Introduction: John Mark, whose Hebrew name was John and whose Greek name was Mark, is mentioned at least ten times in the New Testament. His mother, whose name was Mary, allowed her house to be used as a meeting place for the early Christians. This explains why Peter, upon his miraculous deliverance from prison, made a beeline to Mark’s mother’s house, knowing that his Christian brothers and sisters would be gathered there in prayer for him (Acts 12:12). This story also shows us that the Apostle Peter was a close acquaintance of Mark and his family.

Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, who accompanied his cousin and the Apostle Paul on Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 12:25; 13:5-13). However, because Mark deserted them in Perga and returned to Jerusalem, Paul refused, despite Barnabas’ insistence, to take Mark along with them on their second missionary journey. As a result, Mark became such a sore point of contention between Paul and Barnabas that they separated. Paul took Silas and went to Syria, and Barnabas took his cousin Mark and went to Cyprus (Acts 15:36-40).

 

That Mark eventually regained Paul’s confidence and was reconciled to him is proven by the fact that Mark was later with Paul in Rome, as well as highly commended and spoken very affectionately about by Paul near the end of the great apostle’s life (Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11).

 

Mark is last mentioned in the New Testament by the Apostle Peter. According to Peter, who calls Mark his “son,” which probably means Mark was Peter’s convert and disciple, Mark was with him in Rome, where tradition tells us Peter’s apostolic ministry concluded (1 Peter 5:13).

 

Not only is the Gospel of Mark the first of the four Gospels to be written, but Mark is the first person to ever write a Gospel. Following Christ’s resurrection, the story of His miraculous life, atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and promised Second Coming was being preached everywhere orally. Originally by those who were eyewitnesses, and afterward, by converts of the eyewitnesses, who were converted by the testimonies of eyewitnesses. 

 

As the number of converts grew and churches began to be formed, letters (epistles) were written and circulated to combat heresies, settle disputes, and answer questions being asked by congregating Christians. A good example of these letters are the New Testament epistles of the Apostle Paul.

 

As time passed, the number of eyewitnesses to the events in the life of Christ dwindled. As a result, written documentation was needed to preserve for posterity the greatest story ever told. It was into this gap that Mark stepped with his divinely inspired pen to write the first Gospel ever written.

 

Many people do not realize that the Gospels were written after most of the other books of the New Testament, in a period of time between 60-90 A.D. According to tradition, Mark wrote his Gospel in or near Rome, during a time of persecution, probably somewhere between 60-75 A.D. 

 

The Gospel of Mark was probably initially penned to encourage Roman Christians in their struggles, dangers, and doubts. Evidence that Mark’s Gospel was originally intended for Gentiles is found in his explanation of some Jewish customs and words (Mark 7:3-4; 14:36). 

 

It is generally believed that Mark got much of his information about the life of Christ from the Apostle Peter, who had a front row seat to the life of our Lord. In light of this, we could say that Mark wrote his Gospel with the Holy Spirit guiding his hand and the Apostle Peter looking over his shoulder.

 

It is also widely believed that both Matthew and Luke got the outline of their Gospels from Mark’s Gospel, although they both added to it and expounded upon it. 

 

As the first of the four Gospels, it is safe to say that Mark introduced a brand new kind of literature to the world. Whereas histories, biographies, letters, and other kinds of literature had been written in the Greek and Roman worlds, no one had ever written a Gospel before Mark.

 

Finally, it should be understood that the Gospel of Mark is no mere biography of Jesus Christ, but the divinely inspired written revelation of the “Good News” of salvation wrought for this fallen world by God in and through His beloved Son. 

 

Mark 1:1-3 — Mark’s Gospel begins with “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” which Mark marks with the commencement of the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ’s forerunner whose ministry was foretold by the prophets. (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6)

 

This not only explains why Mark’s Gospel has no information about the birth or childhood of our Lord, but also explains the words of our Lord in Luke 16:16: “The Law and the Prophets were until John, since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached” (ESV English Standard Version).

 

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was never preached in the Old Testament, prior to Christ’s Incarnation. Granted, it was promised, predicted, pointed to, and pictured in the Old Testament, but never preached, since Christ had not yet come. It began to be preached, however, when God broke the four hundred years of silence between the Testaments with the voice of John the Baptist “crying out in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Afterward, it was preached by Christ and His disciples (Matthew 4:23; 9:25; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 9:1-6). Ever since, it has been preached by Christ’s church to the ends of the earth, in obedience to Christ’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

 

Mark 1:4 — John came preaching the baptism of repentance; that is, he called men to prepare to receive the soon coming Savior by not only repenting of their sin, but also by publicly submitting to immersion in the Jordan as a ceremonial symbol of their cleansing from sin.

