The New Testament
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Devotional
Weekly Bible Devotion By Books
Oct. 9-14, 2023
Enter the presence of the Lord-
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” (Isaiah 42:1-4)
Confession
God, Revealer of the Gospel, thank you that you make good news easy to understand and easy to comprehend. In our information age, we are given all info from all around us daily. We are stressed out! All in our lives need is the simple and everlasting good news. It does not change by time, by context. Sorry that we find our life ‘s satisfaction everywhere beside you. We confess that we need to return to you. Let your son Jesus us simplify our life complexity. We need you. Amen!
Scripture Reading
Mark 1: 1 …the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; …
1:16-18 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.
1:21, 29-32, 35 21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught…29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. 32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils…35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
6:2-3 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
8: 29-31 And he saith unto them, But, whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. 31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
14: 61b-62, 15:2 14:61b Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” … 15:2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
15: 33-39 33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). … 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
16: 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
Isaiah 53: 3-5 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Thoughts to Share The Gospel of Jesus Christ
As Mark 1:1 announced, the gospel belongs to Jesus Christ and Jesus is the Son of God. Apart from Jesus, there is no Gospel. In Mark, we see the Gospel through the snapshot of Jesus’ service years.
Mark quickly established that this gospel was rooted in Judea land and in ancient Jewish sacred text. The Baptist John quickly pointed to the one to come would be more powerful and the Holy Spirit confirmed that Jesus was the beloved son of the God. Then Mark quickly led us to see the Gospel in words and in action through the person of this Jesus Christ. The Gospel has a working power and authority. The Gospel has a message. The Gospel is embedded in the person of Jesus. Jesus is that gospel. The Gospel is from God himself.
Therefore, we see that Simon, Andrew, Matthew responded to his call right away. Jesus drove the evil out from an attendee in the meeting. He healed the sick one after another. He forgave the sins. He redefined the rules of Sabbath Day and the family relationship. He taught the tiny and gentle transforming power of the Gospel. He demonstrated the calming power over the sea and storms. He fed the hungry and taught the life wisdom for those less fortunate in society. He well understood people’s thirst for peace, wellness, and wholeness in existence. He did so with compassion and pity affection. He answered the questions about commandments, eternal life, divorce, resurrection from the death, the end of time. He foretold that a time of new days was coming- the Gospel which rooted in the ancient Jewish scrolls would take another path different from the Judaism of that day. And, a new Passover would do deeper and more effective saving work for the people who followed the Gospel.
Yet, Jesus caused people ask: who is this Jesus? Where did he get his power? Jesus’ disciples, crowds, and religious leaders puzzled and questioned him. In their souls, they probably knew that this Jesus could be the coming Christ. But in their flesh, they were not ready to confess it yet. Some wondered if this person would bring some types of revolution upsetting existing order. Ironically, the evil spirits and the Gentiles quickly recognized who he was. But Jesus only told those who experienced the working power of the Gospel not to tell others. He showed that he had more important works to do. The fame, popularity, and power were not in his mind.
Jesus knew that a time would come when he would announce who he was and what he did. At the religious court on that Thursday night and Friday early morning, he confirmed that he was Son of God the Christ and the Son of Man coming again. At the civic court on that Friday morning, he confessed that he was the King of the Jews. His brief and clear confirmation unlocked the mystery of who he was. Moreover, he made it clear on all about the Christ in the Old Testament. Jesus was the King, the Christ, the Son of Man in the prophets. A new era which has been long hoped was about to come soon.
In one occasion, Jesus said about his life purpose. He came to serve, not to be served. As a servant of God on the earth, Jesus called himself as Son of Man. He was a human being. He was also the one with authority and sovereign power by prophet Daniel. His most important service was on his own crucifixion, death on the cross and resurrection by God he Father himself, as he told his disciples again and again. He made the suffering servant in Isaiah clear and alive before them. A centurion recognized that this very man Jesus was truly the Son of God. Mark told us that “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” right after Jesus gave his last breath. Jesus’s death on the cross has made the way for our humans to access God directly.
Jesus’ service did not end at the cross. God raised him to demonstrate the power of God over the power of sins and death. In all disbelief, fear and doubt, the resurrected Jesus continued to give a mission call with promises to his disciples. Then he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God. From there, he continued to watch, supervise, direct, empower, and bless the mission he entrusted: go and tell the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God.
Many biblical scholars thought that the Gospel of Mark was written much later when the Christians faced doubt, question, and disbelief on their faith in Jesus Christ. Imagine, at that kind of atmosphere, what would you do? Silent? Hidden? Confronted? Mark discerned the need for the time. He courageously stood out to clarify the confusions in people’s mind. He did so humbly and assertively. He simply and quickly answered the most important question: Who is Jesus? He retold Jesus’ words and deeds. He led the Christians then to see: “who Jesus is” was an old question in Jesus’ own lifetime ministry journey. Jesus had answers for all those questions.
Since Mark’s time, the questions such as Who is Jesus? What is the Gospel? What does the Gospel do? How does it do? Is the Gospel going to threaten any existing powers? Will the Gospel continue in different time periods and at geographical areas? Being the disciples who are given the same Great Commission, are we prepared to answer those questions? We can learn from Mark to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Prayer Suggestions
O, Lord, by your word, we know that Jesus is the Son of God. And this Jesus came to us as Son of Man. He died for us on the cross so that he made a way for us to return to you. Jesus, thank you that we do not need to invent gods according to our imaginations anymore. Lord, praise you for what you have done for us. Help us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God in our post-Christian cultures with courage and understanding. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!
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