Inductive Study Instructions
Inductive Bible study is an approach to God’s Word focusing on three basic steps that move from a focus on specific details to a more general, universal principle. Through these three steps, we apply inductive reasoning, which is defined as the attempt to use information about a specific situation to draw a conclusion. The steps are observation (what does it say?), interpretation (what does it mean?), and application (what does it mean for my life?). Inductive Bible study is a valuable tool in understanding and applying the principles of God’s Word. In an inductive study everyone participates. We will be working through as much of a chapter of Marks Gospel each week, taking turns to do the following:
- Read a section of scripture, then summarise in your own words (What does it say).
- Read the related Companion material below, then summarise one point in your own words (what does it mean)
- What does it mean for your life.
Following the study their is a short online quiz to test yourself in small group discussion.
The Gospel of Mark – Chapter 1
Reader 1 – Mark 1:1 Prologue
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
This is the shortest of prologues to introduce Mark’s gospel (good news), but it contains very important information about the subject of his attention. “The beginning of the gospel” has become an important phrase in the current discussion of “What is the gospel?” For too long, the colloquial definition of the gospel has been limited to a pronouncement that people should simply “believe in Jesus” and be saved. Whether this is developed through illustrations and stories by an evangelist or set out simply in a tract, the importance has always been the same: to have people respond to the presentation of and put their faith in Jesus. More able, perhaps more honest, communicators also explain how the death of Jesus paid the penalty for all mankind’s sin. Others would add that before a person puts their trust in Jesus they should repent from their sin, leading to some vivid and emotional preaching.
Now while all this teaching is true, is it the best definition of the gospel? From Mark’s use, here, it would seem that he had quite a different meaning. Mark’s good news concerns the total ministry and identity of Jesus. This is good news because Jesus was not just another Jewish man with a human family tree; rather he was a man who was powerfully anointed of God, a man who was from God, and a man who was the promised and anticipated Messiah (Christ) sent by Israel’s God (Yahweh). So the ancients were correct: The total life story of Jesus as recorded by Mark is the gospel. This means whenever anyone talks about or writes about Jesus in a positive manner, they are declaring the gospel.
In this prologue Mark identified Jesus as the Christ – the Greek word for the Jewish Messiah. But the first clear pronouncement of this title came from the lips of Peter half way through the gospel (Mark 8:29). The identity of Jesus as Messiah fulfils the plan of God that he revealed 100s of years earlier to the Old Testament prophets. There is much that should be said about this important title and function within Judaism, and any time taken to study this will benefit the student greatly.
This prologue also gves the title, Son of God to the man Jesus. It seems to be a genuine inclusion by Mark. It is interesting to note the development of this title in the gospel. In the opening chapter the voice from heaven declares, “You are my Son” (Mk 1:11). The first miraculous encounter by Jesus was with a demon who declared, “I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” (Mk 1:24). Then, immediately before Jesus set out from the most northerly town of Israel at Caesarea Philippi to proceed towards Jerusalem, he had an encounter on the Mount of Transfiguration where, again, the voice from heaven declared, “This is my Son.” (Mk 9:7). Finally, the gospel concludes with the Gentile Roman centurion declaring at Jesus’ crucifixion, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mk 15: 39).
So now we are ready to begin the story of Jesus; but first there needs to be an appropriate introduction, much like you would expect a chairman of a business meeting to introduce a special guest speaker.
Reader 2 – Mark 1: 2-6 Introduction of John the Baptist
Because Jews and God-fearing gentiles were familiar with and had high regard for the prophet Isaiah, Mark commences with a messianic quote from Isaiah:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way” —
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’” Mark 1: 2 – 3
In fact, these are two separate prophetic quotes: one from Malachi 3:1 and one from Isaiah 40:3. This doesn’t mean that Mark got it wrong; rather, it was not necessary to be pedantic. For the emphasis is not upon the name of the human messenger but upon the words as revealed by God many centuries earlier. God had clearly informed the Israelites there would be a future Messiah sent to redeem Israel, and prior to his coming there would be a special messenger (prophet) who would announce the Messiah’s imminent arrival.
John’s task was two-fold: to prepare people for the arrival of the Messiah and to introduce the Messiah to the people. The preparation of the citizens of Israel was to remind them of the consequences of their sins and that they should respond to God by repenting and entering the waters of baptism. We learn from the other gospels that John was especially anointed by the Holy Spirt for this ministry. Thus, the results of his ministry went far and wide; from Galilee to Jerusalem, from the poor to the wealthy, from Jew to gentile Romanm and even to other Roman provinces. (see Acts 18:25.)
