Journey through the Book of Mark

Human relationships have always been one of the most difficult things for people to navigate. And it was like that in Jesus’ time as well. Today, the Pharisees have a question for Jesus about marriage and divorce. God intends that marriage should be permanent and that He’s all about building relationships, and not about tearing them apart. What about you? Think carefully about your own relationshi...

“For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.” – Mark 9:49-50

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that...

If the first law of Christ’s kingdom is love, then to cause another to stumble, no matter how unworthy they may be, is to betray the most central principle of Christ’s rule. Jesus is saying that to treat the unworthy with anything less than love, is to throw away your eternal life. If you have accepted salvation from Jesus, then the result will be a selfless, loving life.

As humans, it’s natural for us to categorise others. It’s how we make sense of the world. But Jesus is telling us that it’s wrong to see anyone as less acceptable to God than yourself. What are the differences you make between people? Where are the barriers you put up? Sometimes they’re based on race or politics, or class, or education, or religious views. Isn’t it time for us to do what the disci...

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” – Mark 9:35-37 The core problem in t...

All along the road, the disciples had been arguing about who was the greatest among them. No wonder they hadn’t been able to cast the evil spirit out of the boy after the transfiguration. This issue of “who is the greatest?” has been the greatest curse of the church for more than two thousand years. It causes the followers of Jesus and the church to lose sight of Jesus and him crucified, and it ca...

Jesus wants to spend some time alone with his disciples. I wonder why? What is the most important thing that he wants to teach them? Well, let’s find out by watching this video.

“In my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also.” John 14: 1-3

The crowd had witnessed the lack of power of the disciples. They had seen the accusations of the teachers of the law against Jesus. So, now Jesus waits until the crowd comes running to the scene. He wants everyone to see what he is going to do next. And what Jesus does next is awe-inspiring. With his word of power, he commands the spirit to leave the boy and never return. Then, in a dramatic scene...

I want you to think of a situation in your life that has brought you to desperation. How strong is your faith, your trust in God, with regard to that situation? Perhaps you’ve even stopped praying about it. Are you willing to pray this Father’s prayer: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”? I encourage you to set aside a special time to put your problem in Jesus’ hands.

One of the most striking things in this episode is that when Jesus says, “You unbelieving generation, how long shall I put up with you?” He isn’t speaking to the teachers of the law. He is speaking to his own disciples. This whole, sorry situation is their fault. It begs the question, why couldn’t they heal the boy? Then, notice how the description of the boy’s affliction highlights the total grip...

A man had brought his demon-possessed son to be healed by Jesus. But Jesus had been up on the mountain, so instead the man asked His disciples to heal the boy. Watch this Bible devotional to know what happened next.

It’s interesting how Peter, James and John react to having witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus in His dazzling glory on the mountain top. And they certainly couldn’t understand what Jesus meant when He talked about “rising from the dead.” They threw around different ideas of what this could mean, all of them over-spiritualised, because they couldn’t get their heads around the possibility that J...

The religious teachers taught that Moses and Elijah would come to earth to announce the coming of the Messiah. These were the two greatest prophets of their religion. But God the Father is displeased when Peter wants to build places of rest for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. God hides the scene from view and his voice is heard from heaven pointing to His beloved Son, and commanding all to listen only t...

Peter, James and John are part of Jesus’ inner circle, since He makes a point of including them in some very special events. And so they witness Jesus glorified and speaking with Moses and Elijah. We don’t know what they spoke about, but it would have been an incredible conversation to have listened in on.

When Jesus said He was going to Jerusalem, where He would be killed, Peter strongly rebuked Him and wanted to stop Jesus from going because he didn’t fully understand the purpose of Jesus’ mission. And Jesus, in turn, has rebuked Peter for standing in His way with his worldly thinking and lack of spiritual understanding. Jesus wants to explain to His disciples the real purpose of His mission and w...

When Jesus announces that he is going to Jerusalem and that He will be killed, the disciples are devastated. Peter is usually the one who says what everyone else is thinking. And so, it’s Peter who takes Jesus aside and starts arguing with Him against going to Jerusalem. Peter never expected the way that Jesus reacted. He called Peter “Satan,” because he was doing Satan’s work. And He told Peter t...

Jesus has been travelling with His disciples for around three years now. He’s hoping that His disciples have learnt a thing or two in that time. He’s about to make a dramatic announcement, but before that, it’s important that they really know who He is.

Today we’re going to look at a very interesting miracle that Jesus did at Bethsaida. It’s got some important lessons for us.

After feeding the four thousand, Jesus and the disciples travel on by boat. But it seems that the disciples haven’t learnt the lessons of the great miracles that Jesus has recently done. Watch this devotional to learn more about what happened.

There are some people whom no amount of evidence will ever be sufficient to convince them of the truth. The Pharisees didn’t believe in Jesus because of a lack of evidence. There were many strands of powerful evidence that came together to point to Jesus as the Messiah sent from God. The Pharisees knew the prophecies that Jesus was fulfilling, they heard His teachings, and they were witnesses of h...

After making the twelve disciples see that they could do nothing to resolve the problem, Jesus now told the crowd to sit down on the ground. All eyes were now only on Him. Do you remember how before the miracle of the Red Sea, Moses said to the people, “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord”? So, here is the spiritual lesson. For God to work His miracles in your life, to see His salvation,...

A little while ago, Jesus had fed five thousand. They were Jewish people. This time, Jesus fed four thousand. These were Gentiles, not Jews. ​Jesus did this to show that His love was for everyone; that His blessings were for all.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighe...