The death of Jesus ...

Before we move on to Jesus' resurrection and His return to heaven, we must turn our thoughts to His death and His burial. The world doesn't want to hear about death, but this is something about which we must speak. There is no Gospel, if we stop short of Jesus' death, if we speak only of Jesus, the teacher and example. We cannot rush on to His resurrection - a message of joy - without speaking of His death. Resurrection has no meaning without death. The reality of Jesus' death is underlined in the description of His burial - "the body of Jesus ... Jesus was dead ... the corpse ... the body" (Mark 15:43-46). Jesus' experience of death was more than physical suffering. There was the suffering of the judgment of God upon our sin, as it was laid on Jesus - "My God, my God, why have You abandoned Me?" (Mark 15:34). The answer to this question is "reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:21). As we read about God forsaking Jesus - because our sin was laid on Him, we must also see that the God, who forsook Him, as He hung upon the Cross, is also the God who raised Him from the dead. All praise and glory to the Lord our God, the God of our salvation!

We can't say, "This is what we want Jesus to be." We must let Him be who He is.

"Hosanna!" (Mark 11:9-10) - This was a day of celebration, but the celebration didn't last long. The cursing of the fig tree (Mark 11:12-14,20-21) and the throwing out of the moneychangers (Mark 11:15-17) showed people that Jesus was different from what they wanted Him to be. We can't say, "This is what we want Jesus to be." We must let Him be who He is. "What gives you the right to do these things?" (Mark 11:26). Jesus has authority because of who He is. We recognize Him as the Son of God, and we live out this faith by submitting to Him as Lord of our lives.

Being With Jesus And Learning From Him

Mark 3:1-19

Jesus' ministry of preaching, teaching and healing was a remarkable ministry - but He did not go it alone. He called disciples to be with Him and learn from Him. How much do we know about these men? We know quite a lot about some of them. There are others about whom we know nothing at all. Do we need to know a lot about all of the apostles? No! We need to know about Jesus. The Saviour is more important than the servants. The message is more important than the messengers. This is a very important lesson. This is a lesson that we all need to learn. This is a lesson that we must never forget. Before we can work for the Lord, we are to "be with Him." We are to speak for Him (Mark 3:14). We are to pray that people will be changed (Mark 3:15).

Judas, Peter and Jesus

We already know about Judas - what He was planning to do. Of the other eleven disciples, Peter wasn't the only one who failed the Lord - "All the other disciples said the same thing as Peter" (Mark 14:31), and, like Peter, they let the Lord down. They kept well out of the way, making sure that they were not associated with Jesus. We see the same kind of thing in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus spoke to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping? ... " (Mark 14:37-38), but it wasn't only Peter who was sleeping (Mark 13:37). Even after Jesus had said to them, "Stay awake ... ", they fell "asleep" (Mark 14:40). To each of us, Jesus says, "Stay awake, and pray that you won't be tempted" (Mark 14:38).

Jesus was betrayed by Judas. He was denied by Peter. Could Judas have been restored? From God's point of view, the answer is "Yes." The love of God was there - even for Judas. From Judas' point of view, the answer was "No." There was no turning again to the Lord in Judas' heart. In Judas' tragedy, we see (i) God is not willing that any should perish; (ii) many will perish because they refuse to return to the Saviour. Peter's story tells us of restoration. he failed the lord. He let his Lord down. His Lord lifted him up. Between the betrayal by Judas and the denial by Peter, there is Jesus' trial in front of the Jewish Council. They "condemned Him" (Mark 14:64). In doing this,  they condemned themselves. They passed judgment on Him - but, one day, He will pass judgment n them: "You will see the Son of Man in the highest position in heaven. He will be coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62).

Praying Through God's Word: Mark's Gospel

Mark 1:1-20

Lord, we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, has triumphed over Your enemy, Satan. To us, Satan can seem so strong. Help us to remember that Jesus is stronger than Satan. With Jesus as our Saviour, we shall triumph over Satan, our enemy.

