Mark 1:43-50 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
 
IN our previous lesson we read of Jesus healing the leprous man. Did the happy, restored man do as Jesus commanded him to show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices? This was to obey and honor the process the Incarnate Word had written in the Law of Moses. The priest could pronounce a man, “Clean.” only when he followed God’s precise laws to restore the man to his family and community. But the healed man disobeyed the healer! He canceled the Word made flesh. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Disobeying Jesus’ commands will keep the Lord from your life.
   What do you think of the law? When you read through the Bible’s first five books, known as the Law, do you see God’s laws as restrictive burdens? Or do see the law as God’s way to gather Israel into a secure relationship with him? We must understand the law is one way God revealed himself to Israel. The Power that plagued Egypt and opened the Red Sea promised Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.” (Exodus 19:4) The law was to be God’s bond of love for them to guide them into a blessed life under his care. But even as God freed them from slavery and revealed his glory to Israel, they rejected his law. The Old Testament is a history of the ways Israel isolated God from their life. Instead of living in his lavish promises, they suffered his judgments.
   What has God done for you? Has he saved you from eternal torment? Are you free in God’s grace to announce, “I am redeemed!” What then, is your response to God’s commands? Do you neglect the law and isolate Jesus from your life? Or do you seek his truth? Do you dwell in the joy of a loving relationship with him? This is your life when you know God’s redeeming power in the truth of his Word.
           

Mark 1:40-42 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”  42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
 
YOU are living a good life. You work or go to school, play sports, enjoy your friends, have time with your children, be close to your spouse. Life has its challenges, and some days they might seem too big to solve. But overall, life is comfortable.
   Then one day there’s a mark on your skin. Your hands seem numb. They bleed easily. You go to the priest. He examines you under God’s law (Leviticus 13), and he tells you, “You have leprosy.” This is not only a diagnosis of a disease, you have been sentenced to a living hell. God’s law says you must leave your loved ones and separate yourself from everyone. When anyone is approaching you, you must cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” Leviticus 13:45 “The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.”
   Imagine if you could never go home again. The only people you can touch are those who also have leprosy. You could only see your family from a distance. You would never touch them again as your body disintegrates inch by inch. Think of the horror of the isolation from everyone you love.
   Then one day the rabbi from Nazareth comes. You’ve heard the stories of his healing. Are they true? Dare you beg him? “If you are willing, you can make me clean!”  “Jesus, you can heal me. I’ll be able to hold my wife and children again. I can live again!”
   In his mercy, Jesus declares, “Be clean!” Oh, how unbelievable the joy! You are saved from leprosy’s bondage! The merciful Savior has redeemed your broken body and healed your shattered life.
   Now consider how unforgiven sin and condemnation separates families. Its burdens can force husbands and wives, parents and children from their homes, never to touch their loved ones again. Inch by inch hardening hearts lose the mercy and grace to regenerate lost love.
   Is this you? Do you long to go home? Do you long for the scars to disappear, to hold your loved ones again?
   Have you heard of Jesus? Will you ask him, “If you are willing, make me clean!” You know he is willing. Jesus went to the cross. Jesus’ broken body and shed blood tell you plainly, “Your sins are forgiven.” when you ask him to heal your broken soul.
  

Mark 1:35-37 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
 
WHY was “everyone” looking for Jesus? They wanted something from him, didn’t they? He is a healer! But for Jesus it was a time to stop and pray. How could he take time from healing when so many needed him?
   When we pay attention to Jesus’ ministry we see he was never too busy to pray. In fact, he could only remain effective to preach and to heal if he prayed. Jesus models for us that prayer is a vital element of a purposeful life. The gospels teach us that Jesus, Son of God, rose early in the morning before the sunrise, or he went late at night to be alone in prayer. Even though the Spirit had anointed him to ministry with the Father’s approval, the Son still needed time to directly speak through the Spirit to the Father. He could only be busy in ministry if we was first quiet in prayer.
   We may observe one reason for Jesus’ private conversations with the Father and Spirit was Jesus’ need for renewed strength. Healing hundreds and preaching to thousands required physical, emotional and spiritual energy. For example, when the woman with constant blood flow touched Jesus he exclaimed, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” (Luke 8:46) As fully man, God’s Son became weary in his working. To attend to the Father’s business, the Son needed the Father and Spirit to attend to him. Prayer was that time for Jesus. Prayer is that time for the LORD God to care for you.
   Be still in prayer, so you can absorb the Father’s love. When you are alone with God, you gain a greater sense of his restoring presence. Meditate on his Word. Consider he has granted his holy presence to you. You are his seed nurtured with Living Water. He wants to help you grow to understand his will for your life. Prayer is telling God the best use of your time is time with him.
What is your purpose in life right now? Being a mom? A dad? Being a good worker? Being a student? Being a business leader? Being a child of God? What is a good thing to do as you pursue your purpose?
   Of course, it is to pray for God’s strength, wisdom and faith in your purpose. Pray that God will attend to your needs and direct your desires. That is what Jesus models for you. That is the Father’s desire for you.  
 

