Through the Bible -- Mark 1:16-45

Mark 1:1-13
Mark 1:14-15 
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1. The clear impression we get from Mark 1:14 is that Jesus did not commence his earthly ministry until after John the Baptist had been arrested. [1] Mark gives us the background of Jesus' ministry in that of John the Baptist. It tells us about Jesus' preparation in the wilderness. Then when John is arrested, Jesus begins.

Mark 1:14-15 then gives us the essence of Jesus' earthly message, a "gospel" of good news. The kingdom of God is arriving. Get ready. Repent and be baptized in preparation. Prepare your allegiance, for the kingdom is coming.

2. Then Jesus begins recruiting disciples (Mark 1:16-20). These are apprentices, learners. As he started when John the Baptist was gone, they would continue the mission after Jesus was gone. Jesus is training them to fish for people (1:17).

We hear about the four core disciples here: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They will become the "four pillars" of the church (cf. Gal. 2:9). They are fishermen working near the village of Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee. However, John 1:44 suggests that Peter and Andrew were originally from Bethsaida, about 8 miles further north. Archaeological evidence suggests that Peter eventually would have a house in Capernaum. [2]

We don't know exactly how Jesus ended up in Capernaum. It was about 40 miles east of Nazareth, about a two-day journey. Perhaps Jesus met some from this group during the trip to Judea to be baptized by John the Baptist.  

3. Jesus heals many (1:32-34). This will be a hallmark of Jesus' ministry. He heals many. He casts out demons. Both activities are well illustrated from the very beginning in this chapter. 

First, he casts out an "unclean spirit" (1:21-28). He does so on the Sabbath in Capernaum. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke will make it clear that these exorcisms indicated that the kingdom of God was arriving (Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20). [3] While Satan had been allowed to wreak havoc on the earth, the coming reign of God would vanquish his authority and bind his power.

4. Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law (1:29-31), a clear indication that Peter was married. The Gospel of Mark has no qualms with the disciples being married nor with Jesus having brothers and sisters from his mother Mary (6:3). There is no trace here of later worries about Mary remaining a perpetual virgin or apostles not being married. Sex is not unclean Marriage does not taint. Children are holy.

Jesus heals a leper in 1:40-45. Jesus is not worried about becoming unclean (Lev. 5:3; Num. 19:22). While in normal thinking, uncleanness "infects" the clean, with Jesus, the clean sanctifies the unclean. Jesus heals the man and sends him to the priest to verify that he is now clean -- an indication that Jesus was not against the purity system per se.

We also get here our first glimpse of a theme in Mark sometimes called the "messianic secret." Jesus tries to keep his power and identity as Messiah somewhat secret. Notably, he fails. He sternly tells the healed leper not to tell anyone who healed him, but the man does it anyway. As a result, Jesus is mobbed everywhere he goes He can no longer enter towns openly (1:45).

5. Jesus' primary mission, however, is to preach the good news of the kingdom's arrival (1:38). He heals and casts out demons as he goes around preaching. He struggles to find alone time to pray (1:35). I suspect Jesus was an introvert, but he will struggle to find time alone to recharge. Crowds will come to him from everywhere. Even his disciples will hardly leave him alone (1:36).

[1] The Gospel of John, perhaps with its own goals, shows some ministry work at the same time as John the Baptist, including baptisms (John 3:26). However, John's purpose is probably to show certain individuals in the late first century at Ephesus -- individuals who followed John's teaching but did not believe in Jesus -- that John was only the forerunner of Jesus. John tells the story in such a way as to make it clear that once Jesus arrived, John's role was effectively over (cf. John 3:30). As is usually the case, John is more theological in its presentation, the Synoptics more likely historical. 

[2] A church currently is suspended in air over the remains of the early church that was there, which stood on the remains of a house.

[3] This saying of Jesus comes from what has sometimes been called "Q" material, a hypothetical collection of Jesus' sayings. In this scenario, Q would be an early source of Jesus material in parallel to the Gospel of Mark.