Mark

Understand the Context (Mark 1:1-13)

The Gospel according to Mark has several characteristics which set it aside from the other Gospels. The first verse is one such characteristic, it says simply, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). Mark does not cover any of the birth information for either Jesus or John the Baptist. He starts at the beginning of ministry with Jesus’ baptism. He introduces Jesus and John, shows the baptism of Jesus, the vision of the trinity and then the temptation, all within thirteen verses of Chapter 1. 

Rather, defining what the beginning of his Gospel was all about, he quotes the defining Scripture for Isaiah 40:3 as the justification for all he was doing and will do. He is the one who cries out in the wilderness to make straight the ways or paths of the Lord. So, this prophecy is that John will be a predecessor of the of the Messiah and will announce that He is coming.

Now, as John stood baptizing at Bethabara, he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36). He says this to announce that he has recognized the Messiah even though he had grown up with Him as a cousin. He simply had never seen Him that way.

Of course, John baptizes Him, but on the way back out of the water, something strange takes place. First, there is a dove that comes to rest on Jesus, and a voice from Heaven announces that Jesus was His beloved Son and that He was proud of what He did.  This showed the endorsement of the Father, but also the blessing of the Holy Spirit; that is, all three members of the Holy Trinity of God was present at a single place and time in this Scripture. 

But next, the Holy Spirit led Jesus from the pool at Bethabara to the east where Jesus would be fasting for 40 days and nights and be tempted of Satan in the wilderness. The process he would use is revealed in I John 2:16 as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Messenger Announced (Mark 1:1-3)

Mark sets the context for his Gospel of Jesus Christ briefly and concisely from the very first verse. He says, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1, KJV). It is clear from the start that Mark (aka John Mark) does not intend to discuss the ancestry, birth or early life of Jesus of Nazareth. Instead, he moves into reporting on the life of Christ when John the baptizer has begun his ministry just prior to identifying Jesus of Nazareth as “the lamb that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36). 

The word “gospel” (Greek: euangélion) means good news or good message, and this good news is about a man who has been sent by God as His promised Messiah (Greek: Christ). It is also easy to see the Greek source word for the English work, evangelism. At the onset, it is important to understand that Jesus the Son and Messiah existed from the beginning of time as the second member of the Trinity. That is, Jesus is not a created being. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit never had a beginning. Jesus of Nazareth is a historic figure who had a beginning in Bethlehem of Judea and was born to a young woman named Mary without the involvement of a man. Mary was espoused to Joseph, but the Hebrew espousal did not include marital relationships. 

In verses 2-3, Mark says that John the Baptist (or more properly, the Baptizer) was the beginning of the Gospel because he was fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of sending a messenger of the Messiah openly to Israel. The purpose of this messenger would be to prepare the way before the Messiah was revealed. John was Jesus’ first cousin in that Elizabeth, John’s mother, was a sister to Anna, Mary’s mother and grandmother to Jesus. In the next few paragraphs more of how John prepared the way for Jesus is laid out. Here, it will suffice that John explained the coming of Jesus as the One who would humble John. John would explain that he was not even worth to tie the shoe strings of the One who was coming soon. According to Mark 1:4, it was John’s job to “make the paths straight for the Lord” (Mark 1:2-3, Isa 40:3). It was necessary that John introduce Jesus to the world, and especially to those of the Jewish race who were waiting for the Christ. 

Messenger Detailed (Mark 1:4-8)

Verse 4 defines John’s ministry and the place where he would perform it. He was the one who baptized in the wilderness, specifically, just outside the town of Bethabara, also called Bethany beyond the Jordan (Matt 3:1).  It was east of where the Jordan River ended in the Dead Sea. It was outside the jurisdiction of the Jewish leaders. John baptized as a sign of repentance for the forgiveness of sin” (Matt 3:2, Mark 1:4 & Luke 3:3).  In other words, the baptism was done in recognition that the candidate had already acknowledge his or her sin and that sin was remitted. The baptism was a demonstration of the candidate’s death to sin, and burial from it. When John raised him or her out of the water, it was a show of his resurrection to a new life without that sin. 

Verse 5 adds that the message was well received; that is, people went out to him from all across Judea and even Jerusalem. These are the most orthodox areas for the practice of Judaism. Verse 6 tells us that while Jesus was a Nazarene, John was a Nazarite; that is, a person who took the Nazarite Jesus was called a Nazarene because He was born to a family of Nazareth. John was a Nazarite because of an oath he took including what one could eat, not cutting their beards or hair and never drinking wine (Numbers 6:2-5). 

In verses 7-8, John announces that his baptism was with water to show a person had turned away from all sin (cleansed after healing), but there was One coming who would baptize with fire and provide the Holy Spirit of God. The idea of baptism is not very well detailed in the Scripture because the practicing Jews were so very familiar with the practice of Mikvah. While many of the uses for Mikvah dealt with the cleansing requirements of Judaism, one use was the accepting of “the strangers among us” into Judaism. The candidate would have been invited by a Jewish family to learn and apply the faith to themselves and their family. Once they completed all the requirements, they would testify to the Rabbi who would take them to the Mikvah pool, have them reject their Gentile heritage, be buried as a gentile and be raised again as a new person with all the rights in the Jewish faith.  John said he was not even worthy to tie Jesus’ sandals (Mark 1:7).

Understand the Context (Mark 1:14-3:6) 

Completing as much introduction as Mark felt necessary, he now presses on to get directly into the ministry of Jesus Christ in His Early Galilean Ministry. First, Mark wants to identify exactly where Jesus was starting in his Gospel and what event(s) may have encouraged it. As with many of us, Jesus was baptized and immediately faced Satan’s temptations either in Judea or in the wilderness just to its east. The other piece of information that had impact on Jesus’ selection of ministry location was the imprisonment of His cousin and preliminary voice for His ministry, John the baptizer. These events had no impact on what Jesus would preach, but they certainly drove Him to prayer and a talk with the Father about where He might best do that preaching. Mark documents the outcome of that prayer as Jesus determined to preach in other places. He announces, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (vs. 14). So, He left Judea to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom in Galilee. This would place Him a comfortable distance away from the Jewish orthodoxy and potentially keep Him away from those who arrested Cousin John. 

The first message Mark documented in his Gospel is a bit of a summary message from the Lord on exactly how eminent Jesus believed His message was.  So, in verse 15, Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel.”  Jesus believed the time was right. We might say it is imminent that the Gospel must be preached and that those hearing it must listen, repent (turn away from their sin), and believe the urgent message of the Gospel. 

Jesus thought it best that He choose the first four of the men who would walk with Him and be able to carry His message when He was called away. He selected four men who were disciples of his cousin, John. They were a pair of brothers who made their livings by fishing. Jesus said to them that He would make them fishers of men if they would follow Him (Mark 1:17). Those who heard Jesus preach said that He had a strange style that made Him sound like He had authority over the words not just reporting on them like the Scribes did (1:21-22).  

As Jesus faced the many obstacles placed in front of Him, whether they were naturally based or supernaturally based, Jesus resolved them with love, patience and power. He achieved victory over them because He was the Master of all creation and everything He faced; He had created (John 1:2). He was able to use disease, birth defects and natural occurrence as objects of demonstration of the power of God within Him. 

Chapter 2:1-12 gave illustrations of Jesus power over both spiritual and physical sickness as well as sin, in general. Recall the practitioners of the Jewish faith saw all illness as caused by sin. Therefore, Jesus power over sickness had links to power over sin.

After Jesus chose Levi (aka, Matthew), a tax collector, as His fifth apostle, Matthew called his friends for a mass meeting with Jesus. He received the title of “Friend of Sinners” as the pharisees saw the attendees of that meal (Mark 1:13-3:6). 

Prayer and Purpose (Mark 1:35-39)

Jesus set the example for not waiting for the rest of the world to catch up before starting His day. Jesus was up and in deep prayer “a great while before day” (vs. 35). While everyone else was rolling over in their beds for the second or third time, Jesus was on His knees talking with His Father about how He should react to the arrest of His cousin, John the baptizer. The timing in Mark’s Gospel sets up Jesus’ ministry where John had to be involved and then moves that character out of the way to focus on the Master. 

The additional characteristics of Jesus’ early morning habit are also important. Jesus did not kneel beside His bed; He went to a place where it would be highly unlikely that others would be there, i.e., “He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (vs. 35). Verse 36 says Simon and others “followed after Him,” but it does not say how many hours later. When they finally found Jesus, they told Him that everyone was looking for Him. Why could they not understand that this was the very reason Jesus got up early in the morning, departed to a solitary place to pray? Had He wanted to welcome interruptions or visitors, He would have slept in and met the people at the door. Jesus knew that a prayer time, when a person could be alone with God, is absolutely essential for increasing personal spirituality. Further, if it was this important for God in the flesh, how much more important is it for us?

Notice that verses 38 does not respond to Peter’s emergency for those who were seeking after Jesus, but rather, was used by Jesus to announce His plan in response to John’s arrest. Jesus said it was time for them to move on to other towns, so He could preach there as well. He reminded the team that this was the whole reason why He was sent. Recall that Jesus stated why He had come and here, He is simply saying it is high time to get about the fact that “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The summary result is presented in verse 39, “And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.” It is not clear here whether Jesus cast devils out of the Synagogues, or people who gathered in them, or He cast out devils wherever He found them. Probably the latter. Jesus’ early preaching in the synagogues was a fulfillment of John’s Gospel saying, “11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:11-12). Jesus would be rejected in synagogues. Eventually, it was the Jewish religious leaders who would be responsible for His crucifixion.  