Mark 1:27-32 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching – and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. 29 After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon’s and Andrew’s home. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.  
 
JESUS’ healings had stirred the people of Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Korazin along Galilee’s northern shore. They see evidence the Messiah has come! Perhaps the learned Jews thought of God’s miracles in Egypt or Elijah’s and Elisha’s life-giving power. What joy you would experience if God came to your home, church and neighborhood to release all from sickness.
   Yes, how powerful Jesus’ work was for so many to be healed! But did any go to Peter’s and Simon’s home to hear the good news of eternal healing? Did they go to commit their lives to the Living God? Or were they only expecting what he would give to them for their own benefit?
Physical healing was not Jesus’ primary purpose. Some accounts describe Jesus healing the lepers, the blind and the crippled, and then he commands them, “See that you do not tell anyone.” (Matthew 8:4) Jesus said this because he knew large crowds would press into him for his healing words and touch. But as wonderful as this was, it kept Jesus from the primary reason for his incarnation. His response to the crowds at Simon’s and Andrew’s home was, “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (Mark 1:38)
   Jesus came to preach the good news to heal our sin-torn souls, so we can celebrate forever with him in heaven. As much as we desire the healing miracles to transform our own or someone’s life, there is only one truth that transforms us forever:  Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
   The magnificent physical healings could not compare to Jesus’ preaching transforming and healing words: John 14:10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
   How about you? Do you only go to Jesus when you want something from him? Certainly he wants you to come for restoration, renewal and strength. He also wants you and all to come to him for your salvation. Yes, go to Jesus and seek his transforming power. And go to Jesus to offer a heart to serve him for others’ good.  
 
 

Mark 1:23-25 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” 25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.   
 
ONE truth you must know is that evil spirits are active in the world. They do “possess” – live in and control the actions– of some people. And they attempt to influence us all to turn away from our Lord’s grace. There are many testimonies from people who have experienced demon possession. They tell how these demons spoke to them and turned them to evil actions, including self harm and murder. With joy and thanksgiving these now redeemed souls celebrate the Holy Spirit dwells within them.  
    The gospels record several encounters between Jesus and demons. The spiritual realm is fully aware Jesus of Nazareth is the Holy One of God!. With that confession and the question, “What do you want with us?” the demon(s) acknowledged Jesus’ power. They know they could not resist his commands because he is their authority in heaven and on earth. When temptation confronts you, a powerful, effective response is to speak to the sin, “In the name of Jesus, be gone!”  
    Jesus commands the demon, “Be quiet.” for two reasons. First he rejects evil’s voice. The Holy One has no time to consider the demon’s words. He knows all they say is lies. Their words have no value or meaning to him. “Be quiet!” are good words for temptation’s attacks on our mind.  
Jesus also silenced the demons to protect his identity. It was a common thought among the Jews that if a demon knew you or spoke to you, you were of the demons. Several times the Pharisees and others charged that Jesus was under Satan’s authority: Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” Their obstinate persistence to accuse the Son of God to be of Satan gave their wretched souls permission to defy and crucify the Son of God.  
    Still, the demon does not leave peacefully. It causes the man to convulse. Jesus’ encounters with demons teaches us these spirits cause illness and bodily harm. And they certainly convulse the soul, heart and mind. You are made in God’s image. It is Satan’s purpose to destroy you. He will do so subtly with “minor” temptations. His purpose is for you to completely reject God and all the goodness he wills for your life. 
    The battle rages each day. Your soul’s enemy is looking for any opportunity to corrupt your mind, so you will reject God. That’s why each day you must call on Jesus’ power to protect you. Jesus has fought the battle on earth. Listen closely and only to his voice. He is fighting it in the heavenly realms now, so you have the weapons to tell temptation, “Be quiet!”  

