Commentary in Simple English on the Gospel that Mark wrote

'Gospel' means Good News. We call the first four books of the New Testament 'Gospels'. The message that Christians bring is also Good News.

Mark tells us at once who Jesus is. The devil, angels and unclean spirits already know (verses 13 and 24). The Gospel will tell us how the people Jesus met found out who He was. He is the Son of God (see chapter 15: 39), so He is able to save us. He is a real man, so He will love us.

Mark does not say anything about the birth of Jesus. [1.2] If we want to read about this we have to read Matthew 1: 18-25 and Luke 2: 1-20. It is a wonderful story. There would have been no Good News if Jesus had not left the glory of heaven to come into this world. Yet we can have the Good News without the story of the birth of Jesus. We cannot have the Good News without the story of the Cross and how Jesus rose from the dead.

(See Matthew 3: 1-11; Luke 3: 2-26.)

In verses 2 and 3, Mark uses words from the Old Testament. These tell how God sent John the Baptist to make the Jewish people ready for Jesus when He came. Verse 2 comes from Malachi 3: 1. Verse 3 comes from Isaiah 40: 3. See Luke 1: 5-25 and 39-80 for the birth of John the Baptist.

In Bible times, two or three thousand years ago, a king would let it be known that he was on his way. The people would have to make his way ready. In the same way God makes people ready for the coming of the Good News about Jesus, Who is His truth.

Some tribes have very old traditions passed down from their elders. These say that one day a new teaching will come to them. The Wallamos in south Ethiopia had a prophet called Asa before the Good News reached them. When we take the gospel to people who have not heard it before, God may well have made them ready to hear it and believe it.

In verse 4, Mark begins to tell us about John the Baptist. John preached in the Wilderness. This might not have been as dry, hot and lifeless as some deserts are. It was land that was too poor to farm. It was in the valley of the River Jordan, north of the Dead Sea. The Jews knew that when God gave them a new beginning it would be in the Wilderness. (See Hosea 2: 14; Ezekiel 20: 34-38.) It was in the wilderness that God had given Moses the Law for Israel. This was when they came out of Egypt at the Exodus.

So (verse 5) the Jews went to John. They expected something new. John did have something new for them too. He dipped people in the River Jordan. He baptised them. His baptism meant that people knew that they had sinned. They said openly what their sins were. They would not go back to them again. It was as though the river washed their sins away. Mostly it was people from the southern part of Palestine who came to John, and he baptised them.

Baptism still is a picture. It shows how God washes our sins away, but it means much more. Our baptism says that we have faith in Jesus. That faith has made us one with Him in His death and also in His risen life. Our baptism is in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28: 19).

In verse 6 we learn that John's dress and his way of life were like those of Elijah. Elijah was a great Old Testament prophet (2 Kings 1: 8). Verses 7 and 8 tell us more about John’s message to the people.

The great promise in the New Testament is that God will give His people glory with the Lord Jesus. Jesus is already in glory. God will keep that promise too.

(See Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21,22.)

Jesus grew up at Nazareth (verse 9) which was a small town in the north of Palestine. [1.3] John baptised in the River Jordan about 110km to the south.

Jesus had no sins to tell John about. Yet (verse 10) He chose that John should baptise Him. In this way Jesus showed that He was a 'friend of sinners'. God, His Father, tore the sky open. He sent down His Holy Spirit to Jesus as Jesus came up out of the water.

We often say that the Holy Spirit is like a dove. The dove is a small bird, which is gentle and peaceful. It has no strong claws to kill with.

(Verse 11) A voice came from heaven, that is, from God. There are three truths here:-

(See Matthew 4: 1-11 and Luke 4: 1-13.)

Both Matthew and Luke say more than Mark does about how the devil tested Jesus. John had baptised Jesus and the Holy Spirit had come down on Him. This was a time when Jesus knew that God was near to Him. But a time when the devil tested Him soon followed. Our Christian life will often be like that.

Jesus was in the Wilderness with the wild animals. Adam was with them in the Garden (Genesis 2: 19). Adam fell and angels would not let him go back into the Garden (Genesis 3: 24). Jesus won the fight and he had angels to wait on Him. Jesus is better and greater than the first Adam. The first Adam sinned when he was tempted. Jesus did not sin: He obeyed His Father's will.

