Reading for Today:
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Leviticus 7:1
Chapter 7 1 And this is the law of the trespass-offering: it is most holy.
–8:36
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Psalms 24:7-10
7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors: And the King of glory will come in. 8 Who is the King of glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; Yea, lift them up, ye everlasting doors: And the King of glory will come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? Jehovah of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah Psalm 25 `A Psalm' of David.
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Proverbs 9:10-12
10 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, And the years of thy life shall be increased. 12 If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; And if thou scoffest, thou alone shalt bear it.
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Mark 1:1-22
Chapter 1 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight; 4 John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins. 5 And there went out unto him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem; And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and `had' a leathern girdle about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I baptized you in water; But he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit. 9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him: 11 And a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. 12 And straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan; And he was with the wild beasts; And the angels ministered unto him. 14 Now after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel. 16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And straightway they left the nets, and followed him. 19 And going on a little further, he saw James the `son' of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him. 21 And they go into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching: For he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.
Notes:
Leviticus 8:23, 24 right ear…right hand…right foot. Using a part to represent the whole, Aaron and his sons were consecrated to listen to God’s holy Word, to carry out His holy assignments, and to live holy lives.
Mark 1:15 The time is fulfilled. Not time in a chronological sense, but the time for decisive action on God’s part. With the arrival of the King, a new era in God’s dealings with men had come. the kingdom of God. God’s sovereign rule over the sphere of salvation; at present in the hearts of His people (
Luke 17:21
21 neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you.
), and in the future, in a literal, earthly kingdom (Rev. 20:4–6). at hand. Because the King was present. Repent, and believe. Repentance and faith are man’s required response to God’s gracious offer of salvation (see
Acts 20:21
21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
).
Mark 1:17 Follow Me. Used frequently in the Gospels in reference to discipleship (2:14; 8:34; 10:21; Matt. 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 10:38; 16:24; 19:21;
Luke 9:23
23 And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
, 59, 61; 18:22;
John 1:43
43 On the morrow he was minded to go forth into Galilee, and he findeth Philip: and Jesus saith unto him, Follow me.
; 10:27; 12:26). fishers of men. Evangelism was the primary purpose for which Jesus called the apostles, and it remains the central mission for His people (see Matt. 28:19, 20;
Acts 1:8
8 But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
).
Mark 1:22 authority. Jesus’ authoritative teaching, as the spoken Word of God, was in sharp contrast to that of the scribes (experts in the Old Testament Scriptures), who based their authority largely on that of other rabbis. Jesus’ direct, personal, and forceful teaching was so foreign to their experience that those who heard Him were “astonished” (see
Titus 2:15
15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
).
DAY 18: What was the purpose of John’s baptism?
The Gospels all introduce John the Baptist’s ministry by quoting
Isaiah 40:3
3 The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God.
(see Matt. 3:3;
Luke 3:4
4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight.
;
John 1:23
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.
). John was called “My messenger” (
Mark 1:2
2 Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way.
), the divinely promised messenger, sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. In ancient times, a king’s envoys would travel ahead of him, making sure the roads were safe and fit for him to travel on, as well as announcing his arrival.
As the last Old Testament prophet and the divinely ordained forerunner of the Messiah, John was the culmination of Old Testament history and prophecy (
Luke 16:16
16 The law and the prophets `were' until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.
) as well as the beginning of the historical record of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not surprisingly, Jesus designated John as the greatest man who had lived until his time (Matt. 11:11). John’s baptism, being the distinctive mark of his ministry (
Mark 1:4
4 John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins.
), differed from the ritual Jewish washings in that it was a one-time act. The Jews performed a similar one-time washing of Gentile proselytes, symbolizing their embracing of the true faith. That Jews would participate in such a rite was a startling admission that they needed to come to God through repentance and faith just like Gentiles.
John’s baptism was for true repentance. His ministry was to call Israel to repentance in preparation for the coming of Messiah. Baptism did not produce repentance, but was its result (Matt. 3:7, 8). Far more than a mere change of mind or remorse, repentance involves a turning from sin to God (1 Thess. 1:9), which results in righteous living. Genuine repentance is a work of God in the human heart (
Acts 11:18
18 And when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life.
). John’s rite of baptism did not produce forgiveness of sin (
Acts 2:38
38 And Peter `said' unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
; 22:16); it was only the outward confession and illustration of the true repentance that results in forgiveness (
Luke 24:47
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
;
Acts 3:19
19 Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;
; 5:31; 2 Cor. 7:10).
From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.
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