Mark 1:21-22 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.  
 
WHAT happens when you are in the presence of someone who really knows what she’s talking about? She exudes authority in her knowledge. Her way of speaking assures you she has a mastery of her facts.  
   When Scriptures says Jesus taught as one who had authority, it is apparent people were absolutely confident of his knowledge. They knew he had a mastery of his topic. And, in fact, one of the terms used to address him was “Master”. Luke used “Master” several times to record the disciples’ respect for Jesus.  
   And there’s something much more to Jesus’ authority than his words. Jesus demonstrated his authority in the way he taught the Law of Moses. He turned it from a legalistic code that restricted the Jews’ lives into what it was meant to be – God’s code of freedom to lead Israel into a worshipful relationship with him. The law’s two great commands to love God and love one another (Mark 12:30-31) could only come from God, who is love (1 John 4:8). God did not create a nation to enslave them. He developed a nation to love him and receive his love. Jesus’ authority of the Scriptures – the Old Testament – displayed the reality of God’s love to his people.  
   One way Jesus conveyed his authority to teach was with the key phrase, “I tell you the truth.” The four gospels record he spoke this 70 times as he conveyed his fundamental kingdom teachings. A prophet, scribe or pharisee would be restricted to say, “The LORD says.” as he taught the Law or delivered God’s message to Israel. When Jesus said, “I tell you.” he is claiming he is Son of God, speaking the Father’s words. He and the Father are one. Jesus did and said all the Father told him. “Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.” (John 14:10-12)  
   Jesus displayed his authority in all he did and said. He spoke with authority over demons (Mark 1:27), authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10), authority over the temple (Mark 11:28-32), authority over nature (Mark 4:9). He is the author of life and had authority over death (John 11:43); and over his own death: John 10:17 “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again.”  
   The lesson is simple and profound. Do you confess the author of your salvation is your authority?  

Mark 1:16-19 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”  18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
 
HAVE you ever wondered what caused these fishermen and Jesus’ other eight close disciples to leave what they were doing to follow Jesus? After all, they left their jobs, their way of life, their parents and their friends. Peter left his wife at home while he traveled with Jesus.
   But with Jesus’ direct command, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  these average men became unique in all the world’s history. God’s Word decreed God’s will for Andrew, Peter, James and John. The moment they stepped out of the boat and into Jesus’ footsteps, they came under the LORD God’s sovereign authority.
   A rabbi choosing his disciples was not usual in Israel. Young men who wanted to be a rabbi’s disciple would go to a rabbi and say, “Would you consider me as your disciple?” Often the rabbi rejected them because they had not passed certain exams given to Jewish boys as they matured. Or the rabbi had some prejudice against them. Perhaps the four had failed their exams and were resigned to the working life. Certainly their lives in the fishing business would keep them from any rabbi’s consideration for training.
   But Jesus had come to do the Father’s will. And he will make them fishers of men. The gospels reveal Jesus’ process to transform their hearts and minds to the Savior’s message. Peter seems the most difficult to change because we hear more of his mistakes. But the others certainly had much to learn as well. Peter had a strong will to even speak against Jesus’ warnings of his death and resurrection. Other times he is the disciples’ voice to boldly confess Jesus’ deity and commitment to their Master. James and John pridefully asked Jesus to elevate them to special seats in the Kingdom of God. Still, Jesus chose Peter, James and John to be his inner circle. They experienced Jesus in ways the others did not.
   These are real people God called to be real disciples to bear the kingdom message to the world.. The more closely they followed in Jesus’ spiritual footsteps, the more effective they became to make fishers of men.
   The gospels reveal the disciples learned that following Jesus requires an ongoing, deepening devotion to God’s commands. Many years later John would write: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. (1 John 2:3) God gives us his commands because he loves us. We follow God’s commands because we love him. Changed in Christ, we can help others know his commands and be changed, too.