Healing the Leper (Mark 1:40-42)

Just a couple words of background on the healing of the leper. First, leprosy is a very destructive, disfiguring and contagious disease. In the days of Christ, lepers were typically consigned to spend the remainder of their miserable lives to a leper colony where others with the disease would waste away with them. As if those facts were not bad enough, lepers were religiously unclean. 

They could not be in the towns or any gathering of people, but if they were, they could not touch or be touched by any member of society and were expected to continuously say the word “unclean” to warn people to stay away from them. Second, lepers were considered the worst of all sinners. Recall that the prevailing thought about disease was that any kind of sickness was an announcement of sin and God’s judgement for it.  

With that background, here comes a leper toward Jesus in Mark 1:40. Anyone else would have recoiled, said unclean and forced the man to be escorted back to the leper colony where he belonged. The man comes in the spirit of begging – it is not the begging for food or money for survival, but rather, to make a statement of great faith. The leper kneels down in front of Jesus and says, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (vs. 40). Why is this a statement of great faith? Because there is no cure for leprosy; no hope for an end of it. Nevertheless, this leper believes Jesus can heal him if He wants to. Verse 41 document Jesus’ response to the leper as being moved with compassion. We will see many places in our studies of Mark where Jesus was moved by those who express great faith. This man said, “If thou wilt, thou can make me clean.”  

Now, Jesus does the unheard of; He reaches forth His hand and touches the diseased, religiously unclean, sinner. This bold move makes Jesus religiously unclean as well because anyone who touches an unclean thing is unclean (Lev 5:2 & 7:21). But Jesus adds to this violation of all law, “I will; be thou clean” (vs. 41). All of those who were gathered there would know there was no cure for leprosy; Jesus is just wasting words. Despite the beliefs (or disbelief) of all gathered there, the leper was completely healed of leprosy the instant Jesus spoke the words to  him. The Bible adds, “Immediately, the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed” (vs. 42). That which everyone knew was impossible was done: the leper was made clean as soon as Jesus spoke it. 

Understand the Context (Mark 3:7-5:43)

The many miracles of Jesus could not ease the fear the religious leaders carried of the Roman leaders perceiving they had lost control of the people over to the man claiming to be Messiah. Recall, the Romans only allowed local religion when it was convenient for their control of the population. If the religious leaders could not control the masses, the local religion would be terminated. For the tribe of Levi (religious leaders), this was a major problem because the inheritance of their tribe was the Temple and its furnishings. Between caring for the Temple and its sacrificial system, many thousands of people would no longer have a livelihood. The miracles of Jesus increased His fame wherever He was, the crowds would gather and He would minister to them. The feedings of the five thousand and the four thousand (beside to women and children gathered), would have had crowds of twenty and sixteen thousand, respectively. If Jesus could muster crowds of that number, He was clearly a threat to the Romans, and therefore, a threat to the religious leaders. So, the leaders’ opposition to Jesus’ ministry was a life and death issue for them. 

Charges against Jesus, which could carry capital punishment, were being considered among the Jews very early in His ministry. Of course, they would have to be carried out by Rome as the occupying nation. As early as Mark 2:7, the Pharisees began suggesting Jesus was guilty of blasphemy for counting Himself equal to God. His sin of healing and working on the Sabbath only added to His guilt in their eyes. In 3:2, they were watching Him closely and by 3:6 they were plotting to kill Him. Nevertheless, Jesus continued preaching the Kingdom, healing the sick and casting out demons regardless of the threats against Him (3:7-12). The selection of twelve disciples who demonstrated similar powers, while a standard since Jethro taught Moses (Gen 18:17-23), only served to further threaten religious and Roman leaders. 

Chapter 4 began another shift in Jesus’ methodologies.  He began to use parables in His teaching techniques. These simple stories explaining difficult theological concepts only multiplied the growth of His movement even faster. Recall there was already a network of “town criers” in place to retell stories this way.

Skeptics (Mark 3:20-22)

The crowd that came together again was the great number of people gather by the lake before Jesus went to the mountain top to select His twelve Apostles from the numerous disciples. Some versions of the Bible add the last few words of 3:19 to 3:20 to say that Jesus went to the house or home where the crowd gathered; King James does not. Note also that the Greek language does not differentiate between house and home as the English would, so we do not know whether He went to a house or His home. If it was to mean that Jesus went “home” it would explain why so many of His family and friends were there to come out to Him. Nevertheless, the Bible tells us a crowd came together that was too large to feed nor did the disciples have time to eat.  

Mark 3:21 moves directly to how His family reacted to the crisis, that is, they believed He was beside Himself. They came out to take hold of Him because He was teaching such a large crowd with no apparent way to feed or otherwise care for them. Recall that Mark 6:4 and Matthew 13:57 will say, “A prophet is not without honour, but in His own country, and among His own kin, and in His own house.” This is certainly an example of that comment. The people of Jesus’ home would have grown up with Him. The idea of Him being the Messiah of God was probably foreign to all of them except Mary. She had no problem knowing who He was at the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee when they ran out of wine and suffered almost certain humiliation. 

But His family and friends were not the only skeptics, “the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He our devils” (Mark 3:22). Now, this accusation will be met with some very strong words from Jesus, as we will see in Mark 3:28. For now, let us simply call it attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the devil. While the scribes have come to gather evidence against Jesus for their charges of blasphemy, they have slipped into a much more severe and chargeable blasphemy of their own.  

Strong Man? (Mark 3:23-27)

Verse 23 seems to say Jesus called them aside from the larger crowd to have this conversation with them. He started with a fairly simple question: “How can Satan cast out Satan?” That was Jesus’ entry into this somewhat ridiculous charge from the supposed elite of religious lawyers. They had come to trap Jesus, but their charge will simply trap themselves. There is no way a kingdom that stands against itself can survive. So, if Satan is, in fact, trying to cast Satan out, his kingdom is set against itself, and therefore, cannot survive. In verse 24, He summarizes, “If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” This would be called civil war and has no winner. As we saw in our US Civil War, everything that was lost was lost by the United States. Any restoral or rebuilding that was to be done, was done by the United States. At Appomattox Courthouse, the United Staes put down a division from within itself. It was brother against brother, father against son. It was a kingdom against itself, and that kind of kingdom cannot stand (Mark 3:24). 

So, like these illustrations, Jesus says, “if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan raise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but has an end” (vss. 25-26). Stating it another way, suggests the Lord, no man can enter into a strong man’s house. And spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house (Vs. 27).

Jesus is showing the Pharisees how terribly uninformed their charge against Him is. If He is, in fact, possessed by the prince of all demons, why would He cast out demons? This defies all levels of logic because Satan would simply be at war with Satan. If Satan has even a minicom of intelligence, he will not enter into a battle where he is the opposing force. By definition, Satan will lose this battle, no matter which side seems to win. 

There is no robber so ignorant of survival techniques that he would enter into a completely superior human being’s home. In today’s world, no one is likely to enter into a house to rob it if they see a National Rifle Association, Life Member sticker in the window. If that person is at home or is not asleep when the door is opened, the intruder will not likely survive the intrusion. That is not wise. 

Understand the Context (Mark 4:1-7:23)

Mark’s Gospel is geared to an audience of Gentile background. He addresses many of the common fears of everyday people and shows how Jesus Christ has the power to overcome those fears on their behaves. He uses the miracles of the Messiah to reenforce his teachings and to give the ordinary person the confidence to continue forward. Mark uses the promises of the Kingdom of God and its imminent arrival to establish a mindset and associated expectations of living for God here and with God in His Kingdom. 

In 4:1-20, Mark repeats some of the parables of Jesus and the extra information he received from Jesus to explain the meanings of those parables and their relevance to those who might not understand the agricultural illustrations used in their original releases. Most people have fears about travel in boats across the sea. When the water becomes unruly, and the boat is helplessly tossed about on its surface, people feel helpless and out of control. Mark tells of Jesus’ calming a ferocious storm on the Sea of Galilee with a simple word of command (4:35-41). 

Most people fear insanity, demon possession and death because we have no control over these maladies. Mark speaks of witnessing Jesus’ display His power of both natural and supernature events to calm those fears. In natural applications, Jesus fed thousands of people gathered for His sermons. He caused the blind to see, the deaf to hear and the lame to walk (Matt 15:31 & Luke 7:22).  On the supernatural side, Jesus cast demons out of a madman (5:1-13) and raised people from the dead (5:35-43). 

Other successful people who knew Jesus knew the feeling of rejection when they returned to their hometowns.  People would only accept them through the memories of who they were in their earlier life regardless of their great success. Jesus experienced that rejection as He returned to His hometown of Nazareth. While He had proven Himself to be God’s Messiah, the religious leaders would only talk of Him as the carpenter’s son and brother to the four boys and at least two sisters still living there. This proved the saying that a prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown or his own people (6:4, Matt 13:57). Jesus sent His apostles out in verses 6:7-13. He fed multitudes in 6:30-44. He performed numerous healings (6:45-56) and taught applications of the Law (7:1-23).

Rest (Mark 6:30-32)

When the apostles returned from the missions where Jesus had sent, they gathered together and told Jesus of all the things they were able to do and the messages they could speak (vs. 6:30). Jesus had told them before their trips that they would have all the powers that He had. They reported making the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak. They reported on their powers to cast out demons and quiet evil spirits. Jesus recognized their many successes and how hard they had worked at the missions He assigned. He knew it was time for rest and rejuvenation, but there were far too many people coming and going where they were; so many people that the apostles were not even able to eat their meals. Jesus suggested it was time to go away to a more sparsely populated area to get that rest and nourishment. He told them to set themselves apart in a desert place for awhile (vs. 31).  

