King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 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.]
Date: Wednesday, October 05, 2022
Chapters: MARK 1, LUKE 3-4
Study: Prepare The Way
Hello My Friend,
As I began reading the chapters for today, the first thing that I thought of was something that Jesus said, [Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.]. Jesus, was in no way saying that the scribes and Pharisees were all righteous and never sinned, He was saying that there is no amount of our own good that can save us from hell. Why? Because it does not matter how much we obey God, all it takes it one sin to bring us back square one. And I will tell you this, our own righteous is the same as what God sees a righteous. Sure, we know some things to be what God sees as righteous, but deep down our thoughts are no where near our own, [Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.]
As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, I thought it would be nice to start with the lineage of Jesus as Luke records it. Remember, until Jesus was baptized He was just as us, unless He prayed to God like we all do when we ask Him to heal, feed, and protect us, He did not perform one miracle without that prayer and sometimes fasting that we are accustom to, which I think I need to do more of. The lineage of Jesus shows Him at about thirty years old when He appeared to John the Baptist, and began His ministry.
[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,] Now, Luke was well aware of Jesus being the Messiah and learned also that God is Jesus’ Father, he just made it a point to show who the people believed Him to be at this point. Now, when John the Baptist came in the scene it really was not much sooner that Jesus did, Luke paints the picture of when John started his ministry, and some very familiar names are mentioned.
[Luke 3:1-4 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; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.]
[the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.] Remember, John was born of the Holy Spirit from birth, God, had already given him His Spirit. This did not mean that John never sinned, it just meant that God used him like He did any other believer that He had given the Holy Spirit when He has a message to send before Christ’s passion. John, lived sort of like a cave man, living off the land, eating honey and locusts of all things, and wearing clothes made of camels hair. When God called him to prepare the way for Jesus to come, He sent him with the same message. Since Jesus had not come yet, they asked him what they were to do after they got baptized to prove their faithfulness and obedience to God.
[Luke 3:10-15 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. 15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;]
[and all men mused in their hearts of John,] This meant that they wondered if he were Jesus, and of course, John knew what they were talking about and told them exactly who he was, [Luke 3:16-20 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.]
[and he will throughly purge his floor,] I wanted to touch on this with Matthew, but other things crossed my mind at the same time. This reminds me of something Jesus said, [Matthew 13:24-25,28-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.]
The disciples did not always understand Jesus when He spoke in parables, but the message is clear, the wheat are those whom have received Him as their Saviour while the tares (weeds) are those planted by devil, and there are many weeds within the Church itself that appear to be wheat, which Jesus explains, [Matthew 13:38-42 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.]
Mark also gives an account to John, but unlike Matthew and Luke, he has a different approach. 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, however it was intended to get the attention of the Romans, the Gentiles, who represented Jesus as a servant of God. The timeline for these events is also between 30AD-33AD. The purpose of the book was to present the ministry of Jesus, stressing His role as a servant and 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.]
When God sent John the Baptist to prepare the people for the day when the remission of sins would be once and for all through Christ, He also sent His Son into the world to prepare Him for the day that He would give His life for those who believe in Him. When God sends the believer to Christ, He also prepares their heart to receive Him. Everything we do and go through prepares us for the day that Christ actually returns. Jesus, began His ministry with a message, repent and believe in the Gospel. Now, Mark also gives the account of Jesus getting baptized by John, and Him being tempted by the devil, but it just gives us an overview.
[Mark 1:9-15 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, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.]
[And he was there in the wilderness forty days,] Since Mark’s audience was to attract the Romans, he just gets straight to the point. Luke, however would go into detail of when Jesus was tempted, [Luke 4:1-4 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 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.]
[and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.] Notice that Satan waited until He was hungry before he tempted Him. Satan, is the same way with us, he takes the thing that we hunger for the most and uses whatever means he can to attempt to get us to sin against God. When that does not work, he tries to tempt us with power, [Luke 4:5-8 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. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.]
[shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.] In the blink of an eye, Satan, shows Jesus the entire world and all its power. Why God gave him that ability is beyond my own reasoning other than it perhaps being God allowing him to tempt Jesus as He did with Job. Believe it or not, Satan actually does have quite a bit of power over the world, even though God is always in control, [Job 1:8-9,11-12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.]
So, when hunger and power does not get us to sin against God, Satan will try one more effort to get us to sin against God, and that is to try to get us to believe that we can save ourselves, [Luke 4:9-12 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.]
[If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:] Again, why God had given Satan the permission to even take Jesus up there is beyond me, but He still allowed it, but this time Jesus flat out tells Him that He does not have to show him who He is, He knows that He is God. Do you see what is really happening here? God, did not send His Son into solitude for forty days and nights in order for the devil to tempt Him, He did it so that He could prepare Him for His ministry. Remember, up until this point they still assumed that He was the son of Joseph, when He returned home to Nazareth
[Luke 4:16-20 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.]
[And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.] This is what Jesus was reading from the Scriptures, [Isaiah 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;].Can you just imagine all the eyes on Him as He walked to His seat and sat down? I would love to see the looks on their faces. However, their amazement would soon turn into hate as Jesus points out that He is the one spoken about in the Scriptures.
[Luke 4:22-28 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. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. 28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,]
[save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow] Jesus, was referring to the old widow woman who was not a Jew and fed Elijah during the three year drought. He also mentions Elisha and Naaman, a Syrian, who was he told to dip into the Jordan River seven times to be healed of his leprosy. This was to point out that Gentiles had more faith than the Jews did, He even makes note that He has not seen such great faith in Israel, [Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.]
Of course, all these people saw Jesus as is the son of Joseph, and were so appalled by what He said that they threw Him out of His own town. That did not stop Him though, He went into Capernaum, which is actually where He had decided to live when He was not traveling. When He arrived in Capernaum, it was completely different. It was another Sabbath, Jesus, went into the synagogue, teaching the same message, and the people were not only attentive to what He was preaching, they had never been taught 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.]
[And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit;] Remember, Satan, cannot be in more the one place at the same time so he uses his minions to send havoc on people. This is why we need to be careful of who we let become members of the church and always be watchful with our eyes and paying attention with our ears as the devil is really good at mimicking the doctrine of Jesus sometimes, [2 John 1:9-11 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.]
[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.
[Mark 1:32-38 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. 33 And all the city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. 35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.]
[and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.] 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. And if you think that people are not possessed today, think again, we are seeing so many evil things going on right now that it is insane. And here is the most amazing thing of all, it only takes One Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to put Satan and his evil spirits in their place. 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 Jesus 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.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You have called all Your people to prepare the world of 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 the lost. 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 example 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
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
Read Today’s Bible Reading: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
Copyright © 2022 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.