sixteen chapters. The Author of the book is Mark and it was written to all believers, but was intended to get the attention of the Romans (Gentiles), the who saw Jesus as a servant of God. The timeline for these events is between 30AD-33AD. The purpose of the book was to present the ministry of Jesus, stressing His role as a servant as the Son of man. What we are to learn from the book is that Jesus commands all His disciples to preach the Gospel, [Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.]
Mark, also gives the account of John being the one sent to preach the Gospel before Christ would begin His ministry. We will come to realize that Mark was straight to the point in his account of Jesus, he points out that He was baptized, lead of the Spirit to be tempted of the devil, then immediately begins His ministry.
[Mark 1:9-14 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. 13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. 14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,]
[immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.] Do you see what is happening here? God, did not send His Son into solitude in order for the devil to tempt Him, He did it so that He could have some time to minister to His Son. We learn this further from Luke, but notice what he adds to the account.
[Luke 4:2-7 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.]
[All this power will I give thee…for that is delivered unto me;] Seriously? This fool seriously thinks that God has given him supreme power over all the kingdoms of the world? Well, he may be the prince of this world who is destroying it more every day, but he does not have the power to give it to someone. God, is the supreme ruler over all the nations and He was about to prove that through His Son once He returned.
[Luke 4:14-20 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.]
[the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.] Can you imagine Jesus walking through the temple, fully knowing that they only knew Him to be the son of Joseph, then asking the minister for the book? Well, they could not take their eyes off Him even when He sat down. Of course, He started speaking and well, they could not believe what they hearing from this carpenters son.
[Luke 4:22-26 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? 23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.]
[save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon,] In other words, He was telling them that the Gentiles will be saved before they will. Well, of course, after hearing that they were not too happy and wanted to kill Him already.
[Luke 4:28-32 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way, 31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. 32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.]
[passing through the midst of them went his way,] Let me tell you, religion does not want to hear the truth nor does it want the Scriptures to be read. That did not stop Jesus though, He went into the next town preaching the same message. When He arrived in Capernaum, it was completely different, the people were not only attentive to what He was preaching, they had never heard anything like that ever before.
[Mark 1:21-27 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.]
[I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.] Do not believe for one second that Satan is not scared of Jesus. Why do you think that he tried to get Him to ruin His testimony from the very beginning? Why do you think he tried everything to have Jesus killed before His time? He is afraid, very afraid in fact, and even though God had allowed him to tempt Jesus, and all of us as well, He only allows him to go so far as he too must obey Jesus. Satan, can literally use several evil spirits to poses one person, sometimes thousands. However, the only way that the Holy Spirit can come into our soul and keep the evil spirits from possessing us, is through our faith in Christ. Jesus Himself said, [Luke 10:19-20 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.]
[What thing is this? what new doctrine is this?] Oh, this was not some new doctrine at all, this was simply the Word of God being preached, which they had never heard before. When God prepares our heart, we see the Word of God for the truth that it is, and we not only believe it, we receive it gladly. And it did not take long before Jesus had people from all over coming to be healed by Him, no matter what their issue was.
[Luke 4:40-43 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. 42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. 43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.]
[the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him,] People who are stuck in religion or themselves are too proud to admit they need the Saviour to keep them alive beyond this life. It is in our nature to want to fight with anyone or thing that messes with our egos, but we have work to do and it is not going to get done just sitting at home or in pews. We need to be going wherever the Holy Spirit leads us and by the way that could also be sitting at home, making some phone calls, [1 Corinthians 12:13,23-24 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:]
There is not one saved soul incapable of doing something for the cause of Christ, in fact, our greatest testimony is just telling our own story. Well, the news of Jesus preaching and healing people got around quickly, people flocked when they heard that He was in their town or close by, including a leper.
[Mark 1:39-43 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. 40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;]
[as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him,] Before the man could blink his eyes, he was not only cured from the leprosy, it was removed completely, there was not even a sign of him being sick. Why did Jesus tell him not to tell anyone what He had done? Jesus, had not quite made Himself known to anyone yet. The time of His ministry may have been, but it was not time to for the Law to end. That did not stop him through, he told everyone what Jesus had done for Him. Let me tell you, the more you walk with Christ the more you will discover that Jesus truly is the one who chooses you to be one of His disciples, [John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You have called all Your people to prepare the world for Your return. Thank You for finding and saving me, let me never take my salvation for granted by ignoring Your call to minister the Gospel to those you sent me to. Lord, Give me Your power, wisdom, and the boldness that You have to speak the truth to whomever You put on my heart to do so. Put Your hedge of protection around me and keep the devil from exposing me to his lies. Should he send his evil spirits to try and tempt me, give me Your power through the Spirit to rebuke them. Let me be the witness You need me to prepare the way for Your return. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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