Here is my Mother and Brothers! | Mark 3:31-35

November 7, 2009

Mark 3:31-35
The family was the cornerstone of first-century Jewish society. Families not only lived together, they worked together and pooled their resources in order to survive a world that was much harsher than it is today. We forget about the difficulties that agrarian societies faced compared to our world.  Our world is dominated [...]

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A Kingdom Divided | Mark 3:20-30

November 5, 2009

Mark 3:20-30
Kingdoms that declare war on themselves do not grow stronger, but weaker. Civil war does not strengthen a nation or build it up. It tears it down and leaves it vulnerable to attack from its enemies. This was Jesus’ central counterpoint to the prominent rabbis from Jerusalem. They charged that Jesus [...]

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He Called Those He Wanted | Mark 3:7-19

November 4, 2009

Mark 3:7-19
As news of Jesus’ miracles and teaching began to spread, he retreated. Travelers from distant regions did not finding him in the towns but in the countryside. They were forced to go looking for him, rather than finding him every day at the synagogue in Capernaum or some other large, public meeting [...]

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Stretch Out Your Hand | Mark 3:1-6

November 2, 2009

Mark 3:1-6
Still bitter from their last encounter and over his low regard for their traditions, the Pharisees escalated the tension between themselves and Jesus. Here the text tell us that some of them were even looking for a reason to shame Jesus publicly. Knowing his compassion for the sick, the Pharisees were particularly interested [...]

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The Sabbath Was Made for Man | Mark 2:23-28

November 1, 2009

Mark 2:23-28
The rigidity of the Pharisees’ uninspired traditions squeezed out all mercy and grace found in God’s Law. It was not unlawful for the disciples to pick the heads of grain. In fact, the Law permitted travelers passing through the fields of distant regions to do this very thing (Deuteronomy 23:25). But [...]

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New Wine, New Wineskins | Mark 2:18-22

October 30, 2009

Mark 2:18-23
Jesus’ new teaching would not fit into the old religious paradigms that had been observed for centuries. Jewish tradition earmarked several times and seasons to fast for the promised rescue of Israel and for the coming Messiah. But here Jesus is telling his accusers something amazing. The Messiah has come. The [...]

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The Great Physician | Mark 2:13-17

October 29, 2009

Mark 2:13-17
When Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” he wasn’t paying a backhanded compliment to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were just as equally wicked (if not more) than the people Jesus ate with and invited to follow [...]

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Take Up Your Bed and Walk | Mark 2:1-12

October 28, 2009

Mark 2:1-12
It is tempting to play up the paralytic’s apparent immediate need and to become uneasy at Jesus’ first response to him. Here friends or family of the paralyzed man (at least two men according to the text) had gone to the trouble to carry and lower him through a roof in order have [...]

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Healing the Leper | Mark 1:40-45

October 27, 2009

Mark 1:40-45
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. –Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6
The begging leper came and humbly knelt before Jesus.  It was his faith that stirred Jesus’ compassion and moved him to stretch out his hand, touch and heal him. That Jesus would touch the leper is something that not even [...]

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Jesus & Prayer | Mark 1:35-39

October 26, 2009

Mark 1:35-39
Jesus’ prayer habits were a strong departure from his contemporaries. Often praying alone in secret places, Jesus hid his communication with his Father instead of praying loudly in public places. Prayer is an act of worship and humility before an omnipotent God. God already knows what we need before we ask him. [...]

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