Mark: A Daily Devotional Journey

All scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Introduction Welcome to a journey through the gospel of Mark. This guide has been written to help us each day reflect on a portion of Mark and consider its intersection with our lives. While I may occasionally offer an interpretive insight, my comments along the way aren’t meant to serve as a comprehensive commentary on the text of Mark. They are simply personal reflections offered in the hope that they will provoke you to prayer, reflection, and action in light of each daily reading. As Paul told Timothy, “Reflect on what I’m saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.” (2 Timothy 2:7) You’ll also find within this guide, a designated place for sermon notes on the weekends, and an iStudy to help facilitate a meaningful small group experience. It’s my hope that our journey through Mark will help us to see Jesus more clearly, follow Him more boldly, and share Him more freely.

Grace and Peace, Chris Seidman

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Small Groups iStudy Guide iStudy is for everyone who wants to study and understand God’s word in a fresh new way. It is a simple tool or process that is designed to help you engage with a passage of scripture to more fully understand what God is saying to His people (you.)

Each week, we want you to engage with The Bible using this method, then bring what you heard from God to the discussion with your Small Group. Here’s a short summary of what the iStudy process should look like each week:

1. Pray Always start by asking God to guide your study. Prayer is a necessary step before any Bible study. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you new insights and understanding of the Word.

2. Read Read the passage through several times to get a reasonable understanding of what is taking place. It might help you to read more than one translation.

3. What did you read? Make a list Think deeply about what the passage is actually saying, and what God is saying to you through the passage. It might be helpful to ask yourself questions like: Who are the main characters, what is happening, when is this occurring, where is this taking place, why is this event present? This is a time to eliminate distractions, slow down, and give God your full attention -- it’s a conversation between God and you.

Write down up to 10 summary sentences listing the things that happened in the passage of scripture you read and meditated on. Write down a short phrase or a single word from each verse that will remind you what is happening in that verse. Depending on the passage, you may do each verse individually, or you may combine verses together if they have the same thought or event. Keep these summary statements factual, not “spiritual” or “theological.”

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4. What did it say?

Compose a “Subject Sentence.” From your summary sentences, combine the central thoughts into a single Subject Sentence of 10 words or less. Keep the subject sentence factual, not “spiritual.” This should be a complete sentence with a subject and verb. A good way to work towards this sentence is to ask, “What is this passage really about?” Look at who the main character is and what he/she is saying or doing.

The goal of the Subject Sentence is that it should be written in a way as to make the passage you are studying identifiable to someone familiar with it.

5. What does it matter?

Finally, you will identify three lessons from the passage that can be applied to life.

Go back and look at your Summary Sentence. Generally, you should try to write three applications. These should be applications to everyday life. What does the passage say about your business life or your home life? How do you apply this to other situations? If your Summary Sentence deals with prayer, an example application might be, “How much time do I spend daily in prayer?” Or, “How much time should I be spending daily in prayer?”

Write your applications in the form of a question. Also, whenever possible, use words like how or what or when to ask a question that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. You want to challenge yourself to think about your answer and not just pass it off lightly. These questions should help you take some simple next steps in obedience to what God is saying to you through the passage of scripture you’ve just studied. Strive for clarity, brevity, and simplicity. Jesus was very clear.

He was usually quite brief and He was amazingly simple. And He had all the answers!

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 1

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 1:1-20 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 1 - Sunday

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Mark 1:1-8 Week 1 - Sunday

John the Baptist Prepares the Way 1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— 3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

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Advance Team

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have a good friend who lives on the water in Panama City, Florida. Several years ago, he was privileged to host George H.W. Bush, the 41st President, on a coastal fishing trip. The night before they went fishing, the President ate dinner at the family table. For weeks my friend and his family had been preparing for the President’s arrival. There was no shortage of inspections done on the house and family by an “advance team” of the Secret Service.

The family didn’t mind in the least, and were also investing their share of elbow grease preparing the home for his arrival.

There’s an old joke in Britain that says wherever the Queen goes, she smells fresh paint. If someone told you that the President, or Governor, or some famous athlete or celebrity was coming to your home, you’d probably straighten some things up in anticipation, and do it rather excitedly.

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The gospel of Mark opens with John the Baptist on the Messiah’s “advance team.” He’s not there for Jesus’ security, though, nor does he come with a sentence of doom. He comes with good news – the Messiah is coming! It’s time to get ready! John comes to prepare the way.

As you reflect on your life, who is it that helped to prepare your heart for Jesus? Who still does that today? (He doesn’t just come to us once.) What is it about their lives, their ways, or their relationship with you that helps to “prepare the way” in your life? Take a moment and thank God for them.

Perhaps, you should think about writing them a note or sending them a text.

Now consider yourself in John the Baptist’s sandals. Who are the people in your life that you can help prepare to receive the Messiah personally? Take a moment and pray for your courage and their hearts. Every follower of Jesus is also a part of his “advance team.” It’s really the only time we are to be out in front of Jesus.

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Mark 1:9-13 Week 1 - Monday

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus 9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Wilderness Experiences

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ome time I ago, I was amused to read of a visit made to America by Queen Elizabeth II. Phillip Yancey, in his book The Jesus I Never Knew, wrote vividly regarding the details of her traveling entourage, which included 4000 pounds of luggage, two outfits for every occasion, 40 pints of plasma, white leather toilet seat covers, her own hairdresser, two valets, and a host of other attendants. Estimates were that her visit cost somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000,000. The Queen doesn’t travel like most everyone else. But Jesus did.

His time on earth would not be exempt from wilderness experiences and harsh realities. He would not face these things alone, though.

Messiah means “Anointed One.” Jesus Himself experiences the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He hears God tell Him who He is – He is God’s beloved Son with whom God is well pleased. What a moment! A veil is pulled back for Jesus – the heavens are torn open – He sees a visible manifestation of the Spirit descending upon Him, and hears the voice of God. In a flash, we then find Him in a wilderness subjected to 40 days of temptation at the hands of Satan himself. In a span of a few verses, Jesus hears the voice of God and the voice of Satan. For 40 days, Satan will relentlessly challenge Jesus about what His Father had declared over Him. (For a more detailed account of what transpired between Jesus and Satan in the wilderness, read Matthew 4 or Luke 4). Was He really God’s Son? Could God – His will for Jesus and the path He was to follow – really be trusted?

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Experiencing God’s blessing did not exempt Jesus from the wilderness.

God’s affection for us and “wilderness experiences” can co-exist in our lives.

The presence of one does not mean the absence of the other. Jesus wasn’t left in the wilderness alone, though. He had the Spirit upon Him and angels around Him. His followers do, too.

Wilderness experiences and temptation so often follow times of personal dedication to the Lord and renewal. The enemy won’t let us go without a fight. But it’s the fight that actually deepens and prepares us for differencemaking down the road in the lives of others. The Hebrew writer (Hebrews 5:8) would later say that Jesus was perfected as a priest through His suffering.

If not even Jesus could avoid being perfected through time in the wilderness, what makes us think we can?

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Mark 1:14-15 Week 1 - Tuesday

Jesus Announces the Good News 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Power Lines

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have a friend who has a ranch north of Dallas. For many years, he was reluctant to install running water or even electricity. He relished allowing his children and grandchildren to experience life on the ranch the way he did growing up – lighting lanterns and taking showers under huge water drums suspended in oak trees. Of course, they didn’t relish it nearly as much as he did! Finally, though, he “buckled” and installed running water and electricity. Why? What did it? It was the sight of water towers and power lines gradually being built all around him. He just could no longer justify to anyone not accessing water and electricity that was so readily available. His kids and grandkids were thrilled. He had “repented” – made a change – in light of the power that was readily available. In the end, his change of mind impacted their quality of life on the ranch.

When Jesus declared that the kingdom of God had come near, He called for people to repent and believe the good news. His call to change is not grounded in a sentence of doom, but in a conviction that there was a reality – a power – now accessible through Him that wasn’t previously. The reigning, ruling, saving, delivering power of God was and is present through Him! The “power lines” and “living water” of God are available. A different quality of life is possible through following and trusting Jesus. And it’s along the journey of following and trusting that changes will be made. Jesus loves us as we are, but He loves us too much to allow us to stay that way.

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Mark 1:16-20 Week 1 - Wednesday

Jesus Calls His First Disciples 16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

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Dropping Our Nets

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esus didn’t go to the temple or synagogue to call His first followers. He went to the commercial fishing industry. Jesus often does His work through people we least expect.

When Simon, Andrew, James, and John awoke that morning, they probably didn’t anticipate what would happen that day. In the middle of their work, Jesus interrupts them and calls for them to follow Him. “At once,” they dropped their nets and followed Jesus. James and John left their father behind. What do you think it was that compelled them to do this? Don’t you wonder what kind of conversation happened between Zebedee, James, and John later?

The call of Jesus can come without “warning” and in the middle of us “casting our nets.” Can you think of a time in your life when this has happened? Can you think of a time when you were blessed because someone else was willing to drop what they were doing and respond to the call of Jesus? Spend a few moments praying for the capacity to clearly discern His voice today, and for a brave heart to follow wherever He leads.

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Mark 1:21-28 Week 1 - Thursday

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit 21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

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The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

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Eruption

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he synagogue wasn’t boring when Jesus was teaching. The crowds recognized that He taught with authority, and not as teachers of the law.

Mark wasn’t “taking a shot” at the teachers of the law when he said this. Most teachers of the law taught through quoting what an earlier rabbi said, and then applying it to their local situation. Their reference to an earlier rabbi or even Moses was their authority. Jesus spoke with an authority that was His own, most likely quoting no one else. His words stood by themselves.

There was something palpable about His teaching. A demon erupted in the middle of it, and in the synagogue no less! Jesus didn’t judge the demonically oppressed man. He delivered him.

Of all things, it’s a demon that is the first to confess the identity of Jesus, and it won’t be the last. There’s no better place for someone spiritually oppressed to be than in the presence of Jesus. And there’s no worse place for a demon to be than in the presence of Jesus.

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Mark 1:29-34 Week 1 - Friday

Jesus Heals Many 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

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Healed To Serve

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ould you imagine having Jesus in your house when someone you love is sick? Jesus winds up at the home of Simon and Andrew, where Simon’s mother-in-law is in bed with a fever. Jesus takes her by the hand, helps her up, and the fever leaves her. Pay attention to the order in which things happen. The healing happens after she takes Jesus’ hand and He helps her up. Often, we have to follow Jesus’ lead before we’re “well,” trusting that the healing, wholeness, and improvement will come.

Once the fever leaves her, she begins to wait on them all. This is a beautiful picture of salvation. We’re not just delivered from something, but we are delivered for something. One of the purposes for which we are saved is to serve. (See Ephesians 2:8-10) What have you been delivered from? How you are serving in light of it?

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Mark 1:35-39 Week 1 - Saturday

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Keeping Focused

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esus is in demand. His authority over the demonic and sickness is evident, and His reputation is spreading like a wildfire. Very early, He arises to find time and space to be alone in prayer. It doesn’t last long. His disciples track Him down, exclaiming that everyone is looking for Him. Jesus would welcome crowds and minister to them, but He would not be enslaved to them – their approval or their expectations. He tells the disciples that it’s time to go elsewhere so He can preach there also. “That is why I have come.”

