Mark 1:16-34

1:16 | In Mark, the call to discipleship often takes place by the sea, just as Israel faced its own moment of decision by the Red Sea. The Sea of Galilee is an inland lake stretching about 13 miles long and seven miles wide. Luke calls it the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), while John calls it the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1). Mark’s terminology was used among Aramaic speakers.

1:17-18 | Again, Mark uses the term immediately to express how crucial the disciples’ decisive response was. Jesus called these fishermen (and calls all believers) to join Him in rescuing perishing men and women from the sea of sin and death (Jer. 16:16-18; 2 Cor. 5:20).

1:19-20 | Jesus gave the same call to James and John that He gave to Peter and Andrew, and they responded just as immediately as the first set of brothers. Zebedee may have been prosperous, for he could afford hired servants to assist with his fishing business. This suggests that James and John were giving up a comfortable lifestyle to follow Jesus.

1:19 | Most scholars agree that Mark is not written chronologically but episodically. That is, his purpose in writing this Gospel was not to give a timeline but a narrative.

1:21-22 | That Jesus spoke as one with authority means He delivered the words of God without qualifying His statements or requiring support from a higher human authority – a real contrast to the other teachers of that day.

1:21 | Capernaum was a nondescript border town on the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus may have based His ministry there in order to keep a lower profile.

1:23-24 | The unclean spirit (demon) used the first-person plural (us), signifying the presence of multiple demons. The demon instantly recognized Jesus and called Him the Holy One of God, perhaps in hopes that identifying Jesus by name would give the demon power over Him. The title Holy One of God refers to Jesus’ high-priestly authority (Ps. 106:16; Num. 16:7). Ironically, the demons recognized this first (James 2:19).

1:26-27 | Whereas the people were “astonished” at Jesus’ authoritative teaching in 1:22, they were amazed in this instance because Jesus had absolute authority over the demon. His words had full power to accomplish what He spoke.

1:31 | Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law was typical of His other earthly miracles – tender and personal, low-key, and matter-of-fact, without the fanfare that other healers often sought.

1:32-33 | Mark’s mention of the whole city suggests a crowd large enough that everyone in Capernaum would know what Jesus had done.

1:34 | Jesus did not need any endorsement from the forces of evil. Through His teaching and works alone, He would show that He was indeed the Son of God.