Mark 1

¹This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.” ³“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” ⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁷And he began to proclaim: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” ¹²At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, ¹³and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him. ¹⁴After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. ¹⁵“The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” ¹⁶As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ¹⁸And at once they left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹Going on a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat, mending their nets. ²⁰Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him. ²¹Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. ²²The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue: ²⁴“What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” ²⁵But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” ²⁶At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek. ²⁷All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!” ²⁸And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee. ²⁹As soon as Jesus and His companions had left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her. ³¹So He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them. ³²That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus all who were sick and demon-possessed, ³³and the whole town gathered at the door. ³⁴And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. ³⁵Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray. ³⁶Simon and his companions went to look for Him, ³⁷and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You!” ³⁸But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.” ³⁹So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. ⁴⁰Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” ⁴²And immediately the leprosy left him, and the man was cleansed. ⁴³Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning: ⁴⁴“See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.

Life is short. Where are you going?

You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?

The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?

Are you a good person?

Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness.
10. You shall not covet.

Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).

If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).

That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.

But God made a way

“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10

What will you do with Jesus?

“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).

If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.

Join the Party — give my life to Jesus Find a Party — a church near me

Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.