John’s lifestyle set him apart from other men. He did not appear as a regular rabbi. His choice to live in the wilderness and to dress in garments made of camel skin, gave him a mystic Old Testament appearance that excited attention from the whole population. It leant gravitas to his message.
Reader 3 – Mark 1: 7—11 Introduction of Jesus of Nazareth
John’s other task was to introduce Jesus as the messiah.
The introduction of Jesus to the world had three components. Firstly, there was John’s announcement. Secondly, there was the physical appearing. And, thirdly, there was God’s personal introduction of his Son.
John’s message announcing the coming one was described with three statements. This coming one is more powerful than me. He is more worthy than me. And he will baptise with the Holy Spirit.
This is an admission by John whereby he recognised he had a special and anointed calling that demonstrated a significant spiritual power. But the one coming would have a much greater spiritual power. The one coming would be more holy and more anointed than John. So when John compared himself and his ministry with that of the coming one, he was nothing! Not even worthy to be a slave. And, finally, this one who is coming would minister in the realm of the Holy Spirit. “I preach about the need to repent”, says John; “but he will talk about the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
The second component of this introduction of Jesus was the physical appearing at the preaching site of John. While in the crowd listening to John, Jesus was not known; but as soon as he joined those headed towards the river for baptism, he revealed himself. It was as if he drew aside the curtain and stepped onto the stage of history.
This event led to the third component in the introduction of Jesus: the very presence of God. An impossible physical manifestation of what was spiritual that became visible! Heaven, itself, broke into human history. God himself declared that this man, Jesus, was his very own beloved son. An unprecedented revelation. Nowhere in all human history had such a revelation of divine sonship ever occurred.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
Reader 4 – Mark 1:12 – 13 The Temptation of Satan
Mark deliberately juxtaposes the extraordinary divine revelation of the special relationship Jesus had with God, with the barren wilderness and Satan.
This is a startling picture of the Apostle Paul’s statement in Philippians 2 where Paul writes, “Christ Jesus being in the very form of God . . . made himself nothing and became obedient to death.” The deity and humanity of Jesus is clearly shown and understood by Mark.
In the wilderness Jesus experienced the challenge of frail humanity. Such human weariness, from living in a desolate and lonely location, made Jesus susceptible to the temptations of the flesh and to the suggestions of Satan to gratify those human weaknesses. Mark does not give the details of the wrestle Jesus had with Satan in the wilderness. He is content simply to mention that Jesus experienced a confrontation with Satan and the implied victory over Satan is testified by the angels ministering to him. That is, even though Jesus was alone in the wilderness being exposed to the wiles of Satan, he was never truly alone—for the spiritual realm of the heavenlies was still watching over Jesus and ministering to him. In this brief statement Mark was giving his readers the understanding that no matter how barren or painful their circumstances were, the reality of the spiritual realm of God was to be relied upon to overcome all temptations of the flesh.
Reader 5 – Mark 1: 14-15 Summary of Jesus Ministry
We know from the other gospels that Jesus began his public ministry before John was imprisoned. So Mark, in his abbreviated version of the life and ministry of Jesus, began his account of Jesus with a clean break from John the Baptist’s ministry. As John was well known among the Jewish diaspora, it was necessary to sequence the ministries. To bring one to an end and begin another in such a way that the new ministry of Jesus was continuous with John’s.
This summary statement identified three components of the gospel (good news) of God. The most significant was that the Kingdom of God was near or at hand. It was now time for the Kingdom to be revealed, and John’s preparation teaching— for people to see and understand the Kingdom— was exactly right. His message was: “People you need to change your views of the Kingdom and your lifestyle conduct, and instead believe this good news from God!
Reader 6 – Mark 1: 16-20 The First Disciples
The first four disciples called by Jesus are two sets of brothers: Simon and Andrew, and James and John. The first of these was Simon (aka Peter). As Mark was writing what was essentially Peter’s spoken witness of Jesus, it is quite conceivable that Peter would refer to himself at the beginning to establish his credentials as an apostle of Jesus. Now at this early stage of the narrative, the four are not yet apostles. They are simply called to follow Jesus. Anyone who continued with Jesus, learning from and ministering to him in practical ways, would be recognised as a disciple.
A disciple was someone who was a student of a rabbi. It was a voluntary position whereby an adult would attach himself to a religious teacher (rabbi) to learn what that teacher taught. The length of stay by a student was arbitrary. If the rabbi travelled a lot, the student would accompany him. The student would also contribute financially or practically to the needs of the rabbi.
