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 10:17-27 - What Must I Do To Inherit Eternal Life

This is a passage that troubled me when I was younger. It didn’t seem to fit what I had been told about being saved, nor did it seem to fit what I had been reading elsewhere in the Bible. Jesus gets asked a pretty standard question and gives, what to modern evangelicalism looks like a very non-standard answer.

In Acts 16 when the Philippian jailer falls on his knees before Paul and Silas and says, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The answer he is given is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” But when this man comes up to Jesus in a very respectful way and says “Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus gives what looks to be the opposite answer. In fact, at first it looks as if Jesus is not going to answer him at all, but just give him the run-around instead. Then Jesus tells him to keep the law. When the man says he has, Jesus makes it even harder and tells him to sell everything he has, give it to the poor, and come follow him. It’s astounding. In thus doing, Jesus effectively runs off the most promising prospect for a disciple he has had to date. The man walks away sorrowfully for he had great possessions.

It’s a shocking story and the disciples seem just as shocked as I was when I first read it. “Who then can be saved,” they ask. And we’re left wondering the same thing.



Below you will find the sermon I preached from this passage. Just click the link and a new window will open up in your browser taking you to the page where you will find the audio recording for the sermon. Hopefully it will answer your questions about what at first glance seems to be a troubling passage. God bless.



Click here: Mark 10:17-27 - What Must I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?


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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 10:1-12 - Jesus On Marriage And Divorce

This is the divorce sermon. I dreaded it for months and I probably did more preparation for this sermon than for any other sermon I have ever preached. I started months ahead of time ordering two books and reading them both before even attempting to preach this passage.

The first of those books was this one by Jay Adams: Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage In the Bible

The second was by David Instone-Brewer: Divorce and Remarriage In the Bible—The Social and Literary Context

Although the two authors will disagree slightly on the grounds for a divorce, I highly recommend both. For what it’s worth, Adams is a Presbyterian and Brewer is a Baptist.



This is a controversial topic and the Scripture is not always as clear as we would like it to be. I tried my best to do justice to the passage and to look at it in the light of all the other passages of Scripture that speak to this topic. I hope what I gave is a balanced approach that glorified Christ and the gospel, and elevated marriage in the way that Jesus intended. I hope also that I was able to hold a high standard and yet extend grace to all. You be the judge.

The sermon is about 35 minutes in length. As in all things, listen with discernment and be open to what the Scripture says. You can listen by clicking below. Soli Deo Gloria.


Click here: Mark 10:1-12 - Jesus On Marriage and Divorce


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Mark 9:42-50 - The Salt Life

As we come to the end of chapter 9 we are still inside Peter and Andrew’s house in Capernaum. Jesus is sitting with the disciples gathered round and he is teaching them. As the session winds down Jesus hasn’t some rather shocking things to say. He talks about hanging millstones around necks and drowning people in the sea. He talks about cutting off hands and feet and plucking out eyes. Most frightening of all he speaks about Hell in terms of fire that will not be quenched and worms that do not die. What does it all mean?

In this sermon I tackle these tough verses. I unpack them and open them up so that we modern readers can better understand what Jesus is saying and the importance of it. And what Jesus is teaching here is definitely important.

Remember where we are in Mark’s narrative. Jesus and the disciples are on their way to Jerusalem to die. Well, Jesus is going to die. The disciples have been told to be ready. They have been called to give up their lives for him already. And what he is telling them here is that eternity is at stake. Their souls are at stake. Is there anything that would hinder them from following him until the end? Then whatever it is they are better off without it. It’s time to take inventory. 

Here is an excerpt:

“This world is dying. It is passing away. It is marked by death and will end in death. But Christ has entered this world of death to die, and through that death to bring about a world of life, where death will reign no more, but life--eternal life. That world, that kingdom, that life, is entered through Christ. We enter life through dying to self and living to Christ. Our death is wrapped up in his death and our life in his resurrection. This is the message of Christ. This is the gospel!

