Mark 10:35-45 - The Greatest In The Kingdom

My sermon taken from Mark 10:35-45 was the 42nd sermon in this series. This is how I introduced it:

“When we read the gospel of Mark we understand that there is an interesting dynamic in play. Mark has a primary audience for whom he writes, but he also understands that what he is writing will have a permanence to it. We don’t know if he necessarily recognized that his book would become a permanent part of New Testament canon, though he might have had an idea that some such thing would eventually come about. But he almost certainly believed that what he was writing would be copied and passed around among other churches—that it would become authoritative—and probably even intended for that to happen.

So Mark writes primarily for his target audience—the Christians in Rome. He writes secondarily for the wider Church of his day. And he writes also for the sake of posterity. And here we are nearly 2000 years later looking at what he wrote and it is possible to see a few things that must have been going on in Mark’s day. One of those things was the difficulty of proclaiming a crucified Messiah. How does one make sense of that? In other words, how can Jesus be, at one and the same time, the Blessed One and cursed? Or how can he be both King of kings and crucified on a Roman cross?

‘Crucified Messiah’ was an oxymoron to most Jews and almost blasphemous to assert. That’s why Paul called it a stumblingblock to the Jews. But he also called it foolishness to the Greeks. Why? Because how could power come about through weakness? How could defeat end in victory? How can exaltation come through humiliation?

Proclaiming that your God was crucified by the Romans was a pretty difficult public relations problem to work through. No wonder it was difficult to see or accept at the time. And this would be why Mark has recorded Jesus three different times in three succeeding chapters telling his disciples that he was going to be rejected, arrested, and executed. Mark wants his readers to understand that this difficulty is not something that came out of left field taking everyone by surprise. This was a part of the plan all along.

And no doubt this was all very difficult for the disciples to grasp as well, as they were ascending to Jerusalem, which is why Jesus keeps reminding them of it. What is about to happen is going to be so psychologically difficult they are going to have to have his words to remember and fall back on.

None of these things are as difficult for us, because to us it is old hat. It is what we already know to have happened and we had no Messianic expectations going in. But that wasn’t true for the twelve, nor for the others who lived in Jesus’ day. These false expectations are an obstacle for Jesus to overcome. So fresh off his third crucifixion announcement in three chapters, Jesus is confronted with this . . .”

What happens next is that James and John come and request a favor of Jesus. That request prompts a discussion of the kingdom and who will be greatest in it. In the answer Jesus gives we will be made to understand the economy of the kingdom and we will be reminded both of who is the greatest in the kingdom and what it is that makes him so great.

Below you will find a link to the audio page which contains an MP3 recording of this sermon. I hope you will take the time to listen. God bless.

Click here: Mark 10:35-45 - The Greatest In The Kingdom


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Mark 10:28-34 - The Cost of Discipleship 2

Christ has come and announced the inauguration of his kingdom. He has proclaimed the good news of that kingdom and is calling disciples to leave this world and enter into it. He makes demands—strong demands, even audacious demands. He demands that we value him over wealth, over family, over our own goals, even over life itself. Entering the kingdom come at a cost. “Take up your cross and follow me, “ Jesus says, those who would enter the kingdom must be willing to die.



Is it all worth it? What is the true cost of discipleship? In this sermon, which covers Mark chapter 10 verses 28-34 Jesus discusses that with his disciples. Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, we have left all and followed you.” What does Jesus say in response? What does it mean?

You will find the audio recording of this sermon linked below. I hope you will take the time to listen. Just click the link and a new window will open in your browser where you will find the sermon at a site called SoundCloud. There you can stream it right then or download it for later listening. God bless you.


Click here: Mark 10:28-34 - The Cost of Discipleship 2


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Mark 10:13-16 - Children and the Kingdom

This account naturally follows that of the preceding section because children belong naturally to marriage. Having elevated the sanctity of marriage among his disciples he now seeks to elevate their view of the importance of children. So this is an easy transition from one subject to the other.

In our culture children are almost revered. We often plan our entire lives around them. You see this especially among younger parents. Their whole lives, often, will revolve around activities for their kids. We also idealize childhood and look at those years as the most important years of our lives. Modern psychology has added to our propensity to do this, delving deeply into the memories of childhood and the events that shaped us to try to ascertain why it is we behave the way we do now.

We sometimes opine that we want kids to stay young longer and don't want them to grow up too fast. Crimes against children are the worst of crimes because we view children, almost, as innocent, or even virtuous, just because of their age. Some of this, no doubt, is due to the fact that the older we get the more cynical we become (as adults) and the more hardened toward the realities of a hard world, and we long for the days when we were not yet too calloused to see the wonder around us and to dream. Childhood—it’s idyllic. Children—to be enjoyed, and envied. Grandchildren—who doesn’t want grandchildren around? And babies—is there anything better than holding an infant?