His focus is clear. Perhaps it has been reaffirmed during His time alone with His Father. Deliverance from spiritual oppression and physical healing are, no doubt, a part of His ministry, but they are not the focus. Preaching is.

The Hebrew writer would later say that Jesus was “fully human, in every way” (Heb. 2:17). Could it be that Jesus needed time alone with His Father in order to keep “the main thing” the main thing?

When’s the last time you considered God’s “job description” for you in the midst of everyone else’s job descriptions for you? It’s easy to get blown off course by the desires and expectations of others. If it’s been a while, then consider evaluating your rhythm of finding some time alone with God. By the way, you’re in a moment like that right now! Congratulations! May His grace to hear what He has to say be upon you.

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 2

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 2:1-28 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 2 - Sunday

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Mark 1:40-45 Week 2 - Sunday

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy 40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

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Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

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Able And Willing

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hen the man with leprosy asked if Jesus was willing to cleanse him, it was a legitimate question. He knew Jesus was able, but was He willing?

Those with leprosy were considered highly contagious, spiritually unclean, and lived in isolation. Note that the man didn’t even ask Jesus to touch him.

Jesus had already been delivering people from demonic oppression by the power of His word. Perhaps the leper believed that only Jesus’ willingness and word was needed. Jesus reached out His hand, touched the man, and said two things. “I am willing. . . . Be clean!”

There are places in Scripture where our sinful condition is likened unto leprosy. He is not only able to cleanse us, but He’s willing! He’s so willing that He would give His life on our behalf.

If you live long enough, you’ll run into people who are able to help you in a situation, but aren’t willing. Some of the greatest news about Jesus isn’t just that He’s able, but He’s willing. When is the last time you genuinely thanked Him for His willingness in your life?

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Mark 2:1-12 Week 2 - Monday

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man 1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

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The Bigger Problem

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any years ago, undergoing surgery was a far greater risk than it is today. Many patients would die days after undergoing the simplest of surgeries. This went on for some time because surgeons didn’t know about the microscopic world of germs. In the early days of surgery, surgeons proceeded from one surgery to another without gloves and, to make matters worse, wouldn’t sterilize their instruments either. Without even realizing it, surgeons would transfer germs from one patient to another. It wasn’t until the invention of the microscope that physicians came to understand the microscopic world of germs and the importance of sterilization. Sometimes our greatest threats are beyond what meets the eye.

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In the middle of His teaching, a crude “skylight” is opened up in the ceiling above Jesus, and a man is lowered through it at Jesus’ feet! It’s obvious to everyone what the man’s biggest problem is, and why his friends put him there at Jesus’ feet.

Have you ever gone to Jesus for one thing and gotten something entirely different? The paralytic received something from Jesus he most likely wasn’t even asking for. “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Say what?

Jesus begins with the more serious problem and far worse condition first – his sins. As wonderful as the healing of his body was, it actually confirmed an even greater miracle – the forgiveness of his sins.

So bring to Jesus your circumstances, your situations, and the condition of your body, and do it unreservedly. He is compassionate and gracious. But don’t be surprised if He wants to address your heart and spiritual condition along the way – and perhaps even, first.

By the way, can you think of any friends who’ve gone to great lengths to help bring you to Jesus when you were hurting? Give them a call or send them a text and thank them. Then consider, is there someone you should “lower at the feet of Jesus” in prayer?

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Mark 2:13-17 Week 2 - Tuesday

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners 13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

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On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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The Wrong Huddle

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all-of-Famer Dick Butkus was a legendary linebacker for the Chicago Bears. Floyd Little, another Hall of Fame running back for the Denver Broncos, was once involved in a violent collision with Butkus.

Little never wanted the opposition to know that he was hurting after he was tackled. He definitely didn’t want Butkus to know how much he was hurting. As he picked himself up off of the ground, he said to Butkus, “Is that all you got? Was that your best hit?”

Butkus looked at him and said, “Are you all right, Floyd?”

Floyd said, “Of course, I’m all right, why you asking me that?!”

Butkus replied, “Because you’re in the wrong huddle, Floyd!”

Most everyone in Jesus’ day felt like Levi the tax collector was in the wrong huddle gathered around Jesus. The Pharisees were a bit dazed and confused seeing Jesus eat with the “sinners and tax collectors.” Jesus didn’t refute the fact that they were “sinners.” He simply acknowledges that “sinners” were who He came for. It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

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A good physician doesn’t arrive to judge us, but to heal us through dealing with the condition that afflicts us. Many people, when they come under conviction regarding their sinful condition, wrongly assume Jesus will have nothing to do with them. (They act as though Jesus just realized their sinfulness at the same time they did!) Our sickness is the reason to call on the physician and not to run away from Him. The Great Physician is in the house and on call!

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Mark 2:18-22 Week 2 - Wednesday

Jesus Questioned About Fasting 18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

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Fitting

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here’s a difference between looking for Jesus to “fit” and considering what is “fitting” for Jesus. Some were looking for Jesus to “fit” into their religious customs, traditions, and interpretations of the law of the Old Testament. When He didn’t – at least, from their perspective – they asked why.

Jesus’ response hints that He is the one to whom their customs, traditions, and the law actually point. He’s the groom in the long-awaited wedding feast. He’s arrived. It’s not time to fast. It’s time to party! And speaking of a party, he’s brought new wine. It won’t be held in old wineskins. They’ll burst! Everything that has come before Him is meant to point to Him, but He won’t be “contained” by such things. A new age is dawning. It’s time to join the party.

Many people want to experience the “life abundantly” Jesus came to bring (John 10:10). Experiencing it, though, has something to do with ceasing to look for Jesus to “fit” our lives, and instead learning to arrange all of our lives around what is “fitting” for Him.

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Can you think of a time when you were looking for Jesus to “patch things up” in your life when, instead, He brought something entirely “new?” Reflect for a moment and thank Him for it.

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Mark 2:23-28 Week 2 - Thursday

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath 23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

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Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

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Rest

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he term Sabbath means “cease” or “rest.” In the Old Testament, God gave a command for His people to observe a day of rest. Along the way, though, all kinds of rules and interpretations for “resting” were developed to the point where it became quite a lot of work to “rest.” God gave the command to “Sabbath” for His people’s sake. What was meant to bless had been transformed by the religious leaders into stress. It had become one grand adventure in missing the point. Jesus reminds the religious leaders that the Sabbath was made for people and not people for the Sabbath, while also conveying to them that He’s Lord of the Sabbath.

Think about those words – “Lord of the Sabbath.” Jesus is Lord of rest. There is no real rest outside of the Lordship of Jesus. It is little wonder He said in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me . . . and you will find rest for your souls.” As we come under the yoke of His teaching and leadership on a daily basis, we find a rest previously unattainable. We are meant to live, love, and work from that place of rest.

If we confess “Jesus is Lord” and yet are increasingly restless, weary, agitated, and defensive, it may be time to reconsider if we’ve truly been living under His Lordship recently. He’s Lord even of the Sabbath.

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Mark 3:1-6 Week 2 - Friday

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath 1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

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He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

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Withered

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hey already had a hunch Jesus might just do it. They knew He was able. He had already been “breaking the rules” as far as they were concerned, and they were looking for an opportunity to accuse Him. When the man with the withered hand showed up to hear Jesus speak, they knew the opportunity might present itself. In a few brief moments, Jesus would change the man’s life, and get the ball rolling on the ending of His own. The Pharisees and the Herodians forged a strange alliance when you consider that they were adversaries. Jesus had the power to make friends out of the most bitter of enemies – among those who were for Him and against Him. He still does, today.

In the midst of this synagogue drama, we saw what deeply distressed Jesus – stubborn hearts. They were stubborn in regard to the fresh work of God in Jesus standing before them. They were stubborn in regard to the suffering of the man with the withered hand. The Sabbath was given for the sake of restoring human beings, but over time the religious leaders’ practice of it had evolved into something which only withered the human spirit all the more. What Jesus did for the man’s hand, is what He longs to do for all – restore what is withered.

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Take a few moments and consider if there’s anything about you that is “withered.” Stretch it out in prayer and ask the Lord to restore it.

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Mark 3:7-12 Week 2 - Saturday

Crowds Follow Jesus 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

In The Middle Of The Mess

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ometimes following Jesus means retreating into lonely places (Mark 1:35). Other times it means being immersed smack-dab in the middle of the masses. What a scene! Jesus’ reputation as a healer continues to swell.

He’s mobbed, and it’s not by people who have it all together. Can you imagine -- the diseased pushing forward to touch Him, the demonically oppressed falling on the ground, and impure spirits shrieking violently as they exit the premises?!

His disciples are in the middle of it all. It’s powerful. It’s messy. When has following Jesus led you into an experience that was powerful and yet messy?

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 3

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 4:1-34 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 3 - Sunday

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Mark 3:13-19 Week 3 - Sunday

Jesus Appoints the Twelve 13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

He Isn’t Stingy

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esus isn’t stingy. He wants to share what He has. He calls 12 disciples to Him for three reasons – to be with Him, to send them out to preach, and to have authority to drive out demons. Preaching and driving out demons is what He’s been doing, but now it’s what they’ll do also. They’ve been bystanders. Now they’ll be participants. Jesus desires for them to be with Him that they might become like Him – thinking like He thought, living like He lived, and doing what He did.

None of those He called was perfect. It would be a long time before they understood what Jesus was really all about, or the meaning of what they would preach. Even more, they wouldn’t treat Jesus perfectly. Peter would deny Jesus. Judas would betray Him. If someone you poured your life into has ever broken your heart, Jesus understands. Pouring your life into others is risky business. Jesus knows it well. Do it anyway. You’re not alone if you’re following Him.

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Mark 3:20-35 Week 3 - Monday

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law 20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

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He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

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“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

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Family Ties

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t’s not any fun to be misunderstood, especially by people of influence or your family. Jesus has experience with both. The religious establishment is spreading the word that He’s possessed by the prince of demons. His family thinks He’s lost his mind and they are speaking their minds about it. They actually attempt to “take charge” of Him! (Haven’t we all had moments where we tried to “take charge” of Jesus, particularly when He’s not meeting our expectations?)

The tension is palpable. Jesus warns the religious leaders against blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. To blaspheme is to reject or vilify. In claiming Jesus is possessed by the prince of demons, they are rejecting the Spirit-anointed One through whom the forgiveness of sins comes. Without Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sins. The Great Physician has appeared, but if those who are dying think He’s a murderer, they’ll never let Him near them. To reject Jesus is to reject the only way sins are forgiven. Everything is at stake here.

This isn’t the only sobering exchange that happens. In the ancient culture of the Jews, one’s biological family is everything. In Western culture today, it’s not uncommon for parents and adult children to live thousands of miles apart, with separate lives, vocations, and circles of friends. In the culture back then, generations of families would live in the same village, be in the same line of work, and be inextricably intertwined with one another.

Jesus looks at those seated around Him, affirms them as His family, and says that those who do God’s will are His brother, sister, and mother. This is a world-rocking statement. He’s affirming that God’s will is for people to be seated around Him. He is to be at the center.

A new family is being created through Jesus – one that transcends biological ties. There is no more important decision we face than how we respond to Jesus. Our relationship with Him transcends everyone and everything else.