 

The Greek word for “baptism” means “immersion.” John did not sprinkle repentant sinners at the Jordan River, but immersed them in the Jordan River. Therefore, he became known as John the Baptist, which is better translated, “John the Baptizer.”

 

Mark 1:5 — It was truly extraordinary for the Jewish people, who had always prided themselves upon being the chosen people of God, to humble themselves and to come to the Jordan, in order to confess their sins and to be baptized by John with the baptism of repentance.

 

The humble confession of our sins is a common denominator in all visitations of God. If we will not humble ourselves before God and confess our sins to God, we need never expect a visitation of God.

 

Mark 1:6 — Having come in the spirit and power of Elijah and as the predicted Elijah who was to come, John the Baptist was Elijah-like even in his appearance and attire. (Luke 1:17; Malachi 4:5-6; Matthew 11:13-14; 17:10-13; 2 Kings 1:8)

 

John the Baptist was not mimicking Elijah, but made by God from the same mold. He too was a man who could fearlessly preach repentance, because he didn’t care about men being taken with him, but only about men turning to Christ. Unfortunately, few pulpits today are filled by a John the Baptist or an Elijah, which explains why so few present-day pastors are fearless preachers of repentance.

 

Mark 1:7 — John made it plain to the people that he was unfit to perform even the meanest and most mundane tasks for the mighty Christ, such as untying the straps on Christ’s sandals. 

 

There is no such thing as a strutting servant of Christ. All who feel worthy to serve Him are unfit for His service.

 

Mark 1:8 — Whereas John merely baptized with water, which was an outward confirmation attesting to one’s repentance, Christ miraculously baptizes with the Holy Spirit, which is an inward transformation accompanying one’s regeneration!

 

It was important for the repentant to come to John at the Jordan in preparation for Christ’s first coming, but far more important for the repentant to come to Jesus today in preparation for His Second Coming.

 

Mark 1:9 -10a — Jesus had no sins to repent of or to confess, but to be our perfect example and to fulfill all righteousness, as well as His Father’s will, He came from Nazareth of Galilee to be baptized by John in the Jordan. (1 Peter 2:21; Matthew 3:15; John 5:30)

 

Customarily, the baptized remained in the water to confess their sins after being baptized, but Jesus came up "straightway" out of the water, since He had no sins to confess. (John 19:4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5) 

 

Mark 1:10b-11a — When the sinless Son came up straightway out of the water, the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove, and the Father declared Him to be His beloved Son.

 

It is no coincidence that Christ commissioned His church to baptize all believers in Him in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, for the believer’s baptism, just like Christ’s baptism, is a Trinitarian affair. (Matthew 28:19)

 

Mark 1:11b — Since it is only Christ with whom God has ever been "well pleased," our only hope of ever being pleasing or acceptable to God is in God’s beloved Son, Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:6)

 

Imperfect sinners don’t have to try to earn God’s acceptance, but to simply trust that they can and will be accepted by God in His sinless and perfect Son, with whom God is always perfectly pleased!

 

Mark 1:12-13a — Mark, unlike Matthew and Luke, says Jesus was driven rather than led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for forty days.

 

Christ was driven, not just led by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil for forty days, because Christ had to be tempted by the devil in every way that we are, without falling to temptation and sinning, in order to save us from our sins, to intercede for us when we sin, and to be our High Priest, who sympathizes with us in all of our temptations. (Hebrews 4:15; 7:24-25) 

 

Mark 1:13b — Jesus was not only tempted by the devil for forty days in the wilderness, but also attended to by the angels of Heaven, as well as harassed by the hordes of Hell, who are often depicted in Scripture as “wild beasts.” 

 

It is certainly understandable why angles needed to minister to Jesus after His temptation in the wilderness, for it was a spiritual war the likes of which our fallen world has seldom seen. It could not have been of more eternal consequence; after all, the salvation of the world hung upon the outcome of this contest between Heaven and Hell. If Christ had tripped over one single temptation and committed the teeniest-tiniest little sin, He could not have died on the cross of Calvary as the Savior of the world, but would have died on the cross for His own sin rather than for our sins.

