Mark 1:14-15
The View from the Bridge
Outline:
I. \\#Mark 1:1-15\\ Introduction
A. \\#1:1-8\\ Jesus Was Announced
B. \\#1:9-11\\ Jesus Was Authenticated
C. \\#1:12-13\\ Jesus Was Proven
D. \\#1:14-15\\ The Bridge
II. \\#Mark 1:16-2:28\\ Meet Jesus
A. \\#1:14-2:12\\ Jesus’ Authority
1. \\#1:16-22\\ Jesus Has Authority over Men
2. \\#1:23-28\\ Jesus Has Authority over Demons
3. \\#1:29-39\\ Jesus Has Authority over Sickness
4. \\#1:40-45\\ Jesus Has Authority over Disease
5. \\#2:1-12\\ Jesus Has Authority over Sin
B. \\#2:13-28\\ Jesus’ Care
1. \\#2:13-17\\ Jesus Cares for Sinners
2. \\#2:18-28\\ Jesus Cares for the Pharisees
Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison,
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe
the gospel.
On Wednesday nights, I attempt to preach through a book of the Bible.
There are some difficulties in attempting that.
1. We do not always get to break in a good location.
2. I do not always see all that needs to be seen.
It now appears to me, that \\#14-15\\ are a bridge. Mark gave his
introduction in \\#1-13\\, and he will begin to share the life and
ministry of Jesus in \\#1:16\\, but this two verses create a bridge
or a transition. Yet, they record some important truths for us,
some important changes.
I. \\#14-15\\ Three Changes - Mark has been sharing truths about both
the message and the messengers thus far. These verses give us
his last thoughts as he moves to focus on Jesus’ life and
ministry.
A. \\#14\\ A Messenger Was Arrested.
1. John the Baptist was a unique man for a lot of reasons.
a. John was unique in his clothing, his diet, and his
boldness.
(1) As I have said, I do not know of anyone like
John, not in the Old or New Testament, not
mentioned in the Bible or mentioned in history.
(2) However, I do not think those are the areas that
were important.
(3) Those things were John’s personality.
(4) I believe he did these things to make certain the
world could not find a stronghold in him.
(5) But regardless of why he did them, they did make
him unique.
(6) By the way, this should show us that no matter
what our personality, God can use us.
b. John was unique in that Jesus said none born of women
would be greater than him.
(1) That is not the same as to say that John is the
greatest man ever born of women.
(2) Those two are not the same.
(3) What’s the difference?
(a) If Jesus said John was the greatest, John
would have been in a category all by
himself for all eternity.
(b) But by saying that there is none greater,
Jesus left open the possibility that others
could be just as great.
(4) The latter is what Jesus said and, I believe,
fully what He meant to say.
(5) I believe that there have been and are both men
and women about whom Jesus could say the same
thing.
c. John was unique in that he fulfilled his purpose.
(1) I believe this was the most important way that
John the Baptist was unique.
(2) John was created for a specific purpose.
(3) He was created to tell people about Jesus.
(4) And the thing that made John one of the greatest
born among women and most unique was that he
accomplished his purpose and accomplished it
with so much determination and dedication.
(5) Our goal should be the same.
d. But another thing that made John unique was that he
was the first to be persecuted, imprisoned, and
martyred for Jesus.
(1) I’m not sure that is an honor that most of us
would want, but John bore it well.
(2) The gospels do not give us the exact time of
John’s arrest.
(3) Two of gospels indicate that John was arrested
early in Jesus’ ministry, seemingly soon after
Jesus’ baptism.
(a) \\#Mark 1:14\\
(b) \\#Matt 4:12\\
(4) But the other two gospels make it clear that
Jesus and John ministered for a period.
(a) \\#Luke 3:1-20, John 3:22-36\\.
(b) I want to say together but that might be
misleading.
(c) It was at the same time and in the same
country, but as far as we know, they did
not work together.
(5) Regardless all four of the gospels indicate that
it was not long after Jesus began to preach that
John was arrested.
2. \\#14\\ Interestingly, John’s arrest did not move Jesus
away from Herod but closer to him.
a. Herod was the king who arrested John.
b. He was one of the sons of the Herod the Great, the
king who was ruling when Jesus was born.
c. His reign was over Galilee but Jerusalem was granted a
Roman governor who answered straight to the emperor
and congress.
d. Yet, after John was imprisoned, both Mark and Matthew
\\#Matt 4:12\\ tell us that Jesus went to Galilee.
(1) It was not the first time Jesus had been to
Galilee, but it appears that is when Jesus
shifted the thrust of His preaching and
teaching from Jerusalem to Galilee.
(2) Perhaps Jesus was at greater risk from His own
countrymen than He did from a wicked Herodian
king.
B. \\#15\\ The Message Received A Name.
1. Interestingly, after John was imprisoned, that ancient
message which dates back to \\#Ge 3:15\\ got a name.
2. The message is dubbed, the Gospel.
a. In the Greek, that means the Good News.
b. The message had changed some since Gen 3:15.
(1) It began has, "Someone’s Coming."
(2) In \\#John 1:29\\, it changed to "Someone’s
Here."
c. And it will change a bit more.
(1) At the cross, it will be come, "The Someone has
died."
(2) At the tomb, it will become, "The Someone is
alive for ever more!"
3. But for whatever the reason, the word "gospel," is not
mentioned as being preached until AFTER John was
arrested.
a. \\#Matt 4:23\\
b. \\#Mark 1:14\\
c. \\#Luke 4:18\\
d. The word "gospel" is not used in the book of John.
C. \\#15\\ The Message’s Conditions Are Laid Out
1. The message has been around since the fall of mankind, but
this is the first time that the conditions for accepting
it are laid out.
