God has had me in the Gospel of Mark since Good Friday. It was on my third time through the book that I got stuck on the number of times the author used the word immediately in the first chapter. If you missed yesterday’s post you can check it out for yourself here: http://wp.me/p39vIx-kI

Mark uses the word “immediately” 9 times and the term “at once” 1 time in 45 verses. As I said yesterday, that’s a whole lot of immediately in one chapter. In fact if Mark were going into writing class with this chapter the first thing his teacher would probably ask him to change would be the use of this one word. But I have to think that God must have had a reason for telling Mark to use the word over and over again. He must be trying to make some point.

The actual word used 10 times in Mark 1 is the word euthys- straightway, immediately, forthwith.

As I was meditating on the chapter, I noticed that the action behind the “immediatelys” were coming from different sources. Sometimes the “immediately” was done by God the Father or Holy Spirit as in verses 9 (the Holy Spirit descended),12 (The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness), 28 (Jesus’ fame spread throughout the land), and 42 (the leprosy was healed)

Then other times the “immediately” was done out of obedience by Jesus, or his disciples. Once the “immediately” was even  perpetrated by a demon.

Now I have to say that we all love the immediate action of God. We love it when the disease is instantly, miraculously healed. We love it when God moves His plan for our lives forward quickly. We love it when God instantly shows up in answer to our prayers.

I can only speak for myself here but when the immediate action is mine I am not necessarily so keen on that. When God gives me a command sometimes I am not so quick to jump on the immediate bandwagon. I have to “think it through”, look at all the angles. I want  to figure out just exactly what obedience to God in this instance means. I justify it by calling it counting the cost, but I know it’s really just an attack of fear and unbelief.

As I looked at this passage  I realized that the immediate action of God usually followed the immediate act of obedience from Jesus or his disciples. The Holy Spirit descended immediately and drove Jesus into the wilderness as soon as Jesus obeyed the Father in baptism. Jesus fame immediately spread throughout the land because Jesus disciples  immediately obeyed God and followed Jesus into Capernaum. Peter’s mother-in-law was healed immediately because the disciples didn’t wait to tell Jesus about the need.

This has me wondering how many of God’s “immediatelys” are hung up in waiting because my “immediatelys” have been put on the back burner. I know that sometimes we are required to wait for God but I am just wondering if there aren’t times where I’m not waiting for God but He is actually waiting for me.

What’s your immediately from God today? How is it effecting God’s immediately? 

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.^[a]

² As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

⁴ John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;^[d] with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

¹² The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³ And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

¹⁶ Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”^{[e] 18} And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

²¹ And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. ²² And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴ “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

²⁹ And immediately he^[f] left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. ³¹ And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³² That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴ And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

³⁵ And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, ³⁷ and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” ³⁸ And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” ³⁹ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

⁴⁰ And a leper^[g] came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And Jesus^[h] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

That’s a whole lot of immediately for one chapter. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.