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Read Mark 7:24-8:10 He had compassion on them. This is a common phrase we read about Jesus in the Gospels. Over and over, as he looks at people, he sees deep into their hearts, sees how much they need grace, food, healing, forgiveness, hope; and he has compassion on them. Often, he has...
Read Mark 7:1-23 Unclean. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day were concerned with purity laws. They tried to keep all the laws set down in Torah, and even added more laws to it to make extra sure they didn’t violate any commandment. To make sure they weren’t unclean. When...
Read Mark 6:30-56 They were terrified. In the midst of these miraculous stories of feeding thousands of people and healing the sick, we see the disciples afraid. It’s almost silly, isn’t it? That in between these miraculous occasions, the disciples are afraid. The original...
Read Mark 6:14-32 Discipleship will cost you your life. Following Jesus is a weighty decision. Mark wants his readers to be clear that the path of following Jesus isn’t an easy one. That’s part of why this story about John the Baptist is included. John died for speaking truth...
Read Mark 5:21-43 “And they laughed at him.” When Jesus arrived at the home of the dead girl and he said she was just sleeping, they laughed. What an inappropriate time for laughter! Their friends’ daughter had just died. But they were so flabbergasted by Jesus&rsquo...
Read Mark 5:1-20 Go and tell. This former outsider’s life has changed forever. He was kept outside of town. Outside society. Forced to live in a cemetery. The dead were the only ones who would have him. People had given up on him. No one knew what to do with him. They tried...
Read Mark 4:21-41 “Be quiet!” Jesus calms the storm the same way a parent stops an argument between dueling siblings. “Knock it off! I’m trying to take a nap here!” And again, his disciples were amazed. “Who is this?” This messianic mystery in Mark is...
Read Mark 4:1-20 Do you understand? Over and over in the book of Mark, the disciples are portrayed as missing the point. Most scholars agree that Mark’s gospel was largely a collection of Peter’s memories. What I love about Peter is that he is never afraid to answer a...
Read Mark 3:13-35 “He’s out of his mind!” That was Jesus’s family’s take on what was going on with him. To be fair, if one of my brothers had claimed to have the power to forgive sin when I was a teenager, I would have said the same thing. The scribes had another...
Read Mark 3:1-12 “Stretch out your hand.” I wonder if this man had planned on asking Jesus for healing that day, or if he was just trying to go learn at the temple. But Jesus calls him to the center of the room, and in an act that leads to the beginnings of the plot to kill Jesus...