Jesus and His apostles already knew that the multitude would follow them no matter where or how far they traveled, so it would not be a simple matter of walking away to another place. They would have to find a way to travel away from the crowd to get the seclusion they needed. Jesus suggested they leave the area and its massive crowds travel by boat to where they might meet, refresh their bodies and prepare for more ministry when they returned. So, Mark reports that they left the area by boat privately as Jesus suggested. 

The Bible reports on three occasions that Jesus had to escape the crowds in Israel by leaving the nation. The locations were the coasts of Tyre and Sidon (Matt 15:21 & Mark 7:24), the Decapolis (Mark 7:31) and Gadara (Mark 5:1 & Luke 8:26). Jesus went to each of these places to escape the pressures of the crowds or the opposition of the Jewish leaders.

Response (Mark 6:33-34)

The optics of what is happening here are important. Jesus and the twelve are in a boat heading for a secluded location to rest, refresh and reflect. Jesus’ idea was to go to such a place to be alone. But the Bible tells us in Mark6:33, Jesus’ departure was no secret. “The people saw them departing” (vs. 33). The people left their homes and ran to the place they believed the boat was going. Verse 33 continues that the people came out from “all cities” and arrived there before Jesus and the apostles. Further, the multitude came together to the place where Jesus was meeting. All of us understand the goal Jesus and the apostles had in mind, but can you imagine their surprise when the boat landed in that secluded place and saw even more people than when they left from the other side? 

Verse 34 tells us that Jesus did not react as many of us would have; instead, He “came out, saw the many people, and was moved with compassion toward them” (Mark 6:34a-b). The multitude of people He left behind on the other side of the sea has now grown significantly. Jesus looked at the crowd’s new size and was overwhelmed by how they were behaving. He said, “They were as sheep not having a shepherd” (Vs. 34c). Jesus saw their drive to hear Him again. He saw a desire to hear Him that has now developed beyond that desire into a need. The people were hungry to hear more of what they heard on the other side of the sea. 

Notice also that these people were doing naturally what our leaders tell us to do as a part of our commitment to the Kingdom of Christ. Luke 14:15 (and following) tells us that the lord of a supper for his community invited many but several did not come because of various previous commitments. The lord wanted the house filled for supper, so he said to his servants, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23). Most of us have heard this verse related to God’s outreach to fill His house, but there are only a small minority of people who will help do that work. In our story, we see a multitude that has become a great multitude because the people have invited all to come.

Resources (Mark 6:35-38)

The multitude was in place, the Teacher begins His message and now the day is “far spent” (Mark 6:35). The disciples approach the Techer to advise Him that it is getting late, and the people will be needing food very soon. They finish their advice by reminding the Teacher that they are in a desert place and there is no place for them to buy food nor is there sufficient time to buy the food and bring it back for them. The solution to the problem might be to “send them away, that they may go into the country around about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat” (Mark 6:36). The Teacher’s solution is short and concise. He says simply, “Give them to eat” (vs. 37).  

The disciples responded with, “Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?” (vs. 37). The Teacher, however, tells the disciples to find out how many loaves of bread they have and go out to the crowd and see what they have brought with them. So, the disciples go out and ask the crowd what they brought with them to eat. When the disciples learned what they brought and reported to the Teacher that one young man brought “five loaves and two fishes” (vs. 38).

So here we are with a serious problem. We have a crowd that was classified as a multitude on the other side of the sea and were told it is now a great multitude. They have been listening to the Teacher all day long and now, evening is approaching. The great multitude is hungry, but they have come to a secluded place where there are no options for buying food. Jesus fully understands the details of the problem and has a simple solution, saying to His disciples, “Feed them.” They consider their resources, along with what the crowd has for complying with the Teacher’s direction. After counting everything they found, it was five loaves and two fishes. 

To many, that news would have been sufficient to enter deep disappointment and maybe frustration. Jesus, however, is the Master of making the little much! Let us see how He reacts to the problem and its lack of viable alternatives.

Understand the Context (Mark 7:1-8:21)

As Mark documents the life and works of Jesus of Nazareth, he carefully set the proper context. The entire purpose for the Romans allowing local religions to continue in their occupied countries was to control the people. If that control seems in jeopardy by the Romans, they can terminate Hebrew religious practices and force occupied lands to follow their polytheistic worship of Roman and Greek gods. As the fame of Jesus grew throughout the three provinces of Israel, the crowds He drew were becoming a threat to the Romans. In today’s study, for example, we will see Jesus attracting a crowd of 5,000 men and feeding them miraculously from a supply of only five loves and two fishes. Roman, as well as Hebrew, leaders certainly took note of a man who can muster 5,000 followers for any reason. Further, the Romans and the Hebrews knew that the people believed the promised Messiah of God would overthrow the occupying nation and establish God’s Kingdom on Earth. Again, obvious threats to Rome.

So, the Hebrew leaders, including the Sanhedrin, high priests, pharisees, sadducees, scribes and rabbis were generally more concerned about the appearance of control than the actual practice of the Jewish religion, faith in Jehovah and genuine service to the Jewish people. In contrast, Jesus ministered to the specific needs of the people, whether they were Jews or Gentiles. 

Chapter 7 shows Jesus healing the daughter of a Gentile woman in Tyre and healing a deaf Gentile man in the Decapolis. While both events were done outside of Israel, they still strengthened Jesus’ following. Jesus also healed a lepper by touching him which was strictly forbidden by Jewish Law. Then He repeated the feeding of the 5,000 by miraculously feeding another 4,000 with similar results. Chapter 8 documents Jesus holding a discussion with the apostles on the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders within the hearing of some Jewish leaders. Mark completes his writing in Chapter 8 by detailing another miraculous healing of a blind man by Jesus. By this time, more Jewish leaders were plotting how to eliminate the threat Jesus posed. 

The Dejected (Mark 7:24-30)

 esus left Israel three times during His ministry, not including His baptism in Bethabara and temptation in the wilderness. Mark tends to be more chronologically accurate of the life of Christ, so using his Gospel, the first time was when Jesus departed a boat in Gadara and healed a madman (Mark 5:1-20).  The second was in the section below where He healed a gentile woman’s daughter in Tyre (Mark 7:24-30), and the third is in the healing of the deaf gentile man in the Decapolis below (Mark 7:31-15). Jesus’ life was well prophesied hundreds or even thousands of years before He was born, and He had to fulfill these prophesies during His ministry when, where and how the prophesies stated. For example, He had to prevent being martyred or proclaimed Messiah before the Triumphant Entry in AD 32 according to Daniel 9:25. He had to be born in Bethlehem of a virgin mother (Mic 5:2 & Isa 7:14). He had to be tortured, crucified and laid in a new tomb for three days and nights (Isa 53, Psa 22, Matt 12:40).

When a coronation, death or delay threatened fulfillment of any of those prophesies, Jesus had to escape out of Israel. This miracle and the one following in the next few verses caused His fame to grow quickly. When He was already widely recognized and the word of His power well published, the healing of the Syrophoenicians woman’s daughter multiplied His fame because she was a gentile but the Messiah was understood by the people to come only for the Jews. 

This belief was widely accepted across the Jewish region, but it was clear from God’s original promise (i.e., the Abrahamic Covenant) that Abrahem would be the father and source of blessing for people from all nations and tongues (Gen 12:1-3). Therefore, the healings and blessing of Gentiles should have been expected rather then condemned. 

This miracle is uniquely noteworthy because of the great faith of the Gentile woman rather than the Jewish taboos. Jesus reminded her of the flawed belief, but she responded that she sought only the crumbs that might fall from the master’s table of plenty. Jesus was astonished at her faith and told her, “For this saying, go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter” (vs. 29).

The Deaf (Mark 7:31-35)  

Jesus was still trying to let things calm down in Israel, so instead of reentering Israel near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Tyre and Sidon, He traced the border of northern Israel, coming into Israel as He approached the Decapolis (ten Gentile cities) along the Sea of Galilee. The people, already hearing of His great healings even among the Gentiles, brought to Him a deaf man with a speech impediment. This is not an unusual combination because a deaf person cannot hear the words he speaks, and therefore, cannot adjust how he pronounces the words. They asked Jesus to “put His hand on him” (vs. 32). So, Jesus took him aside from the crowd, put His fingers in his ears and placed some of His saliva on the deaf man’s tongue (vs. 33).  Then Jesus looked up to heaven, sighed and said, “Ephphatha” that is “Be opened” (vs. 34). 

Verse 35 documents that “straightway” (i.e., immediately), “the man’s ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plainly” (vs. 35). So, as with the Syrophoenician lady’s daughter, Jesus the Jewish Messiah, touched and healed a Gentile person. The messages from God are abundantly clear. First, if you want to know how things work, read the instruction manual! The people of Jesus’ time heard from the scrolls of the Old Testament every time they went to study and worship at the synagogue (at least every Saturday). The rabbi (teacher) would read the words and then expound on their meaning very much like we hear every time we hear a sermon. Know what the Word says and rejoice in how God makes it happen. 

Second, do not limit God. The prophesies tell us what God would do so, God said He would do cannot qualify as surprises. Making the Messiah unique for the Jewish race was never God’s teaching. The fact that the Jewish race was God’s chosen people was clear, but the further teachings that God would reach the “strangers among us,” (those Gentiles who associated with or lived among the Jews) to become a part of the “Chosen” were also very clear. The cleansing ceremony of Mikvah (today’s Baptism) included the induction of Gentile believers into the Jewish blessings once they presented evidence of their compliance with Jewish Law.  

