In Mark 1:21-34, we are given an account of what the servant of God, Yeshua, did in the morning, afternoon and in the evening.
In the morning, he was in the synagogue where he taught. What he taught is apparent from Luke’s record (Luke 4:32):
“and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.”
The service was interrupted by a man possessed of an unclean spirit crying out. (Mark 1:24):
“What have you to do with us, Yeshua of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”
Yeshua turned and said quite literally: “Be muzzled and come out of him.”
They were amazed. His teaching possessed authority, and it was further empowered by the authority revealed through the healing of the possessed man.
The afternoon was passed at Simon’s house where he healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a fever: Another empowered act of healing.
And furthermore, Yeshua did further healings in the evening, where we read that (Mark 1:32-34):
“…they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.”
Then, after such a power-packed day revealing Yeshua’s power and authority, we read what he did the following morning:
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Yeshua departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)
Early the next morning, while it was dark, Yeshua arose with great quietness and resorted to a solitary place to pray. What are we to learn from all of this?
All acts of power and authority are important only if preceded by personal prayer.
This reveals the deliberate purposefulness of Yeshua. The word “prayer” denotes far more than asking. It suggests the going forward in desire to God, not for God’s gifts only, but for God Himself. It is the word for true worship, the word that describes the soul moving out toward God, desiring Him, and all He has to give.
Psalm 37:4: “And rely upon the LORD for your enjoyments, for He will grant you the desires of your heart.”
Do you remember what Yeshua said to John in the Book of Revelation regarding the congregation at Ephesus? (Revelation 2:4):
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned your first love.”
It is when “first love” is gone that we cannot pray like Yeshua. Thus Verse 5 becomes inevitable (Revelation 2:5):
“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
This is not a capricious threat, but the statement of an inevitable sequence. We are powerless and lack any authority to do as Yeshua did.
It is impossible to read the statement and observe our Lord Yeshua in the earthly hours of the morning, without asking the nature of his communion with God.
In Isaiah 50:4-7, we are given a description of the servant of God:
“My Lord GOD has granted me a tongue for teaching, to understand the need of the times in conveying matters to those who thirst for knowledge; He arouses me morning after morning; He arouses my ear for me to understand as disciples are taught. My Lord GOD has opened my ear for me, and I did not resist; I did not retreat to the rear. I submitted my body to those who smite and my cheeks to those who pluck; I did not hide my face from humiliation and spit. For my Lord GOD helps me; therefore, I was not humiliated; therefore, I made my face as hard as flint and knew that I would not be ashamed.”
Prayer is: listening, hearing, consenting, asking of God. It is the word of true worship, the word that describes the soul moving out toward God, desiring Him, and all that He has to give.
This passage suggests the nature of that early morning hour of communion. Let us ponder it carefully.
We then read that Simon and those who were with him were searching for Yeshua, they found him and said: “Everyone is looking for you.” Yeshua responded in Mark 1:38:
“Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for to this end came I forth.”
As the servant of God, he recognized that his ministry was dependent upon the fact that he had come from God. He was in communion with God, his ears had been awakened to listen to the secrets which God had to speak to him as the self-emptied servant, and now he said, “To this end came I forth.”
Mark presented our Lord Yeshua as a servant under the compulsion of his service to God, yet constantly there are gleams of glory flaming forth and reminding us that this servant of God was also the son of God, imbued with authority from on high – an authority that was given to him due to his servant-like nature. It was only through Yeshua’s constant connection to his Heavenly Father that he had access to such authority.
And the truth of the matter is that just as Yeshua had all the privileges of fellowship with God during his human life, so do we. The life that he lived prepared him for the death that he died; and the death that he died enables us to live the life that he lived. Yeshua lived his life in relationship with God that every man may live. All we need to do is replicate the life that he lived – a life lived in complete servanthood, in absolute dependency, and in total obedience to God.
It is only through living such a life that we are able to become sons of God and gain access to the same authority from on high.
Revelation 21:7: “He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.”
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