When reading Mark, there are three perspectives to keep in mind. The first is that this is about the things Jesus said and did. Second, Mark isn’t writing to disciples, he is writing to Romans so he has to write in a way that the people of Rome would understand. Finally, we have to ask how does this text speak to us. NET Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son Read more…

Mark 1:12 At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, 13 and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him. BSB After such a significant event, we might expect to see angels singing and all kinds of hoop-dee-doo but instead, Jesus is immediately driven into the wilderness. Both Matthew and Luke have more detail, but Mark places more emphasis on Read more…

Mark 1:21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he shouted, 24 saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Nazarene? Have you come to destroy Read more…

Mark 1:35 Then Jesus got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. 36 Simon and his companions searched for him. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 He replied, “Let us go elsewhere, into the surrounding villages, so that I can preach there too. For that is what I came Read more…

Mark 2:1 And when he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was heard that he was in the house. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even around the door; and he spoke the word to them. 3 And four people came, carrying a paralytic to him. 4 And when they could not bring him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. When Read more…

Mark 2:18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. So they came to Jesus and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?” 19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast. 20 But the days are coming when the bridegroom Read more…

Mark 2:23 And it happened that he was going on the Sabbath day through the grain fields, and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?” 25 And he said to them, “Did you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry – he, and those Read more…

Mark 3:20 Then Jesus went home, and once again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples could not even eat. 21 When His family heard about this, they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.” BSB Home as referenced here isn’t Nazareth but Capernaum where, as the great Yogi Berra would say, it is “like deja vu all over again”. We are introduced to the family Read more…

Mark 3:28 I tell you the truth, people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” 30 (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit”). NET The easy answer to this unforgivable sin is to say, as many do, that it applies to “them” (meaning the Jews) and not to “us”. When Read more…

Although Mark focuses more on the actions of Jesus rather than His teachings, we are about to enter a section of teachings where the word “parable” shows up for the second time. These parables have become the way in which Jesus responds in light of the opposition arising against Him. Mark 4:1 And again he began to teach by the seaside. And a large crowd was gathered to him, so that he entered into a Read more…