Categoria: Mark

On the Sunday morning after the crucifixion bright and early 3 women went to the tomb where they saw that the large stone had been rolled away from the entrance and they saw a white-robed young man sitting inside. He told the women not to be alarmed because Jesus had risen from the dead, so he told them to go and tell the disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee, and the women fled trembling and bewildered!

(The final part of Mark 16 from verses 9-16 is not in the most reliable early manuscripts)

When the disciples heard that Jesus was alive they didn’t believe it. Then Jesus appeared to 2 on a country road, but when they told the disciples they didn’t believe them either, so when Jesus appeared to them eating later on he rebuked their lack of belief. Then Jesus said to the disciples: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel…. and signs will follow your ministry such as the driving out of demons and speaking in new tongues… and picking up deadly snakes and being unharmed when drinking poison… and healing the sick”. Then Jesus was taken into heaven and the disciples went out preaching with signs following.

“The Sanhedrin turned Jesus over to Pilate… he asked are you the king of the Jews and Jesus answered yes… so Pilate gave the people a choice of a popular release of a prisoner between Jesus and criminal Barabbas and the people chose to have Barabbas released and Jesus crucified… then the soldiers led him away and put a crown of thorns on his head… saying hail, king of the Jews… and mocking him… and they took Jesus to Golgotha where they crucified him together with 2 robbers… and everyone mocked Jesus saying he saved others but can’t save himself… and between the 6th and 9th hour there was a total eclipse of the sun at the end of which Jesus asked God why he had forsaken him?… then with a loud cry Jesus breathed his last… and the temple veil was torn from top to bottom… and the nearby centurion said surely this man was the son of God… and many women watched at a distance… and Pilate gave Jesus’ body for burial to Joseph of Arimathea… and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb where he buried Jesus… and Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid”.

Mark 14 relates how in Bethany a woman poured lots of expensive perfume on Jesus’ head much to the criticism of the disciples for “wasting money which could have gone to the poor”. However Jesus halted the criticism saying she was in fact preparing him for his burial and her beautiful gesture would always be remembered. Then Judas Iscariot agreed betrayal terms for Jesus with the chief priests! Next Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with the disciples and Jesus predicted his betrayal by one of the 12. Then Jesus broke bread and said: “Take it, this is my body”. He then shared the cup saying, “this is the blood of the covenant which is poured out for many”. Then they sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus predicted the falling away of all the disciples, but Peter swore allegiance which Jesus contradicted saying Peter would deny him three times before the cock crowed twice. Then they went to Gethsemane where Jesus went to pray having Peter, James and John near at hand. Jesus battled with the stress of his imminent death and prayed that “if possible the hour might pass from him”. 3 times Jesus withdrew for agonizing prayer only to find the disciples sleeping on his return. Then Judas appeared with a motley crowd to arrest Jesus and Judas kissed Jesus as the sign to the mob that he was the one they wanted. They took Jesus before the Sanhedrin but the witnesses against him didn’t agree. The High Priest asked if Jesus was the Christ and he said “I am”. “They all condemned his as worthy of death”. They spat on Jesus and punched him, and then the guards took him and beat him. Peter, meanwhile, was below in the courtyard and 3 times he was questioned as to his links with Jesus which he denied… then the cock crowed twice… and Peter broke down and wept. 

Then Jesus said of the temple that “not one stone would be left on another”. When, asked by some of the disciples, what will be the signs of this happening? Jesus told them to watch out for fraudsters… and “there will be wars and rumours of war… earthquakes and famines… be on your guard… you will be flogged in the synagogues… you will stand before governors and kings… and the Holy Spirit will give you what to say… brother will betray brother… all men will hate you because of me… when you see the abomination of desolation flee to the mountains… it will be dreadful for pregnant women… there will be days of unequalled distress… and if the Lord didn’t cut short those days then nobody would survive… false Christs and prophets will appear… and the sun will be darkened and the stars fall… then men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory… and he will gather the elect from the four winds… learn the lesson of the fig tree and know that summer is near when the twigs are tender and the leaves appear… and this generation won’t pass until these things have happened… no one knows the day or the hour… be alert… keep watch… for you don’t know at what time the owner of the house will return… so don’t let him find you sleeping!

With the Parable of the Tenants a landowner rented out his vineyard and at harvest time he sent servants to receive his part of the fruit, but the tenants beat them up! This sorry scene was repeated many times so the landowner decided to send his own son as he felt surely they would respect him… but they killed him! So the owner of the vineyard, said Jesus will kill the tenants for: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone!” Then the Pharisees and Herodians sought to trap Jesus on the question of tax asking if we should pay tax? Jesus said “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”. Then came a question from the Sadducees about what would happen to a woman in eternity who had had 7 husbands. “Whose wife would she be at the resurrection?” Jesus replied none of them, because in eternity “we will be like the angels”. Next came a question from a teacher of the law concerning the most important commandment which was to love God with everything, said Jesus, and love your neighbour as yourself. Then Jesus pointed out that David declared in Psalm 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord… how then can he be his son?” So Jesus is asking how the Messiah can be merely David’s son when David himself calls him his Lord? Finally Jesus talked about offerings at the temple. A poor widow gave 2 coins which was all she had and so gave proportionally more than the rich that gave out of their wealth. 