Mark 1:21-2:12

Lord, help us never to think that prayer time is wasted time. Jesus prayed. Jesus received Your blessing. Jesus brought Your blessing to others. Help us to be like Jesus - praying, receiving Your blessing, bringing Your blessing to others.

Mark 2:13-3:12

Lord, there are some changes that are good changes - but not all change is good change. We live in an ever-changing world. We look at some of the changes. We wonder, "Where are these changes coming from?" Is it because so many people have stopped listening to what Your Word is saying to them? What about good change, Lord? Where does good change come from? It comes from You, Lord. Real change, true and lasting change, comes to us when we put our trust in You, when we say, "Not my will, but Your will be done, Lord."

Mark 3:13-35

Sometimes, Lord, when we think about our many sins, we wonder, "How can we possibly be forgiven?" - and, then, we remember Jesus. We remember that He died for our sins. We look at ourselves, and everything seems to be so hopeless. We look at Jesus, and we say, "Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful love. Your love is greater than all of our sin. Thank You, Lord.

Mark 4:1-34
Lord, what does Your Spirit have to say to us? He speaks to us of our sin. He shows us our Saviour. It's a good thing to be aware of our sin. It's an even better thing to know that Jesus "receives sinners" (Luke 15:2). We come to Him - and He welcomes us. He is our Savour. He forgives our sins. Our sin gets us down. Our Saviour lifts us up. No wonder we sing, "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!"

Mark 4:35-5:20
"No-one ever cared for me like Jesus": Lord, help us to remember this - when our heads start to go down, and everything seems to be getting on top of us. Help us to remember this: "Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:38-39).

Mark 5:21-6:13
Lord, when we feel like there's no hope, show us that You are "the God of hope" (Romans 15:130. This is why we believe that "there is hope" (Jeremiah 31:17). Our hope is in You - the God of great faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23). With You as our God, how can we ever feel that we're hopeless? - To ask this quesion is to answer it! You are our God. You are our hope. Thank You, Lord.

Mark 6:14-44
Lord, we look for happiness. Where will we find it? "Happiness is to know the Saviour, living a life within His favour." How does happiness come our way? It comes when we're learning to see that pleasing You is more important than pleasing ourselves: Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

Mark 6:45-7:23
Where, Lord, will we find peace - when our emotions are tearing us apart? We feel like we're being pulled this way and that way. Sometimes, we feel like we're all over the place. We don't know whether we're coming or going. Lord, give us Your peace. Give us Your Son, Jesus. He is our Saviour. He is our Peace.

Mark 7:24-8:26
How much, Lord, do we want to be blessed by You? Is this something that we can take or leave? Do we say, "It would be nice to have more of the Lord's blessing - but we're doing OK, as things are? Are we doing OK? or Are we too easily satisfied? Create in us, Lord, a greater hunger and thirst for Your righteousness. Give us a greater desire that You will be glorified in us and through us. Help us not to settle for less than You want to give to us.

Mark 8:27-9:13
Where does our faith come from? - It comes from You, Lord. You put it into our hearts. You brought us to Jesus, Your Son - Jesus, our Saviour. You brought us out of unbelief and into faith. We came to You in our sin. You gave to us Your salvation. Thank You, Lord.

Mark 9:14-50
Lord, we come to You in weakness. You come to us in power. Our faith is weak. your power is great. What is our faith? It is faith in Your power - the power of Your love. It's not faith in ourselves. It's faith in You. You are our God. We put our trust in You. May we know, in our hearts, that You are absolutely trustworthy - the God who will never fail us.

Mark 10:1-31
When problems come our way, help us, Lord, to see that You have given us the answer - Your Answer: Jesus. What are we to do when we have problems? - We take them to Jesus. We see nothing but our problems - He sees something else: His opportunities. Our big problems can be turned into His great opportunities! Our problems bring us down. Your grace lifts us up. When our faith is put to the test, help us to remember Your precious promise: "My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Mark 10:32-52
Lord, You gave Your Son for us. We give all the glory to You. Our salvation does not begin with ourselves. It begins with You - Your gift to us, the gift of Your love: "God so loved the world that he gave His only Son" (John 3:16). Thank You, Lord, for Your love. Thank You for Your gift. Thank You for Your Son.

