In Mark 1:10-13 we are reminded of the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was a 100% human being like all other human beings.  He was totally without power within Himself to resist Satan and to do the miraculous works He did during the 3 1/2 years of His earth-bound ministry.  Verse 10 tells us that He had to have the Holy Spirit abiding within Him in order to do what He was commissioned to do.  Prior to the moment when the Spirit descended upon Him, He had done nothing miraculous.  His statement: “I can of my own self do nothing,” adding that He did only what He saw the Father do and said only what the Father said to Him, proves that He was totally human and that He was totally dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit.  His statement that man(kind) must live by “every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mat. 4:4) applies to all who would join the Father in the Kingdom of God.  As He noted time and again, this rule included Jesus Himself.

As an aside, Jesus is STILL A MAN as He sits on His throne in heaven at this time (I Tim. 2:5).  In that we are joint (equal) heirs with Him (Rom. 8:17), what does that say about His true saints in the hereafter?  Read Jesus of Nazareth: God, Man or God-man?  Key word–God-man.  Read God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe.  Key Word–Caretakers.

In verse 11 we find God saying to Jesus that He was His beloved Son, and that He (God) was very pleased with Him.  The Word (a God–Jn. 1:1-4,14) became God’s Son when He was conceived by a woman.  What does this say about those who will inherit the earth and the universe in the next life.  Does the fact that God was pleased with Him have any bearing on His spiritual brethren who would be joint heirs with Him?  Question A: Does God require less from Jesus’ joint heirs (His sons) than He required of Jesus Himself–His Son?  Question B: Must God be well pleased with the joint heirs in order for them to join the main heir in His kingdom?  First John 2:6 and Revelation 3:21 proclaim the answers to be “No” for A and “Yes” for B.

In verses 12,13 we learn what the man Jesus went through in order to steel Himself against what he would be facing over the next few years.  Satan attacked Him in every way he could,  but to no avail for Jesus had the power of the Holy Spirit within Him.  As Jesus promised in  Acts 1:8 and Luke 10:19: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be My witnesses ….”  “Behold, I give you (Holy Spirit) power over all the power of the enemy.”  That same power has worked within true saints ever since.  Satan attacks them just as he did Jesus.  For the Very Elect, life is a constant battle with the forces of evil–Satan and his fallen angels which the Bible calls “devils,” known commonly as “demons.”  And just as did Jesus in the wilderness and afterward, God’s holy ones have angels who minister to and through them in their struggle against the forces of evil, giving them them victory.  “Victory in Jesus” means having power over sin, not power to sin and get away with it as Satan’s false prophets proclaim continuously.

In verses 14,15 we find Jesus traveling throughout Galilee, “preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”  Note that He did not preach a gospel about Himself, but rather about the Kingdom of God and how to enter it.  Verse 15 addresses the “how” question.  Jesus told the people to “… repent and believe THE Gospel.”  To what Gospel was He referring?  The answer is found in Galatians 3:8 where the Apostle Paul declares that the Scripture (the Word who became Jesus of Nazareth) preached THE Gospel to Abraham.  Note that, relative to THE Gospel, it is always presented as a singular entity.  Catholics have their gospel; Protestants have hundreds of gospels.  All such perverted gospels (Gal. 1:6-9) are abominations to the Lord.  In that denominational doctrines exist they proclaim that the Lord’s Holy Gospel (Truth/Law) was “nailed to the cross,” destroyed and meaningless.  In denying His Word, Catholics and Protestants DESPISE BOTH CHRIST AND HIS FATHER (Lk. 10:16).  So says Jesus Christ.

When Jesus commanded people to repent He meant for them to repent of breaking (transgressing) the Law–the Biblical definition of sin (1 Jn. 3:4).  He then commanded them to believe (to have faith in) the gospel, meaning to take God at His Word.  The Apostle James reminds us that believing the Gospel (having faith) is not enough.  We must OBEY that Gospel, meaning to do WORKS of obedience.  Why? Because believing (having faith in) the Gospel (Bible/Truth) and not strictly obeying it demonstrates that one has dead faith (Jam. 2:10,14,17,18,20,24,26).  Satan has great faith.  He not only knows the Scriptures, he knows they are true.  His problem is that he does not obey that in which he has faith.  Sinners saved by grace are in the same spiritual condition as Satan.

In terms of hearing God’s call and following Him we must have the same attitude as had the first disciples.  As Mark 1:16-18 tell us, when Jesus called they left what they were doing and followed.  This is the example for those who have been called to His ministry.  For the other 99.99% of those He calls, they are to obey the teachings and follow the examples set by His ministers who lead them according to the Word of God.  This is the role they play which, if done according to God’s Word, will result in holiness which, if continued until the end of their lives, will result in salvation upon the return of Jesus Christ (Mat. 10:22/ Rom. 5:21; 6:22).  The vast majority of those who claim to have been “called to the ministry” were not called by God.  Those who have been called by God were sidetracked by the church they were in when His call came.  Read Bait and Switch and All That Glitters.  Key words–Switch and Glitters respectively.      L.J.