Understand the Context (Mark 7:24-9:13)

It seems far too soon, but we are approaching the halfway point of the Gospel according to Mark. Transitioning to the second half comes with a transition in the major theme of Mark’s writings. Up to this point, he had been concentrating on Jesus’ healing (Mark 7:24-8:10, 22-25) and teaching (Mark 8:11-21, 27-30) ministries. Now, he adds Jesus’ focus on His cross. As they approached Caesarea Philippi, Jesus opened a discussion with the apostles regarding whom they had heard people say He was. The apostles said they heard people say He might be John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets (8:28). He then asked them who the apostles said He was. Peter responded almost immediately that he knew Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mark 8:29).  

A problem arose with any teaching that Jesus was the Messiah because the belief of the Roman and Jewish leaders was that the Messiah was one who was promised to come and free Israel from Roman bondage and the evil Jewish religious leaders. He was believed to cause a Jewish King to be crowned who would reign forever. It should be obvious why this was a negative for Roman leaders and for any of the Jewish leaders who were teaching false doctrine.

But Jesus began to reveal a fulfillment of the coming Messiah relative to the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 rather than the great ruler and powerful king of their expectation. Even more discouraging was Jesus’ revelation that the persecution and suffering was not reserved for Him alone, but also for His followers; i.e., even the apostles and disciples.

Then Jesus transitioned to another new teaching. He spoke a prophecy that some of those standing with Him at that very moment would not pass away before they would see the Kingdom of God being realized on earth. So, on the one hand, Jesus is clarifying the expectation for the coming Messiah that was not the warrior and conqueror some believed, but that the actual Kingdom of God may be established sooner than any of them believed. 

Get Behind (Mark 8:31-33)

Recall that Jesus had asked the apostles whom they thought He was, and Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt 16:16, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20, John 6:69).  Jesus wants to establish two important facts for the realization of the Messiah. First, at this fulfillment of the coming Messiah, He must live through many challenges before He had to die in this life. Many then and now have integrated the first coming of Christ with the second coming of Christ. Certainly, there is no denying the interpretation of Revelation 19 as Christ (Greek version of the Hebrew word Messiah) is coming in all power and defeating all principalities and powers as He establishes full power over all the earth. That is not the first coming but the second. Here. Jesus reveals that He will be rejected of all the religious leaders of Israel. He will be killed by the Romans because the religious leaders had no authority for capital punishment.  

As Jesus began to openly state the events that must take place on Him, Peter began to oppose that teaching. When Jesus was able to isolate the apostles, he made sure that Peter knew his opposition to Jesus’ words would not hold. Jesus told Peter that he was responding to the desires of mankind rather the desires of God. Jesus, said openly, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Mark 8:33). While Jesus had the power of foreknowledge and knew that Peter would become known as the greatest apostle and the Great Fisherman, his words opposing the Christ had to be severe and well documented. Jesus told Peter in the hearing of the apostles that his comments were straight from Satan and not what Jesus said at all.

Second, this is a temptation for every person as we minister for Christ. Sometimes accomplishing what must be done for the advancement of the Kingdom of God, is extremely painful for us as mere humans. Nevertheless, the work of the Kingdom requires that we learn and submit to God’s will for every effort we do for Him. All of us have experienced the loss of friends or the loss of a relative for the sake of the Kingdom. We look back over life and feel sorrow because we allowed certain events to go the way they did. But then we realize that had it gone any other way, it would have delayed or frustrated the progress of God’s Kingdom.

Follow Me (Mark 8:34-38)

The word “and” at the beginning of verse 34 indicates a conjunction with the previous verse. In that sentence, we saw Peter rejecting Jesus’ discussion that He would be arrested, tortured and killed. Jesus responded that Peter was not considering the mission of God with that comment, but rather, the desire of men. Here we find Jesus calling “the people,” that is, the common people and had the apostles there as well. He adds to Peter’s comment, “but, to the contrary, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (vs. 34). Luke’s Gospel adds a word to that statement which tells us significantly more about “taking up one’s cross.” Luke says one must take up their cross “daily” and follow Him” (Luke 9:23). Why might it be so important to “take up thy cross daily, and follow Him?” It is because the commitment to deny oneself and take up His cross must be done every day at least. A one-time commitment is simply insufficient to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ. Jeremiah’s Lamentations say “21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lam 3:21-23). Likewise, every morning we need to recommit to crucify self by taking up His cross daily and following Him. Further, we are not only taking up the cross of Christ, but we are taking up our own cross, as well. Whatever it is that we are bearing that might hinder our full dedication to the Lord’s work needs to be nailed to that cross as well. Personal discipleship is the practice of recognizing the things that are holding us back and nailing them to our crosses just as Christ nailed all the sin we had committed, were committing and would commit to His cross forever. Oh, how hard it is to accept the fact that all our sin was paid for and never needs to be paid for again.  

Each time we dredge up the past sins and suffer the guilt for them, we are denying the truth that Jesus had already paid for them with His blood – they can no longer stand against us. Paul says, “There is therefore, now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).  

Verse 35 says, that is, when we attempt to save our lives, or take them back from the Lord, we actually lose our lives. That is not to say we will die if we take out lives back, but it does say that the quality of the life we take back will never be as great as it would have been if it remained with Him. Look at that summary verses at 8:36-37, “. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” These questions are asking about the soul as who we are. When we surrender to Christ and receive His full pardon for all sin, any additional sacrifice or payment we attempt to make denies the truth of what we did and hints at an ego that says we might be able to better deal with our sin than Jesus did. The promised “peace that passes all understanding” leaves us and we allow ourselves to return to the gutter of self-sufficiency (Phil 4:7). Jesus offers this ultimatum, “38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (vs. 8:38). That is, are we really willing to stand alone in final judgement or would we rather stand with the Savior saying, “there is no condemnation due to this person”? The choice is easy for me to make. You see, I do not want justice; I need MERCY! And only Jesus has the power and authority to give it – “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Case closed!! 

Understand the Context (Mark 9:14-50)

Some say that the purpose of the Transfiguration was to show that the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) supported Jesus’ ministry. This is far too small for the reading of the associated text in three Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). In that reading, one learns that each of the evangelists document Jesus’ statement to the religious leaders that there were some gathered in the current group who would not die before they saw the Kingdom of God (Matt 16:28. Mark 9:1 & Luke 9:27). In all three cases, Jesus takes Peter, James and John to a high place and is transfigured there with Moses and Elijah. And thus, He fulfilled His prophecy that some standing there would not see death before they saw the character of the Kingdom of God.  

After the resurrection of Jesus, He showed His power over death to the emotionally exhausted disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:25-27). He showed His power over disease by healing the possessed boy, the dead girl and the leper. The case of the possessed boy troubled the apostles because they had attempted to heal the boy but could not. Jesus said that kind only came out through prayer and fasting (Matt 17:21, Mark 9:29). In saying this, Jesus acknowledged that while some demons can be dispatched by speaking to them or touching the possessed person, others can only be dispatched through fasting and prayer. Jesus makes no attempt to identify what type of demon that was or how it could be identified before trying to do the exorcism.  

So, in Mark’s transitioning here, he goes from various healings to teachings on the end times and hell along with the appropriate preparations (Mark 9:30-50). The subjects will relate more directly to heavenly ministries than the earlier earthy ministries. The topics associated with these ministries would shift from the healings and exorcisms to Jesus’ coming crucifixion and resurrection. The crucifixion would result in God’s sacrifice for the sin of all humankind and the resurrection is the evidence of God’s acceptance of Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross. 

The Challenge (Mark 9:17-20)

Now, we see one of the thousands following Jesus come to Him to ask for special help (Mark 9:17). The man comes to Jesus with his son who has “a dumb spirit,” that is, a spirit who will not allow his son to speak. He continues in verse 18 that, when the spirit takes over his son, it rips and tares his son so that he foams from the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes quite rigid (vs. 18a). So, the man said he took his son to be healed by Jesus’ apostles, but they could not drive the spirit out (vs. 18b). Jesus reacted with uncharacteristic frustration saying, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?” It does not appear that Jesus was frustrated with the concerned father, but rather, with the apostles who had already been on the mission field and had seen the demons scatter at their word in faith. So, Jesus had already given them the power to cast demons out of people. If they were unable, it could only mean they had lost the faith to believe they could cast the demon out.  

Consider for a moment that Jesus is nearing the time when He will go to Jerusalem for His triumphant entry, arrest, trials and crucifixion. At this point in time, Jesus needed to know that He could leave because His apostles were ready to take over the ministry including the healing of diseases and casting out all kinds of demons. But, at least for this set of verses, the apostles could not cast out the demon and needed Jesus to make it happen for them (vs. 18). Jesus says simply, “Bring him to me” (vs. 19c). The apostles complied and brought the boy possessed by the demon to Jesus. But when the demon saw Jesus nearing the boy, it caused the boy to tear at himself. The boy fell to the ground, writhing and foaming from the mouth. 

The contrast between what Jesus expected at this point in His ministry and what Jesus saw as the truth, established the challenge. Was Jesus forced to rethink His scheduled departure to minister again to His apostles regarding the principles of healing diseases or casting out demons, or could He assume that this demon was different from the others and His apostles were still on track for picking up His more general ministerial responsibilities? 

The Admission (Mark 9:21-24) 

So, Jesus turned to the father of the boy and asked, “How long is it ago since this came unto him” (vs. 21)? The father answered saying it had been with him since he was a child.” He continued that often the spirit would have him tossed into a fire or into water to destroy him. In desperation the father looked at Jesus and said, “But, if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us” (vs. 22). I can imagine the father being near tears as he looked to Jesus as the last possible help he might have for his little boy. With the attitude people had concerning sin and disease, the father was probably being accused of some secret sin that caused his son to be possessed. The guilt and loss of fellowship or even the absence of general social contact was probably unbearable. He had likely tried everything he knew to do, but nothing could help his son. But the father had heard of what Jesus could do and had already done for others  Could this be the cure for his son? 

In response, Jesus said to him if he could believe, anything would be possible (vs. 23). The boy’s father responded to Jesus immediately crying out with tears in his eyes that he did believe, but if there was any trace of disbelief in him, he wanted the Lord to help him overcome that disbelief and not let it stand in the way of helping his child. The father’s crying out for help in such obvious sincerity was his only hope for reaching to Jesus to help his child. The pain of seeing him like this day after day was just too much for the father to bear. Now, if there was any hope whatsoever, the father wanted to get it for his boy. The boy needed the healing but the father, as any real father would, was feeling the pain his son was experiencing.  

This was a simple case of desperately wanting what was best for his child but fearing that some trace of doubt might be detected in him that could result in the Master not being able to work this cure. The words preceding his plea made it clear that the father wanted his son taken care of and did not want anything he may have subconsciously be feeling to interfere with that healing. So, he added to his statement of personal faith an added plea for help with any disbelief. 

Understand the Context (Mark 9:42-10:52)

At the close of Chapter 9, Mark documented the new details Jesus provided regarding the afterlife including the results of judgements for the righteous, rejecters of truth and the proud (9:42-50). Mark starts with using little children as an example. He says one who causes a new believer to stumble would be better off to drown himself (9:42). He then goes on the illustrate the dangers of allowing the temptations presented by any member of the body to lead the whole body into condemnation. Verses 47-50 closes the discussion of bodily temptations and moves to an illustration using salt to show how the believer could influence those around him in a way like salt influences the entire meal for all the consumers. 

Mark shows Jesus leaving the relative safety of Capernaum in Galilee for the much more dangerous areas of Judea (10:1). As He arrived, the pharisees within this much more orthodox area quizzed Jesus to see if they could cause Him to make a statement which would discredit Him. One such issue regarded the passage of Moses’ Law at Deuteronomy 24:1, “When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.” So, the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?” (Mark 10:2, Matt 19:3 adds “for every cause”). There were two notable rabbis in Jesus’ day, Shammai and Hillei. Shammai taught that a man could divorce his wife only for sexual misconduct (adultery). Hillei taught that the wife spoiling a meal was sufficient cause for divorce (Mishnah Git. 9:10). If Jesus gave the liberal answer, He would be denounced by the conservatives; if He gave the conservative answer, He would be denounced by the liberals.  Jesus decided on God’s answer, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:8). So, divorce is unmistakably sin, but not the unpardonable one. 

Next, the people brought little children to Jesus and the apostles began to send them away. Jesus corrected them and told the apostles to allow the little children to come to Him because “such is the kingdom of God” (vs. 14). Further, Jesus said that anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like the little children cannot enter in (vs. 15). It is in the child-like faith and trust that we can leave condemnation and enter eternal pardon, but those who put their trust in wealth or position will have great difficulty finding their way to the kingdom of God.

Verses 32-45 are the focal verses for today. Their teachings are contained below. Verses 46-52 reinforce Jesus’ teaching that illness and birth defects of any kind can be healed by the Master if a person will believe (vs. 52). 

Death Coming (Mark 10:32-34) 

Verse 32 sets the context for the beginning of awesome events in the life of Jesus as He makes His final trip to Jerusalem. The apostles were astonished as they followed Him knowing the great danger of His approach to city of God. But the rest of those who were following along with them were absolutely overcome with fear. So, Jesus took the twelve aside again and began to remind them of the events He had told them would be awaiting Him in the next few days.  He told them that when they went up into Jerusalem, the Son of Man would be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. These people who had the exhaustive training, study and experience to know exactly who Jesus was, instead of rejoicing at His arrival, would severely interrogate Him and sentence Him to death. But knowing they had no power to administer capital punishment, they would turn Him over to the Romans (gentiles) to execute Him instead (vs. 33) 

Once in the hands of the Romans, they would mock Him for claiming He was a king or that He was the promised Messiah. They would severely scourge Him and completely humiliate Him. And finally, they would execute the penalty of death upon Him believing that would end the problem of dealing with Jesus of Nazareth all together. But wait, just when they all gathered around the cross now bearing Jesus and believe in their victory, even one of their own centurions will confess Him saying, “Truely, this man was the Son of God” (Matt 27:54, Mark 15:39, Luke 23:47). Then they will take Him from the cross, place Him in a tomb never used before, set a guard about 30 soldiers over that tomb, watch them scatter at the experience of an earthquake that rolled back of the boulder at the tomb’s entrance, and hear His followers announce His victory over that grave as He fulfilled His prophecy that He would RISE AGAIN!! (vs. 34).  

Request Made (Mark 10:35-40)

But, even in those who were closest to the Savior, there were those who would be concerned about their positions in the future than all that was about to happen to their dearest friend. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached the Lord asking for a favor preceded with a request that He do for them whatever they desired (vs. 35). His response did not ask them how they could have a personal request after He just poured out His heart to them concerning His next few days; the last days of His physical life with them until His Second Coming. No, He simply responded, “What would ye that I should do for you?” (vs. 36). So, here it is. Here is the request in response to Jesus advising them that He was about to die. They said, “Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory” (vs. 37).  

Jesus’ first response to their request was to inquire as to their qualifications for such an assignment. He asked, “Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (vs. 38). Surprisingly, James and John answered Jesus that they could. Keep in mind that Jesus just reviewed for them exactly what was to happen to Him including His death and burial. These events are a part of the same set that the Zebedee brothers said they could handle. 

So Jesus says, okay, then you shall indeed drink of the cup I must drink, and partake of the same baptism of which I must endure (vs. 39). However, He says, to determine who will sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give. Those positions must be given to those for whom it has already been prepared. They are not mine to give (vs. 40).

Understand the Context (Mark 11:1-12:44) 

Jesus remains totally focused on His appointment at Jerusalem for the cross. It was for the cross that He came. It will be the most significant accomplishment of humankind since their creation by the Father. Jesus said, “I have come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). On the cross, He will save the believing world from the penalty of sin. Chapter 11 starts by telling us that Jesus and the apostles stopped off at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus on their way to Jerusalem. Lazarus was the man Jesus raised from being dead after four days. He was also targeted for death by the Sanhedrin because of his testimony of being raised. This home was close to the Mount of Olives and one of Jesus’ favorite places for prayer, the Garden of Gethsemane.  

Once there, Jesus charged two apostles to continue near Jerusalem to select a donkey which was an offspring of a donkey and had never been ridden before. Zechariah 9:9 prophesied the promised King would reveal Himself on such an animal. This is the revelation of the Messiah prophesied by Daniel 9:25 to occur 69 weeks of years (173,880 days) after the commandment goes forth to rebuild Jerusalem (Neh 2:6). Jesus also wanted to celebrate the Passover with His apostles, so they prepared an upper room for Him. This is where Jesus would establish the Lord’s Supper. 

Mark speaks here of Jesus’ entering the Temple grounds and finding dishonest salespeople selling animals for sacrifices and exchanging money to the local currency for purchasing the same or other needs after their long trips to celebrate the Jewish Holy Days. On the way to the Temple Jesus was hungry and passed a fig tree where food should have been available (Mark 11:12-14). There was none and the apostles would see that tree dead the next day (20-21). But the size and intensity of the crowd receiving Jesus coming to Jerusalem of the donkey reinforced the fear of the Jewish and Roman leaders that this man might well be able to overthrow their leadership; hence the High Priest Caiaphas decided, “Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not” (27-33, John 11:50).  

Chapter 12 provides very plain and logical parables showing the applications of Jesus’ teachings. Verses 1-12 describe the evil farmers who murdered their landlord and his son to steal the land they farmed for them. In 13-17, Jesus made sure the people knew that they must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s. The question was whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. In 17-27, Jesus further inflamed the Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection, by assuring all gathered that He was not the God of the dead but the God of the living. Then He was challenged by the leaders to determine which commandment was the greatest of the ten (28-34).  Jesus said the most important was to love God with all you have and are, and the second was to love your neighbor as you love yourself (30-31). Jesus closes with three short parables of great importance: whose Son is the Messiah (35-37), the pride and foolishness of the religious leaders (38-40) and how the smallest offering is greater than the largest when it is given out of poverty (41-44). 

Zealous (Mark 11:15-17)

When Jesus entered the Temple the next day, He was not upset or surprised at what He saw there. He knew that more than a million people came there for at least three of the Jewish Feasts each year, and that only a small portion lived a short distance from the Temple. The rest had to travel long distances from their home to the Temple, and as they made the trip, they would have to bring the animals for sacrifice with them. The rules for only offering a perfect animal with no flaws to the Lord were very clear. The priest receiving the animals could not offer a flawed beast and would have to reject it. So, rather than risking the injury of a perfect animal traveling from their homes to the Temple, various brokers would have the perfect animals for sale within the Temple courtyard. The service was a valuable one and greatly needed. The problem was that many of the merchants were using purposely misadjusted scales or setting terrible exchange rates between the difference coins. It was not the product nor the need that angered the Lord. It was extraordinary profits the salespeople were exhorting from His worshippers. It was dishonest and was certainly no example of how to love one’s neighbor.  

