Bible study week 12: So, what can Jesus do?

In every superhero movie we see them slowly discover the power that they have, we see them start to understand who they now are. When we look at the life of Jesus, its best to try and read it as people who have never heard about him. As we read Mark give yourself permission to discover the new power Jesus is showing because for those reading it and those living it, that is what they were doing.

What you will need

Bible
Pen and Paper

Jesus called us to be followers like himself. Read Mark 1:16-20 and 35-39

What do you think Jesus meant by being fishers of men? Or to fish for people?
Have you ever thought about Jesus having a private prayer life?

In these two sections we see Jesus call people to follow him That call is met with a promise of what will happen, what they will become if they choose to follow Jesus. We later see Jesus go off and pray alone, it is implied that the reason Jesus then wants to go to other villages to preach is that God called Jesus to go. It seems like (at this early stage in the book) that Jesus is a follower of God doing what God calls him to do.

Jesus has power outside this world. Read Mark 1:21-28

How would you react if you saw a situation like this?

Jesus, while teaching in the local Synagogue is confronted by a evil spirit. The spirit knows exactly who Jesus is. Jesus came to deal with this sort of evil and drives out the spirit. Power over evil would have been thought as something that only God has. The people ask what kind of teaching this is, where they probably should have asked who this person was that could drive out demons.
Jesus can heal: Read Mark 1:29-34 and 40-45
There are a few cultural things to keep in mind in these passages.

Those who were sick were ‘Unclean’. That meant no one would go near them let alone touch them.
Simons Mother-In-law serving them would not have been considered mean, quite the opposite, the fact that she could even when she would have been considered un-clean was amazing and would have affirmed her.

Why do you think Jesus kept telling people not to talk about what he was doing? (Healing and driving out demons.)

These passages give us the opportunity to look at how Jesus cared for people while he was here. Not just their bodies but also their souls. We also see in Jesus that he called people to be a follower of him like he was a followed God.

Have you ever thought of Jesus as a follower of God?

Look again at what you wrote about Jesus, has anything changed? Has anything been affirmed?

Spend some time praying, Prayer is another amazing way to get to know God.