2. They are two:
a. Repent
b. Believe
3. Repent means to change your mind, to think differently.
a. It is changing your mind about God, about sin, about
Who is going to control your life.
b. You and I have always controlled our lives.
(1) Others may have influenced us, but it was always
our decision what we would and would not do.
(2) Repentance means to surrender control of your
life to Jesus Christ.
(3) It does not mean you will be perfect.
(4) You will still sin, but it does mean you will be
different.
(5) You will have a new Master and He will change
how you think, what you want, and how you live.
4. Believe means to accept as true.
a. You have to accept as true what God has revealed about
the Gospel, about the Good News.
b. As I have pointed out, the message has changed over
time.
(1) There have been four versions of the message
since it was first given, \\#Ge 3:15\\.
(2) Four versions in 6,000 years are not a lot, but
it has changed.
(3) That is why I say, you must believe what God has
revealed about the Good News.
(4) Adam and Eve could not believe in the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ because
God had not revealed the death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
(5) You and I have been blessed to be born in the
time of the final Gospel version.
(a) We know the name of the Someone, Jesus.
(b) We know that He is God’s Son, miraculously
conceived, virgin born, lived a sinless
life, died a vicarious death, and rose in
victory.
5. The marvelous result of repenting and believing on Jesus
Christ is that if you will do these two things, you will
be gloriously and eternally saved!
As we step off the bridge and into Jesus’ life and ministry, let me
ask a question. If you had met Jesus on the earth, what do you think
might be His most outstanding characteristic? What would be the most
memorable to you? That is hard if not impossible to answer, but Mark
did. In the next two chapters, Mark will record accounts of what
stood out in the minds of the people that met Jesus.
II. \\#1:16-2:12\\ Jesus’ Authority
A. Mark made it pretty easy to follow his train of thought.
1. The first stories Mark shared about Jesus’ life focused
on the authority Jesus had.
2. It was not only spelled out in the accounts Mark chose but
also in the statements of the people who were there.
Mark 1:22 And they were astonished at his
doctrine: for he taught them as one that had
authority, and not as the scribes.
Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch
that they questioned among themselves, saying,
What thing is this? what new doctrine is this?
for with authority commandeth he even the unclean
spirits, and they do obey him.
3. If we could have met Jesus, we would have been impressed
with His authority.
B. Notice Jesus’ authority over people.
Mark 1:16 Now as he walked by the sea of
Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother
casting a net into 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 forsook their nets, and
followed him.
19 And when he had gone a little further thence,
he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother, who also were in the ship mending their
nets.
20 And straightway he called them: and they left
their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired
servants, and went after him.
21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway
on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue,
and taught.
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for
he taught them as one that had authority, and not
as the scribes.
1. This is the calling of Simon (Peter) and his brother
Andrew.
2. Notice that the Bible does not say that this is when Jesus
MET Peter and Andrew. It records when Jesus CALLED
Peter and Andrew.
a. John recorded the day they meet in \\#John 1:37-42\\.
(1) It was not at the Sea of Galilee but at the River
Jordan.
(2) It was not shortly after John the Baptist was
imprisoned but shortly after Jesus was baptized,
which may have been some months a part.
b. Andrew met and followed Jesus for a day then went and
found his brother, Peter, and brought him to Jesus.
c. Some reading this event get confused, thinking there
is a contradiction in the Bible, but there is not.
(1) Mark chose to skip some details.
(2) That is no big deal. All of the Bible writers
did.
(3) \\#John 21:25\\ told us that if all the works
Jesus did were recorded that he supposed not all
of the books of the world could contain them.
(4) Mark selected what he selected to accomplish what
he felt the Holy Spirit wanted him to do.
3. Concerning the calling:
a. The first four disciples called were fishermen: Peter,
Andrew, James, and John.
b. They all lived in Capernaum, a city on the north shore
of the Sea of Galilee.
c. They were two sets of brothers: Andrew and Peter, John
and James.
d. And apparently, Jesus called them all the same day, on
the same leisurely stroll through the piers.
e. Why? What is about these men that caused Jesus to call
them?
(1) Because this was what God had created them to be.
(a) I do not know of anything special about any
of the 12 disciples.
(b) They were not the best educated, the most
versatile, or the most gifted.
(c) The best I can tell, they weren’t the
smartest or even the most committed.
(d) God’s callings are based not on what they
were, but what He could make out of them.
(e) It appears that God has given the raw
materials to each of us to make us into
whatever He intends us to be.
(f) So no matter what you are today, it is God’s
plan to make something better out of you.
(2) It is interesting what Jesus said when He called
them.
Mark 1:17 …Come ye after me, and I will make
you to become fishers of men.
(a) They were already accustomed to catching
something.
(b) They already understand the patience, the
frustration, and the work required.
(c) Jesus was just giving them something far
more worthwhile to catch, i.e. souls
instead of fish.
(d) These are the kinds of qualities that God
can take, shape, and mold to make a good
fisher of men.
(e) Some people do not know what God wants them
to be or do.
(f) My suggestion is get busy doing what you can
for Him right now, and I believe He will
show you what He wants you to do tomorrow.
4. Jesus’ authority was not just displayed when He called the
disciples.
a. It was also displayed when they obeyed.
b. These were grown men with jobs.
c. We will see in a few verses that Peter had a wife.
d. All of that means responsibilities.
e. Yet, when Jesus called, they obeyed.
f. Why? Because they saw something in Jesus that made
them want to obey.
g. They saw and sensed His authority.
At the beginning of the message, I mentioned that the two main points
I shared tonight really don’t fit together. They are disjointed; but
there is one truth that I see through the both. The first thought
was things are changing—always. The second point is that Jesus is
the Authority. No matter what is taking place in your life, Jesus
is the Authority.
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