Jesus overthrew the tables and chairs of the sellers because they were mistreating their fellow citizens by using incorrect exchange rates for the various currencies and faulty measuring scales for weighing the exchange of money. They were also carrying their supplies and purchasers through the worship areas of the Temple, showing total disrespect for the Holy Place and the worshippers therein. Jesus clarifies the large distance between what was going on at the Temple and how far away from the worship of God it was. Truly, these people were taking the House of Worship and turning into a den of thieves. Jesus simply was not going to tolerate the mistreatment of the people who came to the Temple believing it was a holy place.   

It was good that those services for exchanging currencies was available, but the methodologies were flawed and the example for worshipping Jehovah was completely absent from the Temple’s courtyards. John 2 reveals to us that this was not the first time Jesus felt it necessary to clear this area. The clearing documented by John was done shortly after the first miracle, the changing of water to wine at the wedding feast in Cana. The cleansing in Mark and the other synoptic Gospels was done shortly before His arrest; that is, one was at the beginning of His ministry and the other was at the end. This adds even more justification for Jesus’ anger here. He must have thought His teachings should have been sufficient with only one cleansing of the Temple. 

Jealous (Mark 11:18-19)

So, while Jesus worked hard in the final days of His ministry to make Temple worship more conservative and godly, the scribes and chief priests were angered by His work (vs. 18).  Maybe part of their anger was because they knew it should have been them who were monitoring the quality of worship and adherence to the Law of Moses. The scribes were those of the most learned of the Jewish leaders. They worked for years if not decades to prove they could be trusted with the sacred work of copying the hundreds of holy scrolls entrusted to them. They knew more about the fulfillment of the prophet’s words than anyone else in Israel. They knew of the more than 300 prophecies of Old Testament prophets that had been fulfilled by this Man Jesus. 

The chief priests were those responsible for the daily worship and consistent teachings of the scriptures given them. Their frequent presentations from God’s word gave them practiced expertise in its content. They knew of who Jesus was. Nevertheless, our focus scripture tells us that it was these two groups of people who decided that Jesus had to be murdered. And from above, we see the reference to the words of Caiaphas that it would be fitting that this one man dies for the survival of the rest of the nation. The scripture provides insight into their mindset at the time. “For they feared Him, because all the people was astonished at His doctrine” (vs. 18). The feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000 men (plus their families) along with the recent response of the entire city as Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiah of God riding the colt of a donkey into the city showed numbers approach half a million that might respond to Jesus’ calling (Zech 9:9). Their fear was justified, of course, just for the size of these crowds, but for those waiting for the Messiah, the crowds were predictable and proper. 

Notice what might be missed in Mark 11:19, that Jesus was able to walk freely and unimpededly out of the city when evening began to show. While the scribes and chief priests had already decided He must die, and that decision only confirmed earlier decisions for Him and His friend Lazarus, no one so much as challenged His withdrawal from the city. “And when even was come, He went out of the city” indeed (vs. 19).  

Understand the Context (Mark 12:1-13:37)

Last week, we studied Mark 11-12 and saw Christ seemingly appose every powerful person in Jerusalem. He knew they were already predisposed to ending His life, but He confronted them anyway. The issue broke down to this: Jesus had a responsibility to prepare His apostles for life after He was gone. He knew this was His last week until after the Resurrection. He had to present a model for the apostles to imitate after He had returned to the Father. So, whenever He was approached or apposed, He responded as He would want His apostles to respond.  

This week marks a major change.  Jesus is leaving the Temple and returning to Bethany. Chapter 13 of Mark’s Gospel enters a review of the many activities associated with the end times. The study of these times is called eschatology. We recall the prophecies of Jeremiah 31:31-35 saying, “31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” These verses promise the Old Testament passing away and a New Testament beginning. Hebrews 9:15-23 explains that a Covenant is not in place until the One establishing that Covenant is dead. The Old Covenant was established repetitively with the sacrificial deaths of animals. The New Covenant would be established once and for all time through the blood of Jesus Christ.  

The New Testament period began with the death of Jesus and will continue until He comes for us. In the Revelation, God reveals through the apostle John a set of seven churches in Chapters 2 and 3. Revelation 4:1 shows the Rapture of the Saints and the Church ceases to be mentioned through Revelation until the Second Coming of Christ in Chapter 19. So, the period of the Church Age would last from Jesus’ death until the Rapture of the Saints. The periods after the Church is taken off the earth are the Seven Year Tribulation period, the Second Coming of Christ, the One Thousand Year Millennial period, and the Eternal Kingdom of God.  

King Herod was a master of manipulation of his subjects. He invested great sums of money and resources in building an elaborate Temple for the Jews to practice their religion in hope of using that religion to control them for years to come. As they are leaving Jerusalem, the apostles spoke to Jesus regarding the beauty of the architecture and the massive stones. Jesus informed them that these stones would be brought down so that not even one stone would be left standing. (He was speaking of the destruction brought in 70 AD as Rome’s General Titus would lead the destruction of Jerusalem and her Temple. So, Jesus’ teachings are on avoiding false teachers and warning us that all the violence and suffering they would be seeing were simply precursors to a of Great Tribulation. In Mark 13, Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus presents the chronology for those events. 

Be Ready (Mark 13:24-27)

After Jesus warns that the beautiful architecture will be destroyed, the apostles press Him for more detail on when these things will take place and what the sign will be when they will be fulfilled (13:4)?  Jesus lists the coming of false Christs and false prophets, wars and rumors of wars, nations going up against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms, earthquakes, famines and troubles and warns that these will just be the beginnings of sorrows (13:5-8). Believers will delivered up to councils, beaten in synagogues and charged before kings and rulers because of their beliefs in Christ (vs. 9). But the Gospel will continue to be published among all nations and Jesus will provide your needed defenses before the courts as families turn against their own members. The period between the death of Jesus of Nazareth (which establishes the New Covenant) and the Final Judgement is called the Church Age (Rev 2, 3 & 20:11-15).  

It is during the Church Age that the Gospel of Christ is preached to all nations and multitudes of people are born again and rescued from the penalty of their sins (Rom 8:1). At the conclusion of the Church Age, Jesus will return on a cloud (that is, not touching the earth) for those who believe in Him (Acts 1:9-11, 1 Thes 4:13-18, 1 Cor 15:52-57, Rev 4:1).  He will bring the souls of those who have already died with Him, raise their bodies to rejoin their souls on the cloud and issue them their eternal bodies. Then He will call up all those who were alive at His coming and receive them into the clouds for their new bodies, as well. Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ will be left on the earth to continue their lives as they were. 

Jesus then says that an abominable word of desolation will be spoken (or the abomination of desolation will take his place) in the Temple to end daily sacrifices and establish the beginning of a seven-year period of Tribulation such as the world has never known (Dan 11:31, 12:11). The Tribulation will be comprised of two, three and a half year periods called the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation. During these periods, a multitude of new people will become believers and will be ushered into Heaven just as the Pre-Tribulation saints were (Rev 7:1-12).

Picking up with verse 24 in the current study, after that seven-year tribulation, Christ’s Second Coming takes place and those who were born-again during that period are collected from across the entire planet and taken to join those who were taken seven years earlier (Rev 19). God will condemn the Anticrhist and the False Prophet to the Lake of Fire (Second Death) forever, and Satan will be chained for 1,000 years as believers reign with Christ during the thousand-year Millennial Period. Jesus will release Satan for a short period before the New Jerusalem comes to earth and send him to the Lake of Fire with the False Prophet, the Antichrist and all those not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev 19:20, 20:15).  There is never an escape.

Be Aware (Mark 13:24-31)

In verse 28, Jesus provides an illustration of how one should remain aware of the coming periods in the end times. Many of the apostles still recalled the fig tree that Jesus cursed on the way to Jerusalem (Mark 11:13-14). Jesus says that when the fig plant is still young, but the tender branches and new leaves appear, it is easy to know that Summer is near (vs. 28). Likewise, He says, when you begin to see these prophesies come to pass, you know that these things are near, even at the doors (vs. 29).  

So, the starting point for our reaction to these teachings is to understand each of the prophesies and their relationships to one another. The reason, of course, is to know that if one prophecy is fulfilled, the ones related to that prophecy is on the way, as well. This why Jesus was illustrating prophecy fulfillment to observations of fig tree. Just as you can predict when Summer is imminent by the leaves on the fig tree, you can predict the fulfillment of a linked prophecy once the initiating prophecy is underway. Mark 13:24-25 say, “24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.” Therefore, as the tribulation period draws to an end (initiating prophecy), one is justified in expecting to see the sun darkened, moonlight cut off and stars beginning to fall (linked prophecy).  

Verses 30-31 provide a key piece of information regarding when these prophecies will take place. Jesus is saying that this generation will not pass until all these things are done. So, we can have confidence in when the prophecies will be fulfilled as long as we can define what the generation mentioned is. 

In terms of the aforementioned Church Age, that may well be the generation mentioned. The Church Age certainly includes the time from the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the establishment and growth of the Church, the Rapture of the Saints, the Tribulation Period, the Second Coming and the Millennial Period. Further, Revelation 8:12 and 9:2 speak of the sun being darkened during the fourth and the fifth trumpets. Since the Tribulation has not yet begun; the sun, moon and stars prophecy is at least seven years in our future. Jesus adds one more statement in verse 31 to make sure we understand that these prophecies are as certain as the existence of the heaven and earth, and that His words shall never pass away. 

