Taking Action for the Kingdom

Session 2: Mark 1:14–45

Have you ever felt God calling you to something drastically new? Perhaps a job, a move, a relationship shift. How did you react?

Read Mark 1:14–45.

Watch Francis Chan, “The Gospel of Mark” Video Series Session 2: Mark 1:14–45 (10 minutes)

Discuss

Mark doesn’t leave us wondering about the uniqueness of this Jesus. He makes sure we realize that this is the biggest moment in history. And he does it with one word: kairos, or “time” (in Mark 1:15). The word signifies an important, momentous moment rather than a specific time of day.

Think back over your life. All of us have life-changing moments in our personal histories. Describe a moment when life for you completely changed—where you knew the world was going to be different and there was no going back. How did you feel? Were you excited, afraid, nervous?

Right at the start of Jesus’s ministry, he begins to gather his disciples. Blue-collar fishermen weren’t ideal choices for a rabbi’s students. How did the disciples react to Jesus’s invitation to follow him?

If we live comfortable lives, it’s easy to see Jesus’s call as an inconvenience. We have more to lose—more to give up—if we’re going to follow him. What do you stand to lose by following Jesus the way the disciples did? What do you stand to gain by following Jesus?

Throughout the video, Francis emphasized the authority of Jesus as a driving factor for discipleship. Whom does Jesus use that authority to help?

In this passage, what do all three of the people Jesus healed have in common? In what ways did his care for women, lepers, and a demon-possessed man demonstrate his new kingdom come to earth?

Mark’s point with this presentation of Jesus’s authority is that he has the right to extend the kingdom to whomever he chooses. And that includes the sick, marginalized, and hurting. Think of one person who grates on you—the last person in the world you’d want Jesus to offer the kingdom to. Why do you feel that way? What would have to change in your attitude in order to treat that person the way Jesus demonstrates in our passage this week?

If we truly want to follow Jesus, we will love those he loves and serve those he was willing to serve. A healthy church is pursuing justice, lifting up the poor, coming alongside the hurting. Examine what you are doing personally to demonstrate the care of Jesus to those in need. Is there a way your group could serve those in need together?