 

Mark 1:14-15 — After the imprisonment of John, who prepared the way for Jesus to come by preaching repentance, Jesus came into Galilee preaching repentance, for repentance was not only the welcoming doormat for the Kingdom of God, but also the only doorway into it. 

 

Jesus preached “the gospel [good news] of the kingdom of God”; that is, that God’s kingdom was at hand and within reach of everyone who would repent of the sin in their lives and believe in God’s sovereignty over their lives.

 

Mark 1:16-20 — Christ did not commission His disciples to clean up the pond, but to fish in it. When the church exchanges political activism for preaching the Gospel, it makes itself ineffectual to effect change upon the earth. (Matthew 4:18-22)

 

A man was distracted from reading his newspaper by his noisy little boy. Therefore, he tore a page out of his paper with a picture of the world on it. He then tore the torn out page into pieces and gave it to his son, instructing the lad to put the world together. Much to the man’s surprise, his son was able to accomplish the assigned task in short order. When the father asked his son how he was able to do it, the boy replied: “It was simple, because there was a picture of a man on the other side, and once I got the man right, the world was right.” The only way the world will ever change is if men change. The only way men will ever change is if God changes them. And the only way God will change men is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which Christ commissioned His church to preach to all men everywhere. Therefore, if the church minors on the major—the preaching of the Gospel—and majors on the minor—political activism—it will be ineffectual to effect change upon the earth.

 

According to the late Paul Harvey, the contemporary church has “drifted away from being fishers of men to [become] keepers of the aquarium.”

 

Mark 1:21-22 — Unlike the unauthoritative scribes, Jesus taught as one having authority; that is, He taught that we should do what He says simply because He says so. 

 

My Heavenly Father, like my late earthly father, always answers my question—“Why do I need to do what you say?”—with the same resounding response—“Because I said so!”

 

Mark 1:23-24 — Demons cry out in fright at the very sight of Christ, knowing who He is—“the Holy One of God”—and that they are entirely defenseless before Him who can easily destroy them. (Luke 4:33-34)

 

The true sign of unclean spirits, whether of fallen angels or fallen men, is that they want nothing to do with Christ, neither as their Destroyer nor their Deliverer. 

 

Mark 1:25-26 — Unlike other exorcists, who attempt to exercise demons by elaborate ceremonies and superstitious hocus-pocus, Jesus simply cast out demons by commanding them to shut up and come out, which they immediately did, shrieking and jerking.

 

Unclean spirits are prohibited from professing Christ, since they are not possessed by Christ, which is why they are unclean.

 

Mark 1:27-28 — The people were first amazed at Jesus’ authoritative declarations (verse 22), but afterward, flabbergasted by His authority’s demonstration, when He displayed His dominion over the demonic.

 

Jesus’ unprecedented power, manifested by His mastery over demons, was not only phenomenal and petrifying, but also published far and wide. 

 

Mark 1:29-30a — Contrary to Catholicism’s clerical celibacy and to its contention that Peter was the first Pope, Peter was neither a pope nor celibate, as Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law proves. 

 

Contrary to The Irish Rover, a student newspaper at Notre Dame University, Peter did not deny Jesus three times because Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Instead, Peter was actually anxious over his mother-in-law’s illness, appealed to Jesus to heal her, and was appreciative to Jesus for her healing.

 

Mark 1:30b — We should pray for the sick at once, immediately putting them into the care of the Great Physician.

 

At the first symptom of sickness, most people take a pill rather than take to prayer, and call a clinician rather than call out to Christ.

 

Mark 1:31 — All who are miraculously lifted up by the Lord should immediately enter into a life of ministry for the Lord.

 

We are saved by Christ to serve Christ! (Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:15) 

 

Mark 1:32-34 — When Christ is welcomed into our home, others can come to our home, not only to meet Christ, but also to be ministered to by Christ.

 

Since Jesus was at Peter’s house on the Sabbath (verse 21), the people, because of the rules of their religion, had to wait to come to Jesus until after sunset. Sadly, many people today are still being kept from coming to Christ by their religion.

 

Mark 1:35-36 — Christ’s disciples should always follow Him into solitary places to secretly pray. 

 

“Secret prayer is the secret of prayer, the soul of prayer, the seal of prayer, the strength of prayer. If you do not pray alone, you do not pray at all.” (Charles Spurgeon)

 

Mark 1:37-39 — Unlike His disciples, Jesus prioritized prayer and private devotion over public and popular demand. He also prioritized preaching wherever He was divinely commissioned to go over staying somewhere where He had already drawn a crowd.

