I’ll not plan to post about every chapter in the New Testament this year. But every now and then there may be something that I truly want to share about what I read. One such instance is in Mark 1:16-18. I can recall many Sunday school lessons on this chapter as the teacher impressed upon us how quickly the disciples dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus. I don’t mean to diminish their quick decision to follow Jesus, it was quick. But perhaps Jesus wasn’t a total stranger to them by the time he called them to be his Disciples.

Read also John 1:29-42.

This passage appears to have happened before the instance we read in Mark today. The day after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Andrew and another disciple, presumably John, heard John the Baptist say as Jesus passed by, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two immediately followed Jesus and spent the day with him. Andrew also hurried to ask Peter to come and meet Jesus. The next day Philip and Nathanael joined the group. I see this as an initial time of getting acquainted, while their “call” as recorded in Mark as well as in the other two Gospels followed this first meeting. This may also be a sign that Jesus gave them time to think it over before choosing his official Twelve Disciples.

There are many other events in this first chapter of Mark that surely deserve more attention than this account. John baptizing Jesus and the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove is one such passage. This was a key point in John’s ministry as well as a moment that initiated Jesus’ ministry. Jesus also goes through his testing in the wilderness as Satan tries to get Jesus to worship him. Jesus also begins his healing ministry in the first chapter of Mark. Be sure to read all of Mark 1 if you are following the “5x5x5 New Testament Bible Reading Plan” by Navigators.

Photo credit: https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/john-baptist-jesus/

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