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Mark 4:1-20 Week 3 - Tuesday

The Parable of the Sower 1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

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Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, 10

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.

17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

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In One Ear….

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heard about three friends -- a lawyer, a doctor, and a preacher -- who decided to go deer hunting together. As they were walking, they encountered a large buck in the distance and shot simultaneously. Immediately the buck dropped to the ground. All three rushed to see how large the deer really was. Upon reaching it they couldn’t determine whose shot had actually killed the deer.

A heated debate ensued, and a few minutes later, a game officer came by and asked what the problem was. The doctor told him that they were arguing over who shot the buck. The officer took a look at the buck and within a few seconds, he said with much confidence, “The preacher shot the buck!”

They all wondered how he knew that so quickly. The officer said, “Easy. The bullet went in one ear and out the other.”

Just because we hear things doesn’t mean we retain them.

Most in Jesus’ day believed that when the kingdom of God broke into their world, its presence would be undeniable, its results instantaneous, and all of God’s people would get on board. Jesus offers a different picture. It’s more like a farmer sowing seed. Seeds are small and take time to grow. Not everyone will receive the message, stick with it, or bear fruit in light of it.

What has interfered with you accepting the word or bearing fruit from it on occasion? What has made the biggest difference for you when it came to bearing fruit after hearing and accepting the word?

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Mark 4:21-25 Week 3 - Wednesday A Lamp on a Stand 21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?

Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

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Shouting Secrets

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or more than 20 years, I’ve worn a microphone of some kind while preaching. On more than one occasion, I have forgotten to turn it off when I was done, only to have everyone in the sanctuary overhear smatterings of personal conversations in the aisles and lobby after the service. What was said in secret, so to speak, was broadcast to everyone.

In the previous passage, Jesus acknowledged that the kingdom of God was a secret given to His disciples at first. That was one reason He spoke in parables. In this passage, Jesus made clear to His disciples that it was not meant to be a secret forever. What was hidden would eventually be brought out into the open, and what was concealed would ultimately be revealed.

In the meantime, the disciples were to consider His teaching, hold on to what they did understand, and live in light of it. There’s so much we don’t understand about the way the kingdom of God grows, and why Jesus did things the way He did from time to time. What we are called to do as disciples is to pay careful attention to what He has said, reflect upon it, and live in light of it. As we live in light of it, we come into new levels of understanding and ownership about what He was saying. In doing so, we’ll be more prepared to be resources for others who will hear and accept a future broadcast of the kingdom message.

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Can you think of an example from your life when a teaching of Jesus made more sense after you lived in light of it than it did before you attempted to put it into practice?

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Mark 4:26-28 Week 3 - Thursday

The Parable of the Growing Seed 26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.

Stopwatches And Calendars

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e live in a time where we are constantly on a quest for immediacy – getting “it” or “there” or “that” – as soon as possible. We live in a culture that hates to wait for anything. We also live in a culture that is entertained by mystery (think of the preponderance of “mystery” themes in books, movies, and television), but has little tolerance for it in the practicalities of everyday life. We do not accept “mystery” well in all practicality. We are a culture that likes to “take things apart” and “break things down” in an attempt to better control outcomes. In some cases, this has served us well, while at the same time conditioning many to think they can do it with everything.

There is a mystery as to how the kingdom of God grows. Jesus acknowledges that night and day, whether the farmer sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows though he does not know how. It’s our responsibility to be a part of the planting and reaping, and it’s God’s responsibility when it comes to the growing. As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”

Growth is a process more than it is instantaneous. Jesus speaks of growth in process terms – from stalk, to head, to kernel in the head. Sometimes we need a stopwatch when evaluating a journey from one point to another (think of a world-class sprinter in the 100-meter), and other times we need a calendar. Don’t lose a “calendar” perspective when it comes to how God works in your life and world. But don’t put away your stopwatch either.

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Mark 4:30-34 Week 3 - Friday

The Parable of the Mustard Seed 30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable.

But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

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Hypnotized By Size

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e live in a culture that’s hypnotized by size and captivated by largeness.

Massive hotels with indoor roller coasters, IMAX movie theaters, quadruple cheeseburgers, 90-oz. steaks, 44-oz. drinks at the convenient store . . . we love “bigness.”

Everything the Roman Empire did and stood for was big. They had the biggest military and economy. They were “big” in industrialization, technology, and art and entertainment. If any nation hoped to overthrow Rome, they had to get “bigger.” For most first-century Jews, they believed their problem was how small they were. They would need a supernaturally backed deliverer like their ancestors had in Moses when Israel was freed from Egyptian bondage thousands of years earlier.

Jesus came on the scene, performed miracles, and spoke about the kingdom of God. When the Jews witnessed this, their imaginations ran wild with anticipation. This was why the crowds were building. What He said here, though, had to stump them. In the Old Testament, the kingdom of God was often compared to large trees – the cedars of Lebanon or a sycamore tree.

Then Jesus came along and compared the kingdom not just to seeds, but to the smallest of all their seeds – a mustard seed! Say what? It took more than 700 of those to equal 1 gram in weight! This was not the comparison they were looking for. They needed the work of God to be big.

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The parable concluded when Jesus observed that the mustard seed grows into the largest of all garden plants. Whew! Jesus finished with an image that would bring them some relief – and us as well. But if we are hypnotized by “bigness,” we may focus on the ending of the parable and miss an important emphasis.

I don’t believe Jesus told the parable to emphasize how large a move of God can be in the end, but rather to drive home how small it is on some days – as small as a mustard seed, hardly visible to the human eye.

In the kingdom of God, magnificent endings are the fruit of tiny beginnings.

How have you seen this to be true in your own experience?

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Mark 4:35-41 Week 3 - Saturday

Jesus Calms the Storm 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

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He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

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Storms And Revelations

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esus had a peace within Him that was greater than the storm around Him. How else would you explain His capacity to sleep in the stern of a boat while it was nearly swamped by a furious squall? What was within Him, He ultimately imparted all around Him. The disciples were being taken on a quite a ride. First, they were terrified by what was happening to their boat. And then they were terrified by just who it was that was with them in their boat.

Just because we’ve been listening to and following Jesus doesn’t yet mean we fully grasp the significance of who He is. Sometimes it takes a storm to put us in position to move to a greater awareness of the significance and power of the One we think we know so well.

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 4

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 6:30-56 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 4 - Sunday

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Mark 5:1-20 Week 4 - Sunday

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man 1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

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Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

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Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

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As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demonpossessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

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A Wild Man

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o often, our adversary’s nature is camouflaged. He masquerades as “an angel of light,” as Paul put it (2 Corinthians 11:14). This story is an exception. His destructive nature is quite evident for all to see. Our adversary and his forces seek to oppress and destroy anything they can – whether it’s a man living in a graveyard and abusing himself, or a herd of pigs suddenly stampeding down a steep hill, into a lake, and drowning themselves. We would do well to remember this.

One would think that Jesus would be welcome in the region after what He had done to transform a graveyard demoniac that, no doubt, had frightened everyone. Instead they were now afraid of Jesus. The shock of a crazy man now dressed and in his right mind, a herd of 2000 pigs which committed suicide, and perhaps even the economic ramifications of the exorcism for the community – these events were more than they could handle. They begged Jesus to leave. The newly delivered man begged to go with Him. Jesus’ response may be the most simple and beautiful definition of what it means for us to share our faith. “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how much He has had mercy on you.” So he did! The Decapolis was primarily a network of several Gentile villages. Long before Paul became an apostle to the Gentiles, this unnamed man once possessed by a legion of demons was evangelizing the non-Jews in his area. He may very well have been the first missionary to the Gentiles.

Have you ever taken some time to put down in writing what the Lord has done for you – not just in terms of your circumstances, but also in terms of your transformation?

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Mark 5:21-43 Week 4 - Monday

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman 21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

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“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 31

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

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While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

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Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”

40 But they laughed at him.

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After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Trump Card

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ark 4 concludes with the disciples asking, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” Mark answers the question with three consecutive stories.

Jesus delivering the man oppressed by a legion of demons reveals His authority over the demonic. Jesus healing the woman who bleeds perpetually reveals His authority over disease. Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead reveals His authority over death. It’s a “triple feature” of the power of Jesus in varied ways. And the “triple feature” follows the display of Jesus’ authority over the wind and the waves.

The disciples are being immersed in wave after wave of a growing awareness of just whom it is they are following. Fear, astonishment, awe, and wonder are familiar companions at this point in the wake of every display of His authority. Wind, water, demons, sickness, and death aren’t the greatest forces to be reckoned with in their lives. These things are all at the mercy of Jesus. He has the “trump card” on all of them.

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Mark 6:1-6a Week 4 - Tuesday

A Prophet Without Honor 1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.

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Amazing Jesus

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’ll never forget the first time I stood up to preach in front of family. I was 21 and had come “home” to Austin to speak at the little church where I grew up. In the preaching moment, one is out in the open declaring “the way it is” or “the way it ought to be” with some measure of conviction. I can’t convey how vulnerable this feels, particularly among people who know you well and have watched you grow up.

It’s surprising to hear someone preach for the first time. We see children grow up playing a sport, or a musical instrument, or becoming proficient with computers. We are somewhat prepared for them to grow up and do such things. We don’t see many children growing up “preaching.” When someone we’ve known our whole life stands up and speaks with conviction about “the way it is” or “the way it ought to be” in regard to the will of God, there can be a tendency to worry for them and for ourselves. “Does he really have the credibility to say this? What will people think of him? What will people think of me in relation to him?”

Jesus comes home and the reviews are mixed. He’s noted for being a carpenter, having a mom, brothers, and sisters that everyone knows. He’s

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one of their own. What may be harder for them to swallow is not necessarily what He’s declaring but the fact that He’s the one declaring it. They took offense at Him. I’d love to amaze Jesus, but not in the way that they did. He was amazed at their lack of faith. What a statement Mark makes when he says that Jesus could not do any miracles there except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. Mark acts as though that wasn’t too big of a deal. Then again, we’ve just seen His authority over the wind, water, demons, sickness, and death.

Have you ever taken offense at Jesus? Was it something He said or what He did or what He didn’t do? How did you work through it?

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Mark 6:6b-13 Week 4 - Wednesday

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.

10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

8

They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

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From Bystanders To Participants Jesus has every intention of turning bystanders into participants. After a season of being with Jesus and witnessing Him at work, Jesus sends the Twelve out to do the very things He’s been doing – traveling from village to village, declaring the kingdom of God has come near, healing the sick, and delivering the demonically oppressed. This is exactly what happened. What He commanded them to do, He empowered them to do.

There’s something to be said for traveling light, and that’s exactly how He sent them. They weren’t allowed to “check bags” or even take a “carry-on.”

Why do you think Jesus told them to travel so light?

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Mark 6:14-29 Week 4 - Thursday

John the Baptist Beheaded 14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known.

Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

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Others said, “He is Elijah.”

And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

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For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.

When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

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Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

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The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.”

And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

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She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

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Speaking Truth To Power

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ot many today realize that Herod was steadily at work attempting to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, a work that his father had actually begun. Perhaps you remember his dad? He was the ruler who set out to kill Jesus when He was born. This particular “Herod” in the story of John the Baptist was very much like his dad. He desperately wanted to be recognized as the true king of the Jews, and did what he could to incur their favor – hence the restoring of the temple.

