Think about it. Here is a man going to worship in the synagogue. But his life is bound by a dark power that lurks within him, and coming to the synagogue hasn’t changed that.

This still happens today: A man goes to church, and his life is in the grip of a dark power that he cannot overcome. He has heard the teaching. He has sung the songs. But his life has never changed, because there’s a compulsion within him that’s too strong for him to overcome.

But when Jesus went to Capernaum something extraordinary happened. He confronted the dark power that was holding this man: “Come out of him” (1:25). Mark tells us that the evil spirit “came out” (1:26). The people were astonished. Nothing like this had ever happened in their synagogue: “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (1:27).

Many people who heard Jesus speak never followed Him. The rich young ruler would be an example. But in the Gospels, when Jesus calls someone directly, they always respond. When Jesus rebukes a dark power directly, it moves.

You won't find an occasion in the Gospels where Jesus gives a command or rebukes a demon and then He is frustrated. The disciples faced this frustration, but not Jesus. You never read in the Gospels that Jesus tried to heal someone, but it didn’t work. Why? What Jesus determines gets done. What He decrees gets accomplished. When God says, “Let there be light,” there is light. And Jesus is everything that God is in the flesh.

What's your level of confidence in the authority of Jesus?

Here are two brothers running a small fishing business - ordinary people with ordinary lives, and Jesus spoke to them: "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men” (1:17). That’s an amazing promise! Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make something of your life.”

Notice the order: Jesus didn’t say, “Make something of your life and then you can follow me.” He said, “Follow me and I will make something of your life.” That’s the promise of Jesus to ordinary people everywhere: Follow me, and I will make something of your life.

Notice what happened when Jesus spoke: “Immediately they left their nets and followed him” (1:18). When Jesus speaks, ordinary people follow Him!

So, now there were three men walking on the beach: Jesus, Simon, and Andrew. They walked a little further, and Jesus saw another pair of brothers who also had a fishing business; James and John, the sons of Zebedee. These guys were the local competition. If you lived on this side of Galilee, you got your fish either from the Simon Brothers or from the Zebedees.

The Zebedees weren’t doing as well as the Simon Brothers. Simon and Andrew were casting their nets, while the Zebedees were still getting their nets prepared. Jesus called them too! And Mark tells us, “They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him” (1:20). When Jesus speaks, ordinary people follow Him.

What 1 or 2 expectations would you associate with Jesus’ call to follow Him?

News about Jesus spread, and the crowds gathered: “That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons” (1:32-34).

Notice, a large crowd had gathered around the house of Simon and Andrew, where Jesus was staying, and “very early in the morning” (1:35) Jesus slipped out of the house. Why?

Picture the scene: As the sun comes up, the crowds are banging on the door, looking for Jesus. Simon and Andrew are embarrassed; they don’t know where He is. Eventually they find Him: "Everyone is looking for you" (1:37).

Notice the priority of Jesus: “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out” (1:38). Why would you want to go somewhere else when there’s a large crowd right here looking for you? “Because I came to preach.”

Let’s pause to learn from the example of Jesus. Anyone who gets involved in ministry will quickly find themselves surrounded by great need, and they’ll say, “How can I meet all these needs?” You can’t.

You cannot meet all the needs of your children, your parents, your neighbours, and your friends. You cannot carry the burden of all the people who cross your path. Only God can do that. That’s why we trust God to work through His Word.

When was the last time you said (or thought) to yourself, “How can I meet all these needs?”

This is an amazing promise—that God’s presence, God’s power, and God’s own Spirit should come into your life. Maybe you find yourself thinking, “How could the Holy Spirit of God come into the life of a person like me?” Answer: Because you are forgiven. You’re in Christ!

The good news of the gospel is much more than repentance and forgiveness. Jesus will give you the Spirit— God’s power and God’s presence, poured out into your life, making you a new man, a new woman, and giving you new birth, new life, new power, new peace, and new joy.

All of this is found "in Christ." When you find Christ, you will find repentance in Him. When you find repentance, you will find forgiveness through Him. When you find forgiveness, you will receive the Holy Spirit from Him. These things are all found together in Christ.

What we have here are the marks of a true Christian. Ask yourself, “Are these things true of me?” If you are a true Christian, you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, you know that you are a sinner and you repent of your sins, you know that you are forgiven and washed by the blood of Christ, and you know that the Holy Spirit lives in you.