Mark will tell us later how Herod put John the Baptist in prison and killed him. See 6: 14 - 19. But now Mark tells us what Jesus started to do.

(Verse 14) Galilee is a lake, which is 20km long from north to south. It is 13km wide from east to west. It is deep in a valley 210m below sea level. It is up to 44m deep. [1.5] The River Jordan enters the lake at the north end. Then it flows out to the south towards the Dead Sea. We use the same name, Galilee, for the part of Palestine to the west of the lake. There were twelve towns near the lake. 330 fishing boats worked on the lake. The fishermen dried and salted the fish for sale in Jerusalem (Luke 24:42). You could grill fresh fish by the lakeside (John 21: 9).

God has special times to work out His purposes. Jesus says in verse 15 that such a special time has come. (See Romans 5: 16; Galatians 4: 4.)

Then Jesus says: 'The Kingdom of God is near'. Christ was to be a king (Psalm 2: 6; Matthew 2: 2; John 1: 49). He has never been the King of any country in this world. But He is the King of each one of His people. Together, they all make up His kingdom. (See John 18: 36; Luke 17: 20 and 21.) This Kingdom means that we obey God's will. It is full salvation. He gathers us together as His Kingdom. Those who believe in Jesus belong to the Kingdom. They should obey God.

Some people try to find a difference between 'the Kingdom of God' and the 'Kingdom of Heaven'. It is better to understand them as meaning the same thing. [1.6]

One day, Christ will be 'King of Kings'!

We need to know how our lives must change, now that we know that God's kingdom is near. To repent is to think now the thoughts that we shall think at the day of judgment when we stand before God. When we repent, we know that we have sinned. We feel sorrow for our sins. We tell God frankly about our sins. We stop our sins. We hate sin in ourselves and in others. God commands all men, everywhere, to repent (Acts 17: 30). 'The Kingdom of God is near'. God rules, not the devil. We shall have to answer to God as our judge. The devil was a liar from the beginning. He lied when he said that he could give all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus (Matthew 4: 8).

Jesus said: 'Repent and believe'. The New Testament puts 'repent' before 'believe' (Acts 20: 21). We have faith when we believe the Good News with our minds. We have faith when we trust the Lord Jesus with our hearts. We have faith when we follow Him boldly. So do we repent first and have faith after? The two go together. If we are to repent we must believe that God is there and we must trust Him.

(See Matthew 4: 18-22; Luke 5 2-11; John 1: 35-42.)

(Verse 16) Jesus walks by the Lake. He sees some men who work as they do each day. They did not only fish. They also used their boats to carry goods across the lake. There were then about 16 little ports around the lake.

Men who fished used two kinds of net. A man could stand on the end of a pier. There he could throw a small net and catch fish. This was the net that Simon and Andrew used. Simon here is the man who is more often called Peter. Men who fished from a boat used a much larger net (John 21: 6; Luke 5: 4-7). The nets dragged up weeds as well as fish. The fisherman had to clean the nets quickly. If they did not, the weed would dry hard in the sun. Then the net would be useless.

In verse 17, we read that Jesus 'called' Simon and Andrew. We become Christians when we hear 'the call of God'. Jesus called these men to follow Him. The roads were too narrow for two people to walk side by side. A teacher's followers would walk close behind him. They hoped to hear what he said. There were few books and they were too dear to buy. The only way to learn was to listen to a teacher. Then Jesus told them that they would not only catch fish. Jesus would teach them how to 'catch' men. Jesus meant that they would make more followers for Him.

The New Testament also uses the word 'call' for our call to some special work.

In verse 18, we learn that Simon and Andrew left their nets. Most people have to leave something behind them when they begin to follow Jesus. Verse 19 tells us that Jesus went a little farther. (See 14:35.) Then Jesus saw two other brothers, James and John. He called them also to follow Him. (Verse 20)

It seems that the family of Zebedee had more money than Simon and Andrew. Zebedee paid men to work for him.

Mark always names James before his brother John. James was probably older than John was. James died about 10 or 15 years after this but John lived on about 60 years.

(See Luke 4:31-37)

Capernaum (verse 21) was one of the towns which stood by the Lake. [1.7] Jesus joined the people who had met there to worship. The 'synagogue' is the place where Jews meet together for worship. (Verse 22) The Jews were used to teachers who said that some other teacher had taught something before them. Jesus did not teach like that. He taught them what He knew. The Jews were surprised.

