Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Jesus's Ministry Begins - Mark 1: 21-45

     The beginning of the Gospel of Mark is a whirlwind - Jesus is moving fast. In college, I had to translate part of the Gospel of Mark for Greek class. Guess what one of the words that occurred the most was? Kai - translation 'and'. Mark just zips through one event, connecting it with 'and' in order to show the pace that Jesus is moving at. 

    In Mark 1: 21-45, Jesus heals three distinct individuals and the crowds of people who come to him. Even when tries to get time away to pray, one of his disciples hunts him down to try to get him to go back and heal more people who are waiting. 

    But Jesus didn't just come to heal in Mark. He also came to teach about the Kingdom of God. 

    Which leads me to wonder, as Jesus's disciples do we often have our eye on the healing more than the teaching? In other words, do we get so caught up in the action of being Jesus's disciples that we miss the time to sit and reflect on what he is trying to teach us? And what would it mean for us today if we seriously considered the teachings of Jesus?

    Jesus isn't done healing. He isn't done teaching. He is unleashing us out into the world with this powerful Kingdom message. But we also still need to reflect on his teachings here and now today. For they transformed lives long ago and still transform lives today. 

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