Hello friends, thank you for joining me in our reading from God's Holy Word. Today we're reading March after 1. In this lesson we learn God fulfills His promise to send us a Savior, His own beloved and eternal Son. Jesus has good news for us today.
Before we read, let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, please give us ears to hear your word and open the eyes of our hearts that we might know the hope we have in Jesus, the Messiah. In His name I pray, Amen. In the start, chapter 1, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to Him and were being baptized by Him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
And he preached, saying, After me comes He who is my dear than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when He came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son with You. I am well pleased. The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan.
And He was with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to Him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God and saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel. Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.
And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee and John, his brother, who were in their boat, mending the nets. And immediately He called to them and they left their father's Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed Him. And they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching.
And they were astonished at His teaching for He taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And He cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are, the holy one of God. But Jesus rebuked Him saying, Be silent and come out of Him. And the unclean spirit convulsing Him and crying out with a loud voice came out of Him. And they were all amazed so that they questioned among themselves saying, What is this?
A new teaching with authority? He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him. And at once His fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. And immediately He left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever and immediately they told Him about her. And He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up and the fever left her. And she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to Him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.
And the whole city was gathering together at the door and He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. And He would not permit the demons to speak because they knew Him. Rising very early in the morning while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place. And there He prayed.
And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. And they found Him and said to Him, Everyone is looking for you. And He said to them, Let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also. For that is why I came out.
And He went throughout all Galilee preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. And a leper came to Him, imploring Him and kneeling said to Him, If you will, you can make me clean. Moved with pity, He stressed out His hand and touched Him and said to Him, I will be clean. And immediately the leper said He left Him and He was made clean.
And Jesus sternly charged Him and sent Him away at once and said to Him, See that you say nothing to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to them. But He went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places and people were coming to Him from every quarter. Amen.
This is God's holy word. Let me invite you to notice just a few things. Mark mentions the gospel, which means news that brings joy. And the news is this, the long-awaited Messiah has come to save us from our sins and miseries.
He is the eternal God who became a human to share our sorrows, to conquer evil, and to give us hope. We aren't fools to trust in Him because none of our problems are too big for Him. He is the King who came with power to call people to follow Him and they did, like Simon and his brother Andrew, like James, the son of Zebedee and his brother John. Jesus, you see, is building a new community of people who follow Him and you can follow Him too.
He also came with power to conquer evil like He did in the wilderness against Satan and then did again for the man with an unclean demonic spirit. No forces of darkness can keep us from being with Jesus forever. He has conquered them all. And Jesus came to be the King with power to conquer disease like He did by healing Peter's mother-in-law, fever, and the many who came to Him who were sick.
He can heal us too. And we should ask Him for that, like the leper who said, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus said, I will. Be clean.
Jesus promises to make us clean from our sins in the eyes of God. And one day from every disease, even death, when He brings us home to heaven. Notice also, God the Father says of Him, you are my beloved Son with you, I am well-pleased. That should be a great comfort to us.
In ourselves, we see many things that displease us or displease others and certainly displease God. But Jesus became the perfectly pleasing one to God and on our behalf so that His perfect life of love and obedience to God can be accounted to us to all who receive Him as their Savior. He makes us pleasing to God. We who trust in Him, so dear friends, put your hopes in Him, He will never disappoint you.
Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you that you love us. Thank you for sending King Jesus. Help us to follow Him.
Please have compassion and pity upon us and heal us and our community and give to us the hope of everlasting life in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening in. I hope you will join me next time.