 

Too many pastors today spend too little time in communion with Christ and too much time catering to their congregation, all for the sake of growing their church rather than spreading Christ’s Gospel.

 

Mark 1:40-44 — The question of divine healing is not whether or not it is possible, but whether or not it is providential. It is always a question of the will rather than the wherewithal of the wonder-working Christ.

 

Divine healings are always testifiable and a true testimony to others after they’ve been truly attested to.

 

Mark 1:45 — Whereas this lone leper, who had been miraculously cleansed by Christ from his leprosy, wouldn’t shut up about Christ, lots of sinners, who’ve been miraculously cleansed by Christ from their sin, won’t speak up about Christ.

 

Notice, the leper “began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter.” When was the last time you were ablaze for Christ? As John Wesley once said, “Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.”

 

Mark 2:1 — When we open the door of our hearts and homes to the knocking Jesus, He comes in, the word goes out, and others come around to catch sight of Him in both our lives and lodgings. (Revelation 3:20)

 

Jesus should not just be in our heart and home, but right at home in both, because nothing in either should ever be the least bit discomforting to Him. (Ephesians 3:16-17)

 

Mark 2:2 — Christ preached the Word to the crowd that had packed the house. Unfortunately, it’s not the preaching of the Word that packs church houses today, but things like concerts, coffeehouses, and cafes.

 

What the contemporary church wins people with is not only what it must keep them with, but also what it has actually won them to.

 

Mark 2:3  — The paralytic was helpless and needed his four friends to work together to bring him to Christ.

 

Many helpless sinners in the world today need the saints, especially their Christian friends and family, to work together to bring them to Christ.

 

Mark 2:4 — The paralytic’s four friends were willing to do whatever it took to get him to Jesus.

 

Every Christian, like the paralytic’s friends and the Apostle Paul, should be willing to do whatever it takes to win others to Christ. (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)

 

Mark 2:5 — It is undeterred faith, which resorts to extraordinary means, when ordinary means fail, that succeeds at getting sinners to the Savior, so that men may know that the Son of Man has power to forgive all of our sins and to heal all of our diseases. (Psalm 103:3) 

 

The paralytic’s greatest need was not physical, but spiritual; it was not the healing of his paralysis, but the pardoning of his sins. Whereas we should be grateful to Christ for healing our sicknesses, we should be most grateful to Christ for forgiving our sins.

 

Mark 2:6-7 — The scribes, who rightfully knew that only God could forgive sins, regrettably did not know that Jesus was God. Therefore, because they clearly misunderstood who Christ was, they foolishly mistook Him for what He certainly was not—a blasphemer of Himself.

 

Since Jesus claimed to be God, He has left us with only two options. We must either join with the saints in acknowledging Him as God or with the scribes in accusing Him of blaspheming God.

 

This first accusation leveled by the religious leaders against Christ, would be a reoccurring accusation, as well as, in the end, the alleged capital offense that the religious leaders used to call for Christ’s crucifixion. (Matthew 26:65-66; John 5:17-18; 8:58-59; 10:31-33)

 

Mark 2:8 — The scribes were not just wrong about what they reasoned in their heart, but also about depending upon their reason, for it is only by divine revelation that Christ’s identity and divinity is revealed to us. (Matthew 16:15-17; Galatians 1:11-12)

 

Christ knew what was in the scribes’ hearts, just as He knows what is in our hearts. This is why the Father has committed the judgment of all men to Christ, because Christ knows what is in all men. (John 2:25; 5:22)

 

Mark 2:9-12 — To prove He had the power to mercifully pardon the paralytic’s sins, Christ miraculously healed the paralytic. The sight of the paralytic on his feet was proof to the scribes that the paralytic’s sins were forgiven. 

 

Although Jesus amazed people by proving He had the power to forgive sinners by healing the sick, it was, and always has been, His forgiveness of our sins that we should find most amazing!

 

Mark 2:13 — Although the multitude came to Christ for multiple reasons, Christ always taught them when they came, knowing that their need for the truth trumped their every other need.

 

Like Christ, Christians are also to teach. Indeed, we are commissioned by Christ to teach everyone everywhere to observe and obey everything Christ has commanded. (Matthew 28:20)

 

Mark 2:14a — Matthew, the tax collector, was named Levi, which probably means he was a Levite. However, he did not become a priest, but a publican, spurning the service of God to seek worldly gain.