Mark 1:14-16 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
 
DO you see anything odd here? How does it strike you that “John was put in prison…and Jesus went proclaiming the good news of God.” God had created John the Baptist to be God’s voice to point God’s people to Jesus. John baptized Jesus as Jesus began his mission. Jesus even said of John: Matthew 11:11 “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.” This is high praise from the Truth! God’s true prophet had fulfilled his work to advance God’s work.
   But as John pointed to the Messiah, Jesus warned, “The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matthew 14:12b) Wicked men such as Herod, religious authorities and many others were criticizing, questioning and persecuting those who faithfully preached God’s Word. The prophets had experienced the same persecution, even unto death for many.
   As we noted earlier, it was time, then, for John’s mission to end. John 3:30 (John said), “He must become greater; I must become less.”  But did John need to go to prison? Did he have to die under Herod’s perverse hand? Why did God not intervene to allow John a good life, even to one day preach the full gospel?
   This is where we come to the test of our faith in God’s providence. This is a question that can disturb us all if we try to understand God’s goodness in our sin-broken world. Some of you have seen great sins against friends, family, comrades and yourself. You may have been tempted to reject God because such hard things happened. Death for any reason is a hard thing. Some will curse God when a friend or loved one dies, “It’s not fair!”
   But what happened with Jesus, God incarnate? His own faithful gospel preaching led him to a brutal death. Is it fair God’s perfect Son would die to remove sin’s curse, so billions of sinners’ souls would be redeemed into eternal life? And now, Christians are persecuted each day. Hundreds of innocent Christian families are killed each year. It seems grossly unfair from our mortal point of view.
   God has not revealed his answer to, “Why, God, do your people suffer because they are your people?” “Why do people suffer, and you do not heal as we pray?” But he has told us his reason to redeem our souls from hell into eternal life. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” So then, we must wait in faith to understand the fullness of God’s love for us. It is much more than a temporary relationship. God’s love is eternal.
   Amid the earthly woes, we must always remember his will includes heaven’s eternal glory.
   As a Good News giver, you are never alone. As a Good News giver, you never die because the Good News is: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25) Seeing your life as limited to your earthly existence, you may say, “It’s not fair, Lord!” Seeing your life as eternal in the hands of Jesus you will say, “Praise the LORD, oh my soul, and all that is within me, praise his holy name.” (Psalm 103:1)

Mark 1:12-13 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
 
PERHAPS you had begun a new job or graduated from long years of study. You were excited and feeling well-prepared for the work. Maybe you planned for years to begin a business or a particular ministry. Then the time arrived. You were sure you could respond to any challenge you would encounter. But something happened. You faced difficulties far beyond what you had foreseen. You didn’t realize things would be so difficult! Did you wonder if you had made the correct decisions?
   Do you think this was the way Jesus as fully man, fully God, responded to his desert trial? Jesus had grown into manhood about his Father’s business (Luke 2:49). At last, the Father and the Spirit anointed the Son to do the work of God in the world. But his first task is not to preach and to save. Instead, he is to confront and to defy the devil. In a very hot, desolate area, God’s Son encountered life-threatening physical deprivation. Other gospels record he was in the desert 40 days with no food or water. No mere mortal could survive.
   And we also noted the Father had just said he was well pleased with his Son. Do you think a loving Father would direct Jesus to suffer this most severe test? The Father knew the devil was desperate to turn Jesus from his Father and his mission. He knew Jesus’ success meant his doom. Had the Father jeopardized his promised salvation plan?
   This test teaches us several things about God. One lesson is the power of God’s Word to lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:13). Jesus, the Word who became flesh (John 1:14) resisted evil with the truth of God’s Word. In response to the devil’s three temptations, Jesus said, “It is written.” (See Matthew 4 and Luke 4.) Then he quoted a Scripture to silence Satan. Defining God’s law against sin, Jesus triumphed. The spoken Word is truly the unassailable sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) to cut away temptation. The Father was well pleased with the Son because he had decreed Jesus had come to save. Jesus’ test teaches us how to respond to trials. Our relationship with God remains intact when we respond to all circumstances with, “It is written.”
   It is also important to note that even though Jesus was with the wild animals, the angels attended him. God did not leave his Son alone. When God sends us into a test, his power is always with us when we hold true to  his Word.
   Where are your struggles and temptations? Do you feel the Holy Spirit has sent you to a test, even to destruction? Does Satan tempt you to worship and accept his lies? Then go to God’s Word to find his truth and gather your strength. You are not in the “desert” alone. Pray to the Spirit to anoint you with wisdom, and he will refresh you. You will be prepared to resist temptation and to know God’s steadfast help in the unexpected hard times.
 
Revelation 17:14 “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is LORD of lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”