Understand the Context (Mark 13:1-14:52)

Much of what we studied last week in Mark 13 looked at a series of events that would culminate in the return of Christ for His Church and the establishment of an everlasting Kingdom of God. This week, we return to the ugliness of hundreds of Bible scholars (scribes, sadducees, pharisees and priests) who were experiencing the First Advent of God’s promised Messiah. They represented the top level of knowledge and practice within Judaism. Christ was promised for them and to them. Yet, at this point in history, they were rejecting Him; and worse, they were making firm plans to murder Him. The documented statements made here (if proven) would bring guilty verdicts of premeditated murder for everyone involved. And this, is the body of religious experts charged with maintaining and advancing the causes of Jehovah for His creation. 

Here (Mark 14) we begin with the Sanhedrin formulizing a plan for taking the life of Jesus without inciting a riot among His followers. In other words, their united concern was not that of taking the life of a noted and respected teacher in their midst, but rather, how to do it without inciting a riot. To that end, their first decision is that they cannot do it during the Passover when hundreds of thousands of visitors would be watching their every move.  

Meanwhile, in Bethany, a few of Jesus’ followers are anointing Jesus for His burial (14:3-9). The use of the expensive perfume to do the anointing so inflamed one of Jesus apostles that he decided to betray Jesus to the religious leaders at the very next opportunity (10-11). Nevertheless, Jesus continued to make preparation for His demise. He directed two of His followers to go into the city to prepare for His celebration of the Passover Meal with the twelve. He described everything He was looking for in the city, and the apostles found it exactly as He said it would be (12-16). Later, while they were eating the meal, Jesus revealed to them that the one who would betray Him was sitting at the same table with them that night (17-21). 

When they left the meal and made their way to the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane was, Jesus followed up on His comment about the betrayer.  Peter told Jesus that while many others might betray Him, he would never do such a thing (27-31). Jesus told Peter that he would deny he ever knew Him three times before the rooster crowed that morning. Everything Jesus said to the apostles regarding the activities of that night were completely fulfilled (32-52). Jesus was betrayed, judged by the priests, condemned to death, turned over to the Gentiles (Romans), beaten, humiliated and eventually murdered.  

Distressed (Mark 14:32-34) 

In the details of the study for this week, we find Jesus and His apostles going to the Mount of Olives where there was a place in which Jesus loved to pray, the Garden of Gethsemane (vs. 32). He asked the apostles to sit just passed the entryway while He took Peter, James and John a few steps farther (vs. 33). There He began to feel deeply troubled and horribly distressed. He said to Peter, James and John to wait for Him and keep watch while He went a few more steps into the garden (vs. 34). There His soul became sorrowful even unto death.  

Jesus left eight of the eleven apostles at that entry point to the Garden. There were eleven because Judas was in the process of betraying the Savior to the high priests. He separated out the Inner Circle of Peter, James and John to go a few steps farther with Him. He asked all of the eleven to pray for Him as He faced the most difficult task of His 33-year life. In a manner of minutes, He would be taken prisoner and stand before the chief priests and later the Sanhedrin.  Jesus knew and each of the religious scholars knew that He was God’s Messiah. Yet, in their hypocrisy, greater care for human approval and survival among the Romans, they would not only claim He was not who He said He was, but rather, a blasphemer and liar who claimed to be God. They would say their law required that Jesus die for His claims. Why was this so hard for Jesus to do? It was because He was watching 71 elders of Israel whom He loved condemn themselves for all eternity. He had the power to have them lap the floor like dogs, but He would allow it all. 

Surrendered (Mark 14:35-36)

So, Jesus went forward a little farther and fell with His face to the ground (vs. 35). He spoke to the Father in words that only these two could have mustered. Jesus asked only that this hour might pass from Him. We know that Jesus knew all things as early as the eternity past. He was not a part of God’s creation; rather, He was God, Himself. There were no secrets. Humankind would be given everything beyond their imagination in the Garden of Eden, but they would reject it in favor of a taste of the knowledge of good and evil. As Jesus watched Adam and Eve fall that day, He knew they would require a Savior to bring them back to the God who created them. He knew that thousands of years in the future, He would be on His face in another Garden where He would come face-to-face with the task of allowing vile men take His earthly life in the cruelest ways. He would be allowed no basic dignity. While He was the One who created them all; He would get nothing in return. And. Worse, Jesus had the power to reverse it all, but if He used that power, humankind would be lost.   So instead, Jesus used the sweetest language available between two beings and called the Father, “Abba.” He said I know you can take this cup from me, but I accept that is not your will.  

Luke’s Gospel states, “He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Luke was a medical doctor and he was describing a condition known as hematidrosis (National Institute of Health – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3827523/#:~:text=Hematohidrosis%20is%20a%20very%20rare,%2C%20psychogenic%2C%20and%20unknown%20causes.). There is a picture in this link of a twelve-year-old girl experiencing the phenomenon. It is caused by acute stress to a point where the small blood vessels in the face begin to fracture and their blood comes through the surface of the face like sweat. Jesus was experiencing a level of stress and anxiety far beyond what most of us will ever experience. The Gospel song says, “He could have called 10,000 angels, but He died alone for you and me!” (https://youtu.be/mP563vwmQB0). He knew He had the power to end the torture, but He said to the Father, “Not My will, but Thine be done!” 

Weak (Mark 14:37-39)

Here Jesus is reminded of the weakness of humankind. He prayed and suffered until blood poured like sweat, but the eleven He chose, slept through it all. He came face-to-face with the truth that He was not just another man; rather, He was also God in the flesh. While the others had run out of energy hours before, Jesus “had been drinking at the well!” He had energy, power and stamina left over when others had nothing left. Yes, the human in Him was tired and well spent, but He had just been through the worse task that anyone could have: He had to acknowledge the supremacy of God. He talked to the Father, and they agreed on what was going to happen. No, it would not make it easier for Jesus to endure, but the understanding of its necessity was now clear.  

He came away from where He was praying to find Peter, James and John asleep once again. He thought, “Oh, could you not watch with Me for one hour?” (vs. 37). But in His loving mind, He must have looked at the slumbering Peter and thought, “there is the man who will insist on being crucified up-side-down saying, ‘I am not worthy of dying like my Master’.” He looked at James and saw the first leader of the Christian church until he became its earliest martyr. But it would be the death of James which caused the Church at Jerusalem to spread all across the world. Then He must have looked at John. He saw his youth as he slept there that night, He saw John as the only apostle who stood there at the foot of the cross holding tightly to Mary, the Savior’s Mother, but He also saw the wrinkled and cracked skin of the very old man who suffered decades on Patmos, but when released, reviewed the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and added a fourth Gospel to capture those special times between Jesus and “the apostle He loved.”  

But for now, there lies the three top leaders who will carry the work of spreading His word to the rest of the world. He must have spoken to the Father and said something like, “Oh Lord, I recall the day when I thought Adam and Eve were so very weak to give up everything for a taste of knowledge but look at these three. These are the best of the twelve as they nap while I suffer. Father, I will do what I must do tonight and tomorrow. But I will rise and teach these men again. I love them so! 

Understand the Context (Mark 14:17-15:47) 

Talking of how quickly history moved from the Passover Meal to the Crucifixion has more to do with the goals of the writer, Mark. than the reality of the situation. John, Matthew and Luke found several chapters of commentary between these events. Mark was a much shorter Gospel and was geared toward the needed of the Roman believers or potential converts. Much of the extremely important information pertinent to the Jewish believers is not included for the Gospel designed for meeting Roman or gentile needs.  

There is a lot of conjecture in the literature about who might have owned the upper room used for the Last Supper and potentially the sight of the Acts 2 first appearance of the Holy Spirit. There is no firm answer to that question and early disciples like Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea are also mentioned. Nevertheless, it was in that room that Jesus revealed that one of those eating the Passover with Him would betray Him (Mark 14:17-31). There, He also established the Lord’s Supper (Mark 14: 22-26).  

Later that night, they would arrive at the Garden of Gethsemane after passing by the Mount of Olives where Peter would pledge his full support and loyalty to Jesus. Jesus had to correct him and tell him he would deny Him three time that night and say he never knew Jesus (Mark 14:29-31). Mark, which was influenced by the apostle Peter, was also critical of Peter on his denial of Christ and his sleeping while Jesus prayed.

Jesus was arrested that night as Judas identified where the Christ would be found in the Garden. After the Sanhedrin determined Jesus was guilty and condemned Him to death, they had to turn Him over to Pilate, the Roman Governor. He was the one who had the authority for carrying out a death penalty. Pilate stated that Jesus was innocent, in fact, he said he could find no fault in Him at all (Luke 23:4, 14 & John 18:38, 19:4,6). Still, he acquiesced to the crowd and condemned Him (Mark 15:1-20). Jesus was crucified at 9 AM and the skies went dark at noon (15:33, 38-39). Nearly tortured to death before His crucifixion, Jesus would give up His spirit and die by 3 PM. The veil separating the Holy of Holies from the people in the Temple was ripped in two from the top to the bottom signifying the end of the separation between God and humankind. Jesus had cancelled the sin debt forever (John 19:30).   

