Journey through the Book of Mark

his woman wasn’t Jewish. She was clearly a Gentile. And the way that Jesus treated this woman may seem strange to us. Why didn’t he simply heal her daughter right away? It’s because Jesus wanted to teach his own disciples an important lesson about his love and mercy.

The Pharisees taught that you became a sinner when you allowed what was outside you in the sinful world into your life. But the teaching of Jesus was the opposite. Jesus had been speaking only to the Pharisees, but this was so important that he called the crowd over to him so that everyone could hear what he had to say. Jesus tells them clearly that nothing that enters a person from the outside ca...

How can someone nullify the Word of God? Human traditions are much easier to follow than the commandments of God. Because they’re human rules, you don’t risk being unpopular if you follow them. But Jesus taught that we should follow the Word of God and the Word of God alone. And the worst human traditions are the ones that nullify, or cancel out, God’s Word.

A striking thing in what Jesus says to the Pharisees is his definition of hypocrisy. We tend to think that hypocrisy is saying one thing but doing another. More specifically, Jesus says here that hypocrisy is when you follow God but instead follow human traditions rather than God’s commandments.

The Pharisees believed that in order to properly keep the law that is found in the Bible, it was important to keep hundreds of other more specific oral laws that had been handed down from previous generations. This is what Jesus refers to here as the “tradition of the elders.”

Mark wants us to contrast Jesus’ experience in Nazareth with his experience in Gennesaret. Here they ran from throughout the whole region to welcome Jesus. Here, the people had far less knowledge about Jesus, but they had more faith.

“Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately...

We often focus on the feeding of the five thousand and not on what was leftover. We do the same things in our lives as well. We are often so fixated on what has happened, good or bad, that we forget about what remains.

When Jesus tells the disciples that they should give the people something to eat, they respond to him with economics! They show him how it’s an economic impossibility for Jesus to feed the people. Economics isn’t the solution to the problems of the world. Neither is politics or anything like that. Jesus asked the disciples to solve the problem so that they could realise how impossible it was for t...

The crowds are hungry. Too often we think there’s a problem when there really isn’t, because Jesus is still in control. And Jesus lets us try to fix it to help us understand that we need to depend on him. It’s one of the hardest lessons to learn.

Everywhere you look today, there is a sense of “lostness” in the world. People desperately seek their identity in temporary, material things that ultimately have no meaning. People are lost in broken relationships, guilt, and addictions of all kinds.

Have you ever been so busy that you’ve missed a meal? Or two? I’ve done it sometimes, and it’s not good! You can imagine the twelve disciples gathered around Jesus, excitedly telling him everything that’s happened during their missionary travels. They’re exhausted from their journey and, together with Jesus, they need to eat and rest and recover their strength. So Jesus says to them, Come with me...

King Herod was puzzled by John the Baptist, because John challenged his worldview. He was intrigued by John. He liked to listen to him. Deep down, he knew John was right. But still, when it came to a choice between pleasing Herodias or saving John, he chose to have John killed.

The impression we get is that King Herod probably didn’t mind John the Baptist so much. But Herodias hated John the Baptist for publicly speaking out against her adulterous and incestuous relationship. So she needled Herod into having him arrested. Reflect on your own personal life. Have you found this to be true: that often one sin leads to another?

Jesus had his eye on the spiritual lesson that he wanted the Apostles to learn: that when they were on a mission for Him they weren’t to burden themselves down with material possessions. They were to move quickly through the towns and villages, announcing repentance and the Kingdom of God. And just as they had seen Jesus do, they also did.

After healing the daughter of Jairus by the sea of Galilee, Jesus now travels inland to his hometown, Nazareth. When you think of home, perhaps you think of a place of love and acceptance. He’s been looking to rest, and you’d think that he’d find it back home. But sadly, that’s not what happens at all.

Jesus has just arrived at the house of Jairus, where everyone was crying and wailing loudly, mourning his daughter. Jesus spoke with the power of His word. When He speaks, the dead wake up. Death cannot be in the house when Jesus is present. He turns sorrow into joy. What’s your sorrow? Like Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; only believe.

The people at the funeral thought that they knew more about death than Jesus did. And when Jesus confronted them with the truth, they laughed at him. They didn’t understand that when Jesus is in the house, everything changes. Jesus didn’t see death as final, but as just a sleep. This story shows us why we have good reasons not to be afraid of death and that we can believe Jesus just as Jairus did.

When Jesus arrives back on the eastern shore of the Lake of Galilee, He performs a series of powerful miracles. What is so unusual about the request for healing by Jairus? And what does his attitude show about how we can approach Jesus when we need His help?

Jesus has just been asked by Jairus to come to his house to heal his daughter. But on the way, He is interrupted. Who touches His clothes? Why does she do this? And what does this tell us about how to truly trust in God? Find out here!

In this episode, Jesus says three wonderful things to the bleeding woman. The first thing He does is to affirm her healing. The second thing is to give her His peace. And the third thing He does is to give her freedom.

The man who has just been liberated from power of Satan is so grateful that he wants to follow Jesus. What does Jesus tell this man to do? Why does He give Him such different instructions to the man healed of leprosy? And what does this tell us about what Jesus asks us to do with the many blessings He gives us? Find out here!

Jesus has been confronted by a man possessed by many demons in the land of the Gerasenes. What happens when Jesus commands the demons to leave the man? How do the people in the town nearby respond? And what does this show about who is in control of the region? Find out here!

This interesting story describes what the devils experience in the presence of Jesus. The demons cause this man to run to Jesus from a distance, not to attack him, but instead to fall on his knees in front of Jesus. No matter how evil they may be, they cannot help hurrying to bow before Jesus. Find out more of the story here.

Jesus had gone to the other side of the lake to get some rest. But instead, he received a noisy and dramatic welcome. What does the story of the demon-possesed man tell us about the harm our sins can cause? And what does it show about Jesus’ attitude to those who seem hopelessly entangled in sin?