As important as the temple was, this wouldn’t deter John the Baptist from calling Herod out on his immorality. Herod was not exempt from the call to repentance in the wake of the coming of the Messiah. John the Baptist lost his life for speaking “truth to power.”

Within a decade of the resurrection of Jesus, Herod would fall out of favor with his own people and Rome. He would be banished to Gaul – a region far way – and would spend the remainder of his years in disgrace. As for John the Baptist, his faithfulness speaks for itself, as does the esteem Jesus had for him. “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist . . . .” (Matthew 11:11).

God is the great vindicator.

Is there a particular situation you are facing right now in which you must courageously take a stand and trust God to vindicate you in the end?

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Mark 6:30-44 Week 4 - Friday

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand 30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

So he began teaching them many things.

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By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

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But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

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“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

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You Can’t Fill A Moving Cup

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ometimes the most spiritual thing one can do is retreat to a quiet place and rest. This is exactly what Jesus leads His apostles to do, after they gather around Him and report to Him all that they had done and taught. By now, the apostles, and not only Jesus, were flooded with the needs of people.

They had trouble even slowing down for a bite to eat. “So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”

Their time in solitude didn’t last long, but don’t miss the importance of what Jesus is doing with them. As the old saying goes, “You can’t fill a moving cup.” At some point, our “cup” has to be stilled so it can be filled.

What is it about your life that tells you when you’re overdue for a retreat to a “quiet place?”

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Mark 6:45-56 Week 4 - Saturday

Jesus Walks on the Water 45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

51

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

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Against The Wind

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ot only can Jesus sleep soundly on a swamped boat in the midst of a storm, He can walk on water outside the boat in the midst of a storm.

The disciples don’t recognize Jesus for who He is when they see Him walking on the lake – they think He’s a ghost. Sometimes it’s difficult to recognize Jesus for who He is and what He’s doing – particularly if He’s doing something you were never looking for Him to do in the first place!

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It’s taking longer for the disciples to cross because they are sailing against the wind. There’s much to be said here for learning to look for Jesus in the midst of our adversity, and resisting the tendency to blame Him for it. The adversity they face provides the context for them to come to yet another level of revelation concerning Jesus.

“Take courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid.” Seeing Jesus in a whole new light can be initially disconcerting and frightening. Ultimately, though, courage comes from seeing Jesus more clearly for all that He is.

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 5

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 8:22-9:1 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 5 - Sunday

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Mark 7:1-23 Week 5 - Sunday

That Which Defiles 1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 6

“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

7

They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

9

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them. [16] 14

After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into 17

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their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

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Against The Wind

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ike many physicians, the Great Physician invites us as patients to participate in the healing process. One of the first steps is for us to realize how the disease of sin works in our lives. It’s in this exchange with the religious leaders that Jesus begins to educate them as to how we are defiled by sin.

At the heart of our problem with sin is the problem of our heart. The nature of sin works from the inside-out. The kingdom Jesus declares is far more than about the modifying of human behavior. It’s about the transformation of the human heart.

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Mark 7:24-30 Week 5 - Monday

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith 24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.

25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

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“Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

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Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

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She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Due Time

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t’s okay to admit it. How Jesus initially responds to the woman seems so, well, “un-Christ-like.” He quotes a proverb in which she is obviously likened to a dog!

She isn’t offended by the proverb. She knows who He is – the Son of David, Lord, Master. She knows who she is – a Canaanite woman. (In other places in the gospels, Jesus will talk about being sent first to His own people and then to everyone else.) She doesn’t make a case for why she should be considered as a child at the family table, or why this isn’t fair; nor does she try and legitimize herself in any way.

She accepts the fact that she’s in the place of the family pet and in essence says, “Go ahead Lord, feed the kids, but I know you have a crumb for me. All this takes is a crumb – this illness is no match for your power.”

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He forgets not the cry of the humble. (Psalm 9:12) Though the Lord be high, He has respect for the lowly, but the proud He knows from afar. (Psalm 138:6) I live in a high and holy place, but also with one who is contrite and humble in spirit, so that I may revive the spirit of the humble. (Isaiah 57:15) God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. (I Peter 5:5-6) For that woman, her time had come due.

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Mark 7:31-37 Week 5 - Tuesday

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man 31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

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Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

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Loosened Tongues

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id you notice where this healing occurred? The Decapolis. Sound familiar? In Mark 5, Jesus delivers the man oppressed by Legion. In the wake of his deliverance, the man begs to go with Jesus, but Jesus won’t let him. Instead, He sends him home to his own people to tell them how much the Lord had done for him.

Now Jesus arrives in the region of the Decapolis Himself. Upon His arrival, people bring Him a deaf and mute man, and the rest is history. I can’t help but wonder if the testimony of the man delivered from Legion prepared the Decapolis for Jesus so that they knew what to do when He arrived. If you remember in Mark 5, the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to leave them in the wake of the deliverance. In the Decapolis, though, they received Jesus with open arms.

Did you catch the irony? Jesus opens up the man’s ears, loosens his tongue, and then tells the bystanders not to tell anyone. Why? We’ll touch on that later. Suffice it to say, though, they didn’t obey Him. Their tongues were loosened as well!

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In the Decapolis, one testimony prepared people’s hearts to receive Jesus and experience more. May what happened to the deaf and mute man happen for all of us spiritually. May our tongues be loosened and may we speak plainly what we’ve experienced because of Jesus, that others might declare what they said in the Decapolis, “He has done everything well.”

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Mark 8:1-13 Week 5 - Wednesday

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand 1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.

3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

4

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“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7 They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9 About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10 he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

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When He Takes The Initiative

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eople are so captivated by Jesus they don’t eat for three days. Perhaps they don’t want to miss anything. Whatever the reason may be, Jesus knows how long they have gone without food. He knows their limits and how far they’ve come, and that they’ll collapse if He sends them back home without feeding them. Did you notice that no one asks Jesus to feed them?

It’s Jesus who takes the initiative.

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Jesus knows our needs, our limits, how far we’ve come in our journey to follow Him, and provides. He uses others in the process of addressing our needs, but it begins with Him. Take some time to reflect on how often your needs have been met before you even got to a point of asking. He is faithful.

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Mark 8:14-21 Week 5 - Thursday

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod 14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

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Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

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“Twelve,” they replied.

20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

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He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Getting The Point

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esus is on one page and His disciples are on another. They’re thinking about physical bread, and Jesus is referring to something entirely different. The miracle in the previous story isn’t just about meeting the needs of the crowd.

There is something more going on. There always is. The miracle is meant to show His disciples something about Him that He desperately wants them to realize.

There is more to life than physical bread, the material world, and Jesus addressing our immediate circumstances to our satisfaction. It’s a fine line between receiving the compassionate activity of God, and mistakenly thinking we’re “the point” of the kingdom of God.

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It takes a little bit of yeast to work through the whole batch of dough and make bread rise. The yeast of the Pharisees and Herod probably refers to their distorted visions of what they want the kingdom of God to look like.

But there’s something more important than what they (or we) want the kingdom of God to look like – it’s first seeing who Jesus is, and listening to what He has to say about the kingdom.

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Mark 8:22-26 Week 5 - Friday

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida 22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

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He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

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A Second Touch

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hoever thinks that when Jesus healed it was always instantaneous probably hasn’t read this story. This healing is unique in the sense that it’s the only healing where it appears Jesus doesn’t “get it right” the first time. The healing happens progressively, in a sense. He has to give the man a second touch. There’s more going on, though, than meets the eye.

The man partially seeing after the first touch parallels where Jesus’ disciples are in their journey with Jesus. They’re beginning to see who He is, in one sense, and yet they don’t yet see Him clearly – particularly in regard to what He has come to do. They are like the man who sees people but “they look like trees walking around.” They see the “fuzzy outline” of Jesus, but do not yet see Him in “high resolution.” This will become all the more clear before the end of Mark 8.

We all need a second touch. None of us “get” Jesus in terms of who He really is, what He’s really all about, and all that He stands for, the first time.

Sometimes the second touch can be gentle, while other times it might feel a bit abrasive (as we’ll see with Peter later).

Who or what has been the equivalent of a “second touch” in your life that helped to clarify your vision of Jesus and your relationship with Him?

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Mark 8:27-30 Week 5 - Saturday

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

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“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

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Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

No Benign Confession

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his conversation happens appropriately in the middle of the gospel. It’s the turning point. Everything we’ve read thus far, particularly of Jesus’ extraordinary authority over the wind, waves, food supplies, sickness, death, demons, and in teaching, is meant to lead us to the question Jesus asks His disciples: “Who do you say I am?”

Peter is the disciple most likely to be the subject of head-shakes and laughter today because there is so much material about him and his “mistakes” in the gospels. Give Peter his due here, though. It’s no small thing when he professes that Jesus is the Messiah – God’s anointed King.

When Peter says this, he’s in the shadow of Caesarea Philippi. It’s the town where there was a temple dedicated to the newest Roman god – the Emperor Caesar himself, thought to be a “son” of the gods. Referring to Jesus as the “Messiah” wouldn’t just get Herod’s attention, but ultimately the attention of Rome itself.

Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is King. Jesus is Lord. It’s not a benign confession – even today. We confess His Kingship in the midst of all kinds of “gods” today.

We live in the shadow of them. In the midst of which ones in particular do you need to confess “Jesus is King” yet again?

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 6

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 9:2-13 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 6 - Sunday

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Mark 8:31-33 Week 6 - Sunday

Jesus Predicts His Death 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

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Jesus And Job Descriptions

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or the first time, Jesus plainly articulates His job description. Peter would have nothing of it. Of all things, Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke Him – the one who exercised authority over the wind, waves, sickness, death, and demons! Peter couldn’t stand it. In his mind, Jesus had the wrong job description for the Messiah. No Messiah was suppose to suffer, be rejected by His own religious leaders, and ultimately killed. How in the world were the Jews going to overthrow Rome with their Messiah talking like that?

Did you notice that when Jesus responds to Peter, He is looking at all of the disciples? He knows that Peter’s objection is theirs as well, and that the origin of their objection comes from somewhere else. The wilderness wouldn’t be the only place Satan shows up to tempt Jesus. Jesus “calls him out” in the midst of the disciples, while confronting the disciples with the reality that what they have in mind isn’t what God has in mind.

Two thousand years have passed, but we’re not all that far removed from the position of the disciples. It’s possible to have our own “job descriptions” and expectations of Jesus today regarding what we desire Him to do for us or deliver us from. Frustration and disillusionment can set in when Jesus doesn’t do what we expect of Him, or have been told by others that He would do. But Jesus is under no obligation to meet our expectations, or keep promises others have made for Him.

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Every now and then, a disciple is faced with this question: Am I pursuing an image of Jesus I’ve created to endorse what I’ve wanted all along, or am I pursuing Jesus? Being a disciple means setting aside all those things and listening to what He has to say about why He came and what He came to do, and then orienting our lives accordingly.

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Mark 8:34-9:1 Week 6 - Monday

The Way of the Cross 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

9:1 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

Dying And Living

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he passage begins when He calls the crowd and His disciples to Him, and the first word He utters is “Whoever.” Jesus’ call is available to anyone, and His terms are applicable to everyone. Anyone can be a disciple of His, but they must deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Him. Jesus isn’t calling anyone to do anything He isn’t already doing.

