Lesson 1: The Good News About Jesus Christ

I always appreciate when someone gets right to the point and that’s exactly what Mark did at the beginning of his gospel account: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1, ESV) Most of us know that the term “gospel” can be literally translated as “good news”, but often we narrow the gospel down to the message about how we can be forgiven of our sins. Mark wants us to understand that while that is a part of the gospel, the good news is everything about Jesus Christ. As the New Living Translation puts it, “This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1, NLT)

This class is about the gospel. However, the aim isn’t simply to increase our knowledge of Jesus, but for us to understand the gospel so that we can share the good news with others. Significantly, Mark’s gospel concludes with Jesus’ call for His disciples to do this very thing: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15, ESV) The hope is that this class prepares you to use Mark’s account of the gospel to share the good news of Jesus with someone else.

A quick note about the format of the lessons. I find the best way of sharing the gospel with someone is not with the use of handouts or prepared lessons, but to sit down with open Bibles and read the gospel. However, we must be prepared to answer any questions that come up from the text and be ready to point out important principles. The first part of each lesson will contain explanatory notes from the text. Many of these don’t need to be covered during a Bible study, but they may help in answering any questions. The second part of each lesson will point out important principles you can share to help someone understand the good news about Jesus.

Notes from the text:

• 1.1: note how Mark almost bookends his gospel with Jesus being declared the “Son of God” see Mark 15.39. Psalm 2 shows the significance of the title for the Lord promised that His Son would rule.
• 1.3: the quotation from Isaiah 40.3 is significant because it is a message of hope following disaster (see Isaiah 39).
• 1.4: Note that this was expected of Gentile converts to Judaism, but John was saying that Jews must submit to baptism as well. It would be a shocking message. Baptism prepared the people for the coming of Jesus by emphasizing their NEED. They were sinners, they needed forgiveness and they needed a new Spirit.
• 1.6: John was clothed like Elijah (see 2Kings 1.8).
• 1.8: In the Old Testament the Lord promised that complete restoration would come when He poured out His Spirit (see Ezekiel 36.25-27; Isaiah 44.3). Only Jesus could provide the Spirit.
• 1.10: Isaiah foretold that the chosen one of God would receive His Spirit (Isaiah 42.1). Note how John said this confirmed that Jesus is the Son of God (John 1.31-34).
• 1.11: confirmation of vs. 1; Jesus is the Son of God.
• 1.12: Note how the Spirit driving Jesus into the wilderness shows that this was God’s will. Temptation would prepare Jesus for His role as high priest (see Hebrews 2.17-18; 4.14-16).
• 1.15: “at hand” can also be translated as “near” (NIV). Jesus’ teaching and signs showed that the Kingdom was near/close.
• 1.17-18: while they would not have been considered wealthy, fishermen would not have been poor (note they had hired servants, vs. 20). What they left to follow Jesus was not insignificant.
• 1.22: “Most teachers would try to expound the law (normally from their Scripture reading) by explaining the proper way to translate and apply it or by appealing to their traditions. More advanced teachers would also appeal to earlier traditions; this was especially true for those who belonged to the Pharisaic movement. Jesus’ teaching went beyond this kind of exposition.” (IVP Bible Background Commentary)
• 1.27: Jewish exorcists “had two main methods of expelling demons: (1) revolting or scaring the demon out (e.g., by putting a smelly root up the possessed person’s nose in the hope that the demon would not be able to stand it); (2) using magical formulas or invoking the name of a higher spirit to get rid of the lower one. The people are thus amazed that Jesus can be effective by simply ordering the demons to leave.” (IVP Bible Background Commentary)
• 1.40:
  • Note that leper requested to be cleansed, not healed. Being unclean meant separation from the community (Leviticus 13.45-46)… and from God (cf. Numbers 19.20)?
  • Note that the leper questioned if the Lord is willing. His concern could have stemmed from the popular belief that leprosy was a punishment from God for sin. The Old Testament shows that this was sometimes the case: Miriam (Numbers 12); Gehazi (2Kings 5); Uzziah (2Chronicles 26.19-21). Also, sin offerings were required once a leper was healed (see Leviticus 14.10-13).
• 1.44: “The priests of Israel differed from those of other religions, who purportedly knew curative secrets, in that they had no power and could offer no ritual to heal disease. Israel believed that healing was entirely in the hands of God. Priests, therefore, simply declared what was clean and unclean (13:59; 14:57). That is why Leviticus 13–14 goes into such detail describing the cases so that the priest could identify the presence or absence of particular physical signs, such as skin color change, hair color, infiltration, extension, or ulceration of the skin.” (NIV Application Commentary). The point: while Levitical priests could declare someone to be clean, Jesus could actually cleanse!
• 2.4: “Houses often had an outside staircase, so they could reach the roof unimpeded. The roof of single-story homes was sturdy enough for walking on but was normally made of branches and rushes laid over the roof’s beams and covered with dried mud; thus one could dig through it, though it would make a mess and presumably leave the diggers liable to cover subsequent repairs.” (IVP Bible Background Commentary)
• 2.5: remember that sickness and death were the result of sin (Genesis 3). Significantly, before Jesus heals this man He first forgave him of his sins.
• 2.7: all sin is against God, but prophets of the Lord had the ability to proclaim that the God had forgiven sins (see 2Samuel 12.13). However, the scribes correctly noted that Jesus was claiming the authority to forgive sins (vs. 10).
• 2.12: note that while the scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy (vs. 7), the effect of the miracle was that God was glorified.

Using the text in evangelism:

1. The gospel of the Kingdom (1.14-15). When Jesus began proclaiming the gospel, the good news, the focus of His message was not on personal salvation and redemption. No, His message centered on the fact that “the kingdom of God is at hand”. This was not a foretelling of the church’s establishment a few years down the road, but rather the announcement that in Jesus the true rule of God was now present among mankind. This is an emphasis throughout the chapter:
   1. The Son of God would rule over the nations (Psalm 2) and since God declared that Jesus is His Son (Mark 1.11), then He would rule.
   2. Note how in Mark 1.21-28 the authority of Jesus takes center stage. Not only did Jesus’ teaching bear the distinct authority of God, but by His command demons were cast out. The Kingdom of God truly is good news because the King has proven Himself to be mightier than His adversaries.
   3. Jesus healing the sick and curing diseases (vss. 29-34) is also significant. Recall that sickness and disease originated when man sinned (Genesis 3.16-19), but in the Kingdom the curse is reversed!
   4. Finally, Jesus’ statement in vs. 38 that He wanted to preach in other towns “for that is why I came out” speaks to the reach of the Kingdom: it was meant to expand!
2. Jesus is both willing and able to forgive our sins (1.40-2.12). Given that we all sin (Romans 3.23), we all need a Savior who is not only willing to forgive us, but has the power/authority to do so. Jesus cleansing the leper and healing the paralytic shows that He is such a Savior!
   1. Note that Jesus’ interaction with the paralyzed man helps us understand what truly ails us. Upon viewing a paralyzed person, most would want to restore their ability to walk. Jesus’ main concern was for the man’s soul; he needed the forgiveness of his sins (2.5).
3. Faith in Jesus is the key (2.5). The blessings provided by Jesus (both forgiveness of sins and physical healing) were preceded by faith. Their faith could be seen by their actions (vss. 2-4) a crucial point in the gospel (see Mark 16.16).