Gospel of Mark – Gentile Country (Mark 7:1-8:13)
Many believe Mark was written to a Gentile audience. Mark does a lot more explaining of Jewish customs and terms than the other Gospel writers do. Mark also spends time talking about Jesus on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, which can be thought of as a lot more Gentile than on the […]
Wake Up Call on Evangelism
I am starting to see a parallel between the last 100+ years of evangelism and Acts 1:8. In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells his disciples that they will be witnesses in Jerusalem – Judea – Samaria – and the ends of the earth. The last 100 or so years of church growth has been a lot […]
Crucifixion of Jesus Christ – The Bigger Picture
The temptation when teaching about the crucifixion is to talk about the Romans, Roman courts, Pilate, Crucifixion, and prisoner release customs when dealing with the first 15 verses. Then in the verses that follow to discuss the suffering of Jesus and how he died for our sin (15:16-47). I want to suggest an alternative approach […]
Gospel of Mark – Feeding 5000 and Walking on Water (6:31-56)
Jesus Feeds 5000 We go from a Markan sandwich to Jesus feeding 5000. How ironic. The better parallel is pointed out by Witherington (Gospel of Mark, 213) of the two meals – one that led to John’s death and another that shows the miraculous and powerful nature of the kingdom that John preached about and […]
Maybe Simon Peter Needs to be Given a Little More Slack
We often view Peter as the bold and brash one who went around sticking his foot in his mouth. Sure he cut off Malchus’ ear, walked out on the water with Jesus but began to sink, and offered to build booths for Jesus, Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration. I wonder if he […]
When the Kingdom of God Breaks In
Do you know what Jesus taught about more than anything else? Not money, sin, evangelism, or sacrifice. The subject of most of Jesus’ recorded teaching was the kingdom of God. The coming of the kingdom of God was about a new day that was dawning. The old, broken way of doing things was no more. […]
Gospel of Mark – From Fear to Faith (4:35-5:43)
The NIV chapter break between 4 and 5 is in an unfortunate place. 4:1-34 is a distinct unit and 4:35-41 clearly fits together better with the miracles in chapter 5. There is a common theme in the four miracles in these verses. In each one people are afraid and each time Jesus points to the […]
Spiritual Growth Workshop 2008
I have had several people ask about the spiritual growth workshop in 2008. Dates: July 24-27 Location: Rosen Centre Hotel 9840 International Drive Orlando, Florida 32819 Theme: Messiah: Mission and Message To make reservations call 800-800-9840. Thanks to the Orange Avenue Church of Christ in Eustis and Joe Roberts for their hard work in organizing […]
Gospel of Mark – 12 Chosen and Jesus Accused (Mark 3:6-35)
In the first section of Mark 1:16-3:12) the setting was beside the Sea of Galilee. The next section (3:13-6:6a) begins on the mountain top. The third section in Mark (6:6b-8:30) starts with them going from village to village (considered a wilderness section by some – See Swartley, 49 and Witherington, 142). The geography (or topography […]
Gospel of Mark – Jesus Calls His Disciples (1:16-20)
One of the major themes in the Gospel of Mark is discipleship. What does it mean to follow Jesus? As the reader we follow Jesus and his disciples through the ups and downs, through the victories and failures, through the moments of misunderstanding and the “aha” moments where things finally clicked. In essence the disciples […]