It’s difficult for us to appreciate the weight of that phrase “take up their crosses” upon Jesus’ disciples. We live in a culture in which crosses are status symbols, designer jewelry, tattoos, and trinkets of all kinds. Today, crosses are signs of victory and hope. In the days of Jesus, though, crosses weren’t something that people wore; they were something people died upon. When you saw someone carrying a cross - you knew that would be the last time you would see that person alive.

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Denying ourselves and taking up our crosses is not as much a prerequisite as it is inevitable if we are to truly follow Him. We cannot follow Jesus very long without being faced with choices every day between His will and ours. This is because His will and ours aren’t always synonymous. We won’t be able to be His disciples over the long haul without denying ourselves and taking up our crosses. It’s like me saying, “Unless you learn how to walk, you can’t run.”

What am I saying? I’m not saying that unless you learn how to walk, I won’t allow you to run. I’m saying that unless you learn how to walk, it just won’t be possible to run.

Life every day is at stake in this decision to lose our lives for the sake of following Jesus. He promises that whoever loses their lives for Him and for the gospel will actually save them. The willingness to lose our lives for the sake of following Him is grounded in trust in Him. Jesus will go on to say later in the gospel of John that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). If we’re not following Jesus, then the road we’re on isn’t the way – it’s a dead-end. If we’re not following Jesus, then the road we’re on isn’t the truth – it’s a lie. If we’re not following Jesus, then the road we’re on isn’t life – it’s death.

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Mark 9:2-13 Week 6 - Tuesday

The Transfiguration 2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

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Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

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Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

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9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

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Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”

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A Few Steps By Sight

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ix days pass between Jesus’ shocking comments in Mark 9, and what transpires in this passage. The disciples have to be reeling in the wake of Jesus’ most recent revelations about His “job description,” as well as His revelation about what it will mean for them to follow Him. His comments were so counter to their expectations for a Messiah, I wonder if it didn’t make them reconsider if He really was one.

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There are some extraordinary things happening to Peter, James, and John here -- and they could not have happened at a better time. Jesus is briefly transfigured – they are allowed to see Him in a glorious state. Then they also have the opportunity to see Him in connection with arguably the two most prominent figures in the Old Testament – Moses the Lawgiver and Elijah the great prophet. Finally, and most significantly, they hear the voice of God for themselves when He affirms that Jesus is His Son and they are to listen to Him. Allowing Peter, James, and John to experience these things was an expression of God’s grace upon them at this point in their journey of following Jesus.

It’s likely they needed an encounter like this to affirm that Jesus really was the Messiah.

There are times when God graciously allows us to take a few steps by sight so that we can continue the journey by faith. Have you ever had an experience where God allowed you to take a few steps by sight so that you could continue the journey by faith?

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Mark 9:14-29 Week 6 - Wednesday

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit 14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

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“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

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“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you?

How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

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20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

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Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

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“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

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The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

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After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

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He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Honest To God

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f you’ve ever had a child with a prolonged illness, then perhaps you can identify with the angst, hope, and then disappointment of this father when he brings his boy to the disciples and they can’t heal him. Did you notice how the father approaches Jesus? “Teacher I brought you my son. . . . I asked your disciples to drive it out.” It’s interesting that the father considered bringing his son to the disciples the same thing as bringing his son to Jesus.

There’s little doubt the disciples’ failure to live up to Jesus’ name brought about a measure of doubt about Jesus in that father’s spirit. He says to Jesus, “. . . if you can do anything.” His experience with the disciples affected his faith in Jesus. He’s got a mixture of faith and doubt at work in the presence of Jesus, which he readily confesses later when he says, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”

Many people hit a wall of doubt in the wake of a disappointing experience with followers of Jesus, just like this father. The father, nevertheless, still pushes forward with his doubt to Jesus. He has doubt, but he won’t let that keep him from coming to Jesus with it. And just because he has some doubt, that doesn’t stop Jesus from healing his son. Jesus is not held hostage to our doubts.

The father models for us what it means to be “honest to God.” It’s not a lack of faith, but actually an act of faith to admit our doubt to God, because we’re still talking to Him! In what way have you dealt with doubt or disillusionment when it comes to your relationship with Jesus? Is there an area of your life today where the father’s prayer is applicable to you? “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”

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Mark 9:30-37 Week 6 - Thursday

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time 30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

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Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

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He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

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Trouble Getting It

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esus reiterates His “job description” to His disciples, and they still have trouble getting it. Not only are they still having trouble swallowing the idea of Jesus suffering, being rejected, and dying, but they also have trouble processing what Jesus was talking about when He spoke of rising from the dead. The Jews believed in resurrections from the dead. They just didn’t believe such things would happen until the Last Day. They are genuinely confused by this idea of Jesus rising from the dead in the immediate future before God has sorted out everything on earth.

For all the things they don’t understand about Jesus, there are things they do understand. They know Him well enough by now to know they shouldn’t be arguing about who’s the greatest among them. None of them wanted to answer Jesus when He asked what they were arguing about.

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The disciples continue to demonstrate that they do not have it all together in terms of understanding Jesus (His mission and resurrection), and in their imitation of His character (arguing about who’s the greatest). What’s

amazing is that Jesus has already sent them out to be used in significant ways as His representatives.

While it’s important that we continue to grow in our understanding of Jesus and in our imitation of Him, we must not believe that our misunderstandings and shortcomings disqualify us from being of service to Him and used by Him. Jesus really has no choice but to use broken people who are in process.

That’s all He has to work with.

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Mark 9:38-41 Week 6 - Friday

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us 38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

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Shooting At The Saints

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hen I read this story, I can’t help but think of one of my favorite stories from North American history. It’s said to have occurred during the French-Indian War. The British had gotten involved and had decided to take the opportunity to storm the city of Quebec, a city occupied by the French.

Admiral Phipps of the British navy had been assigned to move his massive ship up the river bordering Quebec and anchor it right outside the city. He was to provide cannon fire into Quebec while the British army stormed it from the other side.

Phipps arrived on the river outside of Quebec a few days early and anchored.

He noticed that on the walls around the city of Quebec, there were statues of the Catholic saints that the French held in high regard. Phipps thought it would be fun to insult the French by firing cannons at the statues. Days later, however, when the British army arrived to storm Quebec, they were quickly defeated due to a lack of cannon fire cover from Phipps’ ship. It’s said that Admiral Phipps had used all of his ammunition “shooting at the saints.”

Church history has its share of stories of Jesus’ followers using all their “ammo” shooting at other saints. While the disciples aren’t yet “shooting” at others who are acting in the name of Jesus, they are definitely suspicious of those who are not “one of us,” claiming the name of Jesus and doing works accordingly.

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We are not the gatekeepers of the kingdom of God. We don’t have a monopoly on Jesus. The idea is for Him to have a monopoly on us.

Can you think of a time when you realized that the kingdom of God was much bigger than you or your circle?

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Mark 9:42-50 Week 6 - Saturday

Causing to Stumble 42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. [44] 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where

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“‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

Everyone will be salted with fire.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?

Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

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Stumbling Blocks

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ur reading today begins with Jesus warning against causing “these little ones” to stumble (it’s likely a child was even in His lap when He said this if you keep in mind Mark 9:36). Jesus says this immediately after telling the disciples not to stop others who are doing miracles in His name, even if those “others” are not “one of us.” Our reading today ends with Jesus calling for His disciples to be at peace with each other. Keep in mind that how the passage begins and ends has something to do with understanding one of the ways we can cause “little ones” to stumble.

One of the ways we can cause the next generation to stumble is through how poorly we treat one another. In this chapter of Mark, the disciples have been fighting among themselves about who’s the greatest, and ordering others who they felt were not “one of us” to cease their activities in the name of Jesus.

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Pride, divisiveness, and sectarianism have done much to cause people to stumble over the last 2000 years of church history.

Spend a few moments praying for humility and unity in our marriages, families, friendships, and churches. While you’re at it, ask the Lord to heal the wounds you see in yourself or others who’ve been hurt by a lack of humility and unity.

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 7

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 10:17-45 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 7 - Sunday

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Mark 10:1-12 Week 7 - Sunday Divorce 1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

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“What did Moses command you?” he replied.

They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

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5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’

7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.

He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

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It Comes In A Kit

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ou’ve probably heard the saying, “They’ve got a marriage made in heaven.” In one sense, marriage could be considered as having been made in heaven. God conceived of it. It’s His idea. But the other old saying also holds true: “Marriage may be made in heaven, but it comes in a kit and has to be put together on earth.” Putting one together and keeping it together can be difficult.

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The Pharisees want to know if divorce is lawful. Jesus answers them, but quickly moves beyond what’s lawful; He wants to recover what God intends for marriage in the first place. He takes them to Genesis. In doing so, He reframes the issue. The issue is not “What do we want?” or “What are we allowed to do?” The issue is “What did God have in mind for marriage in the first place?”

Divorce was never God’s idea. It was a concession made because of the hardness of people’s hearts. The laws regarding divorce were written to protect the innocent in the Old Testament, but by the days of Jesus, they were being used as a vehicle for men to leave one marriage and enter another all too easily.

Jesus has come to offer a cure for hard-heartedness. There is another way forward in marriage, other than “out.” It’s Him. Jesus is often invited to and acknowledged in weddings, but what about in our marriages every day?

If you’re married, take a moment to pray for your covenant. If you’re not, take a moment to pray for the marital covenant of someone close to you.

Jesus did His first miracle at a wedding in John 2. He’s still in the business of doing miracles in marriages today.

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Mark 10:13-16 Week 7 - Monday

The Little Children and Jesus 13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Long Before Disney

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an you imagine the disciples rebuking people for bringing their children to Jesus to touch? The fact that this seems so offensive or ridiculous to many of us is a testimony to the impact Jesus’ life and teachings has had upon our world’s view of children. The status and honor Jesus afforded children was quite counter-cultural in His day.

Not only did Jesus want to touch them, but He also referred to them as a positive illustration of what it looks like to receive the kingdom of God. Rabbis didn’t use children as glowing examples of how things should be done! I love what John Ortberg says: “Children had a kingdom they belonged to – long before Walt Disney ever came along.”

Is there a child in your life who you would like to bring to Jesus in prayer and ask Him to touch? Please do so!

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Mark 10:17-31 Week 7 - Tuesday

The Rich and the Kingdom of God 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

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“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

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At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 23

The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 24

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

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27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” 28

Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

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Parking The Suburban In The Mailbox

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uppose I were to say to someone on street, “It’s easier to park your Suburban in your mailbox than it is for Mother Theresa to enter the kingdom of heaven.” For many, Mother Theresa is the proverbial standard for purity in our world. If anyone is “getting in,” it’s her!

In Jesus’ time, it was thought that wealth confirmed God’s approval of that person or family, and that poverty and sickness confirmed God’s disapproval. Here is a wealthy man who has been quite obedient in regard to the commands of God. His wealth and his track record appear to confirm God’s approval of him. If anybody is going to “enter the kingdom of God,” it’s going to be him!

When Jesus says that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God, it is, no doubt, disorienting and shocking to everyone. This is why the disciples say, “Who then can be saved?” They might have been saying something like, “If this guy can’t make it, then no one can!”

