Category: Mark

Mark 10:17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Commentary points out that the rich man asks specifically about what he must DO to inherit eternal life, implying that it is received based on works instead of relationship. This idea contrasts sharply with the behavior of the blind Bartimaeus in verses 46-52.

Mark 10:20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus saw that the rich man was relying on himself and his own efforts. He saw that the rich man’s possessions owned him. He knew that the rich man was not capable at that moment of a right relationship that put Jesus above self and relied on His mercy. (But He loved him anyway. I love that part.) Bartimaeus, however, blind, alone, insistent, knew that Jesus’s mercy was his only chance. He risked the ridicule of the crowd for the compassion of Jesus.

Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Precious Savior, From the world’s perspective, the rich man is in a much more desirable place than the blind man. Thank You for showing my heart what the world cannot understand—it’s not about riches, following rules, or what we can do. Being Your disciple is about humbling ourselves, maintaining relationship, and serving others. Help me to unabashedly call on Your mercy always. Draw me closer. Amen.

Mark 10:22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Have a blessed day.

Mark 8:17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

It is so easy for me to be frustrated with the disciples. They have seen Jesus—recently—perform two miracles where He took the meager human resources and provided abundantly. How do they not understand who He is and what He can and will do for His beloved?

Mark 8:18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?

But it doesn’t take long for me to realize that I am the same way. Again and again and again, Jesus has taken my meager human resources and provided abundantly, beyond anything I could have hoped or imagined, yet fear, worry, and anxiety still plague me far more often than I care to admit.

Mark 8:19-20 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for who You are and who You are to me. Thank You for continually taking my meager resources and using them to bless me and others abundantly. Help me not to doubt or fear, Lord, because I have seen Your goodness. Help me to trust You always. Amen.

Mark 8:21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Have a blessed day.

Mark 5:17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

Mark 5 contains four very different reactions to Jesus. When the people saw the demon-possessed man healthy, healed, and in his right mind, they pleaded with Jesus to leave, while the man asked to be allowed to stay with Him. The woman was healed by her faith, and the synagogue leader’s daughter was healed in spite of his doubt.

Mark 5:23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”

Jesus worked powerfully in many different types of situations with many different levels of faith and fear present. I feel like there is an important lesson to be learned here. I don’t want to send Jesus away because of my fear. I don’t want to waste time and energy in doubt. I want to trust and be healed.

Mark 5:27-28 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

Lord, Thank You for meeting us wherever we are in our faith journey. Thank You for healing our hearts, souls, spirits, and bodies when we allow You to do so. Help me to always believe in You at such a level that allows You to respond (v34) “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Amen.

Mark 5:36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Have a blessed day.

Mark 3:5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

What strikes me here is the fact that Jesus is distressed by the stubborn hearts of the Pharisees and Herodians, but He was crowded by those who were trying to touch Him so they could be healed (v9).

Mark 3:8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.

Was Jesus also distressed by the hearts of those people? Did they want healing from Him because of Who He was (or Whose He was) or did they just want to be healed and knew He could do it? Was the fact that they believed in His power to heal them a soft opening for God’s love whereas the Pharisees and Herodians had no such softness and Jesus knew it?

Mark 3:9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him.

Lord, There is so much I don’t know, so much I don’t understand. Thank You for the absolute certainty of Who You are and Who You are to me. Help me never lose sight of those truths. Amen.

Mark 3:10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

Have a blessed day.

Mark 2:6-7 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

I talked before about a poem I teach to my students called “The Guy in the Glass.” It’s about how you can fool the whole world, but you can’t fool yourself. I always think of that poem here because we can’t fool God either. He knows our hearts.

Mark 2:8a Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts….

For me, that fact involves being incredibly honest with God, especially when I am angry or scared. There’s no need to try to fool God because He knows my heart, so I fess up and try to work through whatever sticky emotions are keeping me from Him.

Mark 2:8b-9 …and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?”

Lord, Thank You that You know my heart and You love me anyway. Thank You that You are big enough, strong enough, compassionate enough to help me work through my base human emotions. Help me always to be honest with You and to lay my emotions at Your feet so that I can draw closer to You. Amen.

Mark 2:10-11 “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

Have a blessed day.

Mark 1:8 “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

What fascinates me in this first chapter of Mark is who understands Jesus’s power and authority and who does not. John the Baptist recognizes and preaches who Jesus is. God, in verses 9-11, clearly claims His Son. The impure spirits and those suffering from disease clearly understand His power and authority.

Mark 1:9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Interestingly, the disciples, who follow Him without hesitation, will question repeatedly “Who is this man.” The Pharisees and Sadducees will question both who He is and who He thinks He is. So many people who should understand unequivocally who Jesus is spend a lot of time questioning who He is.

Mark 1:10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

Lord, You are Jesus, Son of God, Creator of Heaven and earth, Savior of the world and Savior of my soul. Help me never to lose sight of who You are and who You are to me. Help me never to doubt Your love, mercy, compassion, sovereignty. Help me to speak Your truth and shine Your light. Always. Amen.

Mark 1:11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Have a blessed day.