What Jesus Did

John announced: "Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am... I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!"

—Mark 1:7-8 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus has the power and authority to send the Spirit and make us new. John could talk about the Holy Spirit and operate by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and he could promise the coming of the Holy Spirit. However, he could not baptize in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit wasn't part of his baptism...

 

One day Jesus came from ### in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River.

—Mark 1:9 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus was a real person who came from a real place called ### in the province of Galilee. He was baptized in a real river, the Jordan. In other words, Jesus' story is more than a story; it is history. Yet more than just history, it is God's saving history. A special part of that history is Jesus' baptism. His baptism is important for a number of reasons:

• It is a...

 

[John the Baptist's] clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
John announced: "Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am — so much greater that I'm not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals."

—Mark 1:6-7 NLT

Key Thought​

John's whole life was defined by his service to God and to God's Son. His clothing, his food, and his tasks were all defined by...

 

All of ###, including all the people of ###, went out to see and hear ###. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the ### River.

—Mark 1:5 NLT

Key Thought​

### didn't choose the most accessible location to do his ministry. Instead, he was located in the ###. Yet, people came from all over to hear him. Why? Because they were hungry for spiritual food. They longed to hear the voice of God through one of his servants, a true prophet. Distance was no barrier...

 

This messenger [to prepare the way for Jesus] was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.

—Mark 1:4 NLT

Key Thought​

God's messenger was John. He was called "the Baptist," or the Baptizer, because he baptized folks who came to him wanting to change their lives to align with the will of God. John's mission was to prepare people for the coming of the...

 

This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written:

"Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way.
He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
'Prepare the way for the Lord's coming!
Clear the road for him!'"

—Mark 1:1-3 NLT

Key Thought​

Where did the Gospel actually begin? Where did God's Good News originate? Matthew and Luke began their accounts of Jesus' life with the stories...

 

This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

—Mark 1:1 NLT

Key Thought​

We are beginning a journey through the Gospel of Mark. Gospel means "Good News." Mark wants us to know four things about our journey with him through the life of Jesus.

1. It is a journey about God's Good News.
2. It is about a very human person named Jesus; his humanity is revealed throughout Mark's Gospel.
3. This Jesus is also the Messiah (or Christ) promised in the Old Testament...

 

[After appearing to the disciples and eating with them, then Jesus] said, "When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said, "Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all...

 

And just as [the two men from Emmaus] were telling [other disciples in Jerusalem about their encounter with Jesus], Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. "Peace be with you," he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

"Why are you frightened?" he asked. "Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it's really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don't...

 

By this time [Jesus and the two disciples] were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, "Stay the night with us, since it is getting late." So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

They said to each other, "Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked...