Jesus was going from town to town teaching, preaching and healing. Crowds of people followed and he saw their great need, not just the sickness and disease, but they were “weary and dejected”. Jesus was moved by compassion and summoned his apostles and commissioned them to go into all the cities of Israel and to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Later on, Jesus says in Matthew 15:24 “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” and he is using his apostles to complete that mission so that Paul could also later say, Romans 1:16 (LEB) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (the rest of the world).

Jesus Sends the Twelve

Mark 6:6-11
Matthew 9:35-10:42
Luke 9:1-5 

He Was Going Around Among the Villages Teaching

Mark 6:6–11
In Marks account, we get very little information about what Jesus was thinking or why he was taking this action. We do know that Jesus had begun this ministry from town to town earlier in

Mark 1:38–39 (LEB) And he said to them, “Let us go elsewhere, into the neighboring rural towns, so that I can preach there also, because I have come out for this very reason.” 39 And he went into all Galilee preaching in their synagogues and expelling demons.

and he was continuing to do this in Mark 6:6 “he (Jesus) was going around among the villages teaching”. Then Mark simply records in

Mark 6:7 (LEB) And he summoned the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.

He Saw the Crowds

Matthew 9:35–38
Matthew also records in

Matthew 9:35 (LEB) And Jesus was going around all the towns and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness.

But now, after having done this work from town to town, in Matthew 9:36 “he saw the crowds” but it wasn’t just the number of them. Yes, there were crowds, large numbers of people, but it was their condition that moved him, “they were weary and dejected, like sheep that did not have a shepherd”. And it was for this reason that he was moved to take a new action. First, he invited them to join in purpose and pray with him in

Matthew 9:37–38 (LEB) Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest that he send out workers into his harvest.”

He Gave Them Authority

Matthew 10:1–15
Now Jesus acts. In Matthew 10:1 “summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority”. Then in Matthew 10:5-6 he “sent out these twelve … to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. And in Matthew 10:7-8 he gave them a message, “preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near!’” and this was to be confirmed as they were to “Heal those who are sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, expel demons”.

And though they were not to go to the gentile or Samaritans, there was no limitation on the demonstration of God’s power. It was for all. Well, that is, all that would receive them. In Matthew 10:9-15 there is a test. If they (someone in the town) will receive you, which meant accepting them with hospitality and feeding them and housing them. Then, your peace (blessing) will remain. But if not, “whoever does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you go”.

Sheep in the Midst of Wolves

Matthew 10:16–25

Everyone Who Acknowledges Me Before People I Will Acknowledge

Matthew 10:26–33

Take Up His Cross and Follow Me

Matthew 10:34–39

Whoever Gives

Matthew 10:40–42

He Sent Them Out to Proclaim the Kingdom of God

Luke 9:1–6

Study Verses

• Mark 6:6–11 He Was Going Around Among the Villages Teaching
• Matthew 9:35–38 He Saw the Crowds
• Matthew 10:1–15 He Gave Them Authority

Today’s Reading

• Mark 6:6-11
• Matthew 9:35-10:42
• Luke 9:1-5

The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

The crowds had been thronging Jesus and He tells his disciple, lets go to the other side (of the sea of Galilee). When they arrive, a demon possessed man comes to meet him and he speaks to the demon “saying come out of the man”. The demon argues with him so Jesus asks his name and he responds “legion” because there were many. They ask to go into ta nearby herd of swine and Jesus agrees. As soon as the do, they drive the herd of swine into the sea and they drown. The demon possessed man has been set free. And, the people of the region ask Jesus to leave. They had no idea the good that God had done for them.

Demon Possessed Man Encountered

Mark 5:1-8
Matthew 8:28-29
Luke 8:26-31

A Man With an Unclean Spirit Went to Meet Him

Mark 5:1–8
Jesus purposely went to this region. As he arrived, in Mark 5:2-7, a demon possessed man came to Jesus “and knelt down before him”. This man was uncontrollable. He was wild, “no one was strong enough to subdue him”. And he was “crying out and cutting himself”. Today, we would say he was a danger to himself and to others. But he knew “Jesus, Son of the Most High God”.

No One Was Able to Pass

Matthew 8:28–29
Matthew 8:28 tells us there were two men, and they were “very violent, so that no one could pass”. And in Matthew 8:29 “they cried out … Have you come here to torment us before the time?” We learn here that there are unclean spirits that have a right to be in their geographic region during this age because Jesus didn’t expel them. 

