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10 31 Days In Mark Day 02 // Follow me // :14-28

Read Mark 1:14-20

As was preaching the , he was arrested by King Herod for publicly condemning Herod’s affair. Now, the opening of the ministry of is marked by the phrase, “after John was arrested.” What is significant about Jesus’ ministry beginning this way?

One theme in the is that Christians will face hardship, affliction, and oppres- sion. So, it makes perfect sense that one of the opening scenes of the book is John’s imprison- ment.

What happens in the very next phrase of Verse 14?

“Jesus came into ” preaching the very same message that put John the Baptist in prison. Christ will face hardship, affliction, and persecution. Therefore, those that follow Christ will face similar trials.

What does it mean that the “time is fulfilled”?

According to Verse 15, what did Jesus say was “at hand”? What does this mean?

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, there is the pronouncement that “the kingdom of is at hand.” Jesus was declaring that God had come to graciously rule His people, and was inviting us to join that kingdom. This proclamation is the very same proclamation that you and I must take to a lost and dying world. The message was powerful then, and it has not lost its power today.

31 Days In Verse 15 says that the proper response to this message is to “repent and believe in the gospel.” Define “repent.”

This is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life. Repentance means a 180 degree about­-face. You must turn away from your and turn to God. But that is not the end. Jesus then calls us to believe the Gospel, to believe that when we repent, we have forgiveness in Him!

Verse 15 gives us a great summary of Jesus’ message during His ministry. It is a message we need to return to in our own lives again and again, continuing to repent of our sin and remind ourselves of the Gospel. Now, Jesus turns toward calling some of His first disciples.

When Jesus finds Simon and Andrew, what were they doing? What can this teach us about following Jesus?

In Verse 17, what was the call of Jesus? What did Jesus promise to teach Simon and Andrew to do?

How quickly did Andrew and Simon leave to follow Jesus? What did James and John leave behind to follow Jesus? What can you learn from their obedience to the call of Christ?

Have you ever taken a class that needed a prerequisite? For example, you cannot take Spanish IV before you take Spanish III. Simon, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen, but Jesus called them to be His disciples. There were no prerequisites to following Jesus. He simply calls, “Follow me!” They didn’t need to have a certain gifting or already be a good person. By grace, they were chosen as Jesus’ disciples. By faith, they followed!

12 31 Days In Mark Who or what are you following? Have you chosen to follow the right master?

Read Mark 1:21-28

It doesn’t take long before Jesus is teaching in the synagogue. His first disciples had chosen to follow Him and now they were to sit under His teaching and miracles.

According to Verses 22 and 27, why were the people astonished at Jesus’ teachings?

The demon demonstrates that he knows who Jesus really is. In fact, in a clever and ironic way, Mark uses the demons throughout his Gospel to teach his readers about the true identity of Jesus. What do you learn about who Jesus is from the words of the demon?

During the first public ministry event that Mark records, Jesus confronts evil with the power of God. This would be a model for Jesus’ ministry. Everything had changed because Jesus was on the scene. With the arrival of Jesus, “the kingdom of God” was at hand. It still is! Jesus’ mes- sage was to “repent, believe,” and “follow me.” It still is!

pray

Pray that we would see “his fame spread everywhere.”

31 Days In