Mark 11:1-33
Lord, You call us to be fruitful for You. You call us to pray to You. Lead us in the way of fruitfulness. Lead us in the way of prayer. Help us to see that real fruitfulness comes from You. It comes to us - when we seek blessing from You and give glory to You.

Mark 12:1-44
Lord, give us wisdom. Give us Jesus. Give us faith - faith that is grounded in Your Holy Word, faith that is empowered by Your Holy Spirit. This is wisdom - living in the light of Your Word, living in the power of Your Spirit, living for Jesus. Lord, give us wisdom.

Mark 13:1-27
Lead us on, Lord - from our past to Your future. Whatever our past has been, show us Your future. Show us that You haven't given up on us. Show us that You have a great future planned for us.

Mark 14:1-25
We thank You, Lord, for Your love. It's the greatest love of all. Your love for us is so much greater than our love for You. Help us, Lord, to think less about our love for You, and more about Your love for us.

Mark 14:26-52
Lord, we praise You. We pray to You. We preach Your Word. Help us, Lord, as we praise, pray and preach, to remember that this is only part of our life. You call us to belong to You - and to serve You in the whole of life. This is not only about the things that we do - even the 'holy' things! It's about being the kind of people You've called us to be. We're called by Your holiness - called to be holy. We're called by Your love - called to be loving. We're called by Jesus - called to become more like Him. Help us, Lord, to hear Your call. Help us to say, 'Yes' to Your call - the call to live in holiness and love, the call to follow Jesus.

Mark 14:53-15:5
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus went to the Cross for us. He didn't stop halfway. He didn't opt out at 'the eleventh hour.' He didn't give up. He kept on going. What was it that kept Him going? - It was His love for us. Thank You, Lord, for His love - real love, wonderful love, perfect love, complete love, eternal love.

Mark 15:6-41
Thank You, Lord, that Jesus gave Himself for us. He took our place. He died for us. We are the sinners. He is the Saviour. He made the complete sacrifice. We receive the full salvation.This is Good News. It's the best news we could ever hear.

Mark 15:42-16:20
We thank You that Jesus has risen from the dead. He died. He was buried. Was that the end of Him? No! There was a wonderful new beginning - for Jesus, for us. He has been raised to life - a glorious resurrection. We will be raised to life - a glorious future. Here-and-now, Lord, may our life be shaped by Your future - filled with the glory of the risen Lord. 

There's a huge difference between salvation through Jesus and the religion of the Pharisees.

There's a huge difference between salvation through Jesus and the religion of the Pharisees. Jesus had this to say to the Pharisees: "You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions" (Mark 7:8). Jesus' words are a challenge to us - Will we stand on the Word of the Lord? or Will we let our own ideas become more important than God's Word? The woman who "happened to be Greek" (Mark 7:26) is a better example to us than the Pharisees. She's a woman of faith. Her trust is in Jesus. Faith brings blessing into our lives. Tradition sees no real need for a living faith - so long as we keep doing that have always been done. When Jesus is at work in us, He touches our ears - so that we may hear the Word of God clearly - and our tongues - so that we may not speak the Word of God faithfully and powerfully: "At once", following on from the touch of Jesus, "the man could hear and talk normally" (Mark 7:35).

The Wind of the Spirit

"They were in a lot of trouble ...because they were going against the wind" (Mark 6:48).  We make a lot of trouble for ourselves when we go against the wind of the Spirit. John 3 and Acts 2 compare the Spirit to the wind. We need to go with the wind of the Spirit if we are to be blessed by the Lord."

They didn't understand ... their minds were closed" (Mark 6:52). Where does understanding come from? It comes from the Lord. How does understanding come to us? It comes to us when we open our minds - "Lord, show me what this means."