He Commanded the Unclean Spirit Come Out

Luke 8:26–31
Luke 8:27 adds that the man “had demons and for a considerable time had not worn clothes and did not live in a house, but among the tombs”. And in Luke 8:29 “he would be driven by the demon into the deserted places”. This was an unclean spirit in Mark and Matthew, here called a demon.

“Daemons are spoken of as spiritual beings (Matt. 8:16; 10:1; 12:43–45) at enmity with God, and as having a certain power over man (James 2:19; Rev. 16:14). They recognize our Lord as the Son of God (Matt. 8:29; Luke 4:41). They belong to the number of those angels that “kept not their first estate,” “unclean spirits,” “fallen angels,” the angels of the devil (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:7–9). They are the “principalities and powers” against which we must “wrestle” (Eph. 6:12)”.¹

Swine Herd Possessed

Mark 5:9-20
Matthew 8:30-34
Luke 8:32-39 

Come Out of the Man

Mark 5:9–20
Jesus had said in Mark 5:8 “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” but got back talk. The spirit answered Jesus in Mark 5:7 “do not torment me!”. So in Mark 5:9 Jesus “was asking him, “What is your name?” We learn here that a person can be possessed. We also learn that a person can be possessed by more than one spirit, in fact there can be many. And they will only obey if they are required to. Jesus had to call them by name and tell them to go. But Jesus just told them to come out of the man. They didn’t have any right to possess the man’s body. Apparently, they had a right to be in the region because Jesus didn’t tell them to go away from there. This legion, these unclean spirits prefer to have their own host because they asked to be sent to the herd of swine. But they immediately drove the swine into the sea where they all drowned. The legion of unclean spirits were disembodied again. They were the danger to the man , and to the swine, and to anyone that would allow them access to their life.

In Mark 5:14-15 “the herdsmen (those responsible for the swine) fled and reported it in the town”. They had no idea what just happened. They had just lost their means for living. So, they ran to tell the people of the town “And they (the towns people) came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there clothed and in his right mind … and they were afraid”. And, in Mark 5:17 “they urged him (Jesus) to depart”. 

They Implored Him That He Would Depart

Matthew 8:30–34
Jesus had freed the region of these violent men that prevented anyone from passing on this road and they ask Jesus to leave. As one commentary says, ‘All down the ages the world has been refusing Jesus because it prefers its pigs.’No mention is made (in Matthew) of the cured men and their mission to their own people.²

The Demons Entered Into the Pigs

Luke 8:32–39
These unruly beings, these beings without restraint, caused the death of their hosts. This gives testimony to the will of man to live and the right of man for free will. Even these who possessed this man, could not kill him. We are told in 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober; be on the alert. Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in your faith …

Woman with An Issue of Blood

Mark 5:21-34
Matthew 9:18-22
Luke 8:40-48

Jairus Pleas for His Daughter

Mark 5:35-43
Matthew 9:23-26
Luke 8:49-56

Study Verses

• Luke 8:26–31 He Commanded the Unclean Spirit Come Out
• Mark 5:9–20 Come Out of the Man
• Matthew 8:30–34 They Implored Him That He Would Depart

Today’s Reading

• Mark 5:1-43
• Matthew 8:28-34
• Matthew 9:18-26
• Luke 8:26-56

The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

References

• 1. Easton, M. G. (1893). In Easton’s Bible dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.
• 2. France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 169). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

As we continue through the parables that Jesus spoke to the crowds, it says in Mark 4:33 (LEB) And with many parables such as these he was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear it. Jesus used a parable for farmers, sowing seed. He used a parable for the food workers, a little leaven. He used a parable for merchants, finding a pearl. He used a parable for fishermen, sorting out the catch. Each parable targeting an audience in the crowd. Each parable communicating a spiritual truth about the kingdom of God. Then to his disciples he said in Matthew 13:43 (LEB) “The one who has ears, let him hear!” because he had an expectation of them. And he went on to say to them in Matthew 13:51–52 (LEB)  “Have you understood … every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom … brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.” He expected them to understand and to teach.

The Seed Sprouts and Grows—He Does Not Know How

Mark 4:26–29
These parables are to tell us what “The kingdom of God is like”. We don’t know what makes things grow, but they do grow. We do recognize when there is fruit. And it is the fruit that we want anyway. It doesn’t matter what storms blew while the plant was growing, only that it bears fruit.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed and Yeast

Mark 4:30-34
Matthew 13:31-35
Luke 13:18-21 

He Was Speaking the Word to Them

Mark 4:30–34
Jesus told them that ”the kingdom of God … is like a mustard seed”. Why would he choose this as the subject of his teaching? He explains himself in a few verse, but the starting point is the smallest, most insignificant seed. This tree begins as something you might discount or overlook but the end of it is something great. Isn’t that like God’s Word? Sometimes it is spoken softly. We might easily discount what we are hearing and miss the future, the hope, the blessing that you have for us. 