But this is all modern stuff. This is a product of the influence that Jesus has had on our western thinking—because it was not like that in ancient times. In the pagan cultures of Jesus’ day children had almost no status at all. In Jewish culture it was a little better, but not much. In large part, the status children enjoy today in western culture is due to stories like this from the gospels. If you want to know what changed and how it changed then you can look to Jesus. It is due to him that we have such high views of children now. In those days they were nobodies. They were ‘the least of these.’

So someone is bringing children to Jesus. Why? What is going on? How do the disciples react to this? And what does Jesus have to say to them about their reaction? And is their some deeper lesson underlying all of this? There usually is.

I invite you to take the time to listen to the audio recording of this sermon preached at our church a week or so ago. Just click the link below and a new window will open in your browser where you will find this sermon. You can stream it or download it for later listening. I hope you do. God bless.


Click here: Mark 10:13-16 - Children and the Kingdom


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Mark 9:30-41 - Lessons Along the Way

From the introduction to this sermon:

"We're now on a journey with Jesus and the disciples. For the next couple of chapters they will be on their way to Jerusalem. In fact, this journey to Jerusalem occupies the entirety of the second section of Mark’s Gospel. If we were to view Mark as a play in three acts, as some have done, this would be Act 2. Act 3 will cover the final week in Jerusalem--and the last five chapters of the book.

The focus of Jesus’ ministry now is the disciples. He must prepare them for what’s ahead--not just his passion, but for their responsibilities after. They are the foundation of the Church, Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone. They must be ready to carry on his ministry after he is gone.

Much of what Jesus will be doing is a re-education process. They must unlearn as many things as they must learn. 

You and I are not much different from them. We, too, often find ourselves unlearning many things as our growth in grace goes forward. Remember, we are being unconformed to this world as we are being transformed into the image of Christ through the renewal of our minds.

And as we begin this journey with Jesus and the disciples we need to be reminded of the words of the Father from the Shekinah cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration to Peter, James, and John. Remember what he said? “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

So you and I are going to do the same thing this morning. We are going to listen to Christ as he reeducates us and prepares us for the kingdom in its fullness."

Below you will find the link to the audio recording of this entire sermon. I hope you will take the time to listen and allow God's word to work God's grace in you. Here is a wonderful gospel message and I pray it will be a blessing to you as you follow Jesus along the way.


Click here: Mark 9:30-41 - Lessons Along the Way


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Mark 8:34-9:1 - The Cost of Discipleship

Last week we left Jesus and the disciples at Caesaria Philippi where Peter made his great confession followed by Jesus making a shocking announcement. Right after Peter says, "You are the Christ," Jesus announces he is going to be rejected, arrested, and executed, but that after three days he will rise again. The disciples are so shocked that Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. When we left that scene Jesus had responded by rebuking Peter. That was verse 33.

We picked back up right there with Jesus, in verse 34, turning to the crowds and telling them that if anyone would come after him (in other words be his disciple) he must first deny himself, then take up his cross and follow Jesus. I'm going to Jerusalem to die. Who's going with me? In this passage we find some of the most sobering words Jesus ever spoke. While the disciples no doubt entertained dreams of future glory in the Messiah's kingdom, Jesus brings them the cold sober reality that the road to glory leads through a Roman cross. These words were shocking.

We are at the turning point in Mark's Gospel. Everything that happens from here through the end of chapter ten happens on the way to Jerusalem. Here Jesus will die and only those who are willing to die with him may be his disciples. This is a challenging and somewhat disturbing text. Who does Jesus think he is that he can make such demands? More important for us to consider is this. Is Jesus asking anything of his followers that he is not willing to do for them? Is he asking anything from them that has not promised to do for them?

Below you will find a link to the audio file from the sermon that I preached from this passage. I hope you will take the time to listen to the message and that the preached gospel will change you. Just click the link and a new window will open in your browser where you will find an MP3 recording of the sermon. You can stream it or download it for later listening. God bless.

Click here: Mark 8:34-9:1 - The Cost of Discipleship

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Mark 8:27-33 - Messiah

Here is how I introduced this sermon:

"We're at the half way point and a turning point in this Gospel of Mark. We've been with Jesus now for almost eight complete chapters, or, if you've been keeping track, 31 sermons so far. Today will be the 32nd. If they've averaged about 30 minutes apiece, and they have, then that will make about 16 hours of commentary on Mark so far, or about two hours per chapter.

Although this is the halfway point of the gospel, it is not the halfway point of Jesus’ ministry. In fact, we are very near the end of his ministry, though the disciples have no idea. In fact, the disciples still have no idea about a lot of things, though they do have some ideas they're going to have to get rid of. And in this passage today Jesus is going to try to open their eyes as he did those of the blind man last week. How successful he is remains to be seen.

Lest we be too hard on the disciples let's not forget that we've had an advantage on them. We've had Mark hand-picking and showing us things about Jesus and explaining to us, somewhat, what they mean as he goes along. For instance, right there in the first verse he told us what he had set out to do by writing this book. He said . . .

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.--Mark 1:1

That's his premise. That's what he's set out to prove. And we've known this all along. We've known that behind every story and the way it was told was this underlying premise, this thing that he has set out to show us.

But the disciples aren't reading the book, they're living it. They don't get to hear the voice of the narrator. They're just witnessing events. They weren't there at the baptism like we were. They didn't hear the voice from heaven or see the Spirit descending like a dove. They didn't witness the temptation in the wilderness. Like we have.

Now the focus of Jesus’ ministry will change. No longer is his primary interest in preaching the gospel to the crowds. He will still do this from time to time, but now his focus will be on his disciples, for he knows that his time is short. His ministry is coming to a close and his disciples must be ready. 

So he has taken them far away from their normal scenery, away from the crowds, away from Galilee--deep into Herod Philip’s territory--deep into Gentile territory. In fact, at this moment, they are as far away from Jerusalem as Jesus ever traveled during his ministry--more than a hundred miles away. So let's look at the text."

To listen to the sermon just click the link below. Doing so will open another window in your browser where you will be able to stream the audio immediately or download it for later listening. I want to encourage you to take the time and listen. God bless.


Click here: Mark 8:27-33 - Messiah


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Mark 8:1-10 - The Feeding of the Four Thousand

The following was my introduction to the sermon I preached on this passage:

Didn't we just do this? Haven't we been here before? Deja vu is French for ‘already seen’ and is used to describe the feeling one gets sometimes that he/she has experienced a particular situation before. Yankee manager Yogi Berra, after witnessing Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hitting back-to-back home runs in the early 1960s, famously quipped, “It’s deja vu all over again.”

And that's the feeling we get when we read this story in Mark’s Gospel. In fact, that very feeling has led to a lot of conjecture over the years about the veracity, or historicity of the story itself. It is so similar to the story of the feeding of the five thousand that one wonders if it might not be just a repeated telling of that same event told in a slightly different way.

The feeding of the five thousand, if you'll recall, is the only miracle story recounted in all four gospels. This feeding of the four thousand is recorded only by Matthew and Mark. Luke and John, for whatever reasons, did not include it.

In modern times the idea has been posed that perhaps these two stories are just different recordings, different tellings, of the same event--traditions that came down from divergent sources perhaps, and thus were recorded as different events--even if they weren't actually different events. And I suppose that idea might be plausible if Mark were writing hundreds of years after Jesus and if his sources weren't as reliable, or at least as verifiable, as he would have liked.

But Mark wasn't writing hundreds of years after the fact--more like 35 years after the fact. And Mark did not have to rely wholly upon tradition as his source. He wrote either directly or indirectly from the mouth of Peter who was an eyewitness. If the recounting of this miracle seems uncannily familiar to us, it would have seemed the same for Mark. And if they were two different recountings of the same event surely a little investigation would have revealed the truth to him. So whatever else you may conclude, Mark surely believed them to be two distinct events and he wrote within a few decades of the life of Jesus.

And not only does Mark record them as two distinct events, later (as we shall see) he has Jesus reminding the disciples of both events and referring to them as two separate miracles.

And while much about the stories is the same, there is also much that is different. As we shall see, each story serves a unique purpose within the greater story that Mark is telling us about Jesus.

Now if we accept that there is a supernatural God (and we obviously do), and we accept that Jesus was God in the flesh (which we also do), then it isn't hard to imagine that if he chose to do so, he could multiply bread and fish in order to feed a multitude once if he wanted to, or twice, or as many times as he chose--whatever served his purposes.

So we are left asking ourselves, what purpose would it serve for Jesus to do this miracle twice? And there is an answer to that as we shall see.

As for those things in the text which cause us to have deja vu all over again, we shall offer an explanation for them as we go. So let’s go ahead and get started.

The audio for this sermon you will find at the link below. The preaching of the word of God is always a blessing to God's people, so click the link and be blessed.

Click here: Mark 8:1-10 - The Feeding of the Four Thousand

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Mark 7:31-37 - Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

The prevailing modern theory on the origins of the four gospels is that Mark was first and that Matthew and Luke took Mark’s basic outline and shaped it into their own image. So according to this theory Mark wrote first, then Matthew and Luke/Acts, then John. 

The first three gospels, of course, are known as the synoptic gospels because they follow roughly the same outline and cover many of the same events. John’s gospel has a different outline and covers many different events, in some cases filling in gaps left by the previous writers. 

Think of the gospels as witnesses in a court room. Each writer tells the story from his own perspective, emphasizing what is important to him, writing for the purpose of convincing his prospective audience to believe in and become a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.

Mark is the shortest of the gospels and if it was first then that does make sense, because Matthew and Luke then become sort of expansions of his more concise telling of the story. But that's an oversimp-lification. The truth is that in some cases Mark gives more detail than Matthew or Luke when covering the same event. And sometimes Mark includes stories that are completely ignored by Matthew, Luke, and John. Such is the case with this one.

What we have in these seven verses is one of three pericopes unique to Mark’s gospel. Matthew gives a brief allusion to it, but without details. It is a miracle story told in parabolic form. In other words, the incident is recounted in a way specifically designed to convey deeper truth than what lies on the surface. So Mark tells the miracle truthfully, as it happened, but he also manages to craft it in terms that paint for us a larger picture and remind us of larger truths. In this miracle Jesus is revealing himself to us clearly--if we have eyes to see it.

Below you will find a link to the audio from the sermon I preached from this text. The sermon was just short of 27 minutes long. I hope you will take the time to listen and perhaps see Jesus in a greater way than ever before. God bless you.



Click here: Mark 7:31-37 - Jesus Heals a Deaf Man


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Mark 7:24-30 - The Syro-Phoenician Woman's Faith

The placement of this story is impeccable. It would be good right now for us to be reminded that Mark did not write the events of Jesus’ ministry in chronological order. Neither did the other gospel writers. Chronicling someone’s life in that way is more of a modern thing, a part of the way we do biographies. But the gospels aren't biographies and thinking of them in those terms doesn't help. Mark is painting a picture. He's telling a story intended to convince us that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God--and that we should be willing to leave all, if necessary, to follow him. So while his telling of the story leads more or less from beginning to end, it is told in a way to convey certain things that Mark deemed important. He gathers his stories, his pericopes, together in a purposeful way to convey truth in a more powerful way.

The story we have before us this morning is an example of this. He places it right after the episode of Jesus correcting the scribes because it is a perfect illustration of what we are supposed to have learned from that incident. There are no unclean foods. And, by the way, there are no unclean people either--not in Christ.

At some point after the argument of the last 23 verses Jesus leaves and takes his disciples into Phoenicia. And while it is not stated explicitly, Jesus is essentially done now with his Galilean ministry. For the rest of this chapter and the next he will be ministering among predominantly Gentile and pagan peoples. 

There is also a great contrast here between this story and the last. In the last story Jesus is essentially rejected by Jewish men who consider themselves the keepers and guardians of sacred Torah, from which they believe they earn God’s favor, and which they guard zealously by adding to it their own traditions. In this story we have a Gentile woman, someone who would have no status whatsoever with those men in the previous story, someone who finds in Jesus the favor of God.

When we remember that Mark is writing his gospel for a predominantly Gentile church, his placement of this story makes perfect sense. What hope could Gentile pagans possibly find in the God of Israel? As it turns out, great hope--for that very God, when he came down, had in a sense sought them out. This turning now to the Gentiles after being rejected by the Jewish religious leaders is a perfect picture also of what took place in the first century church. 

None of this, however, is the theme of this story. The theme of this story is the contrast between this woman's faith and the blindness of everyone else we have come across. The scribes and Pharisees are blinded by their own self-righteousness. The crowds see before them only someone who might provide a need or a spectacle. Even the disciples, who are given the benefit of extra revelation in the form of private instruction and explanations, still do not get it. But this woman, this Gentile woman, understands. She gets it. She believes. That is the contrast.

Below you will find a link to the audio recording of the sermon I preached from this text. It's just a little over 20 minutes long and I hope you will take the time to listen to it. On the spectrum of rejection (the scribes and Pharisees) to full faith (the Syro-Phoenician woman) where are you? Have you believed yet? Have you committed your all to him?


Click here: Mark 7:24-30 - The Syro-Phoenician Woman's Faith


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Mark 7:14-23 - Jesus Corrects the Scribes (Part 2)

This is how I introduced the sermon from this passage:

"We are looking this morning at the second part of a confrontation that Jesus had with the Pharisees and scribes. It began last week when some of these scribes confronted Jesus about the non-compliance of his disciples with their laws about ritual cleanness. The disciples were not following the tradition of the elders. This is not the first time Jesus and his disciples have run afoul of the ‘tradition.’ The first time was when they were in the fields on the Sabbath plucking and eating the heads of grain. After that it was for healing on the Sabbath. Now it is this matter of the washing of the hands.

"We saw last week how Jesus responded to their accusative questions. He said they were hypocrites. He said they had no heart or love for God at all, but rather for appearing religious outwardly and for keeping and maintaining a system of traditions that Jesus called ‘the commandments of men’--as opposed to the law of God. He said that Isaiah had spoken about them in Isaiah 29 when he said that they drew nigh to God with their lips, but their heart was far from him. Then he pointed out how their tradition, which was supposed to be a fence around the law of God, was actually opposed to God’s law in one specific way (that of Corban) and in many other ways as well.

"That's where we left the argument last week and this morning we pick it up again in verse 14 with Jesus now turning to the crowds and addressing them openly about the scribes and Pharisees and correcting their teaching."

This is how I outlined these verses:

   I. Nothing outside of us defiles us (v. 14-15)

  II. The disciples are confused (v. 16-17)

 III. Jesus explains further (v. 18-19)

 IV. The significance of what he just said (v. 19)

  V. Jesus explains what does defile us (v. 20-23)

 VI. Where is the gospel in this passage?

Below you will find the audio to this sermon which was preached on Sunday, June 25 at the Winnsboro Reformed Church. I hope it will be a blessing to you and that through it God will minister grace to the hearers. To listen, just click the link below.

Click here: Mark 7:14-23 - Jesus Corrects the Scribes (Part 2)



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Mark 6:45-56 - Jesus Walks On Water

Just like last week we find ourselves at one of those iconic events in the life of Jesus. And while this story may not be recorded in all four gospels like the last one (Luke does not record it), it is probably as famous, if not more so. "Walking on water" is a phrase that almost every English speaking person would recognize as an allusion to something only Jesus could do.

For some reason, too, this story has been the subject of much controversy. Post-enlightenment Christianity (the Enlightenment was the philosophical movement which dominated the world of ideas in the 1700s) has tried very hard, for some reason, to explain this story in a non-miraculous way, a story which Mark very clearly intends to be understood as a miraculous story.

The modernism of the 1800s tried really hard to give a decent theory of how the disciples could have believed this to be a miracle and yet allow us enlightened moderns to understand it in rational terms. We shall deal with those efforts in a bit.

Our job this morning, however, is not to just critique some previous misunderstandings of this passage, but to understand it ourselves in the way that Mark (and the Holy Spirit through Mark) intended for it to be understood. That is no small task.

And as famous as the story is, there is more to it than meets the eye. What Jesus is about to do is for his disciples. Remember, he is working on them, specifically on their faith. Last week when he multiplied the loaves and the fishes that was a miracle for their eyes only. It was a miracle so full of symbolism that they should have caught it. They should have seen and understood the deep significance of it. That they didn't becomes evident to us soon enough. 

Now he is going to show them something even more spectacular. And while Jesus is revealing something very special to his disciples, Mark, in recording it for us, is passing on that special revelation to you and me this morning. Rather than shaking our heads at those dimwitted disciples, or tsk tsking contemptuously at modernism's propensity to dismiss the miraculous, let us turn inward and search our own hearts and humble our own hearts before God and ask him to teach us through the word what he intended for his people to learn that stormy night on the Sea of Galilee.

What you just read was the introduction to my sermon on this passage of scripture in Mark. Below you will find the entire sermon recorded in MP3 format. Just click and a new window will open in your browser taking you to SoundCloud where you can stream the sermon on your device or download it for later listening. I hope you will listen. God bless.


Click here: Mark 6:45-56 - Jesus Walks On Water


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Mark 6:30-44 - Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Here we have a miracle story that practically everyone who knows anything about the life of Jesus is familiar with--the feeding of the five thousand. This is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. It must have had deep significance for the apostles and especially for Mark who, surprisingly, gives the most details. In this section we encounter a story rich in symbolism, with allusions to the Old Testament and also pictures pointing forward to the Messianic age. We also see the disciples receive a lesson in faith. Whether or not they actually get it is another story.

There is much more to this story than meets the eye and Jesus reveals much about himself and his mission for those who have the discernment to see it. What I tried to do in this sermon was to point those things out. The sermon is linked below and it is well worth your time. I hope you will listen to it.

Among other things I point out how Jesus is the new Moses, how Jesus is an answer to Moses' prayer, how Joshua was a type of Jesus, how the miracle points to the Messianic kingdom, and how Jesus meets all his people's needs.


Click here: Mark 6:30-44 - Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand


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Mark 6:14-29 - The Death of John the Baptist.

This is one of only two pericopes in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus is not the primary focus. The other was in chapter 1 where Mark introduced us to John. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets and Jesus will inform his disciples later that John was, indeed, the second coming of Elijah. In this pericope Mark takes us back and fills us in on what has happened to John since the baptism of Jesus.

There are at least four reasons why Mark includes this story in his gospel, right now in this place. The first is to make us think about who Jesus really is. Mark accomplishes this by informing us of the public opinion of Jesus at the time. He will come back to this in chapter 8 at Caesaria Philippi which is a turning point in the gospel. When we readers are brought face to face with public opinion about Jesus we are forced to consider the question ourselves in light of what we've read so far. Who is Jesus?

The second thing Mark accomplishes by recounting this incident right here is to warn us about unbelief. Herod comes to the wrong conclusion about Jesus, not because of a lack of correct information. Herod has had much opportunity to listen to the message of John and has listened to him often. Herod's problem, then, is one of unbelief and hardness of heart. This is a warning to us readers. Don't be like Herod.

The third thing Mark is doing by telling us this story right now is reminding us that being a disciple of Jesus comes at a price. Jesus has just sent out the twelve for the first time. Before they return he tells us the story of how John's obedience to the will and mission of God cost him his life. Our obedience to Christ may cost us the same.

And, finally, the story is a foreshadowing. In verse 29 John's disciples take his body and lay it in a tomb. The same will happen with Jesus. Mark is, in a very subtle way, pointing toward the death of Christ at the end of his gospel.

Below you will find the link to the audio recording of the sermon I preached from this passage. Just click on it to live stream or to download the sermon for later. God bless you.



Click here: Mark 6:14-29 - The Death of John the Baptist



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Mark 5:24-34 - Jesus Heals a Woman With a Hemorrhage

Remember what is taking place here in this chapter? Remember where we are in the narrative? We are on the third of four miracle stories that describe, with increasing intensity, the power of Jesus. The first was at the end of chapter 4 where Jesus commands the winds and the waves and they obey him. In that miracle story we learn of Jesus' authority over the created order. Jesus is the one who commands and the waves stand still. He speaks and the universe obeys.

The next miracle story we encounter in this section is the healing of the demoniac of Gesera. Jesus rebukes the demons and they come out of the man. In that story we are reminded of Jesus' authority over Satan in the spiritual realm. Jesus is Lord over the spiritual realm, as well as the physical.

Then Jesus crosses back over to the western shore of the lake and there he is contacted by the ruler of a synagogue, who wants him to come heal his daughter who is dying. So Jesus is on his way there when something else happens. In the story related this morning (the something that happens along the way) we will see Jesus' authority over sickness and disease. Next week, well, next week will come in due time.

Each of these miracle stories is recounted for the purpose of emphasizing Jesus' power and authority, telling us who Jesus is (God) through his actions, and pointing forward to what Jesus has come to do. 

And this is something we need to be reminded of. He has come to restore the created order by casting down Satan and making an end of sin, disease and disability, and death. He is ushering in the kingdom, which is to say that he is ushering in the world to come. This kingdom begins within us, which is why each story emphasizes faith. In the first, the disciples are rebuked for their lack of faith. In the second, we admire the restored man's desire to be with Jesus while at the same time shaking our heads at the people who send Jesus away. Before Jesus raises Jairus' daughter from the dead (next week) he says, "Do not fear. Only believe." Here in this story we admire the faith of the woman, imperfect though it is. The kingdom begins within us, and it begins by faith. Let that sink in.

Now while this is the third of four pericopes in a series, it is sandwiched in the middle of the fourth pericope (or story.) So as we're reading along, the fourth pericope begins, then is interrupted. This morning we will focus on the interruption, then next week come back and look at that fourth story. Think of this sermon as the story within the story.

You just read the introduction to the sermon linked below. I hope you will take the time to listen to it and that your faith will grow as well as your admiration and awe of Jesus. Be blessed.

Click here: Mark 5:24-34 - Jesus Heals a Woman With a Hemorrhage



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Mark 5:1-20 - Jesus Delivers a Demon-Possessed Man

We left Jesus and the disciples in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had been asleep and a storm had arisen. The disciples, frightened, had awakened Jesus and Jesus had rebuked the wind and the waves and they had obeyed him. After telling us this story Mark leaves us with the question of the disciples, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

And that, of course, was the point of Mark including that story in his narrative. You and I, upon reading it, are supposed to pause and consider the question ourselves. Jesus did something so amazing, something the Bible specifically says only God does, and that is exactly what Mark wants us to reflect upon. And while we are doing that he immediately rolls into the next story where Jesus will again display divine authority, this time in the supernatural realm.

Matthew tells this story as well, and while Matthew's gospel is much longer than Mark's, Mark devotes almost twice as much space for this than does Matthew. It is the most detailed and the most dramatic of all the exorcism stories that come from the gospels. And while the authority of Jesus, as God, over the demonic realm is the main thrust of the story, it also has an important point to make about the function and purpose of the demonic--to distort and destroy the imago dei in us, in fact to bring about our destruction.

It might seem shocking to our ears for me to say this, mostly because of the influence of modern thinking on our mindset and worldview, but you and I are supernatural creatures also. What I mean by that is that our true self, our identity, that which makes us us, our ego, cannot be fully explained in materialistic/naturalistic terms. (What is the chemical formula for thought, reason, emotion, or self-awareness?) To be sure, we are physical creatures and our sense of self is intimately tied to our physical self and greatly affected by it. But when our physical body is destroyed we will go on. And in Christ we are promised a resurrection life.

When we die we go to be with Christ where we await our final redemption and resurrected bodies. We are supernatural creatures tied to the natural realm. The sad statement on our case is that we are a fallen race. Made in the image of God we have fallen and ruined ourselves. And the Scripture bears witness that that fall was instigated by Satanic influence. What we are about to see in this story is a man who represents all of us in our fallen condition and how Jesus has come to free us from our bondage to Satan and sin and to save us from certain destruction. 

Below is a link to the audio recording of the sermon I preached from this passage. I hope you will take the time to listen to it. It is a sermon of good news with a challenge at the end. Listen and be blessed!

Click here: Mark 5:1-20 - Jesus Delivers a Demon-Possessed Man



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Mark 3:22-30 - The Eternal Sin

In this passage of Mark's gospel we have a pericope inside another pericope. The first was intended to get us to stop and assess what we think of Jesus--what our relationship with him is. This one is intended as a solemn word of warning. We will take heed to the warning. We will examine it and examine it well, for it is very frightening. Jesus announces that there is a sin for which there is no forgiveness. 

But there is something else that is laid down beside it that we will also take the time to notice, words that are wonderful to a soul in search of forgiveness. So in this story, this sermon, we are brought face to face with both law and grace.

Remember what Mark is doing in this section. He is clueing us in as to what the reactions of the people were to Jesus. The crowds were flocking to him because they wanted something. His family thought he was mad. The Sanhedrin, however, gives a two-fold pronouncement: (1) he is possessed by Satan and (2) his ministry--his healings, his miracles, his casting out of demons--is a work of Satan.

Jesus responds to this assessment in parables--parables that illustrate the absurdity of their findings. The last, especially, is dripping with sarcasm.

Understand that these two charges weren't just an official verdict spoken in Jerusalem. Mark tells us they "were saying" it. In other words, they were spreading it around. 'Don't go to Jesus. Don't listen to him. The miracles he does, he does as a sorcerer, for he is possessed by demons and through the prince of the demons he casts them out.'

It's worth mentioning that his enemies cannot deny the miracles. If there were a way to debunk his miraculous power, they would have. If they investigated claims of healing and found them to be fraudulent, they would have done that. But finding themselves in a position of not being able to deny the signs that Jesus is showing, they choose to attribute his works to Satan. This is important to understand, because after Jesus answers their charges he is going to make a frightening statement of warning and we need to understand that warning within its context.

This is the audio from the sermon I preached from this text on March 26. I hope you will take a few minutes and listen to it. We all need the gospel and we all need to grow in grace. Just click the link below and God bless you.



Click here: Mark 3:22-30 - The Eternal Sin



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Mark 3:20-21, 31-35 - The Family of Jesus

In this passage we are introduced to Jesus' family and, guess what? They thought he was mad.

Likely, the idea that Jesus' family thought he was crazy was scandalous to the early church. After all, if you were writing a history designed to convince people to believe on Jesus, why would you include the fact that his family did not believe and in fact thought he was crazy? Doesn't make sense. Unless it was true.

And if it was true, why did Mark include this kind of negative information in his gospel? Because there is an important lesson being taught in this story, as we shall see.

When Jesus' family decides to go find Jesus and save him from himself they find they cannot get to him because of the crowd. Jesus is in a house surrounded by a multitude. Inside the house with Jesus are the disciples. Outside are his family. Why are they standing outside? Presumably because of the crowd. The crowd is so bad, so pressing, so demanding, remember, that Jesus and his disciples can't even eat. No wonder Jesus' mother and brothers can't get to him.

But there's more than that here. Mark emphasizes that they are on the outside. Mark includes this fact to convey to us that his brothers were not among his disciples. They were not believers.

Where are you standing with Christ? Do you still have doubts? Do you still wonder if all this could really be true? Perhaps you are thinking, "Well, maybe it contains some truth, but it's just too incredible, or far-fetched to believe such things in our modern, scientific age." Then this section of Mark's gospel was written for you, too. Three chapters in, where do you stand with Jesus? Are you on the inside with him yet? Sitting at his feet? Listening to his words? Determined to follow him? Or are you on the outside still?

This is the sermon I preached from this section of Mark on Sunday, March 19, 2017. I hope you will take the time to listen to it. It's not a long sermon, but it is a very important one, for it challenges us to think about who Christ is, and what our relationship with him is. Are you on the inside with Jesus or standing outside with misconceptions? To listen to the sermon just click the link below.

