Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - I Want to Follow Jesus | The Gospels | Mark 1:16-28

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

What's the current trajectory of your life? What does it mean to fish for people? What do you need to leave behind so that you can follow Jesus? In today's episode, Jeff shares how Mark 1:16-28 encourages us to follow Jesus. Read the Bible with us in 2026! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Download your reading plan now. Want to learn even more about the Gospels? Tune into Not Just Sunday. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Mark 1:16-28

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jeff Parrott. You have got to be careful when you're close to the current. That was a lesson I learned at an early age. Growing up, we spent a good bit of time at a park next to the Missouri River, this interstate flow of water that's so powerful, it's called Mighty Mo. No matter how fast and strong you thought the current of that river was traveling, it was going faster than you realized. It didn't matter how strong of a swimmer you thought you were.

You cannot control the current of that river once you're inside of it. So you've got to be careful when you're close to the current. When we encounter the powerful flow of water, we cannot manage it. Our only choice is to move with it, letting its trajectory become our trajectory. Given the commanding presence of river currents, it's no surprise that the Bible describes the dynamic movement of God's kingdom with the metaphor of moving water. From the Garden of Genesis to the new creation city of Revelation, from the life-giving imagery of the Psalms to the truth of Jesus as the source of living water, the Bible describes God's kingdom as a current that gives us life

and changes our lives. We cannot manage it. We can only move with it. As we continue our early moments in this journey through the gospel accounts, we're going to see how the advancement of God's kingdom functions like a current as it encounters people's real lives. Our passage today gives us a window into the mighty flow of events of Jesus' ministry as he calls more people to himself and calls out his enemy, displaying both his deep personal care and his pervasive power as the king over all things. As we approach God's word together, let's pause and ask for his grace, for his kindness to move through our time. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift, the true gift of life and breath.

We thank you for the gift of your word. We bring before you all of who we are, our joys and our sorrows, our anxiety and our excitement. our calendars and our contingencies. God, would you meet us in this space, in this time? Jesus, help us abide in you as we engage with your truth. And Holy Spirit, we ask you to move in and through this time in Mark's gospel account. As we read your living word, may it read us and restore us to life with you. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, right before our passage for today, there is what's called the thesis statement for Jesus' ministry by a lot of theologians. It's in Mark 1, verses 14 through 15. We're going to read these two verses really quickly before we hop into our passage

because it is so fundamental for setting up the context for the entire gospel account within Mark. So here we go, Mark 1, 14 through 15. Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. All right, so this is the good news that the king is here. His kingdom is at hand. It has drawn near. And as his kingdom moves, people are called to repent, to change the direction of their lives. And they can do that because they believe in the good news. They're putting their ultimate trust and allegiance in the king who is bringing his kingdom. In our passage today, it's closely tied to that thesis statement for Mark's gospel account. God's kingdom is moving. And

And as we read on, we see how it will necessarily change our lives and change our world. If the movement of Jesus' kingdom is like a current, then in a way, these real historical events in the early moments of Jesus' ministry are showing us the contours of the currents, revealing what Jesus cares about and what he came to do. All right, first, let's look at verses 16 through 20 and see how the good news of the kingdom intersects with people's personal lives. Picking up in verse 16. As Jesus walked beside the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Come follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. At once, they left their nets

and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James, son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat preparing their nets. Without delay, he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. All right, now let's just pause and ask, what do these events reveal about the current of God's kingdom? What contours do we see here? Well, first, we're getting a window into the personal nature of Jesus' kingdom. This is not a kingdom that's announced with an impersonal generic news update. Now, this is a kingdom that's announced with an invitation. And it's not an invitation, by the way, to obvious well-prepared candidates. The current of Jesus's kingdom is extending to ordinary,

even unlikely people whose lives will be forever changed. Now, do you realize that that same personal nature of Jesus' kingdom, that same invitation, it extends to you today? Even if you feel like you're a complete outsider. Jesus is calling to you, come follow me. Are you willing to leave the current you're in now to enter into the current of his kingdom? While we're here, we also have to note that we're not only seeing the personal nature of Jesus' kingdom, we're also observing the participatory nature of it. People are participating in what he's doing. Jesus isn't calling Simon, Andrew, James, and John to just observe what he's doing. No, he's inviting them to follow him and participate in the work that he's doing. Notice verse 17, I will send you out to fish for people.

I love this early job description for followers of Jesus. Jesus loves them so much that he calls them into the current of his kingdom, but he also gives them a role to participate in the movement of it. This is Jesus's invitation to all of us as we enter this new year. Come follow me and I will send you. Now the next section for our passage today might seem like a non-sequitur, as if it's just Mark's way of moving on to the next historical event. But not so fast. Let's read this next scene and consider how it too is presenting us with the contours of Jesus' kingdom.

We're picking up here in verse 21. They went to Copernum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 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. be quiet, said Jesus sternly, come out of him. The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were so amazed that they asked each other, what is this? A new teaching?

And with authority, he even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him. There's a lot going on here. If our previous passage described the deep personal care of Jesus in the life of participation in his kingdom, then this passage gives us a window into his almighty authority and his pervasive power. There's an emphasis in verse 22 on the authoritative teaching of Jesus. It's so obvious that Jesus has authority that people are amazed by it. But his authority here isn't limited to lessons. It extends to all of life. When this man, possessed by an impure spirit shows up in the synagogue, it's like Jesus is trying to make an emphatic point about his authority. The impure spirit cannot help but submit to the reign of Jesus as king.

And by the way, don't miss the other implication of this moment in the synagogue. Yes, Jesus defeats his foe, but his authority also leads to the restoration of life for this man who was once possessed. When Jesus's kingdom advances, people are drawn into it. Enemies are defeated and life is renewed. If verses 16 through 20 gave us the personal invitation to step into the current, then verses 21 through 27 show us the powerful reason why we can trust the trajectory of its flow. This Jesus has the authority of the author of life. So we can trust him. with our lives. As Mark's gospel account continues, the current of this kingdom just keeps going. And in case we aren't getting the point, the final verse of our passage today makes it clear for us.

Verse 28, news about Him about Jesus spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. The current of this kingdom is flowing. It is spreading. It's drawing more and more people into its life-giving path. So yes, you have to be careful when you're close to the current. But with God's kingdom, the caution isn't to be careful to avoid it. Instead, the caution is this. Be careful that you don't miss the flow of this current. It's powerful. It's life-giving. And you want to be in it. This passage within Mark's gospel account shows us the personal and the cosmic implications of the kingdom of God. the current of Jesus' kingdom is deep and loving enough to stretch into your personal life, yet it's also broad and powerful enough to stretch into the life of the world.

So as this new year begins, what are some ways that you've noticed Jesus calling out to you? What do you need to leave behind so you can follow him and participate in the flow of his life-renewing kingdom? What would it look like for you to take a next step into the current? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your steadfast love that's on display as your kingdom continues extending into our lives and our world even today. Jesus, we trust in you as the king who has authority over all things. Help us be continually amazed with you, with who you are and what you're doing. Help us follow you. Holy Spirit, would you graciously work in us to take a next step into the current of your kingdom as this new year begins.

We pray all of this because of your grace for your glory and your story. In Jesus' name, amen.