That’s the point. Jesus acknowledges that with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

There are many lessons that can be drawn from Jesus’ encounter with the wealthy young man, but don’t miss this one: None of us can be saved – including that man or Mother Theresa – apart from the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Don’t forget what Jesus’ name literally means: “The Lord saves.”

This is why salvation is found under no other name.

Because only “the Lord saves.”

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Mark 10:32-34 Week 7 - Wednesday

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time 32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

He Goes First

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esus is leading the way to Jerusalem and, more specifically, to the cross. He goes first in denying Himself. He’s not calling any of us as His disciples to do what He hasn’t already done.

Those who are following Him are afraid. This is not uncommon for a disciple.

Fear and trust are like faith and doubt. They are not mutually exclusive, and can co-exist within the heart of someone on the journey of discipleship. The issue is, will we allow fear to be our primary counselor more than Jesus? I love what John Wayne once said, “Courage isn’t a lack of fear. It’s being afraid and saddling up anyway.”

Repetition is one of the keys to learning. Jesus calls aside the Twelve and repeats, yet again, His “job description,” including His suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. He’s not giving up on His disciples.

Spend a few moments giving thanks to Him for His patience and persistence in teaching you, as well as His willingness to go before you in self-denial and suffering for the glory of God.

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Mark 10:35-45 Week 7 - Thursday

The Request of James and John 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

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“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

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“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

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“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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Downward Mobility

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he term “upward mobility” has been a part of American culture for some time now. It’s often used to describe people “on the rise” in the workplace, pay scale, or in terms of the area of town in which they live. The question that James and John asked might have been a question grounded in a concern for their own personal “upward mobility.” Jesus in essence says that they have no idea what they are asking for. They want to “sit at the table,” but to sit at His table, they’ll have to “drink His cup.”

In this exchange with His disciples, Jesus calls them and us to a “downward mobility.” According to Jesus, we “descend” into greatness. If we want to

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be with Him in His glory, then we must be about “downward mobility” in sacrificial service to others. After all, we follow One who did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.

What does being “downwardly mobile” and “descending” mean for you in particular right now?

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Mark 10:46-52 Week 7 - Friday

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight 46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

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Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

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“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

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He Doesn’t Take It Lightly

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lind Bartimaeus is a beggar. He has nothing to offer Jesus – nothing except faith. His faith counts for something in Jesus’ eyes. Jesus affirms its significance when He declares that Bartimaeus’ own faith has healed him.

We must be careful before drawing conclusions about Bartimaeus’ “level” or “measure” or “amount” of faith. Some folks look at passages like these and want to jump to questions regarding how much faith it takes for one to be healed.

What matters is the object of his faith – Jesus. Bartimaeus may be blind, but he sees Jesus more clearly than most. He calls Him “son of David” – a title not many are applying to Jesus at this point, and which is reflective of His Kingship.

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You may not feel like you have much to offer Jesus, but know this: Your faith is precious to Jesus. He doesn’t take it lightly.

Immediately after Bartimaeus is healed, he follows Jesus along the road with his newfound sight. Think about something you have received as a result of the mercy of Jesus. Are you following Him with it?

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Mark 11:1-11 Week 7 - Saturday

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King 1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, 4

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

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“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

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Jesus In A Chevette

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y best friend in college was a guy named Grant Boone. He drove a gold 1982 Chevette hatchback that ran on diesel, which he had bought for $400. The ceiling felt drooped. The wiper fluid shot over the front windshield and landed on the back. He left it for dead one summer in a parking lot at Abilene Christian University, and they actually paved around it. It was a kind of memorial I suppose. The rest of the year, that one unpaved spot testified to the ever-abiding presence of the Chevette that summer.

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Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on the Chevette of animals. In one sense, it’s laughable. In another, it’s humble, vulnerable, approachable. No king or ruler would choose a donkey as his parade float. Horses and chariots were symbols of war and power, because they were so often involved in war and the show of power. Donkeys were symbols of peace and service. Generally speaking, no common farm animal was more peaceful and yet more useful in service.

In riding in on a donkey, Jesus was saying a mouthful without ever opening His mouth. His kingdom was one of peace brought about through humble, sacrificial service. The donkey is a prelude to the cross – the ultimate expression of humble, sacrificial service that would bring peace.

Now if you’ve ever worked on a farm or ranch like I did for a couple of summers in high school, then you know donkeys can be stubborn. In a sense, this too says something to me about this particular season in Jesus’ life. He would be stubborn in regard to never taking His eyes off of the cross that God called Him to – not letting the disciples, the crowds, or even His own desire for self-preservation deter Him. The crowds are crying out “Hosanna,” which means “Lord save us.” He’s on His way, and will do it in a way they never imagined.

We have our own ways of shouting “Hosanna” today. We think of salvation and deliverance as being achieved in one particular way, while God is up to it in a far different way. Can you think of an example from your own life? As it’s written in Isaiah 55:9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.”

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 8

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 12:1-34 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 8 - Sunday

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Mark 11:12-25 Week 8 - Sunday

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts 12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit.

When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

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The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

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When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [26] 22

His Hot Button

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hat we get angry about can be revelation of what we truly value. Jesus has a “hot button,” and it gets pushed when His own people deny others the opportunity to draw near to His Father.

The temple courts were a particular area where non-Jews, or Gentiles, could gather for prayer, worship, and sacrifices. Unfortunately, their space had been taken over by Jewish merchants and money changers providing services associated with worship rituals. In other words, “outsiders” were prevented from drawing near to God by the way the “insiders” were operating. This was probably what was behind Jesus’ statement: “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’” Jesus was willing to kick over a few tables for the sake of people having the opportunity to draw near to God. As Scripture unfolds, we’ll find portions of it that refer to the local church as a temple, and other portions that refer to our bodies or our lives as temples.

It’s worth taking some time and considering to what extent our lives are an opportunity for others to draw near to God, or an obstacle. Sometimes our “temple courts” get cluttered with things that interfere with others drawing near to God. Spend a few moments submitting the temple of your life to Jesus in prayer, asking Him to make all of your life “sacred space” for others to draw near to God through you.

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Mark 11:27-33 Week 8 - Monday

The Authority of Jesus Questioned 27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

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They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

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So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Questions

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hen you consider the church’s emphasis on evangelism the last 2000 years, it can be baffling reading through this gospel and seeing all the times when Jesus Himself tells people not to say a word about who they think He is. In this passage, not even He will say it when the Pharisees in essence ask Him, “Who do you think you are doing what you did in the temple?”

Jesus answers their question with a question, and they are stalemated.

Why was Jesus so reluctant at times to speak clearly about His identity, or even for others to do so?

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It could have something to do with what He needed to teach -- concerning Himself, His mission, and the kingdom of God -- and what He needed to model. He wanted time to define what it meant for Him to be the Messiah, and what it meant to follow Him. The sooner and more often the term was applied to Him, the more the masses and controversy would grow, and the more quickly He would attract the attention of the religious leaders in

Jerusalem and even Rome. The window on His time on earth would begin closing rapidly.

Jesus will speak more plainly, but on His own terms when it comes to the religious leaders. He will not be bullied. Elsewhere in John 10, Jesus would say that no one takes His life from Him, but that He would lay it down of His own accord. He would have the authority over when it was time to lay it down.

Ironically, how He handled the religious leaders here was an expression of His authority over them, which they refused to recognize.

Jesus often taught through questions. Depending on the translation of the Bible you read, He asks almost 190 questions in the gospels. Believe it or not, He asks more questions than He’s asked!

There’s power in a good question, particularly one that Jesus asks.

Have you ever had a moment where a question you had was used by the Lord to reveal something to you about yourself?

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Mark 12:1-12 Week 8 - Tuesday

The Parable of the Tenants 1 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

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“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

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“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: 9

“‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone; 11 the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

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All Too Clear

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ometimes, writers, speakers, preachers, and teachers get themselves in trouble because they don’t communicate clearly enough, and people misunderstand what they are attempting to say. Other times, they get in trouble because they’ve communicated all too clearly, and there’s no misunderstanding whatsoever. The parable Jesus tells here is a case of the

latter.

Not every parable Jesus tells has a happy ending. This is one of those. There was no follow-up conversation with His disciples or anyone else in regard to the meaning of this parable. Most everyone understood it, particularly the religious leaders who were deeply offended by it.

Jesus is the cornerstone. He’s not meant to be a stone “added” to the life we’re already constructing for ourselves. He’s not a luxury option on a vehicle.

He’s the cornerstone – the first stone to be put in place and the one by which all other “stones” in our lives are aligned and fall into place. If we try to “add” Him as an accessory to our lives rather than allowing Him to be the cornerstone, then we’re not accepting Him as He’s meant to be in our lives.

In fact, we’re rejecting Him as He truly is.

What needs to be aligned in your life with Him as the cornerstone?

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Mark 12:13-17 Week 8 - Wednesday

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar 13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

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And they were amazed at him.

Image

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n the days of the Roman Empire, the Emperors were recognized as having strains of divinity within them. On one side of a Roman coin was the image of Caesar. On the other side were the inscriptions “son of a god” and “high priest.” Now imagine this coin in the hands of Jesus, the true Son of God. This is what He asked to be brought to Him! He has no problem with paying the imperial tax to Caesar, much to the disappointment of those trying to stir up trouble for him. Money talks, but not as loudly as a resurrection. Jesus is secure in regard to who He is, even with other “pretenders” who claim titles that aren’t truly theirs. Within a few centuries, an emperor of the very empire that crucified Him would proclaim Him as Lord.

Like those coins that bore the image of Caesar, we bear the image of God. Will we give unto God what is God’s? This is one of the reasons Jesus came -- to show us what that looks like, and to give us the power to do so.

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Mark 12:18-27 Week 8 - Thursday

Marriage at the Resurrection 18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children.

Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

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Reading The Word With Jesus

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f I’m honest, I have to admit that what Jesus has to say about marriage here, in passing, initially deflates me a bit. For many in our world, marriage has been incredibly difficult. This reality of heaven being a place where marriage does not exist would be a welcome relief to many.

As for me, I can’t imagine not being in the same kind of relationship with Tara there as I am here. The best years of my time on earth have been while I’ve been in a marital covenant with her. Though I’ve never seen heaven, I can’t help but think of my life with Tara as a deposit of heaven on earth. It must be something else on the other side. All that has me wondering what kind of relationships will be enjoyed there. I trust Him. I just wonder.

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But Jesus has a much larger concern in this passage. At issue is the resurrection of the dead and life beyond the grave. The Sadducees didn’t believe in it because of how they read the first five books of the Old Testament – the books of Moses. (They didn’t recognize the rest of the Old Testament as

“authoritative,” only the first five books of it.) Jesus, of all things, challenges their assumption, drawing from Exodus – one of those first five books they recognized as divinely inspired. Jesus uses their “Bible!” It’s kind of funny, really.

Sometimes you think you’ve seen all there is to see in a particular passage of Scripture. Then Jesus reads it with you. The apostle Paul told Timothy, “Reflect on what I’m saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.”

(2 Timothy 2:7) Every time you spend some time in the Word, ask the Lord to come read it with you. He brings the dead back to life!

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Mark 12:28-34 Week 8 - Friday

The Greatest Commandment 28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.

Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

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“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

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When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

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Fragmented And Tamed

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hen I was growing up, I went almost every year to the Barnum & Bailey Circus. I was always curious why animal trainers would carry a stool with them when they went into a cage with the lions. I understood why they would have whips and even a pistol with them. But what use could a stool be?

Most trainers would say that the stool may be the most important tool they have because of how it could be used to disorient the lion. This happens when the trainer holds the stool by the seat and thrusts the legs toward the face of the wild animal. According to trainers, the lion will try to focus on all four legs at once. In an attempt to focus on all four, a kind of paralysis overwhelms the animal. It becomes rather tame, weak, and almost disabled because its attention is fragmented.

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Sometimes there are people who come along – and they can be wellmeaning people – who give us one thing to focus on when it comes to being a “real Christian.” And then another person comes along and gives us something else to focus on, and then another person comes along and gives us something else to focus on, and before we know it, a paralysis sets in. Our attention gets fragmented – we become tame, weak, spiritually disabled.

Instead of following in the footsteps of the Lion of Judah, we wind up about as spiritually threatening as a kitten to the forces of darkness in our world.

This is one of the reasons why what Jesus says here is so important. It clarifies our focus, and in the long run, will empower us. Everything God instructs us to do in Scripture hangs on these two commands. In other words, all of His instructions are really applications and expressions of the two greatest commands: to love God with everything that we are – our heart, soul, and mind; and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

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Mark 12:35-37 Week 8 - Saturday

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

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“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’

David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Timeless

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esus is teaching yet again, and this time in the temple courts – the same area He “cleaned out” just a few days earlier. In each of the three stories preceding this one, the religious leaders are initiating questions with Jesus.

Now Jesus is asking the questions.

In a sense, He’s saying to the crowd, “Riddle me this!” They, perhaps, don’t fully realize yet what He’s saying, but they will in due time. The “Son of David” is ultimately the Lord of David. And He is in their midst!

Jesus is the timeless One who has bound Himself in time for the sake of saving us all.

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 9

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 13:1-37 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 9 - Sunday

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Mark 12:38-40 Week 9 - Sunday

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law 38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Platforms And Postures

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e must be wary of projecting an image of serving God and others for the sake of serving our own agenda. This is Jesus’ beef with the religious leaders. Their religious platforms and postures are, in reality, vehicles for their own self-serving agendas. In a sense, Jesus is still in the midst of “cleansing” the temple when He says this.

Jesus was warning them to be wary of the religious leaders of their day, but even so, we must be careful not to be so preoccupied with the motives of others that we neglect to assess and address our own with the help of the Lord. There are times when all of us need to have our temples cleansed of self-serving motives. With God, all things are possible, and that includes a heart liberated to serve God and others for their sakes more than our own.

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Mark 12:41-44 Week 9 - Monday

The Widow’s Offering 41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

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Everything

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sn’t it intriguing that even though Jesus has just acknowledged that the religious leaders of the temple “devour widows’ houses,” He doesn’t stop this widow from giving everything she has in the offering at the temple?

Though the temple system may be corrupt and her offering at risk of being abused, He won’t keep her from giving. He knows His Father will bless her accordingly, even if those who oversee the temple offerings abuse or mishandle them.

What’s beautiful to me is that Jesus knows what she has left after her giving – nothing! Whereas most wouldn’t think much of the paltry sum she gave, it was, in reality, priceless in His eyes. What if our love for God is not measured in terms of how much of our lives is given to Him, but by how much of our lives is kept from Him?

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Mark 13:1-31 Week 9 - Tuesday

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times 1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

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As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

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Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

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9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

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“When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.

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“If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

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“But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25

the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

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“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

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Mobile Temples

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esus speaks of a time where the inconceivable would happen: The spectacular temple Herod was in the midst of rebuilding would be destroyed. It would be so thoroughly decimated that not one of those magnificent stones would be on top of another. It’s quite a picture, particularly when we think about Jesus being referred to as the rejected “cornerstone” in Mark 12:10. The destruction of the temple would visually illustrate what happens when Jesus is rejected.

Though the temple would be destroyed, the mission of God would still be very much intact. Jesus speaks of the gospel being preached to all nations, and acknowledges adversity and persecution as vehicles upon which the gospel would spread. His followers would wind up before governors and kings because of Him. They should not worry about what to say, but should trust the Spirit of God to provide them with the words. Jesus’ followers

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would be “mobile temples” themselves, “roving tabernacles” through which the Spirit of God would speak.

Jesus speaks much about adversity, trials, and persecution in this exchange with His disciples, while also speaking of the work of the Holy Spirit through them during such times. Have you ever had an experience in which now, looking back, you realize God used you to say something, though at the time you had no idea where your words came from?

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Mark 13:32-37 Week 9 - Wednesday

The Day and Hour Unknown 32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

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Watch

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esus’ comments in this chapter are more than just about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. They are a foreshadowing of a time in the future when judgment will fall upon the whole world. It will come as the destruction of the temple would come – unexpectedly and without warning.

The proper response of a disciple is not to sit down and painstakingly map out a “prophetic timetable” as to when exactly THE END will occur.

According to Jesus, not even the angels or He know the exact time! (What makes us think we can?) The proper response of a disciple is to “keep watch,” living vigilantly in light of the returning King and the full expression of His kingdom.

What does it mean for you to live in such a way -- right now -- in the midst of your present set of circumstances?

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Mark 14:1-11 Week 9 - Thursday

Jesus Anointed at Bethany 1 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

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Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

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“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

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10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Extravagant

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o you own anything, outright, equivalent in value to the amount of money you make in a year? Few people do. The woman in this story owns perfume that is equivalent to the wages a man would make in one year. What a man made in a year then, a woman wouldn’t make in a lifetime.

It’s likely this was a gift or inheritance of some kind that had been given to her. Now imagine cashing in your retirement account which you’ve been diligently adding to for decades, or selling a house that you owed nothing on, and spending the lump sum all at once on something that wouldn’t last more than a day!

She breaks the jar and dumps it on Jesus. In one instant it’s all gone. Her financial security, retirement portfolio, safety net – everything – all gone at once! The aroma of perfume fills the house. It’s a stench to some who criticize her extravagant (dare I say wasteful?) expression of devotion and honor. They even resort to rebuking her.

What they criticize and judge, Jesus calls beautiful. He even interprets what she does, telling them she’s preparing Him for His burial. It’s possible she didn’t know that this was what she was doing! She was simply worshipping Him. When we surrender what we have in devotion and honor to Jesus, there’s no telling how He might see it, what He might do with it, or what kind of significance and value He might assign it.

Her act of extravagant devotion was so moving to Jesus that He declared wherever the gospel would be preached, her story would be told. And so it is.

There will always be critics and judges evaluating the expressions of our devotion to Jesus. Don’t be deterred. When’s the last time you witnessed an extravagant devotion to Jesus? Did anything about it make you uncomfortable? What about it inspired you?

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Mark 14:12-26 Week 9 - Friday

The Last Supper 12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

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The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

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When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

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19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

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While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

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Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

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24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26

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When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

A Different Kind Of Exodus

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esus has repeatedly spoken about His death to the disciples, and now He brings it up again in the context of the Passover meal. After the events of the next 72 hours unfold, it’s possible that they never looked at bread and wine the same way again. His body and blood have meaning far beyond what they fully grasp at this point. The Passover meal is grounded in the story of the Israelite exodus from Egyptian bondage. A new exodus is underway, though, in Jesus. He’s leading them and all of us to freedom in the most unanticipated and, frankly, horrific of ways.

I’ve always found it curious that they sang a hymn at the conclusion of the meal, before they went to the Mount of Olives. While hymns were not uncommon for the Jewish people during such a time, I’m mindful of the strength songs bring during difficulties. I wonder if worshipping in such a way brought Jesus a sustaining strength for the road ahead. I wonder what they sang, and then I wonder who wrote it. Whoever did probably didn’t realize that one day the King of Kings Himself would sing it on the difficult road He would travel for the sake of our exodus.

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Mark 14:27-31 Week 9 - Saturday

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial 27 “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

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But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

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Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”

But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

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Anything But Rock-Like

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his is not one of Peter’s better moments. His name means “rock,” but Jesus speaks of a time in the near future when his allegiance will be anything but rock-like. It will shift quickly like sand. Peter takes issue with what Jesus says, yet again. Remember his rebuke when Jesus let His disciples in on His mission? Peter is emphatic in his conviction that he will never disown Jesus, and the other disciples join in the chorus.

While Jesus speaks of a time in the near future when they will abandon Him, He also hints that He will not give up on them. He will go ahead of them into Galilee, the place where many of them are from, and where He first called them to follow Him. Jesus’ faithfulness to His disciples is striking. He’s shared the Passover meal with them, knowing He will be betrayed by one of them, denied by another, and deserted by all. In the end, He will be there for them in Galilee.

How has Jesus been unwaveringly faithful to you in spite of times when you haven’t always walked the talk?

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 10

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 15:16-41 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 10 - Sunday

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Mark 14:32-42 Week 10 - Sunday Gethsemane 32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

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Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?

38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

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Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

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41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

The Press

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he name “Gethsemane” means “olive press.” It was a place where olives were crushed in the process of producing olive oil. Salvation is occasionally likened to anointing oil in the Old Testament. Anointing oil was produced in the olive press. In many ways, our salvation began in the olive press of Gethsemane with Jesus embracing a “no” from His Father so that we might all eventually hear a “yes.”

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Jesus feels “the press” as He anticipates the suffering that is ahead. Three times He asks His Father to take the cup from Him, while acknowledging that He will ultimately submit to His Father’s will, not His own. This is not a quick conversation. There is coming and going between the sleeping

disciples and His Father. He’s wrestling alone to suppress his instinct for selfpreservation and to accept His Father’s will, which would bring about the oil of salvation for all.

In a sense, Jesus’ dying began in the privacy of Gethsemane, well before it was displayed in public at Golgotha. Jesus said that any who follow Him will have to deny themselves and pick up their crosses. He shows us that when self-denial is involved, the only way to stand in the will of God is on our knees.

What is a particular way in which you need to deny yourself right now for the sake of embracing the will of God? Spend a few moments on your knees asking the Lord for His grace and strength.

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Mark 14:43-52 Week 10 - Monday Jesus Arrested 43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

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“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.

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A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus.

When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

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Not Like Any Other King

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hey come at Jesus with swords and clubs. And, apparently, at least one at Jesus’ side had a weapon as well and used it in an attempt to defend Jesus. Everyone is contending over Jesus as though He’s a political Messiah and an earthly ruler – fighting for Him or against Him like they would for any other king or ruler. The atmosphere is saturated with tension and anxiety on all sides.

Jesus is King, but He’s not like any other king. He has a kingdom, but it’s not like any other kingdom. He has weapons, but they’re not like any other weapons. His weapons are prayer, a cross, and trusting in God. He appears to be the only one truly at peace in this scenario.

Once it becomes apparent that Jesus is not going to resist arrest or do anything miraculous to save Himself, the disciples and others associated with Jesus quickly desert Him. One of them is so quick to run, he literally runs out of clothes.

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Mark 14:53-65 Week 10 - Tuesday

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin 53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

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Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

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Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

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Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

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The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

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They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

Been There, Done That, And Bought The T-Shirt

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he trial is a mess. The religious leaders can’t even work together on their false testimony about Jesus in order to make an airtight case against Him. Ironically, He has to help them!

