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0 The beginning of the first gospel (Mark 1-2)

Episode 249: The beginning of the first gospel

Mark 1-2

1 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2-3 As the prophets wrote, "I'll send my messenger before you to prepare your way."

John the Baptist

4 John baptized people to forgive their sins.

5 And everyone in the land of Judea was baptized by John in the Jordan River.

6 John's clothes were made of camel hair, he wore a leather girdle around his loins, and he ate locusts and honey.

7 He preached, saying,

Someone is coming who's stronger than I am. I'm not worthy to untie his shoes.

8 I baptize you with water, but he'll baptize with the Holy Ghost.”

Jesus is baptized

9 One day Jesus came from Nazareth to be baptized by John.

10 When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens split open and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove.

11 And a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”

By I, Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Jesus is tempted by Satan

12-13 Immediately after this, the spirit drove him into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days, with wild beasts, while the angels cared for him.

Jesus calls his first disciples

14 After John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee and began to preach, saying,

15 “The end is near. God's kingdom is coming. Repent and believe the gospel.”

16 As he walked by the sea of Galilee, Jesus saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing.

17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men.”

18 And they dropped their nets and followed Jesus.

19 After walking a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were mending their nets.

20 Jesus called to them, and they left their father to follow him.

21 On the sabbath day, they went to a synagogue in Capernaum, where Jesus taught.

22 Everyone was impressed with his teaching, since he taught with authority unlike the scribes.

A man with an unclean spirit

23 There was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit, who cried out,

24 “Leave us alone, Jesus of Nazareth. I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God.”

25 Jesus said, “Be quiet and come out of him.”

26 The unclean spirit came out of the man, crying out with a loud voice.

27 Everyone was amazed, and said, “Even the unclean spirits obey him!”

Simon's mother-in-law

29 After leaving the synagogue, Jesus and his companions went to the house of Simon and Andrew.

30 Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a fever.

31 Jesus took her hand and the fever left her. Immediately she began to serve them.

Jesus casts out devils and heals the sick

32-34 Later that evening, everyone in the city gathered at the door of Simon's house, including those who were sick or possessed with devils. Jesus healed many of the sick and cast out many devils, commanding the devils not to speak, because they all knew him.

Jesus cleans a leper

40 A man with leprosy came to Jesus and said, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.”

41 Jesus touched him and said, “I’d like to, so be clean.”

42 And immediately the man was clean.

43-44 Jesus sternly warned him and cast him out, saying, “Don't tell anyone, but go to the priest and offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded.”

45 But the man told everyone about it anyway.

Then people came from all around to see Jesus. So he went into the desert to get away from them.

Jesus heals a paralytic

2 1-2 When Jesus returned to his house in Capernaum, many people came to visit, and Jesus preached to them.

3-4 A paralyzed man was lowered through the roof, since there were too many people to enter through the door.

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.”

6-7 A scribe was there who said, “This man blasphemes. Only God can forgive sins.”

8-9 Jesus said,

Is it easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven" or "stand up and walk"?

10 But to show that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins,

11 Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up, take your bed, and walk home.”

12 And the man stood up, picked up his bed, and walked home.

The call of Levi

13 Jesus went to the seashore, followed by a large crowd.

14 On his way, he passed by Levi the son of Alphaeus, who was collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, "Follow me." And Levi followed him.

Why Jesus and his disciples didn't fast

15 Later, Jesus and his disciples were eating in his house with many publicans and sinners.

16 The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does Jesus eat and drink with publicans and sinners?”

17 Jesus said to them, “Healthy people don't need doctors; sick people do. I came to call sinners to repentance, not righteous people.”

18 Then they said to Jesus, “The disciples of John and the Pharisees often fast. Why don't you and your disciples fast?”

19 Jesus said,

They won't fast as long as the bridegroom is with them.

20 They'll fast when he's gone.

21 No one puts a new cloth in an old garment, or new wine into old bottles.”

The disciples pluck grain on the sabbath

23 As Jesus and his disciples walked through fields on the Sabbath, they plucked some of the grain.

24 The Pharisees saw this and said to Jesus, “Why do your disciples do what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

25 Jesus said, “Haven't you read what David did when he and his men were hungry?

26 They went into God's house in the days of Abiathar the high priest and ate the sacred bread that is unlawful for anyone but priests to eat.

27 The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

28 Therefore the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

A few more words about this episode

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1)
The first verse is not a sentence and was probably a title. The word "gospel" means good news.
The author of the gospel is not named, but his name was almost certainly not Mark. Whoever the author may have been, he was probably a Greek-speaking Jew who lived outside of Palestine.
The author is traditionally said to be John Mark, who, according to the book of Acts, accompanied Paul on his missions. He is sometimes also referred to as "Mark the Evangelist" and is said to have been Peter's interpreter or secretary.
The gospel was written in Greek, around 65-75 CE.
The author refers to Jesus as "Jesus Christ," but Christ wasn't Jesus's last name. "Christ" is just the Greek word for "the anointed one" or "the messiah."
As the prophets wrote (1:2)
The earliest manuscripts have "as is written by the prophet Isaiah," but this was later changed to "by the prophets" because the scribes knew that Isaiah didn't say what this verse claims that it said. The verse conflates three passages in the Hebrew scriptures Isaiah 40:3, Exodus 23:20 , and Malachi 3:1.
John's clothes were made of camel hair, he wore a leather girdle around his loins. (1:6)
This was to show that John the Baptist was Elijah, who will return before the great day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5). Elijah was, according to 2 Kings 1:8, a hairy man with a leather belt. And nobody dresses like Elijah!
John baptized people to forgive their sins. Jesus came from Nazareth to be baptized by John. (1:4, 9)
So was Jesus baptized to forgive his sins? Mark doesn't say.
Levi the son of Alphaeus (2:14)

Levi the son of Alphaeus is not listed as one of the Twelve in Mark's list (Mark 3:14-19) or in any of the lists in the other three lists (10:2-4, Luke 6:14-16, Acts 1:13)
What was the name of the tax collector who was called by Jesus?
What were the names of the apostles?

Abiathar the high priest (2:26)
Abimelech was the high priest (1 Sam 21:1-6), not his son Abiathar (1 Sam 22:20 ).
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