Mark 1-2

This Gospel gets right to the point. Notice the use of the word "immediately" throughout this Gospel ("immediatley" is used in the NKJV, similar synonyms are used in other translations). This word seems to personify Peter's personality. Let's dive head first into the ministry of the Lord Jesus starting with the forerunner, John the Baptizer.

• John's relationship to Messiah is described as the one who would "prepare Your way before You." John is shown to be the fulfillment of prophecy sent as the messenger, the preparer and the voice (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1). Go over to Isaiah 40 and read the entire message given. John the Baptizer, without a doubt, preached this entire message several times in his life. All of Isaiah 40, clearly points to Jesus and His ministry. Then go over and read Malachi 3 & 4. John would have preached this message as well. No doubt John preached other things and quoted much of what the Prophets & Moses said. These two are highlighted because they are quoted in Mark 1:2-3.
• Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John. From this point on, focus shifts from John to Jesus. John begins to decrease and Jesus begins to increase. Shortly after this, John is imprisoned and then murdered.
• Immediately after the baptism, Jesus is lead or sent by the Sprit into the wilderness (desert). Jesus must be tested and He must defeat the enemy. Whenever God does something significant in our lives, it must be tested and proven.
• (Mark 1:14) Jesus begins His ministry North of the Sea of Galilee.
• (Mark 1:16-17) Simon Peter and Andrew are called by Jesus, "Follow Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." Luke 5:1-11 gives us the details of what happened in this encounter.
• (Mark 1:21-28) Jesus casts a demon out of a man in the synagogue! Do demons really go to Church?
• Notice how Jesus is fulfilling His mission: "preach the Gospel to the poor." The poor would have been considered outsiders to the mainstream religious people. The phrase "the poor" is speaking of people whose lives are filled with chaos of some kind. Many of the religious people would have been merciless to "the poor" believing they had been cursed and rejected by God. Some of the Saduccees taught a health/wealth view of God. Another words, if God liked you, you would be healthy and wealthy. If God didn't like you, you would be financially poor and/or sick in some way. Sound familiar? Not much has changed in 2,000 years. This teaching, unfortunately, is still with us. Jesus disproves all of this erroneous thought by extending mercy, compassion, love and healing to "the poor". Many of Jesus' miracles are proclaiming the message, "God loves the poor and you should, too." In fact, when you get down to it, we all are "the poor" when we compare ourselves to God and His Messiah. Viewing yourself like this is one of the first steps into the Kingdom of God (Matt 5:3). You may want to do a study on the phrase "the poor". God takes our treatment of "the poor" very, very seriously.

Background on Mark (a.k.a. John Mark)

History seems to agree that Mark was the writer for Peter in this Gospel. As Peter dictacted these stories and teachings, Mark wrote them down for the Chuch to read. All this was done under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Mark was a spiritual son of the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:13). He is the John Mark that we read about in the Book of Acts. He first appears in Acts 12:25, "And Barnabas and Saul (Paul) returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark." He was a family member of Barnabas and he traveled with Paul & Barnabas for awhile. Something happened on the first missionary journey and Mark left the missionary team to go back to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Paul was pretty upset over Mark's departure. Possibly, looking at this young man as weak and not ready to face the trials and troubles of ministry. Later, as Paul & Barnabas' prepared for a second missionary journey, Barnabas was determined to take Mark with them (Acts 15:37). But Paul must have considered Mark a liability and Paul refused. This argument between Paul & Barnabas was so severe, they broke up their missionary team and went separate ways. Barnabas & Mark went to Cyprus to minister and Paul & Silas went to encourage the believers in Syria, Cilicia, Asia Minor and Macedonia. Interesting to see how chosen, anointed men of God cannot always agree. But God uses all things, even negative things, for His glory. Now the Lord has two mission teams covering more ground. Nothing is said about Barnabas in the remainder of the Story. It is believed he continued to minister and proclaim Christ. Paul & Mark later are reconciled and Paul gives his commendation and approval of Mark to the believers in Colosse (Colossians 4:10). Somehow, Mark connects with Peter and he is discipled. In 1 Peter 5:13, Peter greets the believers and states "and so does Mark, my son." Perhaps Peter could relate to Mark with a great deal of compassion, mercy and restoration. After all, Peter knew the pain of failure and quitting. But, Peter also knew the joy and path of restoration. This story of Mark is yet another testimony of how God rescues and restores. Where there was failure and division, God redeemed Mark for His purposes.

