Bible

In the Bible room today, we begin reading the book of Mark. We will read the 16 chapters in four sessions beginning today with Session 1, the summaries of chapters 1 through 4.

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Mark

Session 1 of 4

Introduction to Mark:

Writer: Mark. (This is John Mark who served with the Apostle Paul.)

Scope: Though not a member of the twelve disciples, Mark was a close associate of the Apostle Peter, whose words are used extensively in Mark’s gospel. Mark lived in Rome and directed his gospel primarily to the people of Rome and all Gentiles, probably sometime around AD 70.

Chapter 1. Beginning

This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God:

• The prophets had written that a messenger was coming;
• John came preaching confession and repentance for sins;
• Those who came to him, he baptized in the Jordan River;
• He said he was a messenger for the One who is coming;
• Jesus then comes out of Nazareth to be baptized by John;
• So, John baptizes Jesus in the Jordon;
• Then, like a dove, the Spirit of God descends on Jesus;
• And a voice from heaven says “You are My beloved Son
• In whom I am well pleased.”
• For forty days Jesus is tempted by Satan many times;
• Jesus rebuts every temptation;
• John is put in prison;
• Jesus begins His ministry;
• He preaches: repent and believe in the gospel;
• He calls Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him;
• In Capernaum, Jesus calls an evil spirit out of a man;
• At Simon’s home, his wife’s mother is healed by Jesus;
• Many people come there and are healed;
• Jesus begins preaching in all the synagogues of Galilee;
• A man with leprosy asks Jesus to heal him, which He does;
• He tells the man to keep this quiet, but he does not.

Chapter 2. Power

In Capernaum, Jesus is in a house, speaking to a large crowd:

• Four men cut through the roof to let down a paralytic;
• Jesus tells him his sins are forgiven, heals his paralysis;
• He tells the people He has power to forgive sins;
• Later, near the lake, Jesus calls Levi from the tax office;
• Jesus has dinner with Levi, tax collectors, and sinners;
• The Pharisees condemn Jesus for sitting with sinners;
• Jesus says He came to call sinners to repentance;
• The followers of John, also the Pharisees, are fasting;
• They ask Jesus why His disciples are not fasting;
• Jesus says the friends of a bridegroom do not fast
• While they have the bridegroom with them;
• One Sabbath the disciples pick some grain from a field;
• It is not lawful to gather grain on the Sabbath;
• Jesus tells the Pharisees the Sabbath was made for man,
• And not man for the Sabbath;
• The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.

Chapter 3. Twelve

Jesus is in the synagogue again, and a man is there with a withered hand:

• Jesus restores the hand to match the man’s good hand;
• It is the Sabbath, and the Pharisees are watching Jesus;
• They are plotting with the Herodians to destroy Jesus;
• Jesus goes back to Galilee and a great crowd follows Him;
• He tells the disciples to have a boat ready for His escape;
• He goes up to a hilltop, taking his disciples with Him;
• These are the twelve He will send out to preach:
• There is Simon whom Jesus calls Peter;
• James and John whom Jesus calls Sons of Thunder;
• Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas;
• James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite;
• And Judas Iscariot, the one who will betray Jesus;
• He gives them power to heal and to cast out demons;
• They go back to a house as the crowd builds around them;
• The scribes from Jerusalem come out to accuse Jesus;
• They say he is using the power of Beelzebub against demons;
• Jesus asks them how Satan could possibly cast out Satan;
• He tells them everyone who commits sin can be forgiven;
• Except the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit;
• Then, they accuse Jesus of having an unclean spirit;
• Jesus’s mother and His brothers come looking for Him;
• He says all those who do the will of God are His family.

Chapter 4. Teaching

Jesus is sitting in a boat, on the lake, speaking to a crowd on the shore:

• He is teaching them using many parables;
• He begins by first telling them to listen to this:
• A sower spreads seed on the ground: some is eaten by birds,
• Some falls on stoney ground, some falls among thorns;
• Some falls on good ground and produces a good crop;
• Later, the disciples ask Him why He uses so many parables;
• He explains that unlearned people can learn with them;
• But the disciples have received knowledge from heaven;
• He tells them a light is not meant to be put under a basket;
• It should be put on a lampstand where things can be seen;
• The kingdom of God is like a man who plants seeds;
• He knows not how the seed grows, but he reaps the harvest;
• Also, the kingdom of God is like the tiny mustard seed;
• When it’s planted it grows to become a large tree;
• Jesus continues to teach them with many parables;
• At evening, they leave the crowd, take Jesus out in a boat;
• Crossing the lake, they encounter a severe storm;
• Jesus calms the wind saying ‘Peace, be still’;
• The disciples wonder at this man: even the winds obey Him.

End of Session 1 of 4 of the book of Mark.