The gospel accounts about Jesus are stories of belief.  In  Mark’s account we see the Scribes who believed He was evil (liar), and His family who believed he was mentally unstable (lunatic).  Theologians in the church of the last few centuries, enabled by a naturalist worldview, have believed he was just a good teacher (legend) whose supernatural identity was […]

The scribes from Jerusalem opposed Jesus because He threatened their concept of Moses, the temple, and Yahweh.  They smeared His name relentlessly.  In calling Jesus an agent of Beelzebul they committed the unforgiveable sin of blasphemy and by this undermined the very hope that could have been their salvation–a Savior powerful enough to defeat Beelzebul and free mankind from […]

What is God’s will for our lives?  Jesus’ call upon the disciples into service as apostles serves as a reminder of God’s call on our all our lives.  All vocations fall under God’s dominion.  Our place in God’s kingdom is one of living for Him and His glory no matter what occupation we have.  His will is our life […]

This account shows Jesus at a high point in his popularity.  His ministry reaches beyond Israel to Gentile areas, revealing further evidence of the new exodus ushered in by Jesus.  The multitudes hungry for His message of hope bear down on Him in crowds that nearly crush Him.  Is our hope in Christ as theirs?  Do we pursue Him […]

This episode in Mark’s gospel traces a sobering encounter between Jesus and the increasingly hostile Jewish leaders.  When He heals the man with the withered hand, He reveals the Pharisees hard hearts about God, and exposes their contempt for Him and His authority even to the point of seeking His death.  They were not willing to repent […]

Is worship on the Lord’s day your supreme delight?  For the pharisees in Jesus day it was not. They defined the fourth commandment too narrowly.  They could not see the day as a day to enjoy God even when God Himself was present with them.   Is our love for Jesus and our yearning to be near Him satisfied […]

What does our piety indicate about our worldview?  The object and motives for our fasting differ from those of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.  For the disciples after Jesus ascended, and all believers since, Jesus is the object of our attention in our fast, as we seek His face, His forgiveness, and His guidance in our grief […]

When Jesus calls us to repent and believe, it is a command to follow Him.  He calls us to trade a life lived for ourselves for a life lived for Him, just as he did Levi the tax collector.  But his call is not only to live for Him but to live with Him.  When Jesus sat at […]