Finally, Jesus says it. He says “on the record” that He’s the One. No longer is He encouraging His disciples to keep it secret, nor is He speaking in parables or veiled sayings. He’s had the time to say what He wanted about Himself, the kingdom of God, and what it means to follow Him. Now He comes out and speaks plainly and directly about who He is. They charge Him with blasphemy. (Of course, it could only be blasphemy, if what He says isn’t the truth.)

The dominoes can begin to fall. On one hand, the religious leaders can present Him as a false prophet to their people, and, on the other hand, they can present him as a self-declared king to Pilate and the Roman Empire, which will force them to respond. Jesus is now in position to be opposed on both sides.

Jesus knows what it is to be falsely spoken of, deserted, and opposed on all sides, even as He’s faithful to the call of God on His life. He’s “been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt.” No matter how deserted and opposed we may feel in certain moments of our lives, we’re not the only ones.

Are you in a season where you feel alone in the midst of your attempt to be faithful? Spend some time candidly talking to the Lord about it. Ask for an abiding sense of His presence to sustain you during such a time.

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Mark 14:66-72 Week 10 - Wednesday Peter Disowns Jesus 66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.

“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.

But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.

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When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70 Again he denied it.

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After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”

He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

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Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

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The Rooster Crows

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n the story preceding this one, Jesus is blindfolded, beaten, and taunted to “prophesy” about his captors. He’s charged with being a false prophet, and made fun of accordingly. Of all things, Jesus’ validity as a prophet is revealed by what transpires with Peter in this story.

When Peter denies being associated with Jesus, he’s not talking to imposing Roman guards or angry religious leaders. He’s speaking to a servant girl.

Less than 24 hours since his emphatic declaration to Jesus that he would never disown Him, Peter fails to live out the declaration. And he does it three times, just as Jesus said he would.

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(The fact that it happens three times is provocative when you consider that Jesus asked three different times in Gethsemane for Peter, James, and John

to pray. He went so far as to speak directly to Peter about praying so that he would not fall into temptation because “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Peter fails for each time he failed to pray.)

As events unfold, Jesus is living with integrity, and it’s costing Him His life.

Peter sacrifices his integrity in order to save his own life. He remembers the words of Jesus when the rooster crows and is devastated.

In what way can you see yourself in this difficult chapter from Peter’s life?

Give thanks to the Lord for the opportunity to be redeemed. Know that your failures don’t have to be your final chapters. They weren’t for Peter.

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Mark 15:1-15 Week 10 - Thursday Jesus Before Pilate 1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

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“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

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But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

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“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

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“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?”

Pilate asked them.

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“Crucify him!” they shouted.

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“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

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Satisfying The Crowd

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he tragic ironies continue in Mark. An innocent man is led to His death to quell a concern that He’s leading an insurrection, while a known insurrectionist and murderer is set free. The exchange is a picture of the salvation experience for all of us. The pure and holy Son of God dies in exchange for the impure and unholy being set free.

Pilate knows it’s out of self-interest that the chief priests hand Jesus over to him. In reality, it’s self-interest that winds up getting the leverage on Pilate as well. “Wanting to satisfy the crowd,” he hands Jesus over to be crucified. Jesus is a contrast to Pilate and the religious leaders in many ways.

He refuses to sacrifice the will of God for His life in exchange for satisfying His own self-interest. He also refuses to “satisfy the crowd” at the expense of fulfilling the will of God for His life. He stays true to His job description from God when everyone else wants Him to fulfill a different one.

The story of the chief priests handing Jesus over primarily out of self-interest haunts me. The story of Pilate giving Jesus up in order to satisfy the crowd haunts me. We all have moments in our lives where we are faced with a choice between our self-interest and the will of God, between “wanting to satisfy the crowds” and the will of God. Which will we choose?

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Mark 15:16-20 Week 10 - Friday

The Soldiers Mock Jesus 16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.

18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Absorbing It All

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t’s difficult to read isn’t it - the beatings, the mockery, the crown of thorns, the undressing and redressing of Him? There’s no one who comes to His defense, no one who rescues Him, no one who speaks on His behalf. He doesn’t resist them, nor does He talk back to them. He absorbs it all and then allows them to lead Him out to be crucified.

The Creator of all has abandoned Himself to the mercy of a fallen humanity, and there’s little to be found. He went without mercy so that we would never have to be without it.

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Mark 15:21-32 Week 10 - Saturday

The Crucifixion of Jesus 21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.

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They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28] 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

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Forced To Carry

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’ve often wondered what happened to Simon of Cyrene, who was forced to help Jesus carry the cross. I wonder if at the time Simon thought this was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He was forced to drag the heavy cross alongside a man who had become a spectacle in Rome; an example to others; and the object of the religious leaders’ scorn. I wonder if Simon’s sentiments changed in the coming days, months, and years. What he thought was a curse turned out to be an honor and a blessing.

The mocking comments of the religious leaders at the foot of Jesus’ cross were true: Jesus does indeed save others, but He can’t save Himself. It’s one or the other. He’s giving His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

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Small Group iStudy Worksheet Week 11

1. Pray – Ask God to guide your time in the Word.

2. Read – Mark 16:1-8 3. What did you read?

(Write down up to 10 short, factual sentences summarizing the passage.)

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4. What did it say?

(In 10 words or less, describe the theme of this passage.)

5. What does it matter?

(What are three lessons that can be applied to life?)

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Sermon Notes Week 11 - Sunday

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Mark 15:33-41 Week 11 - Sunday

The Death of Jesus 33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

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Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

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With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs.

Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

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Hell On Earth

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ore than once, someone who had just buried a spouse they had been married to for decades has told me that the pain of separation is just about unbearable. I’ve also been told that by people who’ve gone through divorces. And then I’ve been told that by people who’ve lost children.

There’s something about being separated from people who you have been one with for a long period of time – people who seemingly have your heart inside of them, and theirs is inside of you.

If you’ve been through any of those things, you know more of what I’m talking about than I do.

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Now consider this – Father and Son, who were so close they were also One, and had been One since before the beginning of time -- were now so alienated that the Son in the void of God’s presence cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus is quoting from Psalm 22, which ends in victory. But I don’t believe the coming victory removed the pain of the present moment.

Hell is being shut out from the presence of God, according to 2 Thessalonians 1:9. On that day outside of Jerusalem, hell came to a place called Golgotha.

When Jesus was praying for the cup to pass from Him in Gethsemane, He was talking about this cup.

He was asking if there was any way for human beings to find redemption, other than having to face the undiluted wrath of God for the sins of the whole world over the course of human history Himself. What made Golgotha so terrible for Jesus wasn’t just the pain of Jesus’ own people, the Jews, conspiring against Him and convincing Rome to execute Him. It wasn’t just that the crowds who had followed Him, including almost all of the disciples, deserted Him. The worst reality of all was the last one – it was the experience of being God-forsaken.

Before we could be saved through the cross, there was One who had to be condemned upon the cross. And the terrible pain of that condemnation went far beyond physiological. It was the pain of being God-forsaken. It is little wonder the sun stopped shining on that day, because the Son was left in the dark.

He did it to make it possible for all of us to be brought into the kingdom of light.

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Mark 15:42-47 Week 11 - Monday

The Burial of Jesus 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead.

Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

Destroying The Secret

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ietrich Bonhoeffer said, “There’s no such thing as secret Christianity, for either the secret will destroy the Christianity or the Christianity will destroy the secret.” The story of Joseph of Arimathea is the story of “the secret” being destroyed in his life.

It’s interesting to put together the puzzle about Joseph when we take into account pieces about him from all the gospels. He was a member of the Sanhedrin – the leading spiritual authority among the Jews. They’re the ones who decided to have Jesus killed. They appealed to Rome for permission to crucify Him because they believed Jesus to be a blasphemer and a false Messiah. What’s interesting is that the gospel writer Luke says that Joseph did not consent to the Sanhedrin’s decision or their actions regarding Jesus (Luke 23:51). But while he didn’t consent, he wasn’t exactly outspoken, either. The gospel writer John says that Joseph was a secret disciple for fear of the Jews (John 19:38).

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Clearly, Joseph was on a journey in terms of gradually coming out and claiming Christ. But when he made the move to request Jesus’ body, it destroyed his secret. It was a radical thing he was doing in requesting Jesus’ body and in burying Him the way He did. As far as the Sanhedrin was concerned, a blasphemer wasn’t worth being buried in a rich man’s tomb, or even proper burial. And just as it was risky in terms of his relationship with the Sanhedrin, it was risky in terms of his relationship with the Roman

Empire. The Roman Empire did not take kindly to a man who some professed to be Lord instead of Caesar. He certainly wasn’t worth an honorable burial, in their minds. Joseph was taking some significant risks when he asked for the body of Jesus.

This was the moment when Joseph -- once and for all -- made the move that destroyed the secret. The truth is that the term “secret disciple” is probably an oxymoron along the lines of “jumbo shrimp,” “freezer burn,” and “exact estimate.”

What might it mean for you to destroy the secret regarding your relationship with Jesus?

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Mark 16:1-8 Week 11 - Tuesday Jesus Has Risen 1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

4

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

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Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.

They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

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He Won’t Stay Put

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obody is looking for a resurrection on that first Easter morning. Jesus has not stayed where they put Him. He rarely stays where people put Him. He’s on the move as He has been throughout the entire gospel of Mark – shattering expectations and blowing apart the boxes which people have Him in. Fear and bewilderment set in among Jesus’ followers yet again in the wake of the resurrection surprise.

Jesus won’t stay put, and He won’t allow others to stay put in their assumptions that past failures mean He won’t have anything to do with them. I can’t help but marvel that the angel at the tomb specifically mentions Peter when he says, “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’” Peter is the only disciple called by name. Perhaps it’s because Peter would need to be convinced that Jesus still considered him to be one of His disciples, in spite of his repeated denials, and wanted to see him as well. Jesus won’t stay put in death, nor will He allow Peter to stay put in his failure.

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Because Jesus is risen, new beginnings are possible. In what ways have you found this to be true in your own life? Is there someone you know who may be in Peter’s position and needs to know Jesus has not given up on him/her?

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Mark 16:9-20 Week 11 - Wednesday

[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

12

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

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He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

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After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

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Too Important Not To Share

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hether it finishes at Mark 16:8 or Mark 16:20, there’s no real conclusion to the gospel of Mark. It’s open-ended in many ways. The story of Jesus is not finished. The way Jesus is described in Mark 16:20 is as “working with” His followers from His seat in heaven.

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We don’t just do things for Jesus but with Him. The book of Acts (1:1-2) confirms this idea when it speaks of everything that Jesus did in the gospels

as the “beginning” of His doing and teaching. He’s still doing and teaching today.

Several years ago, there was a commercial produced by Mercedes-Benz regarding its reluctance to file a patent on a new state-of-the-art safety feature for its vehicles. Without a patent, other competitors could copy the feature on their vehicles. The spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz explained, “Because some things in life are too important not to share.”

The good news of Jesus and all that comes with Him is too important not to share. May God bless us immeasurably in our endeavors to share the good news of Jesus with our lives and our lips!

The words of the apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:20 are an appropriate blessing over all of us in light of the reality that the Lord is still working with us today. “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us . . . .”

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