And this is the message of Jesus’ words here. Don't let anything keep you from that life, that kingdom, that eternal life that is found in and founded upon Jesus Christ. This world is passing away. Don't get caught up in it. Don't let its cares keep you down, keep you back. Nothing in this life is worth holding onto.”

The sermon is about 35 minutes long and you will find it at the link below. I hope you will click and listen. God bless.

Click here: Mark 9:42-50 - The Salt Life


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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 9:14-29 - Jesus Rebukes Unbelief

We come down from the mountain where we have seen the vision of Jesus in his glorified state and we are confronted with the evil, wreck, and ruin of a fallen world. Having seen rapture, Peter, James, and John are now confronted with present reality. There is a dispute with the scribes. There is a man with a demon-possessed son. There is failure. There is unbelief. And Jesus in this story confronts it all.

There are lessons to be learned here. The Father must be made to put his faith in Christ completely. The disciples must learn their need to depend upon Christ fully. You and I must be made to see our need for Jesus. This world must learn that Jesus is it's only hope.

And at the bottom of it all we get to the source of all human misery. We point it out, describe it, and demonstrate its nefarious effects. Then Jesus will rebuke it.



This sermon takes us from the bottom of the mountain and when it is done it leads us in the road to Jerusalem where Jesus is going to die. I hope you will click the link below and stream it or download it so that you can listen and be blessed by the clear exposition of God's word.


Click here: Mark 9:14-29 - Jesus Rebukes Unbelief


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Mark 9:2-13 - The Transfiguration

In Mark chapter nine is recorded one of the seminal events (for the disciples) in the life of Jesus--the Transfiguration. Matthew and Mark also record this event. Peter, for his part, refers to it in his second general Epistle. Clearly it was an event of great magnitude for these men.



But what really happened there? What was Jesus doing? Was he showing his disciples something important? And what does the placement of this event within the gospel of Mark have to say about its relevance? How does it fit into the narrative? And why Peter, James, and John? Why were they chosen as the three witnesses? Why were Moses and Elijah there?

What does transfiguration even mean? All of this and more I tackle in the sermon I preached from this text just a couple of weeks ago. I even look at how Mark's recording differs from the others. I've linked the sermon below and I hope you will take the time to listen. Be blessed.

Click here: Mark 9:2-13 - The Transfiguration


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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 8:22-26 - Jesus Heals A Blind Man

It's a simple story set forth in just five verses. It seems pretty typical, at least on the surface, of what we would read anywhere in the gospels. Just another miracle story, another day in the life of Jesus. Except it isn't.

What we have here in these five verses is unique to Mark. Not only that but it parallels another unique Markan miracle account which we covered just a few weeks ago. Both miracles are prominent among the signs given in Isaiah 35, signs that would portend the Messianic age. And not only is the miracle significant for that, but also for what it pictures for us about what Messiah came to do. He came to open the eyes of the blind both literally and figuratively, physically and spiritually. We see both of these aspects in this story.

And Mark has placed this miracle perfectly within his narrative. It shows us what is going on with the disciples and it challenges us, the readers. Do you see yet?

Below you will find a link to the audio recording for the sermon I preached on this passage on Sunday, August 6. Just click the link and a new page will open in your browser where you can stream the sermon now or download it for later listening. I hope you will take the time to listen, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. God bless you.



Click here: Mark 8:22-26 - Jesus Heals A Blind Man



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Mark 8:11-21 - The Tragedy of Unbelief

This is how I introduced the sermon I preached from this passage:

We are approaching the midpoint, and a major turning point, in Mark’s Gospel. The end of chapter eight is not just the middle of the book, it is a major event. Everything up until now has been building toward it and everything that happens afterward is  explained by it.

If you view the Gospel of Mark as a play in three acts, we are about to end Act 1 and begin Act 2.   Act 1 introduced Jesus and took us through his Galilean ministry. It was characterized by miracle stories, exorcisms, growing opposition, and the theme of insiders and outsiders. Although crowds have been large, committed followers and genuine faith have been rare, and exceptional.