Week 3 - Reading Schedule

Week 3 - Reading Schedule

Mon, Oct 20: Mark 1-2, Psalm 23-24, Proverbs 11

Tue, Oct 21: Mark 3-4, Psalm 25-26, Proverbs 12

Wed, Oct 22: Mark 5, Psalm 27-28, Proverbs 13

Thu, Oct 23: Mark 6, Psalm 29-30, Proverbs 14

Fri, Oct 24: Mark 7-8, Psalm 31-32, Proverbs 15

Matthew 26-28

Soak in the work of the Rescuer. I was nearly breathless as I read the work of redemption that our Lord accomplished in these chapters. Here is Matthew's listing of the events:

• His anointing at Bethany, His betrayal by Judas, His time with the Disciples, His giving of the Lord's Supper, His prediction of Peter's denial, His praying in Gethsemane, His arrest, His trial, Peter's unfaithfulness, Judas hanging himself, Jesus stands before Pilate, Barabbas is released, Jesus is condemned to be crucified, He is severly beaten, soldiers mock Him, Simon the Cyrene carries the cross, Jesus is crucified at Golgotha, Jesus dies, the veil of The Temple is torn in two from the top to the bottom, the earth quakes and splits, Jesus is buried in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb, guard is posted at tomb, Mary Magdalene and another Mary come to the tomb on the first day of the week, the earth quakes, many dead are resurrected and walk in Jerusalem, an angel rolls back the stone, guards fall down like dead men, angel speaks to the women - "He is not here, for He is risen as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.", women rush to tell the disciples, Jesus meets with the women saying, "Rejoice! Do not be afraid. Go tell My brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see Me.", soldiers are bribed, Jesus charges his disciples with Kingdom building.

Matthew 23-25

Nearly all of the words in these 3 chapters are written in red. These are the very words of God.

• Chapter 23 is filled with several scathing rebukes that Jesus gives to the Pharisees and scribes - the religious leaders of the day. We would do well to heed these rebukes for ourselves. Notice how Jesus "ain't scared" of anybody. He is free to encourage or rebuke whomever He needs to.


• Matthew 24 & 25 gives Jesus' teachings on the end times. Some pretty interesting stuff here. We can definitely see many of these things happening in our world, today. Jesus lets us in on this to keep us from being afraid when these things start happening. For centuries, teachers and scholars have wrestled with the order and timing of the unfolding of these things. The truth is nobody knows the "when or the how" of this. While all of us are very curios to know, I am deeply concerned about ministers who teach with charts, graphs and pictures giving time tables, scenarios, opinions and their interpretations. I usually stay away from teachers who seem to have all the answers for the end times. These things are not given to us so that we can have a sequential run-down of the events that will take place. These things are told to us so that we can anchor our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice how Jesus follows up these "end-time events" with these teachings in Matthew 24:36- Matthew 25: be ready, the faithful & evil servant, the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents and the teaching on the judgment. I think it would be much more beneficial to us if we would concern ourselves with these teachings about the end-times and our role in all of this. We will trust God to do His part and God expects us to do our part. We will continue to wrestle with the details and the intrigue of the end-times. But let us major on the work we are called to do until Jesus comes to get His Bride. Secure, hopeful, waiting, looking, expecting, following, working!

Matthew 20-22

Just a few words here:

• The greatest is the one who serves other people! God's leaders are servants, not lords. This is how the love of God is expressed in our leaders and in every believer's life. Jesus gave us this example - "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Someone once said, "ask not what your Church family can do for you, but instead ask what can I do for my Church family." Interesting to note that most people choose a Church family and leave a Church family based on how they are "being served." This is the direct opposite of what Jesus teaches in Matthew 20:28.