In Mark 11 Jesus enters Jerusalem riding a young colt, and many people cast cloaks and branches on the road before him and cried out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Then Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree before clearing the temple of money changers and salespeople saying: “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves”. Then Jesus taught on prayer saying, “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”. Then the chief priests questioned Jesus’ authority so Jesus asked whether John the Baptist’s authority had been heaven or men? The priests refused to answer so Jesus said he wouldn’t answer their question either concerning his authority! 

Once again Jesus teaches on the matter of divorce in Mark 10. Jesus says that Moses’ permission for divorce “was because your hearts were hard” and that any divorcee commits adultery if they remarry. Then the disciples rebuked people for bringing children for Jesus’ blessing, but Jesus was fine with the children and told the disciples not to hinder them “because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these… and then he took the children in his arms and blessed them”. Then a rich young man asked what to do to inherit eternal life? Jesus referred him to obedience to the law, which the man assured him he kept. Then Jesus told him to sell his goods and give to the poor which left the man sad as he was wealthy. So Jesus commented about how hard it was for the rich to enter the kingdom of God… but all things are possible with God… and all those that have left all for Jesus, like the disciples, will receive a hundred times in this life plus eternal life. Jesus then again tells the disciples of his imminent betrayal, condemnation, killing and resurrection. Following this James and John asked to sit either side of Jesus in glory, but Jesus said this wasn’t up to him and anyway “whoever wants to become first must be slave of all”. Then Jesus went to Jericho where he healed Blind Bartimaeus telling him that his faith had healed him, so Bartimaeus started following Jesus. 

Mark 9 commences with Jesus stating that some there present wouldn’t die before seeing the Kingdom of God coming with power (which is probably a reference to the transfiguration or resurrection). Then Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain and his clothes became dazzling white and Elijah and Moses appeared there. Then a cloud enveloped them and God the Father said, “This is my son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Jesus told them to say nothing about their experience till after the resurrection. They asked Jesus about Elijah coming first, and Jesus said that had already happened. Then a boy was brought to Jesus with a deaf and dumb spirit whom the disciples had been unsuccessful in healing because Jesus said it needed more prayer. The boy’s father asked Jesus if he could do anything? Jesus answered that “everything is possible for him who believes”… and the boy’s father said “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”. Then Jesus healed the boy convulsing the boy in the process. At Capernaum Jesus perceived that the disciples were discussing who was the greatest, and Jesus said that to be the first you need to be the servant of all… and care for the little children. Then John told Jesus that the disciples had told a non-disciple to stop casting out demons, but Jesus told them not to do that because “whoever is not against us is for us”. Jesus then reprimanded anyone who caused another to sin saying they should always take strong measures to avoid sin or to avoid causing others to sin, seeking always to “be at peace with each other”.

Jesus had been teaching a crowd of 4,000 men for 3 days and had compassion on their hunger multiplying 7 loaves and some small fish to feed them (with fish sandwiches like at McDonald’s!) There were 7 basketfuls left over at the end. Jesus went on to warn saying: “Be careful… watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod”. Jesus then questioned if they were understanding his message and asked how many basket’s were left over after the feeding of the 5,000. They answered “twelve”, and after the 4,000?, and they said “seven”. (i.e. don’t worry about bread because Jesus will provide is the message!) Then comes an interesting healing of a blind man. Jesus spat on his eyes and laid hands on him. However the man was initially only partially healed, so Jesus laid hands on him again and his sight was fully restored. Jesus then asked the disciples whom people were saying he was, and they said Elijah, John the Baptist or one of the prophets. “But what about you… what do you say?… and Peter answered You are the Christ”. Jesus then warned them not to tell everyone. Jesus, in the light of Peter’s confession, told them that he would be killed and after 3 days rise again. Peter rebuked this so Jesus told him that he was lacking having the things of God in mind. Then he said that anyone who wanted to follow him should deny himself and take up his cross. 

 Now the Pharisees complain that Jesus’ disciples are eating without ceremonially washing their hands. Jesus replied: “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men”. For “Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean… All evils (sexual immorality, evil thoughts, theft, murder, greed etc.) come from within and make a man unclean”. Then came an incident with a Greek woman imploring deliverance for her devil-possessed daughter. Jesus said, “first let the children (Jews) eat what they want and not toss it to the dogs (Gentiles)”. The woman said yes, but the dogs eat the crumbs from under the table! This brilliant answer triggered action from Jesus and she was set free of the demon. Finally the people brought a deaf and partially dumb man to Jesus. Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears and spat on the man’s tongue and touched it, saying “Be opened”! The man was completely healed. 

