Ears to hear
Jesus begins this section of parables with one that explains his use of parables. In the Parable of the sower, Jesus both reveals kingdom truths and makes it clear that many will not hear the good news.
Committing to Jesus
One of the themes that we see over and over in Mark is people having a hard time understanding how Jesus redeems. At the end of chapter 3 we see that even His own family struggled with the reality of what He had come to do. The promise made is that everyone who sees Him […]
The challenges of faithful ministry
As Jesus continues on in ministry, He calls out an unclean Spirit, calls His disciples, and calls people to repentance. In all of these, we see His character come up against challenges. We also see that He has the power to overcome all of these.
The place of spiritual disciplines
Jesus pushes back against liberalism, relativism, and legalism. His purpose is not to be right or just make a point, but to bring His people into alignment with the rhythms that He created us to live in. As He makes us uncomfortable, it is so that we can be shocked into change.
The great physician
Mark 2 begins with the story of four guys bringing their paralytic friend to Jesus and the calling of Levi the tax collector. In both of these, Jesus is revealing that He is the healer who has come to bring the sick to fullness. While this plays out with both the physically ill and the […]
An issue of authority
As Jesus begins His ministry, it begins with authority. In three stories, we see that He teaches with authority, has an authoritative voice, and is able to act with an authoritative power. Mark establishes this so that when we transition to Jesus’ humility, we do not forget who He is.
Straight to the point
The gospel of Mark hits the ground running, introducing Jesus through John the Baptist and His baptism. As we cover the first group of stories, we also use them to get a feel for Mark’s style of writing and how he is going to present the Messiah to us.
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