Listening to God's Word is of no value, if it doesn't lead to being changed by God's Word.

"When Herod listened to John, he would become very disturbed, and yet he liked to listen to him" (Mark 6:20). There are people who like to listen to God's Word, but they refuse to be changed by God's Word. Listening to God's Word is of no value, if it doesn't lead to being changed by God's Word.

In the Lord Jesus Christ - the Bread of Life, there is more than enough for everyone.

As we read of the feeding of the five thousand, our thoughts turn to the Lord's Supper - Jesus blessed the food, broke it and gave it to everyone. "All of them ate as much as they wanted" (Mark 6:42). In the Lord  Jesus Christ - the Bread of Life, there is more than enough for everyone.

Jesus is for everyone.

In Mark 5, we learn that Jesus is for everyone - a demoniac called Legion, a synagogue leader named Jairus, a child,  a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. The more we learn of Jesus, the more we learn that He is for everyone. Each of us needs Him. He comes to us at our point of need. He shows us how much we need Him.He reaches out to us. He draws us to Himself. He saves us. From whatever angle, we approach this chapter - Legion, Jairus, the child, the woman, the message is the same: Jesus is such a great Saviour!

New wine ...

"New wine is poured into fresh skins" (Mark 2:22). New, fresh - This is the work of God. This isn't something that we can do for ourselves or give to ourselves. This must be done for us. It must be given to us. All the glory belongs to the Lord! "The Son of Man has authority over the day of worship" (Mark 2:28) - It's not so much the activity of worship that's important. It's the Saviour whom we worship - He's the One who makes worship so important. We worship Him.

"Jesus ... was deeply hurt because their minds were closed" (Mark 3:5). "Whoever curses the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an everlasting sin" (Mark 3:29). "Whoever does what God wants is My brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:35). These are challenging verses, They call us to be open to the life-changing love of Christ, to draw back from the evil way of unbelief and disobedience, to allow the Lord to change us into "new creatures In Christ Jesus" and inspire us to live as "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Jesus brings us salvation.

Jesus brings us salvation - “Friend, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5) - and He calls us to discipleship - “Follow Me” (Mark 2:14). We cannot be His disciples without, first, coming to Him for salvation. We must emphasize that salvation leads to discipleship. Our discipleship demonstrates the reality of our salvation. We must hear the words, “I’ve come to call sinners” (Mark 2:17) before we can respond to the call to live as “saints” (God’s people). By nature, we are not God’s people. Through His redemption, we become His people. We are redeemed through the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). We are called to live in the strength of the Lord, walking with Him in the pathway of victory, “more than conquerors” through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Parables

Parables: Where does the understanding come from? It comes from the  Lord. Before there can be "harvest" (Mark 4:29), there needs to be sowing (Mark 4:26). We are not to say, "This one is good soil. Here, there is bad soil." Following some parables, we have Jesus calming the sea (Mark 4:35-41) - "Be still" (Mark 4:39): This is the Word of the Lord. Where does peace come from? It comes from the Lord. It comes to us through His Word.

A confession of faith in Jesus is followed by a rebuke from Jesus

A confession of faith in Jesus (Mark 8:29) is followed by a rebuke from Jesus (Mark 8:33). How did Peter get from confession to rebuke? - Satan slipped into his heart and mind, leading him away from the Lord Jesus. Did Jesus give up on Peter? - No! Jesus was still speaking to all of His disciples. He was speaking to them about following Him (Mark 8:34-38). Jesus was still including Peter among the three whom He chose to be with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13). Was this the Kingdom of God coming with power (Mark 9:1). In one sense - No! There was - and still is - more to come. In another sense - Yes! This was real. This was God among them. This was life-changing. Years later, Peter recalled that he had been with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (2 Peter 1;16-18). This was something special, something unforgettable. Was Peter made perfect on that day on the mountain? No! He failed the Lord at the time of crucifixion, but, again, Jesus didn't give up on Peter - and Peter was restored, and he became God's chosen vessel to bring salvation to 3,000 people in a single day (Acts 2).