All these things are found in Christ. If you are in Christ, these things are true of you. If these things are not true of you, then you need to come to Christ and you will find them in Him.

Are these four marks true of you?

When you come near to Jesus, He will show you your need, but He won’t leave you in despair. He will show you your need, so that in Him you will find forgiveness. This is the reason He came into the world.

Baptism is a wonderful picture of what happens to you when you come near to Jesus Christ. When you come to Him in faith, you become aware of your own sinfulness, you see that you are a sinner, and Jesus Christ washes you. The Son of God forgives you, and if the Son of God forgives you, who’s going to condemn you? You are forgiven. You are washed. You are clean!

Baptism is a wonderful sealing of this. Baptism is a wonderful way of you saying to God, “I am a sinner who needs to be washed. I need to be forgiven. I see so much that is wrong in my life, and I need you to put it right.” And in baptism Jesus Christ says to you, “I am the Saviour who forgives you. I am the Saviour who washes you.”

Never forget that it is the Son of God who washes you. Forgiveness isn’t just a matter of saying a quick prayer. It’s coming to the realisation that you need to change and realising that that change is only possible through Jesus Christ.

Are you struggling to find forgiveness? Does it seem far away from you? Where are you hoping to find it?

What if you knew you were going to meet with God? It’s true, you know. You are going to meet with God. You will see Him. You will stand before Him, and you will have to give an account of your life to Him.

Some people would say, “I’m going to meet God? Great! I’ve got some questions for Him.” Or, “Great, I could use some help.” Other people might yawn and say, “So what? Who cares?” That’s not what these people did: “All the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to [John] and were being baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (1:5).

John said, “You are going to meet with God,” and these people responded by confessing their sins. Why did they do that? Because they knew enough about God to realise that if they were going to meet Him, they had better get ready. So, they came in droves. What about you? Would you have gone out with them?

The gospel is about Jesus Christ and in Him you will find repentance. The first sign of knowing God is that you become much more aware of your own sinfulness. When you come near to God’s Son, you see that you’ve fallen short. You feel that you need to change. Your pride starts falling away and you begin to say, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Which of these responses is closest to your own? 1. “Lord, have mercy on me.” 2. “Lord, why did this happen to me?” 3. “Lord, help!” or 4. Other.

What is the gospel? Here is the simple answer that Mark gives us: The gospel is about Jesus Christ, in whom we find repentance, forgiveness, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The first thing to notice is that Jesus is the teacher, but He is also the message. Jesus Christ is the announcer of the good news, but He Himself is the good news that is announced.

This makes Jesus different from every other prophet. A prophet has a message, but he does not fulfil it himself. A prophet always points away from himself to someone else who will fulfil it. Jesus is more than a prophet because He points, not away from Himself, but to Himself.

In our journey through Mark’s gospel, we will learn many things. But more than that, we will get to know a person—Jesus Christ. That’s why the resurrection is central to Christianity: You can learn about a figure of history, but you cannot know him or her directly. But if a person is living, then you can know him, speak to him, love him, and enjoy him.

So, when you read Mark’s gospel, you won’t just be saying, “What a fascinating person Jesus was.” No. You will say, “This Jesus I am reading about is the Son of God who, right now, sits at the right hand of the Father. And I can come to Him!”.

When you think about your own approach to Jesus, does it look more like how you'd approach a historical figure or a living person?

Someone might read Mark’s words and say, “Well, the confession that Jesus is the Son of God is just one man’s opinion…” Is it?

It’s the unanimous confession of the New Testament

“These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and Peter all say the same thing—check it out!

It's the confession of heaven

As Jesus was being baptised, “A voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” (Mark 1:11). Maybe you think it would be easier to believe if you heard a voice from heaven. Well, there was a voice from heaven!

It's the confession of hell

“Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God’” (Mark 3:11). People on earth may have had problems figuring out who Jesus was, but they knew who He was in hell.

It's Jesus' own confession

After Jesus was arrested, the High Priest asked Him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus said, “I am…” (Mark 14:61-62). Jesus’ answer could not have been clearer.

It's the confession of those who believe

“When the centurion… saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:39).

If you confess that Jesus is the Son of God, you are agreeing with the unanimous witness of the New Testament, the one thing on which heaven and hell agree, the testimony of Jesus about Himself, and you’re identifying yourself with the faith of every true Christian.

So, what do you say?