The phrase “I will make you fishers of men” shows the training of men to become apostles was very definitely part of Jesus’ ministry plan.
The response “they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men” may indicated that Zebedee ran a family business that was larger and possibly more prosperous that Simon and Andrew’s.
Reader 7 – Mark 1: 21 – 39 Kingdom of God
I’ve linked verses 21 to 39 together in this heading. It contains the incidents of Jesus teaching in the Synagogue, his healing of Peter’s mother in law, a general statement of his teaching and healing ministry, and finally his desire for personal prayer.
The desire of Jesus to bring a corrective to Jewish minds concerning the Kingdom of God required him to both teach and demonstrate the Kingdom. The verbal component is seen in the synagogue in Capernaum where Mark wrote in verse 21 … “Jesus…began to teach.” And again in verse 27 where the crowd said in amazement “What is this? A new teaching?” Later in verse 38 Jesus said, “So I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he went throughout Galilee preaching in their synagogues. At this early stage in the development of the Gospel narrative, Mark has not giving us the substance of what Jesus preached. But given Mark’s initial summary statement in verse 15, we can be confident Jesus spoke on the topic of the Kingdom of God.
But this new teaching of the Kingdom also needed to be demonstrated. It was this demonstration through healings and deliverances that really got the crowd’s attention. It also sparked an urgent desire within the extended community to take all their sick family and friends to Jesus to be healed because these miracles were a new kind of teaching: Kingdom teaching.
Reader 8 – Mark 1: 21 – 28 Unclean Spirit in Capernaum.
The first miracle recounted by Mark is the dramatic encounter with an unclean spirit in a place of worship: the synagogue in the fishing village of Capernaum.
Capernaum – At the time of Jesus it was home to about 1500 people. It had become, over the previous two centuries, an important fishing village and trading centre. It was situated on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was an important stop on the main trade route between Damascus and Egypt. Although Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and brought up in Nazareth, it seems he centred his Galilean ministry on Capernaum.
Sabbath – The seventh day of the Jewish week. A day of rest when no trading of any kind was permitted. The word came from the Hebrew, meaning to rest from labour. Devout Jews always attended Jewish meetings in the synagogue every Sabbath. The Jewish leadership had legislated many rules for how citizens should conduct themselves on this day. These rules applied to personal, domestic, and business life. While the rules were based on those revealed by God to Moses 1400 years earlier, they had over time taken on an extension that became quite draconian. These were known as the Traditions of the Elders.
The Sabbath became the basis for Christian weekly devotions. Every seventh day Christians have traditionally rested from their employment and often ceased from many other normal daily activities. Church history is filled with various permutations of how Christians or Christian communities have conducted themselves on this day.
Synagogue – A coming together, a place of meeting for religious services. The Sabbath meeting included the singing of hymns as well as readings from the Torah, the Psalms and the Prophets. Someone was appointed as the leader of the synagogue to look after the building and conducted the meetings. Visiting rabbis (teachers) were invited to address the attendees. The synagogue building and worship practice became the basis of Christian buildings and worship.
Even before any miracle had been performed by Jesus, when people heard him teach, they were immediately amazed. Previously, their teachers taught their own particular views of the Jewish religion based upon their understanding of the Scriptures or they recounted the traditions of the established rabbis. Jesus was different. When he spoke, he didn’t reference any prior writing or teacher but spoke as the one who initiated the Word of God. He spoke with the authority of one who personally knew the God of all creation. He knew the reality of the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God.
This heavenly authority was immediately recognised by an unclean spirit which caused it to cry out in fear! It shrieked two facts: its future annihilation and the spiritual identity of Jesus. The unclean spirit knew it lived in opposition to the goodness of God’s creation and dwelt outside the spiritual Kingdom of God. It, therefore, knew it was eternally scheduled for destruction. It also knew the reality of the spiritual realm from which Jesus came and the place Jesus had in that realm, described here as “the Holy One of God,” which is an appropriate descriptor for the Son of God.
Proof of the place Jesus had in the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God came in the authority he had in commanding the immediate behaviour of the unclean spirit: It was silenced and it had to flee from the affected man.
Such was the authority Jesus demonstrated in this initial public appearance in the synagogue of Capernaum, people gossiped their amazement. And crowds flocked to him with their sick friends and family.