A New Beginning - Based On What Had Gone Before

Mark 1:1-20

This was a new beginning (Mark 1:1), but it was based on what had gone before (Mark 1:2-3).

Those who speak of Jesus Christ, their Saviour, are "voices crying in the wilderness", but their ministry is blessed by the Lord (Mark 1:3,5).  

We must  never forget this, and we must pray that we will be like John - pointing away from ourselves to Jesus (Mark 1:7-8).

Whatever the world may say, we need more of Jesus, not less of Him. If we're going to have more of Jesus, we need more of the Word of God.

How can we get to know, love and serve Jesus better, if we're content with keeping everything shallow? 

The Spirit of the Lord descends whenever our chief focus of attention is on God's "beloved Son" (Mark 1:9-11).

It will not be easy to keep our attention on Jesus.

It wasn't easy for Jesus. It won't be easy for us (Mark 1:12-13).

John had been "arrested" (Mark 1:14). Would it be any easier for Jesus? Will it be any easier for us?

Will the call to "repent" be heard as "good news" (Mark 1:14-15)?

Many will say "No", but some will say "Yes" (Mark 1:16-20).

May God help us to follow Jesus, and call upon others to follow Him. 

We need both - the teaching and the authority.

“He taught them with authority” (Mark 1:22). We need both - the teaching and the authority. It is the teaching that gives the authority. We are taught by the Lord. We speak with the authority that comes from this: God’s Word is truth. When we know that the revelation has come to us from the Lord, we are able to understand and communicate God’s Word of truth. This is not about our level of understanding or our ability to communicate. It’s about the Lord, making Himself known to us and enabling us to share His Word with others. What do we have to share with others? We have “Good News” (Mark 1:38-39). “People kept coming to Him from everywhere” (Mark 1:45). Lord, give us such blessing in our day.

Good News

“Good News” - “the forgiveness of sins” and “baptism with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:1,4,8). This Good News is centred on Jesus Christ, God’s beloved Son (Mark 1:11). Jesus was empowered by “the Spirit” (Mark 1:12). He comes to us with “the Good news of God” (Mark 1:(14). He calls for our  response - “Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News” (Mark 1:15). Where does this change come from? It comes from the Good News. This is what changes us. By becoming Christ-centred (following Jesus), we become less self-centred and more other-centred. Jesus teaches us “how to catch people instead of fish” (Mark 1:17).

Jesus - the Saviour - takes the place of Barabbas - the sinner.

Jesus - the Saviour - takes the place of Barabbas - the sinner. Each one of us can see ourselves in Barabbas - the sinner for whom Jesus died. "He saved others, but He cannot save Himself" (Mark 15:31) - This is missing the point of Jesus' death. It was by sacrificing Himself that He saved others. We look at Jesus Christ, crucified for us, and we say, "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!"

The resurrection of Jesus

"Who will roll away the stone ... ?" (Mark 16:3). "The stone had been rolled away" by God (Mark 16:4). What man cannot do, God has done! - Jesus "has been brought back to life" (Mark 16:6). "Shock and trembling overwhelmed them ... they were afraid" (Mark 16:8). This was the initial reaction. They came to "anoint Jesus." They didn't expect this. This was just the beginning. There were appearances of the risen Lord. "He did not look as He usually did" (Mark 16:12). There was something different about Him. He had moved beyond the life that He had known. He was on His way towards being "taken to heaven", where He would be given "the highest position" (Mark 16:19).

New Life

New life for Levi (Mark 3:1-4)
* His name was LEVI.
* He was EVIL.
He was a tax collector, making a fortune for himself at the expense of other people.
* He began to LIVE when he followed Jesus.
What a wonderful message there is in the conversion of Levi.
Our Saviour still calls sinners to make a new beginning with Him (Mark 3:17).
Let’s be like the new Levi – “He arose and followed Jesus” (Mark 3:15).