Mark
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Mark 16
Hallelujah! He is Risen! When I was a child (and even into early adulthood), I never fully grasped the full importance of Easter. Christmas was always my favorite holiday and placed a lot of emphasis on the baby Jesus and the miracle of the virgin birth. But the full extent of the importance of Easter…
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Mark 15:42-47
As we patiently wait for Easter morning, today I want to read and reflect on the significance of Jesus’ burial. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy, highly respected man of the council (the same council who had sentenced Jesus to death), but he was a secret follower of Jesus. We find out that Joseph goes…
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Mark 15: 1-41
Today my heart is heavy. As I read of the morning leading up to the crucifixion, it is a reminder of all that Jesus went through for me. For you. For all of us. His death, while necessary, is not one that you would wish are your worst enemy. It starts with the religious leaders…
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Mark 14:43-72
Yesterday, we found Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and becoming upset with Peter, James, and John for falling asleep while waiting. As Jesus is still speaking to the disciples, Judas, the one who has betrayed him comes up and kisses Him. This was the sign to the guards to seize Jesus. There is…
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Mark 14:32-42
Jesus has now come down from the Mount of Olives and at the foot is the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with Him into the garden while he prays. We wanted them to pray and keep watch. Here we see Jesus’ humanity coming through. He is described as sorrowful, greatly distressed,…
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Mark 14:12-31
When I am reading through these first-hand accounts of the stories of Jesus, I try to put myself in the shoes of the people He interacted with. The Master of the House First, I want to talk about the Master who’s home Jesus and His disciples used for the last supper. We don’t know much…
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Mark 14:1-11
This week starts Passion Week. As we go through this week, I will be changing up a bit from the originally posted readings by day. We are now two days until Passover, and the religious leaders are ready to arrest and kill Jesus. He has obviously caused embarrassment and strife and turned the people against…
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Mark 13: 1-37
As Jesus knew it was getting closer and closer to his time on earth ending, He continued to pour out as much knowledge to the disciples as He could. As they leave the temple, Jesus sits with Peter, James, John, and Andrew on the Mount of Olives. As they continue asking questions about what will…
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Mark 12:35-44
Jesus is not afraid to call out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of that time as we have already seen. As we continue through Mark’s account of passion week, Jesus continues to teach in the temple, and the leaders continue to test Him and build their case for blasphemy. Jesus asks who the Messiah…
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Mark 12:13-34
As we continue to Mark’s account of passion week, we continue to see the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with questions. He ends up giving them a lesson they would not forget. They start by asking Jesus if it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus’ answer? Render to Caesar the things that are…
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Mark 11:27 – 12:12
Have you ever heard the phrase that Jesus is the cornerstone and wondered where it came from? We find out what that means in this chapter. Jesus came back into the temple in Jerusalem and the Pharisees keep trying to trick Him with questions and challenge His authority. After stumping them with the question if…
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Mark 11:1-25
Hosanna! We have reached the part in Mark where he begins to account for the events of Passion week. We start off with the story we are all familiar with of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a young donkey. While this may seem insignificant, the choice of the donkey is incredibly important to the…
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Mark 10:17-31
All things are possible with God. Do you always believe that? The man in the story we read today was not willing to find out. He was a man of great possessions and wealth per Mark’s account. He had followed all the other commandments. Just as he was taught to do. But the one thing…
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Mark 10: 1-16
I know I got behind and skipped over giving my commentary on the last few readings in chapters 8 and 9, but I wanted to spend some extra time on today’s reading as it is an issue that affects every married person (or those that are not yet married). As we begin chapter 10, Jesus…
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Mark 8 – 9
Unfortunately, life has been pretty crazy around here, so I apologize I am behind in my postings. In order to catch up, I am going to post a few links to articles or sermons to help us catch back up. Most are short, so I hope you take time to read them. Mark 8:1-21 Mark…
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Mark 7:24-37