Reader 9 – Mark 1: 29 – 31 Simon’s Mother-In-Law Healed
Quite possibly this incident really impacted Simon because of his personal involvement. It was, therefore, frequently retold in his apostolic ministry. It was still the Sabbath and Jesus went to the house of Andrew and Simon. It is assumed the house is in Capernaum, and they go for refreshment and rest. Simon’s mother-in-law was there and she was ill. They tell Jesus. He initiated her healing. I imagine Simon never forgot that personal miracle.
Reader 10 – Mark 1:32 – 34 Many Are Healed
The Sabbath restrictions are over. Night has fallen. People are free to move around and go about their usual business. Gossip spread through the town during the afternoon, and now they can bring their sick to see Jesus and to hear him teach some more. It seemed the whole town descended on the house of Andrew and Simon. Mark gives a general statement that Jesus healed many and drove out unclean spirits. The purpose of this inclusion is to, again, show the dominance of the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God over the sin-sick-filled world of humanity. The Kingdom of God is at hand!
Reader 11 – Mark 1:35 – 39 Jesus Prays and Travels
The source of Jesus’ spiritual power over the forces of sin, sickness and unclean spirits came from the special relationship he had with his heavenly Father. Before the world stirred with the dawn, Jesus had already entered a special time of intimacy with his Father. For Jesus, prayer was not about offering a long monologue of requests to his Father, but rather, it was an extended time of joyful fellowship in his Father’s presence.
When his four disciples found him after sunup, he already knew that his peripatetic journey of preaching the Kingdom of God with spiritual power throughout the region of Galilee had begun.
Reader 12 – Mark 1: 40 – 45 Jesus Heals a Leper
Of all the miracles Jesus performed, the details of only a few are recorded by Mark. We need to ask what was so special about this healing of a leprous man that the details were retold again and again in Peter’s apostolic ministry. I think the healing contains five truths that point to the atonement.
Firstly, there is the revelation that Jesus was “filled with compassion.” This showed the heart and motivation of Jesus; it also revealed the compassionate nature of his heavenly Father. Jesus was not just doing a job or filling an office. Rather, he was fulfilling his deepest heartfelt motivation to bring an end to all suffering.
Secondly, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” Jesus showed no fear in the possibility that he might catch the virus. He didn’t shy away. He didn’t draw back. The ugliness of the gross, disfiguring disease didn’t cause Jesus to react as most people would. Jesus entered into the man’s disease and touched, or possible embraced it. He knew all disfiguring diseases were to be embraced by him upon the cross. This act of love indicated that the healing of sickness was available to people through the coming atonement.
Thirdly, Jesus was eager to reverse the ravages of sin that caused mankind to experience disease. He was willing to bring restoration to mankind. In the expression, “I am willing,” is the hint of the will of the Father. Remember, the Apostle John records three times in his gospel that Jesus came to do the will of his Father.
Fourthly, the command, “Be clean,” is not simply a healing statement given to lepers. It has within it the suggestion that cleanliness from sin, or holiness, is a requirement of God. There was always an awareness that fellowship with God required dealing with the stain of sin. The whole sacrificial system implemented by God through Moses was to make obvious to the Jewish worshippers their sin was the cause of their separation from fellowship with God. The tabernacle with all its protocols were a daily reminder of the lengths one needed to go, to overcome the sinful barrier between man and God.
Finally, the command of Jesus for the former leper to go to the priest to show that he was clean, and then, to make the appropriate sacrifice showed the connection between the ministry of Jesus and the Old Testament command of God. What Jesus was doing was new, but it was also a fulfilment of the Mosaic Law.
In the introduction it was noted that one of the themes in Mark’s gospel was that of faith. In this healing of the leprous man, we can see faith at work. The man disregarded established social protocols by coming physically close to Jesus and those within his company. It was likely many of those with Jesus drew back and increased their distance from the man. But not Jesus. This was the leper’s first step of faith. The leper then fell to his knees and implored Jesus to remove the leprosy. The suggestion here is: the leper didn’t simply or casually ask once, but intensely engaged with Jesus. As we will see in future chapters, this intensity of request is a sign of genuine faith.
People often ask, “Why did Jesus give the man a strong warning not to tell anyone?” The answer is straightforward. In this early part of Jesus preaching ministry, he confined himself to towns and villages. He was becoming increasingly popular which restricted his movements. But after this man’s testimony, Jesus could no longer stay in towns and villages to do his preaching. He’d become too popular. He was forced to stay in more remote areas. Now, bearing in mind that Jesus understood this first part of his ministry as primarily one of preaching, the towns and villages is where he wanted to go. To put it another way, he wanted to go to the people. But, as a result of this man’s testimony, the people now had to come to Jesus to be taught.
Quiz on Mark Chapter 1