Where Jesus Goes . . .

Who is Jesus and what does it mean to follow Him? As we launched our study on the Gospel of Mark last week we finished up with that very question. That question—who is Jesus and what does it mean to follow Him—is the main question that Mark is seeking to help us answer by the time we finish reading his account of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Remember that, for Mark, the answer to the question of who Jesus is is inexorably tied to what He does. And since what He does—His miracles, His teachings, His very life—calls for a response from us, what it means to follow Him is also tied to the actions of Christ.
But still, at this point in our study we don’t have very many answers to either of those questions. We can’t find the answers unless Mark tells us . . . so let’s not waste any timing guessing, but let’s get right into the book and see what Mark has to tell us.
To begin with, remember that Mark is a storyteller. He loves to paint a visual picture. He loves to build suspense and draw us into the story. As part of his storytelling method we can pick out about three larger sections that Mark uses to tell us of the life of Christ. The first section—the one we’ll be studying today—occurs mostly around Galilee and the surrounding areas. In this first section we walk with Jesus as He ministers to individuals and to crowds.
The first section of Mark —call it the First of three Acts, if you will—lasts from 1:1 to around 8:22, and in the first act the overarching picture that Mark paints is of large crowds following Christ and hanging on His every word. But is it enough to hear . . . or must something else occur? Hopefully we’ll find out. Open your Bibles to Mark, chapter one.
Mark 1:1-4 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" -- 3 "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" 4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Now, I find this interesting! Mark begins by saying this is the gospel about Jesus Christ . . . but then the first person he tells us about is John the Baptist? Why is that?
Well, let’s see if we can’t get some answers. First, Mark uses two prophecies—one from Isaiah, one from Malachi—to indicate that there would be a messenger from God who would come before the Lord and prepare the way for Him, and that messenger would be John the Baptist. 2nd, Mark tells us the message John is preaching: John is preaching “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John’s message is “Repent!” 3rd, John himself testifies that there will be one who comes after him who is more powerful, more worthy, and will have a more enduring ministry. John’s baptism is with water . . . but the one who is to come baptizes with nothing other than the Holy Spirit.
In other words, to put it all together, the one who is to come—whom we know is Jesus—the one who is to come will be like John. He will be similar to John . . . but He will be more than John. The things that John does, Jesus will also do, but Jesus will do them one better. John’s ministry not only prepares the way for Jesus, it also foreshadows Jesus’ ministry. Mark tells us about John’s ministry in order to help us understand Jesus and His ministry better.
Now keep that in mind, because it will be important later. But let’s continue: Mark 1:14-15 14 After John was put in prison . . .” WHAT??? That’s it? Mark tells us all about John, he tells us how important he is, and then in chapter one verse fourteen he sweeps John away. Is that really it for John?
No, that’s not it; not yet. Remember that John preached repentance. Remember that he said that there would be a time coming when one more powerful would arrive on the scene. Then in Mark 1:14-15 Mark tells us, “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" John said the time was yet to come, you better repent. Jesus says the time is now . . . “Repent and believe!” Where John goes, Jesus follows . . . but Jesus does it one step better.

We’ll come back to John in a few minutes, but for now page forward to chapter four. Chapter four is the largest speech Jesus has made so far in Mark. Up till now the gospel has been all action: calling the disciples, healing the sick, casting out demons, confrontation with the Pharisees. Healing, calling, confrontation, healing, calling, confrontation and now . . . a break in the action. Mark slows down the pace dramatically in order to get our attention with some very important words of Jesus.
There are always two basic reactions to the teachings of Jesus Christ: belief or unbelief. Sure, there’s some variation on each of those, but it really boils down to those two options: do you hear what Jesus says with your heart and believe Him . . . or do you only hear with your ears and reject Him?
For the longest time in my life I was very confused about why there were people I knew who had been given the benefit of being raised in a church home, who had been taught the Word, who had heard the teachings of Jesus Christ, and who had still walked away from it all. It seemed inconsistent to me. I mean, here is a person who is a lot like me, who’s heard the same Word of God that I have, and yet years later I’m still here in church and they’re out doing their own thing.
Now by saying that I don’t mean to make anything big out of myself; I’m just a guy, after all, and not really a model Christian. I’m still a sinner in need of grace. But I think that’s my point: I realize I’m in need of God and that I need to stay connected to Him, but some of my old friends don’t. They should know better, but they don’t. Why is that?
Chapter four answers that question, and in so doing it helps us understand the entire first eight chapters of Mark. The same group of people has heard Jesus’ teachings and seen His miracles, and while almost all of them are still confused about exactly who Jesus is, there are nevertheless people who believe Him and His message, and people who reject Him.
And in chapter four Jesus tells a parable that says the reason for that is simple: it’s the way the Kingdom of God works! You go out, you scatter the seed everywhere you possibly can, and some of it is snatched away, some of it withers and dies, but some of it takes deep root and thrives.
There is no explanation for this other than it is the secret—the word in verse eleven actually means “mystery”—the mystery of the Kingdom of God. Everywhere that the Word of God goes there are forces opposing it. It may be Satan deliberately snatching the Word away before it has a chance to grow, it may be the circumstances of life that choke the Word so that it cannot become fruitful. But if you hear the Word and it has worked in you, then you also understand that you have been given a gift. You’re not worthy of the gift, because there is anything about you that makes you better than anyone else, but it’s a gift nevertheless. You have been given ears to hear. The mysteries of the Kingdom of God have been opened to you, but with that knowledge comes responsibility. It is not a gift to be taken lightly. We’re about to find that out.