The story of the Syrophoenician woman is one that I needed more context to understand because, at first reading, it does not seem to be any different than Jesus’ previous healings, but the verbal exchange between the woman and Jesus is confusing without context. We first need to understand who all lived in the Tyre…
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Mark 7:1-23
As I have in the past, I am going to share with you an article (in this case a sermon) again by Jeff Stott. It is a challenging sermon and one that will make you think. Jeff talks about this section so much better than I can. I hope you get out of it as…
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Mark 6:45-56
Jesus has just finished feeding the 5,000+, and if you remember, Jesus originally was sending the disciples across the sea to find rest after all their mission work. So, after all the people were fed and they picked up all the remaining bread and fish, Jesus sends the disciples back out on the boat to…
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Mark 6:30-44
Chapter 6 is packed with well know stories, but this story is probably one that even a non-Christian has heard before. The story of how Jesus fed the 5,000 with only two fish and five loaves of bread is one that is in all four gospels and shows us many characteristics of Jesus. First, it…
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Mark 6:7-29
We begin this part of the chapter with Jesus sending out the twelve. After Jesus left Nazareth, where he was rejected by his own town, he continues teaching and at some point decides to send his twelve disciples out two by two to continue to spread the word and remove unclean spirits. Mark tells us…
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Mark 5:35 – 6:6
As we continue in the fifth chapter of Mark, we learn the fate of the young girl that Jesus was headed to see before the incident with the bleeding woman. As he was finishing up speaking with the woman, someone came and told the group that sadly the young girl had died. That it was…
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Mark 5:21-34
Mark’s next story can also be found in Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48. It is about the woman healed of her issue of continuously discharging blood for 12 years by touching Jesus’ garments. I love this story because it is a true testament of the faith and determination of this woman despite her fear. I…
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Mark 4:35-5:20
“Who is this that the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:41 As we have been reading through Mark, we know that the people have already seen and heard of Jesus performing many miracles of healing and casting out demons. But, when they see Jesus calm the wind and sea…now that is powerful. Have…
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Mark 4:21-34
In the next verses in Mark, Jesus is telling three parables to try to explain the kingdom of God to those who have gathered. Instead of trying to explain all three myself, as I am no expert, I have found three articles that i feel have great commentary on these parables. The first is the…
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Mark 4:1-20
Jesus loved to teach in parables. It was a way to use everyday life to explain a moral or spiritual lesson. The parable of the sower is one that a majority of people know if you have been to church at some time in your life. I love this parable as it forces me to…
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Mark 3:20-35
Today’s reading gives us more insight into how people were reacting to Jesus’ early works. We even get a glimpse of what His family thought. Join me in learning more about the dynamics playing out.
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Mark 3:1-19
Welcome to day 5 of our reading of Mark for Lent. Today’s topics are justified anger and the power we have over satan. Click below to read my thoughts on today’s scripture reading.
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Mark 2: 13-28
Jesus had a habit of not conforming to the legalism of the time. Mark describes this in the last half of the second chapter. Jesus is headed back to the sea and on the way, he passes a tax booth with Levi working. Levi, who later Jesus names Matthew, does not hesitate when Jesus tells…
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Mark 1:40 – 2:12
As we finish off the first chapter and head into the second, Mark continues to detail the miracles that Jesus is performing. Mark writes of the leper that came to Jesus and because he of his faith, Jesus removed all the leprosy from him and cured the man. In Jesus’ day, lepers were cast out.…
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Mark 1:21-39
Today as we read further into the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry, we find Jesus has gone to Capernaum with Simon, Andrew, James and John and is teaching in the synagogue. A man with an “unclean spirit”, which we would interpret as a demon, begins yelling at Jesus. The demon knows. He knows who Jesus is…
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Mark 1: 1-20
Before we begin digging into this next book of the Bible, the Gospel of Mark, I want to give you just a bit of background regarding this testimony. The Gospel of Mark is presumed to be the first one written in approximately 55-65 AD by Mark. Mark was an early follower and worked in ministry…
Bible Study with Danelle 