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Mark 1
Feb 10, 2007 12:38:28 GMT -8
Post by michelle on Feb 10, 2007 12:38:28 GMT -8
Post your comments/ questions/ discussion starters on Mark chapter 1 on this thread. Notice that there are some older comments here on this chapter that might help generate some discussion:
1/26/06:
I find it interesting that we don't know much about the personality of Jesus until he is baptized. Yes, we know his geneaology and his history of residency, but only once do we come in contact with him as a person prior to his baptism. And what we learn from that is that he was wise and obedient and probably had an idea of who he was at that point (Luke 2:49-50). But there were roughly 18 years between the boy at the temple and Jesus' baptism. I'm so curious to know what he was doing during that time.
As I was watching 'Lost' last night, a girl walked up to a man that had been a priest. She was talking with him and questioning him about the baptism of her baby. Granted, this is a TV show and it didn't do a great job portraying what baptism really is, but it did get me thinking. The priest on the show told the girl about John baptising Jesus and mentioned that when the baptism happened the sky was torn open and a dove descended upon Jesus cleansing him of his sins. My immediate reaction was, "Woah, Jesus was sinless so saying he was cleansed of his sin by being baptized is a gross misrepresentation." But after thinking for a minute I though, "Why did Jesus need to be baptized?"
There are only 2 conclusions that I can draw. 1) Jesus wasn't really sinless or 2) he did it only to show us what needs to be done. Conclusion 1 is pretty quickly ousted because while he is human he is also God and God can't sin. So he must have been baptized as an example to us. I've never believed that you have to be baptized to be saved, but after watching that on 'Lost' and reading Mark 1 (here's a great example of God using his timing in weird way) I have a whole new appreciation for baptism and its symbolism.
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Mark 1
Feb 10, 2007 12:41:10 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Feb 10, 2007 12:41:10 GMT -8
1/27/06:
Jesus' Youth
Reading Anne Rice's Christ the Lord has been helpful to me. Of course it's fiction, but she takes the stance that Jesus' identity as God in the Flesh is something that slowly dawns on Him as He grows physically in every other way: "in knowlegde and stature" as the Scripture says.
I find this view much more powerful than my previously held notion that He was always fully aware of His divinity, which leads to all sorts of strange conclusions which call into question His humanity: one who really holds this must envision a child Jesus who can't really have a real childhood, I think.
Jesus had to learn the Torah, learn to read for that matter. He had to learn to walk. A 7 year old brain can only understand so much, but at every point, Jesus walked sinlessly and was as aware as any child could be developmentally.
I don't know if that's controversial to any of you, but I find it quite helpful in defending the idea that Jesus was both 100% God and 100% Man.
Baptism
Indeed, John's reaction to Jesus wanting to be baptized in Matthew 3, shows us that John himself thought it was odd. Why baptize the sinless Messiah?
Jesus identifying with the penitent people of Israel, gave credit to John's ministry, and consecrated Himself to His formal ministry through baptism, which, as you've said, serves as a mighty example to us.
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Mark 1
Dec 20, 2009 11:25:57 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Dec 20, 2009 11:25:57 GMT -8
The Elders recently met and decided that we'll be starting a study on the book of Mark that will last from the middle of January to Easter, so if you want to get a head start, this is the first reading. We'd love to hear your thoughts/ comments/ questions and interact with each other online as we go through this gospel.
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Mark 1
Dec 26, 2009 23:56:01 GMT -8
Post by michelle on Dec 26, 2009 23:56:01 GMT -8
Woah, wait. Did I really write that first post? Granted, it was from 3 years ago, but I have absolutely no recollection of having those thoughts. The Elders recently met and decided that we'll be starting a study on the book of Mark that will last from the middle of January to Easter, so if you want to get a head start, this is the first reading. We'd love to hear your thoughts/ comments/ questions and interact with each other online as we go through this gospel. Sweet, I just finished that book so I'm going to beat everybody at this game. JUST KIDDING!!! P.S. Josh, I just noticed that you have some lyrics from a song from No Line on the Horizon. Me too. I promise I wasn't trying to copy you.
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Mark 1
Jan 10, 2010 18:04:59 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Jan 10, 2010 18:04:59 GMT -8
Mark 1:12-13 (New International Version)
At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
I wonder if satan came to Jesus in the form of a snake, or a lion perhaps?
Mark 1:23-24 (New International Version) Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
Some say that the Synoptics gospels (Matt, Mark, Luke) don't emphasize Jesus' deity or give him lofty titles early on like the book of John does. This, in my mind, is a stark exception to that general observation.
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Mark 1
Jan 11, 2010 13:19:58 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Jan 11, 2010 13:19:58 GMT -8
Reading the early church commentaries on Mark 1, it was a very important question to them just what John's "baptism of repentance" was. Did it grant forgiveness or prepare people to receive the redemption and forgiveness to come through Christ? They were unanimous in the latter assumption.
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Mark 1
Jan 16, 2010 12:19:34 GMT -8
Post by michelle on Jan 16, 2010 12:19:34 GMT -8
10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.
A couple of things about this passage. Did others see and hear this? If not, I wonder if this was something Jesus shared only with His disciples?
I think the words "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" might be some of my favorite from the Bible. It makes me think about God set us up to be as humans. I don't know that I've ever met a person that doesn't desire to hear words like these from their earthly father. I don't know what it is about getting approval from our fathers. I don't feel like it's the same for our mothers. Maybe it's because of the biology of knowing that our mothers carried us and "have to" love us in a way that is different from anyone else. But from our fathers, we need a little more. And Jesus got this from His Father. When I think about it I wonder, is this something Jesus needed from God? Did He need approval too? Is that part of His being human?
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Mark 1
Jan 16, 2010 12:46:34 GMT -8
Post by carebear on Jan 16, 2010 12:46:34 GMT -8
In reference to Michelle's questions: did it also show the deep love they had for one another, that he just couldn't help but say it
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Mark 1
Jan 16, 2010 17:32:46 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Jan 16, 2010 17:32:46 GMT -8
It seems like either someone else heard it (at least John) or Jesus told his disciples this happened.
Interestingly, the same thing (with the Father expressing his approval) happens at the Transfiguration later, and Peter, James, and John do hear it.
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