(Verse 23) A man was there who had an unclean spirit. He could not rest because Jesus was there. The unclean spirit had power over the man. (Verse 24) The man called out: 'What do we have in common? Nothing!' (Verse 25) Jesus told the unclean spirit to be quiet. He ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. What the spirit said did not help Jesus.

The unclean spirit knew that Jesus had come to destroy the works of the devil. It knew who Jesus was. What we know will not save us. The devil knows more than you or I do, but he is lost. He has no faith, love or hope. The demons believe that there is one God: and their hair stands on end in horror (James 2: 19). In hell, everyone knows that there is a God. Someone has said that the man who does not believe that there is a God is worse than the devil. We must have love for God. We must have the faith which works by love. Then we shall also have hope.

So (verse 26) Jesus healed the man.

(Verse 27) The people saw Jesus heal this man. Yet Mark does not tell us that they believed in Jesus. They felt alarm. (Verse 28) People all over Galilee talked about Jesus.

(See Matthew 4:14-17; Luke 4:38-4.)

(Verse 29) Jesus went with his four followers to Peter's home in Capernaum. (Verse 30) Peter was a married man. His wife's mother was really ill. (Verse 31) Mark will often tell us that Jesus takes people by the hand. (See v 41; 5: 41; 6: 5; 7: 34; 8: 23; 9: 27; 10: 16.) Peter's mother-in-law is the first of them to feel the touch of His hand. Jesus did more than heal her. He made her strong again after the fever. Then in verses 32-34 Mark tells us how Jesus healed many sick people in the town that day.

(Verse 35) When Jesus healed people He felt power go out of Him. (See Mark 5: 30.) He needed to fill Himself again with God's power. So in verses 29 to 34 He works. Now in verse 35, He prays. (See Mark 6:46 and 14:32). A Master who prays cannot have servants who do not pray. He had no sins to come between Him and His Father. Yet He needed to be alone with God. How much more we need to be alone with God. (Verse 36) Everyone tried to find Jesus (verse 37) but Jesus does not want to make the most of this. He wants to go to preach in fresh places (verse 38). There are still many places in the world where the Good News has not been heard. Jesus knew that His most important work was to tell people the Good News. (Verse 38) Works of power and the praise of God have a place. The greatest need is for us to preach the Good News. (1 Corinthians 1: 21; Romans 10: 14-17).

Verse 39 teaches us that no one is lost because he is too bad to be saved. Jesus was able to help those over whom the demons had power.

Verses 40 - 45: Jesus makes a leper clean [1.8]

(See Matthew 8:2-4; Luke 5:12-1.)

(Verse 40) What we call leprosy today is Hansen’s disease. It can be cured. Christians have played a great part in the care of those who suffer from it. There are still about 8 million people with leprosy around the world, but the number is not as great as it was. Leprosy does not pass too readily from one person to another. There is a need to show Christian love to those whose bodies have been spoilt by it. Those who have leprosy need to take their drugs until they are cured.

Leprosy in Bible times seems to have been a name for several skin complaints. It was not just what we now know as leprosy. The Jewish teachers thought that it was even harder to make a leper clean than to raise the dead to life.

In the Old Testament, Leviticus 13 and 14 set out what the priests had to do about leprosy. The priests were to look with care at anyone who might have leprosy. All that the priest could do then was to say whether or not a man or woman had the disease. He had no power to cure. Anyone who was cured had to make certain offerings.

Jesus meets with a man with leprosy. The man knows that Jesus has the power to help him. No one else could help him. The priests could not. No one else would even touch a leper, but Jesus did. He is a real man, and He will touch our lives too. Jesus felt sorry for the man. He was angry to think that the priests could not help. (Verse 42) Jesus made the man clean at once.

Leprosy is a picture of the sin in our lives. The touch of Jesus can make us clean from sin.

Jesus sends the man off to the priest. The priest would have to say that the man was now healed. They would make the offerings written down in the Law so as to give thanks to God. The priests would learn that Jesus had the power to make a leper clean.

The Law of God can show us exactly what is wrong with us. Yet it has no power to put us right. Only the Gospel can do that.

This man is the first of many in Mark's Gospel to fall down in front of Jesus. See 5:6; 5:22; 5:33; 7:25; 10:14.