• Chapter 21, Jesus enters Jerusalem to face His death on the cross. This entry shows how He is "laying His life down", willingly. No man is taking it, He is giving His life as a ransom for many.


• What a day that must have been when Jesus entered the Temple and confronted all the buyers and sellers and money changers! He turned over their tables and drove them out! Jesus was displeased and enraged over how these business men were ripping the people off. They were over-charging and taking advantage of the authority they had been given. They had turned a holy thing - worship - into a business - Temple, Inc. On our trip, Ray Vander Laan said something that really stuck with me - "When God gave His Word to the Hebrews, He gave it as a Story. The Greeks turned it into a philosophy, the Romans turned it into an organization, the Europeans turned it into a culture and the Americans turned it into a business."

Matthew 17-19

This week we finished our first reading of The Gospel of Matthew. Notice how the words are fresh and new. No matter how much you've read it in the past, Holy Spirit has a way of breathing new life into the Text. Kind of like breathing for our bodies. You never get tired of oxygen and quite often a "breath of fresh" is quite invigorating. Here are a few comments on the last part of Matthew's Gospel:



Matthew 17-19:

• Chapter 17 starts with the "Transfiguration of Jesus." Right before the eyes of Peter, James & John, Jesus is glorified by His Father. He begins to flash like lightning, sparkle with radiance and shine like they have never seen. I believe it was like the "shekinah" glory that filled the Tabernacle and Temple in the Old Testament. The glory of God that descended back then is now resting upon Jesus. Moses & Elijah come and speak with Jesus to confirm and encourage Him - Moses representing The Law and Elijah representing The Prophets. Remember, Jesus said He came to fulfill 'The Law and The Prophets'. But the msot compelling witness came when The Father spoke from heaven - "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" This was The Father's instruction to Peter, James and John. And it is still His instruction to us. This is why it is so important for us to read The Gospels. We need to "hear Him" and "follow Him" with all our heart, mind and strength. Verse 8 has always been an encouragement - "when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only."


• Matthew 17:24-27 - Jesus pays His and Peter's Temple taxes in a very creative way. The Temple tax was for the maintenance of the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus did not seem to agree with this tax but He paid it anyway. A good example for us to follow.


• Matthew 18:15-35: Be sure and read this whole passage and keep these truths in their correct context. A couple of these verses have been frequently used out-of-context and have been misunderstood. The whole passage is about how to deal with a sinning brother or sister in the Church. It is God's heart for us to work towards forgiveness and restoration in all of our relationships. Unfortunately, many believers disregard Jesus' instructions here on how to handle our difficulties with one another - offenses, bitterness, church splits, angry believers, pain, strife, gossip and destruction have been the result of our disobedience to Jesus' instruction in this passage. How much more healthy would the Church be if each one of us followed these instructions? How much more healthy would your relatioships be if you followed this? I believe that if we were to take step one - "if your brother (or sister) sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone" - the vast majority of the conflicts between people would be solved. But, instead of following this, we retreat into isolation, leave churches, break fellowship and harbor hurts and bitterness in our hearts. Our adversary has a field day with all this and we believers become a part of the mutiny instead of a part of the rescue and restoration.


• Matthew 18:18 deals with "binding & loosing". What is this all about? Remember, the context is church discipline and the restoration of a fellow believer. Here, Jesus is giving Church leaders (the last step is to "bring it before the Church) the authority to handle these difficult situations and to "bind" the one at fault to his sin or to "loose" him from sin. This "binding & loosing" is the authority to make the right decision over this persons life. If they are unrepentant, fellowship is to be broken with them. Sounds pretty harsh, but this is Jesus' way of keeping the peace in the family of God. I've only had to follow this out to it's fullest on one occassion. It was a very trying and difficult struggle that lasted several weeks. Whenever leaders have to do this, we must remember that we are gathered together in Jesus' name over the restoration of this brother (vs 20). Gathering together in Jesus' name speaks of the understanding that we do our best to do what Jesus would in this situation. This teaching is a checkpoint for those who are sinning against other believers. And it is a reminder of the responsibility we have in Christ towards one another. We must respect and guard our relationships by following these instructions. The Church would be a much healthier group of people if we all did this.