Through all this Mark has been showing us who Jesus is in many ways. Every miracle, every story, has been chosen specifically and told carefully to demonstrate for us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. But people aren't getting it. What's going to happen at the end of this chapter is that Jesus is going to ask the disciples point blank if they get it yet, and they will--sort of. Right now, however, they still don't. 

In fact, we are in the midst of a repetition. Almost everything that happened from the middle of chapter 6 through the end of chapter 7 is being repeated here in chapter 8 so that it will sink in--both for the disciples and for us.

There was a miraculous feeding (of the five thousand) followed by an episode on a boat, an argument with the Pharisees, a discussion about bread (with the Syrophoenician woman) and the healing of a deaf man corresponding to Isaiah 35. 

Now here in chapter 8 we have a miraculous feeding (this time of four thousand) followed by a journey on a boat, an argument with some Pharisees, a discussion about bread, and then next week the healing of a blind man which again corresponds with Isaiah 35. While Jesus is clearly trying to get something across to his disciples, Mark is clearly trying to get something across to us.

There has been another growing theme over the last few chapters--that of unbelief. The Pharisees have rejected him. The crowds are spoken to in parables because of their unbelief. Jesus’ family is on the outside. He is sent away from the Decapolis. He is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth. The execution of John the Baptist, told in the early part of chapter six, served as a foreshadowing. Even the disciples don't seem to get it, and Jesus desperately needs them to, for his ministry is coming to a close.

Act 1 of this three act play will conclude at the end of chapter 8 where Jesus and his disciples are as far away from Jerusalem as Jesus ever gets during his ministry. From that point on he will be journeying toward Jerusalem. His arrival there at the end of chapter 10 will mark the end of Act 2 and the final act begins at chapter 11 with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Below you will find 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 and be blessed through the word of God. Just click the link below.



Click here: Mark 8:11-21 - The Tragedy of Unbelief


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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 7:1-13 - Jesus Corrects the Scribes (Part 1)

In chapter 7 of Mark's Gospel we come across, again, confrontation with the scribes. This confrontation began when Jesus healed the paralytic who had been carried by his friends to Jesus. These men, when they could not approach Jesus where he was, took their friend up on the roof, dug a whole, and then lowered him down to Jesus. Jesus sees their faith and says to the man, “Your sins are forgiven you.” What? Who can forgive sins but God only? Precisely.

Then Jesus provokes them further by calling a wicked tax collector to be his disciple. He goes even further by reclining at table in the man's house with even more tax collectors and sordid characters. Sinners.

After that they were in a grain field on a Sabbath morning and Jesus’ disciples are plucking grain with their hands and eating it. How dare they do that on the Sabbath? Jesus is challenged by the Scribes of the Pharisees. Formal charges may be brought! But Jesus defends the practice with Scripture and declares himself Messiah and Lord of the Sabbath.

From there he is followed to the synagogue where they are watching him, looking for any reason to bring charges against him. He purposely provokes them by healing a man who didn't have to be healed right then and doesn't even appear to have approached Jesus initially for healing. The story ends with the Pharisees conspiring with the Herodians how they might kill him.

It doesn't take long before scribes, official scribes, come down from Jerusalem to render judgment on Jesus. What is their assessment? That Jesus is possessed by Satan and does his miracles in the power of Satan.

And that's where we are as far as the relationship between Jesus and official religious Judaism. The Church has rejected him and is seeking to kill him. That's why they're watching him and his disciples now. They're looking for something, anything they can nail him on and have him arrested.

So in chapter 7 Jesus is again confronted by these scribes about why his disciples ignore the 'tradition of the elders.' Does Jesus acquiesce? Does he challenge them? How does he respond? In this sermon we look at his response, or at least the first part of it, and consider its ramifications for you and me today and where it all fits into the gospel. In the next sermon we will bring Jesus' complete argument to a conclusion. I hope you will take the time to listen. The sermon is linked below.


Click here: Mark 7:1-13 - Jesus Corrects the Scribes (Part 1)


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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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