Jesus went to the Gerasenes region and was encountered by a spirit-possessed man who lived in the tombs and was unchainable. He told Jesus his name “Legion” but Jesus delivered him and sent the evil spirits from him into a herd of 2,000 pigs which committed suicide, but the man ended up “sitting, dressed and in his right mind”. Then a synagogue ruler called Jairus asked Jesus to go with him to heal his 12-year-old daughter, but on the way he was delayed healing a woman “who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years”. The woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and received her healing. When Jesus finally arrived at Jairus’s house his daughter had already died, but Jesus said to him: “Don’t be afraid. Just believe!” Then Jesus took the girl by the hand and told her to “get up”. Immediately she got up and walked around so that people “were completely astonished”.

Mark 4 begins with the Parable of the Sower in which a farmer sowed seeds in 4 different locations. In the first the seed fell on a path and birds came and ate it (the birds, represent Satan, says Jesus, who takes away the seed of the sown word); the second place the seed fell was on rocky soil so the plants had no roots and quickly withered (represents people who receive the word with joy, says Jesus, but without roots they soon give up); The third place the seed fell was among thorns which choked the plants (typifies people who receive the word but the care and wealth of this life choke it); the fourth place is good soil which produces abundant fruit. Then Jesus goes on to ask who puts a lamp under the bed? For light is given to reveal that which is hidden… “and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more!” Then comes the Parable of the Growing Seed telling of seed which grows come what may implying that the seed of the kingdom will produce fruit no matter what. This is followed by the Parable of the Mustard Seed “which is the smallest seed” yet planted “it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants”. Finally Jesus calms a storm for the disciples in a boat on Lake Galilee and they were amazed that “even the wind and waves obey him!”

The chapter starts with Jesus healing a man with a shrivelled hand in a synagogue on a Sabbath causing the usual consternation with the Pharisees. Jesus retorted asking whether he should do good or evil on a Sabbath, but the Jews didn’t answer. This angered Jesus to see such stubborn hearts. Crowds kept following Jesus from wide-ranging places seeking at least to touch Jesus to be healed, and evil spirits always fell down before Jesus declaring he was the Son of God, but Jesus told them to shut up. Then Jesus went up into the hills where he designated 12 apostles: 1. Simon (whom Jesus gave the name Peter). 2. James son of Zebedee. 3. His brother John. (Jesus called these 2 Boanerges – sons of thunder). 4. Andrew. 5. Philip. 6. Bartholomew. 7. Matthew (Levi). 8. Thomas. 9. James son of Alphaeus. 10. Thaddaeus. 11. Simon the Zealot. 12. Judas Iscariot. Then Jesus was so besieged by a crowd that Jesus and the disciples couldn’t even eat, and Jesus’ family said he “was out of his mind”. Teachers of the law said he was casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub! Jesus rebuffed this saying “how can Satan drive out Satan”? He rebuked them for such aggressive criticism saying “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven”. Then came further contact between Jesus and his family, but Jesus showed his supreme commitment to his mission saying: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother”.

Jesus now returned to Capernaum and preached the word to a large crowd which filled the house to overflowing. There 4 men brought a paralytic to be healed by Jesus, but as they couldn’t access him they made an opening in the roof and lowered the man in front of the Lord. Seeing their faith Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sin which provoked calls of “blasphemy” from the “teachers of the law”. To answer them Jesus proceeded to prove his authority to forgive sins by healing the man, and the man walked out of the house carrying his mat to the amazement of all! Then Jesus called a tax collector called Levi (or Matthew) to follow him and he did so. Jesus had a meal at Levi’s house which drew criticism from the Pharisees, but Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”. They some people questioned why Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast when John’s and the Pharisees’ did. Jesus said that there is no way that the guests of the bridegroom would fast whilst he was with them, but there would be a time when he would be taken away and then they would fast. He said things were changing and “no-one pours new wine into old wineskins”. Finally the Pharisees criticized the disciples for having picked corn and eaten it on the sabbath because they were hungry. Jesus said David had done a similar thing under similar circumstances. Jesus said: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath”.

Mark’s Gospel is the shortest gospel and from the start points to Jesus being the Son of God. Initially Mark tells about John the Baptist’s ministry preparing the way for Jesus preaching repentance. “I baptize you with water but he (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”. Then comes the baptism of Jesus by John in the River Jordan where the Spirit descended on Jesus “like a dove… and a voice from heaven confirmed Jesus’ sonship”. Then the Spirit sent Jesus for a 40-day spell in the desert where he was tempted by Satan “and angels attended him”. John was put in prison but Jesus went to Galilee “proclaiming the good news of God… the kingdom of God is near”. He then called 2 fishermen, Simon and Andrew, to follow him and immediately they “left their nets and followed him”. Jesus then called James and John who also followed him. Jesus went to teach in Capernaum and people were impressed by his authority. Then a man with an evil spirit cried out and Jesus exorcised him much to the amazement of all. Jesus then went on to heal Simon Peter’s mother-in-law as well as other sick people and demon-possessed people. Jesus got up very early to pray before going round the villages of Galilee preaching and driving out demons. Jesus then healed someone with leprosy and the man spread the news everywhere even though Jesus asked him not to.