In the final week of Jesus' life before the cross, the religious leaders are attempting to build a case against him. Jesus has challenged them in the temple area, and now they are challenging him in return.
Read moreGarden Marriage: Applying God's Grace To It (Mark 10:10-12)
Jesus' words were revolutionary because he put men and women on equal footing. But they are also stringent. In this concluding movement in the house, Jesus told his disciples that the one who departs, if they remarry another, has committed adultery. God put the original couple together. To him, they are still one, so a new marriage is adultery in his sight.
Read moreGarden Marriage: Sin Broke It (Mark 10:1-5)
Many have been disillusioned and disappointed by marriage. Through this study of Mark, we will consider how sin broke marriage, but the gospel restored hope. (5 Minutes/1000 Words)
Read moreBe Shaped by Jesus' Power (Mark 8:16-21)
While Jesus warned the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, the disciples worried that they had no bread. They'd only brought one loaf with them, and they assumed Jesus was rebuking them for their oversight. I really try not to pick on the disciples, but... (3 Minutes/800 Words)
Read moreBe Shaped by Jesus’ Style (Mark 8:11–15)
It seems ironic that the Pharisees wanted Jesus to perform a sign from heaven right after he miraculously fed four thousand people. They didn't want a miracle—they knew Jesus was capable of those—but a sign from heaven, or a sign from God, testifying to Jesus' identity. They didn't realize that his presence was a sign from heaven, for he had stepped out of glory to minister to humankind. (3 Minutes/700 Words)
Read moreRevolution of the Heart, Part 1: Cleanness Does Not Come by Human Effort (Mark 7:1–5)
After reading this opening paragraph, you'd be forgiven for thinking this has nothing to do with our modern time. I assure you, this passage has much to do with life today. (3 Minutes/800 Words)
Read moreSeeing God Correctly: God Is Angered by Dead Religion (Mark 3:1-6)
It is amazing how religious leaders would not answer Jesus' questions. He'd asked, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill? And they responded with silence (4). I mean, the answer was so obvious, but they couldn't bring themselves to respond. They couldn't confess it was lawful on the Sabbath to do good. (5 Minutes/1400 Words)
Read moreSeeing God Correctly: God Is Compelled To Do Good (Mark 3:1-6)
So one Sabbath Jesus again went to church, to the synagogue, to the public meeting. Mark says, a man was there with a withered hand. Luke, who was a doctor, tells us it was the man's right hand (Luke 6:6). To have a withered hand meant his hand was stiff, deformed, and paralyzed. (6 Minutes/1500 Words)
Read moreJesus Joy (Mark 2:9-22)
By this point in Mark, it has become increasingly clear that Jesus' coming was a massive event. He was not just another leader with fresh religious claims. He did not come with some good advice. He did not come to tinker. (13 Minutes/3000 Words)
Read moreJesus Is the Friend of Sinners, Part 3 (Mark 2:13-17) — He Calls Sinners
Somehow, a group of scribes of the Pharisees saw what Jesus was doing. We've already seen scribes in Mark's gospel; they were in the house when Jesus forgave the paralyzed man. This new group of scribes was of the sect of the Pharisees. But who were the Pharisees? (4 Minutes/1000 Words)
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