 

Matthew was rejected. He was probably rejected by his parents, for being the black sheep of his family. He was rejected by the Jews, who hated the oppressive Roman tax and saw Matthew—a Jewish Roman tax-collector—as a traitor to his own people. He was hated by the Romans, who looked down their nose at the Jews and only used Matthew to serve their purposes. And finally, he was rejected by the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Israel, since they saw Matthew as a thief, because publicans, like Matthew, made additional profit by taxing the people more tax than was actually due.

 

Mark 2:14b — Although he was rejected by everyone else, Matthew was received by Christ just as he was, a publican, traitor, and thief, as well as called by Christ from where he was, his receipt of custom or tax booth.

 

We all must come to Christ from where we are and just as we are. One of the devil’s greatest wiles is wait awhile (Ephesians 6:11). He tries to deceive us into waiting to come to Christ until we get our lives straightened out. However, the truth is, we can’t straighten out our lives, only Christ can, so we must come to Him, just as we are, so that He can change us and straighten out our lives for us.

 

Just As I Am (Charlotte Elliott)

 

Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

 

Just as I am, and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot;

To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 

Just as I am, though tossed about

With many a conflict, many a doubt;

Fightings within, and fears without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;

Sight, riches, healing of the mind;

Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,

Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

Because Thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 

Just as I am, Thy love unknown

Has broken every barrier down;

Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 

Mark 2:14c — When called by Christ, Matthew immediately arose, forsake all, both his sin and his old sinful life; that is, his tax booth and his tax collecting, and followed Jesus.

 

We must arise and leave all to follow Christ, for we cannot follow Him if we’re not willing to hasten to our feet and forsake all that we have. 

 

Since he probably had more money and was better educated than all of the other twelve disciples, Matthew forsook the most to follow Jesus. Yet, he did so without hesitation, in order to follow Him who had received him, when he was rejected, and who had called him, when he was an outcast.

 

Mark 2:15 — In order to win sinners to Christ, Christians must be like Christ, in that we too must be willing to accept sinners and to associate with them, without aligning ourselves with sinners or approving of their sin.

 

Matthew received Jesus into his heart and home, where he held a celebration of his transformation, in hopes of his friends’ regeneration. Every Christian’s home should be a place of celebration where his or her friends can come to Christ for salvation.

 

Mark 2:16 — Like our Savior, all soul-winning saints today, will also be accused of guilt by association with sinners by all self-righteous Pharisees. 

 

While the Scripture clearly teaches the saints not to enter into contracts with sinners, it does not prohibit us from having contact with sinners, which would be an impossibility in this sinful world. (1 Corinthians 5:9-10; 2 Corinthians 6:14)

 

Mark 2:17 — Christ, the Great Physician, came into this world to heal sinners’ sick souls and to make sinners spiritually whole, by calling sinners to repentance; that is, to turn from their sin with a broken heart and to turn to Him with all of their heart.

 

Notice, contrary to today’s faith healers, Jesus taught that the sick sometimes need a physician. Therefore, one is not guilty of doubt if he or she goes to a doctor.

 

Mark 2:23-28 — Whereas the Redeemer is sincerely concerned about man's needs being met, the religionist is solely concerned about man's obedience to his religious rules and observance of his religious rituals.

 

The Lord of the Sabbath did not create man to be heedful of the Sabbath, but created the Sabbath to be helpful to man.

 

Mark 3:13-19 — Christ's disciples are called to come to Him, chosen to be with Him, and commissioned to go for Him. It is only after we’ve been in His presence that we can go for Him in His power.

Mark 3:24 — An America divided against itself cannot stand. Uncle Sam is being knocked off his feet, not by foes without, but by infighting within.

Mark 4:37-41 — All it takes to calm our soul on the stormy seas of life is for Christ, who commands the storms and the seas, to stand up in our hearts and say, “Peace be still.”

 

It was not the raging sea, the howling wind, the crashing thunder, or the flashing lightening that awakened and aroused Christ, but the distressed cries of His frightened disciples, who, because of their fearfulness and faithlessness, were rebuked by Christ along with the wind. 

 

Mark 6:1-6 — Our objections to honoring and believing in Christ serve as obstacles to His omnipotence, since they obstruct His mighty and miraculous operations among us and on our behalf.