Remember John the Baptist? We’ve seen nothing at all of John after 1:14 until, finally, some people are talking about him six chapters later in Mark 6:14. Go ahead and flip forward to chapter six.
In chapter six verse 17 Mark fills us in with the background of that cryptic little remark in 1:14 about John being put in prison. In verse seventeen we learn that John hadn’t broken any laws, he had simply spoken the truth, and in the process became unpopular with some powerful people. We also learn in verse twenty that although Herod liked listening to John’s preaching, he was still greatly puzzled by it. Furthermore, it seems as though Herod was personally convinced that John was a righteous and holy man, and that he found no fault in him.
Yet despite all that, Herod’s hand was forced. Wishing to avoid public embarrassment, in verse twenty-six Herod gives in and has John the Baptist executed. John is dead because of his message, despite the fact that he was innocent, despite the fact that Herod tried to worm his way out of it.
But why this huge story? Why does Mark suddenly stop the action, stop the story about Jesus and abruptly drop into this anecdote about the end of John’s life? Because where John goes, Jesus follows. Look at that story again: An innocent man, hated because of his message of truth, put to death by some behind-the-scenes maneuvering, despite the fact that the one giving the order for the execution would rather do just about anything else. Sound like anyone else you know?
Of course it does! Remember: Mark tells us about John so that we can understand Jesus better. Mark 1:6-8 7 And this was his [John’s] message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with {8 Or in} water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Where John goes, Jesus follows . . . but Jesus does it one step better. People just thought Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead . . . but Jesus actually did rise from the dead.
Certainly where John goes, Jesus follows. But more than that, I think Mark also wants us to understand that where Jesus goes, so do His followers. See now, look back just a few verses to chapter six, the second half of verse six. Jesus is sending out His disciples, He is sending out the Twelve with a message and a mission. They are to preach repentance and they are driving out demons and healing people. In effect, they are doing exactly what Jesus has been doing all throughout the first act of Mark. They are doing His bidding, they are preaching His message, and they are doing His ministry.
Okay, that’s fine . . . but skip ahead to verse thirty. What’s happening? Jesus is receiving back the apostles and they are reporting to Him everything that had happened on their missionary journey. Did you catch that? Mark starts a story about the disciples being sent out on a journey, stops that story, tells us about John the Baptist, and when that story is done he goes back to the story about the Twelve and their missionary journey.
This kind of story telling is technically called an intercalation, but it’s easier to remember it as a Mark sandwich. Like a sandwich, Mark takes two slices of a story and puts some meat in between them. And just like having a sandwich, we’re a lot poorer if we don’t have the meat that goes on the inside. What’s a sandwich without the meat? Without the stuff on the inside, all you have is a bread sandwich! It’s the story on the inside that really helps drive home the point, that really makes us sit up and take notice . . . and Mark does this all the time.
Seriously! Mark has a habit out of sandwiching two stories together, and whenever he does it it’s because he wants us to read the outside story with the eyes of the inside story. The outside story is about the mission of the disciples, and the inside story not only points to Christ but also points to what disciples of Jesus can expect. Where Jesus goes, so go His followers.


Being a follower of Jesus Christ isn’t all chocolate and roses, it’s not all power and authority. Sometimes it’s pain and prison. But in the end, those who are sent out by Jesus will always be received back by Him. One way or the other, He will gather them back to Himself, whether He has to gather them by the lakeside or pluck them from the jaws of the grave. We who have been blessed to hear His word and believe upon it are also sent out on His mission. And those who are on His mission are always under His eternal protection.