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea received permission to take Jesus’ body off the cross. They laid Him to rest in Josph’s new tomb, At the insistence of the Jewish religious leaders, Pilate assigned the twenty-man Roman watch on the tomb. He said, “make it as sure as you can,” as if he knew Jesus could not be held back (Matt 27:65). But, on Sunday morning….! 

Crucified (Mark 15:24-27 + 28)

Crucifixion was a method of capital punishment used among the Persians, Seleucids, Carthaginians, and Romans from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD (Encyclopedia Britanica).  (Notice that the dates were after the prophecies of the Messiah’s crucifixion in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.) Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, abolished it in the Roman Empire by early 4th century AD out of veneration for Jesus, the most famous victim of crucifixion. It was used for capital punishment to be a deterrent to crime. The placement of the nails in the nerve centers of the wrists and the tendons behind the ankles provided for securely holding the victim for as much as a week before death. It was seldom from the wounds but rather from asphyxiation or lack of oxygen to the lungs. The pressure on the victim’s torso made breathing nearly impossible, so the victim would have to push up on the nails behind his ankles to allow a breath, causing severe pain at the nerve centers in front of the Achilles Tendons. The payment for a few cc’s of air was unbearable pain. Death was considered a gift for the victims. 

Severe flogging prior to crucifixion reduced the victim’s time before death because the loss of blood would lead to loss of conciseness, further hindering breathing. The victim was stripped of all belongings in the process, hence the casting of lot for their clothes (vs. 24, Matt 27:35, Psa 22:18). That is, the soldiers carrying out the death sentence could claim their clothes (vs. 24). 

Verse 25’s mention of the third hour means three hours after sunrise, so roughly 9:00 AM. The deterrent of crucifixion was aided by posting a sign over the head of the victim declaring the charges for which the victim was terminated, as if to say, “if you do this crime, this could be you, next.” Verse 26 says Jesus was crucified because He was “the King of the Jews.” Claiming to be a king over a Roman Governor was certainly worthy of death under their law: The Emperor was king and god over all. Documenting that Jesus was crucified between two thieves obviously fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12, “and He was numbered with the transgressors.” Verse 28 came into question because it says just that. During the use of the scrolls, a scribe would sometime make notes in blank spots to remind himself of facts when teaching. If that scroll was later used as a source for a new scroll, the note could be copied into the formal text. That may be what happened here and why the text was not in earlier versions of the scroll. The spirit of the same text is included in Luke 22:37 yet, remains unquestioned. 

Mocked (Mark 15:29-32)

With all the demonstrations we have seen of late, this mocking topic almost makes sense in a horribly sick way. Think first of the hate it must take to see three men nearly naked hanging from nails hooking them to large pieces of lumber. The skills of the soldiers executing the condemned men is perfected to the point that they were flawless at getting the nails through the skin and muscles in a way that missed puncturing any veins by measures of just a millimeter or two. Puncturing the vein would allow the criminal to die far too quickly. Death over a few days of asphyxiation was the Roman goal. So, the condemned were in the most terrible pain anyone could imagine as they slowly approached death. Now, imagine hecklers passing by and hurling insults at them. In Jesus’ case they reminded Him of statements He made that about restoring the Temple in three days, but He was speaking not of the massive Temple in Jerusalem, but rather the temple of His own body (John 2:19-22).

Nevertheless, they jeered at Him saying, “Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross” (vss. 29-30). The chief priests and the scribes chimed in saying, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save” and “Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (vss. 31-32). Even those who were crucified on each side of Him joined in with the heckling of Jesus. What makes this so absolutely vile, in my mind, is that none of them understood that He was paying the high price for their sins, both corporate and personal, through His willingness to stay on that cross. If He did what they asked Him to do, they would be eternally in their sin and the burning of Hell as the appropriate penalty. Yet, they continued trying to cause Him to give up His mission.  

Understand the Context (Mark 14:53-16:20)

In our thirteen-session study of Mark, we saw the greatness of the fulfilling of the promise of God through the Prophet Jeremiah. He said, “31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jere 31:31-34, Hebr 8:8-12). Instead of trying to get people to follow Him through the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant, He established a New Covenant where He sacrificed Himself for us and eliminated sin as a barrier between God and Humankind, forever, for all who will believe. Jesus said His charge from God was “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10). All those God lost through the Old Covenant because of the penalty of sin, Jesus promised to get back for Him through His blood. Jesus signaled the successful completion of God’s goal with the shout of the Greek word tetelestai (English: “It is finished”) from the cross as He gave up His spirit (John 19 30). Paul summarized the entire meaning of it all with the words, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1a).  

But Jesus’ teachings were rejected by the Jewish leaders who wished to maintain religious control over the people for the sake of the Roman occupiers. Jesus’ teachings were contrary to their goals in that His words released humankind from the bondage to religion in favor of the freedom of relationship. John said it well in John 1:11-13, “11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” We are no longer mere worshippers, but sons and daughters of God. Bill Gaither wrote “I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood. Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod. For I'm part of the family; the family of God.” 

The Jewish leaders emphasized religious bondage, hard taxes and obedience to their leadership through the Law of Moses rather than the love and pardon offered by God through Jesus Christ. It cost Him His life; although He came for the purpose of dying to abolish the Old Covenant and usher in the New, He said, “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matt 26:24, Mark 14:21, Luke 22:22). Many celebrated the death and burial of Jesus as an end of His threat to their personal livelihoods. Rather, He proved on Sunday morning that His death and burial were only needed as vehicles for His triumphant resurrection from the dead, proving His victory over the grave for all of those who believe.  Paul said, “54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:54-57).  

Sought (Mark 16:1-4)

As we discussed in our meeting yesterday, when Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body off the cross (after getting Pilate’s permission) they prepared it for burial with nearly a hundred-pound weight of myrrh and aloes (John 19:39). They prepared Him quickly because the sundown would usher in the Jewish Preparation Day. Likewise, early Sunday morning when Mary Magdalene, Mary Mother of James and Salome came to the tomb, they brought spices that they might anoint Him for burial (Mark 16:1).  These were all well-meaning measures that matched well with the traditions of the day. But all of them missed the fact that Jesus said He would only be there for three days and nights (Matt 20:19, 27:63; Mark 8:31, 10:34; Luke 18:33, 24:7). John 20:9 says, “For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.” In short, no one acted as though they believed that Jesus was going to rise again; to the contrary, they were bringing spices to prepare the body for final burial. 

So, in our reference text at verse 2, we see the three ladies coming to the tomb with their spices that they had purchased before the Sabbath began. Now, that the sun was rising, the Sabbath was over, and they were free to move about outside their homes. The mention of them coming “very early in the morning the first day of the week” shows they went to the tomb as soon as possible when it was legal for them to be there, so they might complete the anointing begun by Nicodemus and Joseph Friday, very near sunset (vs. 2).  

As they approached the tomb, the very real issue of the very large stone which was rolled in front of the grave came vividly to their minds (vs. 3).  They recognized immediately that rolling that stone away was not a task that could be done by them, alone. Certainly, they must had seen or heard of the Roman watch of soldiers assigned to place a Roman seal on the stone and guard the tomb (Matt 27:65). Most references say the size of that stone could have been between several hundred pounds to more than a ton. Their question was a very wise one, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?”  

The beginning of the many shocks of that day would be the fact that the stone was already moved before they arrived (vs 4). Matthew’s Gospel tells us, “And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it” (Matt 28:2). So, once the stone was in place and the Roman watch of some 16 to 20 men sealed the stone as being in place, it was not moved by any of them. 

Risen (Mark 16:5-8)

The surprise of seeing the stone rolled away did not hinder the approach of Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James or Salome. Verse 5 says they entered the sepulcher as soon as they were near to it. There were at least two questions that could have been in their minds as they quickly approached the opened tomb. One would have been “Who moved that stone?” and the other might be “Since the stone is moved back, is everything in order inside the tomb?” Their minds were not going to stay in wonder very long because there was a guide inside the tomb waiting for them (vs. 5). The Scripture says he looked like a young man and was sitting on the right side of the tomb. He wore a long, white garment, and he scared the ladies.  

The man spoke to them and said, “Be not affrighted” (vs. 6). While I realize the angel was trying to calm the ladies’ shock, it has always been humorous to me that whatever our reaction is to something so terrorizing, the first words from the person there is not to be terrorized. So, the angel continues, “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” The angel tried to sooth them somewhat by sharing with them all the detail he knew. He did not say the tomb was vandalized or that someone had broken in and stole Jesus’ body; rather, he told them simply, “Jesus, the one you are looking for was the one who was crucified, but he is risen and is no longer here.”  He shows them the place where Jesus was initially laid, but tells them they need to go their way to meet him. 

The angel wants the ladies to go tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus had gone ahead of them and will meet them in Galilee just as He said He would (vs. 7). Many question why Peter’s name was separated from the other disciples. I believe it was because Jesus wanted Peter to specifically know that Jesus wanted him there even though Peter was feeling like he no longer deserved to be a part of them after the denials that he even knew Jesus. Verse 8 tries to capture the shock in their minds as they depart to go to where Jesus was. First, it says they departed quickly and fled from the sepulcher because they trembled and were amazed or shocked.  This whole scene was far too much for the three ladies to process. The Leader they loved was not where He was placed after His death. Second, the immense rock that was rolled in front of the tomb was rolled away, but they did not know how or whom. They were talking with some supernatural person who was helpful but no less scary than the rent of scene. And third, Jesus wanted to meet them in Galilee. As they left, their natural demeanor was one of fear to talk with anyone. They said absolutely nothing to anyone they saw along the way because they were absolutely terrorized by everything they were experiencing (vs. 8).