Familiarity often dulls the cutting edge of things. As the old sailor may fail to hear any majesty in old ocean’s roar or the Swiss peasant may fail to see any grandeur on those snow-clad peaks, a prophet may be without honor in his own home.

Mark 6:35-44 — When the blessing of God is on our paltry five loafs they will prove more than enough to feed five thousand. Under the blessing of Christ, our nowhere near enough, becomes miraculously more than enough.

Mark 7:1-13 — Many a human tradition sets aside divine truth, portraying man’s disobedience to God as religious devotion.

Mark 7:6-9 — If we honor God with our lips, but not with our lives, if we teach man’s creeds as God’s commandments, and if we lay aside divine truths for human traditions, our worship of God is worthless to God.

"Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us." (A. W. Tozer)

Mark 7:27-30 — Contrary to the “name it claim it” and “blab it grab it” preaching of today’s positive confession preachers, great faith is not haughty, presuming to have a chair at the Master’s table, but humble, pleading for the crumbs that fall from the Master’s table!

Mark 7:27-30 — Great faith is neither pompous nor presumptuous, but prostrating and pleading, knowing it is devoid of goodness and merit, and totally dependent upon grace and mercy!

Mark 8:22-25 — Those satisfied with the initial touch of the Savior and unwilling to receive successive ones may have spiritually blurred vision. For instance, they may be incapable of clearly seeing people for the trees.

Mark 8:22-26 —The blindness of unrepentance is hardest to heal, for the unrepentant are blind to the works of Christ and have a blurry image of man, seeing him as innately good rather than sinful and therefore in need of neither repentance nor redemption. (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13)

Mark 8:34-35 — To come to Christ you must take up the cross, for there is no such thing as a crossless Christian nor costless Christianity.

You must relinquish your earthly life to Christ to receive eternal life from Christ.

Mark 8:36-37 — To gain possession of the whole temporal world, at the forfeiture of your immortal soul, is to eternally bankrupt yourself. (Matthew 16:26)

Mark 9:1 — Jesus here predicts the coming Day of Pentecost, when the Kingdom of God would inhabit the people of God in the person and power of the indwelling Spirit of God. (Luke 17:21; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4)

Christ's prediction of the kingdom of God coming with power was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, when the promised Holy Spirit came in power for the church's inception and the Christian's indwelling.

Mark 9:22-24 — The question is never, “Can Jesus do it?” The question is always, “Can you believe it?” Furthermore, to believe it, you must often pray for Jesus to help you overcome your unbelief!

Mark 9:33-40 — To take no joy in, but to be jealous of, the miraculous ministry of our brethren, is to prove ourselves more concerned with our greatness than God’s glory.

 

To be as happy to see God's miraculous use of another as to be miraculously used by God yourself is validation that vainglory has been vanquished from your heart.

 

Mark 9:38-40 — Those who fight against the cause of Christ are not the friends, but the foes, of all Christians.

 

Others don't have to be your clone or a member of your church to work miracles in Christ's name.

 

Mark 9:40 — Neutrality is an impossibility when it comes to Christianity. You are either a saint or an ain't. You're either amicable or adversarial, a friend or a foe.

 

When it comes to Jesus Christ, you are either all-out against Him or altogether for Him. Your only alternatives are all or nothing.  

 

Mark 10:18 — There is no good but God and apart from God there is no good! Therefore, if God isn't in you, there's nothing good about you.

 

Mark 10:28-30 — The Christian must forsake all to find his or her all in Christ!

 

Mark 10:35-40 — Many a prayer would never be prayed if we knew the cup we'd have to drink from because of the thing we've prayed for. Great privilege comes at great price, and while many are ready to pray for it, most are reluctant to pay for it.

 

Mark 10:46-52 — When Christ calls us to Himself in response to our crying out to Him in life's most difficult circumstances, we can stand up under them, take courage in them, and expect Christ to deliver us from them.

 

Mark 10:46-52 — Those who plead for Christ’s mercy will be called to Him and healed by Him of their blindness so that afterward they can see clearly to follow Him.

Mark 11:1-11 — Jerusalem expected their Messiah to be a military Conqueror riding on a charger, not a meek Savior riding on a colt; therefore, its cries of "Hosanna" on Sunday quickly turned to shouts of "Crucify Him" by Friday. (Mark 15:12-15)

Have your cries of "Hosanna" turned to shouts of "Crucify Him," because Christ has failed to meet your expectations?