Click here: Mark 3:20-21, 31-35 - The Family of Jesus



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Mark 3:7-19 - Jesus Chooses His Disciples

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.--Mark 3:13 ESV

Most of the major things that happen in redemptive history take place on a mountain. Abraham takes Isaac up on a mountain to sacrifice him. God reveals himself to Moses on a mountain. Moses receives the Ten Commandments on a mountain. When Elijah faces down the 400 Prophets of Baal it happens on a mountain. It is a mountain (Mt. Zion) upon which the temple is built. Jesus delivers his most famous sermon on a mount. Eventually he will be crucified on a hill outside Jerusalem. The symbolical meaning of the setting is clear. Something significant is taking place.

And what does Jesus do on the mountain? He calls to himself "those whom he desired, and they came to him."

God has always chosen his people. There is such a contrast here between the previous section where the crowds are flocking to Jesus and Jesus is plotting his escape from them, to this scene where Jesus goes up on the mountain and calls/chooses his disciples and they come. He says in John 6:37:

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

The parallels between Israel and the Church in this story are uncanny. Think of Israel. How did Israel begin? It began with the calling of Abram out of idolatry, a summons which he obeyed and in obeying became a type of all God's people everywhere. In Galatians, Paul compares the Gentile believers to Abram in that both were called out of the nations to be formed into the people of God, a people distinguished by their faith. Here we see Jesus calling and men (and women we learn later) responding in faith and obedience. Do they come freely to Christ? Certainly. Did we come freely to Christ? Absolutely. But what made us come? We came because the word came to us in power. This is the effectual calling of grace. We were summoned. Remember what Jesus says in John 6:37:

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Who will come to Jesus? All that the Father gives to Jesus. Will any of those whom the Father gives to Jesus fail to come? No, all of them will come. And all of them, whoever they are, Jesus will never cast out. God chooses his people. 

There's something else here as well. Jesus calls them to himself. There were other itinerant rabbis of the day who had followers. But none of these rabbis called and chose their followers. Their followers chose them as a means to an end. Just as young people graduating high school will choose a college in order to attain a higher education and be prepared for some greater work, so students (disciples) in that day and age would choose a rabbi in order to sit at his feet and from him learn to master the Torah, or law of God. But in this call, the call of Jesus, he calls his disciples to himself, not as the means to a greater end, no, Jesus is the end himself. God chooses his people.

Below you will find a link to the audio of the sermon I preached from this passage. I hope you will take a few minutes and listen to it. The word of God is powerful and we need more and more of it in our lives. Click and listen and grow in grace. God bless.




Click here: Mark 3:7-19 - Jesus Chooses His Disciples



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Mark 3:1-6 - Jesus Confronts His Opposition

The narrative here at the beginning of chapter three closely follows that of the end of chapter two. While recognizing that Mark does not necessarily write in chronological order, the events in the last five pericopes are probably more or less chronological as the opposition to Jesus increases incrementally in each one. In a strictly chronological sense there may have been other incidents that took place in between these stories, but Mark has grouped these five to show us the steady increase in opposition to Jesus.

And if Jesus had wanted to he could have avoided much of this. He didn't have to, for example, provoke the scribes earlier in chapter two by saying to the paralyzed man, "Your sins are forgiven." He did it deliberately. He makes no attempt at secrecy when he reclines at table with tax collectors and "sinners." He had to have known they were being watched as they plucked grain and ate it in the field on the Sabbath.

And now in this incident Jesus once again deliberately provokes his opponents. There is nothing about this healing which couldn't have waited until the next day. There is nothing about this healing that couldn't have waited until later on, in private. In fact, this man hasn't even come to Jesus for healing, he just showed up to synagogue on the Sabbath. This entire incident is instigated by Jesus to provoke. But when I use that word 'provoke' I'm not trying to make the case that Jesus just has a mean streak or a chip on his shoulder. His provoking is an act of love. He is deliberately confronting their unbelief and if they were to truly listen to him right now they would embrace him and be saved. But in responding the way they do, with unbelief, they have turned his act of love into a furthering of their eventual judgment.

This is what happens when we are confronted with the truth about Jesus Christ. We either respond in faith or we respond in unbelief. If we respond in faith and embrace Christ we are saved. If we choose, rather, to reject Christ, as the scribes in this story do, we are only furthering the judgment that awaits us. Jesus is the polarizing figure in human history and how we respond to him matters more than anything else in life.

In Mark 3:1-6 we come face to face with men who have already made up their minds about Jesus. They have come to hear him preach on a Sabbath, and they are watching him closely, not because they are listening to his message, but because they want to see if he will say or do something wrong. In fact, because they know he has done many healings they are hoping to see one on this occasion, but not for the good of someone who needs healed, nor even for the simple thrill of seeing something special. No, Mark says this:

And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.--Mark 3:2 (emphasis mine)

What will Jesus do? And what does his response teach us? To find out take a listen to the sermon I preached on this passage. You will find it linked below. My prayer is that your response to Jesus will be one of faith.




Click here: Mark 3:1-6 - Jesus Confronts His Opposition



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