Mark 11:12-14, 20-21 — The curse of barrenness is the consequence of the sin of barrenness. To escape it requires more than foliage; it requires fruitfulness. To escape Christ’s curse and to ensure ourselves of His blessing requires more than buds and blossoms.

Mark 11:15-17 — Christ cleansed the temple twice, once at the beginning of His ministry and again at the end, proving that the purity of His house means more to Him than its popularity! (Matthew 21:12-13; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-17)

Mark 11:17 — Christ did not say that His house would be a house of sermons, singing, and socializing, but a house of prayer. Unfortunately, the contemporary church has no shortage of sermons, songs, and socials, but a serious scarcity of prayer. (Matthew 21:13; Luke 19:46)

 

"No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere." (Leonard Ravenhill)

 

Mark 11:22-23 — Faith’s greatest opportunities are in the face of life’s greatest obstacles. Notice, Jesus said faith in God moves mountains, not molehills.

 

Mark 11:24 — True faith is an affirmation of the fact of God! It is not believing that God may, or will, or even can, but that God already has.

Mark 12:17 — It is to Christ, not Caesar, to whom Christians should render their unquestioning confidence and unwavering commitment. To depend upon and devote yourself to government rather than God is to confuse Caesar with Christ and to offer government what you owe to God alone.

Mark 12:24 — All error comes from not knowing the Scripture nor the Spirit—"the power of God." It's right if Scripture commands it and the Spirit compels us. It's wrong if Scripture condemns it and the Spirit convicts us. (Matthew 22:29)

Mark 12:41-44 — The true worth of our offering to God is not how much we give, but how much we have leftover afterward.

Mark 13:31 — In a fallen world in constant flux, a world of uncertainties, filled with chaos and confusion, a world within which lies are so rampant that one is at a loss as to what to believe, there is one certain thing, upon which one may always rest assured, the truth of God’s Word!

 

Mark 14:1-9 — The ministry that magnifies the Master is always centered on Jesus and criticized by all Judases. Furthermore, It always results in an irrepressible testimony that will prove immemorial! (John 12:1-8)

 

Mark 14:3-9 — Christian imposters are always indignant when the exorbitant is extravagantly lavished upon our Lord. They, unlike the true worshippers of Christ, don’t understand His inestimable worth or the impossibility of anything being wasted on Him.

 

Mark 14:8 — God’s expectations of us never exceed our God-given opportunities and abilities. He expects us to do what we can. Nothing more is expected; nothing less is acceptable.

 

Mark 14:32-36 — In the Garden of Gethsemane, the question was forever settle as to whether or not we have any other hope of salvation apart from Christ's submission to the dark hour when He died on the cross and drank dry the cup of God’s wrath for the sins of the whole world.

 

Contrary to popular opinion, it was not the physical pain and suffering of the cross, but the fact that He was about to become the sin of the whole world and to suffer the full brunt of God’s wrath for all the sins of all time that caused Christ to sweat blood and shrink back from Golgotha in the Garden of Gethsemane!

 

Mark 14:51-52 — To hastily follow Christ dressed for bed rather than to heedfully follow Christ dressed for battle is to risk both public exposure and embarrassment.

 

Mark 15:15 — In order “to content the people” Pilate crucified Christ and by doing so condemned himself. Are you being coerced by the crowd into your own condemnation?

Mark 15:15 — Are you willing to forfeit your immortal soul by condemning Christ and all things Christian in order to curry favor with today’s politically correct crowd?

Mark 15:15 — Does public opinion dictate to you your personal opinion of Christ?

Mark 15:15 — Are you more concerned with fitting in with the crowd than you are with the fate of your immortal soul?

Mark 15:15 — Is appeasing the crowd more important to you than your acceptance of Christ and Christ’s acceptance of you?

Mark 15:43-46 — No property was ever lent for a more exceptional purpose nor vacated in a more extraordinary way than the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea.

Christ was born in a borrowed stable and Christianity was born in a borrowed sepulcher.

Mark 16:4 — The stone was not rolled away so that the resurrected Christ could vacate an occupied tomb, but so that others could view an empty one.

Mark 16:19-20 — As Christians, we are  assured success by the risen and ascended Christ, who intercedes for us and works with us. (Romans 8:34)

 

How can we possibly not prevail with Christ always praying for us, His accompanying presence abiding with us, and His almighty power available to us?

 

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