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like Yeast

Matthew 13:31–35
Matthews gospel adds “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast”. Yeast operates differently. Seeds grow one by one and produce after their own kind. Yeast infiltrates everything it touches and changes it. Where there is a little yeast, it will cause the whole lump of dough to rise. In other parables he had used salt, which also affects everything it touches. But yeast is different in this way from salt, yeast causes everything to increase.

Matthew 13:35 in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation.”

The Whole Batch Was Leavened

Luke 13:18–21
Luke confirms what is recorded in Mark and Matthew. Leaven permeates all of the dough. Leaven increases the volume of the dough. Once leaven is introduced, it will cause the dough to rise, you can’t take it out. 

The Parable of the Weeds

Matthew 13:24–30
Each of these parables has a particular characteristic that relates the world we live in to God’s kingdom. In this parable, the crop that is planted, the crop the farmer wants to grow, the crop that will produce a harvest for the farmer is sown and growing nicely. But there is another plant growing alongside. Who is there that has not had this problem in their garden? The weeds find their way into the best prepared ground. Here, though, we see the spiritual truth that in this world, good and evil grow side by side. And what does the wise farmer say? In Matthew 13:30 “Let both grow together till the harvest”.

Matthew 13:40-43 sounds a lot like Revelation where we read that Jesus takes the book of judgments and as he opens the seals, the angels go to work. Then Jesus takes the harvest out of the earth and the final sickle reaps what remains for the “winepress of the wrath of God”.

Three More Parables

Matthew 13:44–52
Matthew gives us three more parables, all beginning with “The kingdom of heaven is like”:

1. In Matthew 13:44 “treasure hidden in a field”. and the man that found it sold everything to buy that field.
2. In Matthew 13:45 “a merchant searching for fine pearls” and when he found one … sold everything and purchased it”.

   In these first two parables, the person recognizes something of great value up front, they see the value first, and do whatever is needed to be able to buy it for themselves.

3. In Matthew 13:47-48 “a dragnet that was thrown into the sea … collected the good … but the bad they threw out”.

   In this last parable, it is the other way around. This is not for the farmers that plant seeds, but this is given for the fishermen that understand this kind of harvest. They throw the net and catch what they can and sort out the good from the bad. In each of these parables, the message is clear, there is great value to be had by investing yourself in the kingdom of God.

Jesus Calms the Storm

Mark 4:35-41
Matthew 8:23-27
Luke 8:22-25

Let Us Cross Over To The Other Side

Mark 4:35–41

He Fell Asleep

Luke 8:22–25

Lord Save Us We Are Perishing

Matthew 8:23–27

Study Verses

• Mark 4:30–34 He Was Speaking the Word to Them
• Matthew 13:31–35 The Kingdom of Heaven is Like Yeast
• Matthew 13:24–30 The Parable of the Weeds

Today’s Reading

• Mark 4:26-41
• Matthew 8:23-27
• Matthew 13:31-52
• Luke 8:22-25
• Luke 13:18-21

The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

Crowds continued to press in on Jesus, and he taught them. Now though, He begins to speak to them in parables. The parables weren’t to keep the things of Gods kingdom hidden, but to identify the people that cared enough about what He was saying to listen and hear His explanation. His parables use common everyday activities like sowing seeds, lighting a lamp. And then He attached spiritual meaning to them. For those who gathered around in Mark 4:11 (LEB) he said to them, “To you has been granted the secret of the kingdom of God”.

The Parable of the Sower is Taught

Mark 4:1-9
Matthew 13:1-9
Luke 8:4-8 

He Began To Teach Them

Mark 4:1–9
This is not the first time Jesus has faced large crowds. As we just read, they had pressed so much that he could not eat and so much that his family thought he had lost his mind. Now, in Mark 4:1 “a very large crowd was gathered to him, so that he got into a boat”. And this was not the first time he had used a boat to get some space from the pressing crowd.

He Spoke Many Things To Them in Parables

Matthew 13:1–9
The setting is the same as in Mark’s account. And the parable is the same. Jesus is using something most of them are familiar with, seed planting, tending, and harvest.

A Large Crowd Was Gathering

Luke 8:4–8
Luke includes that people were going to him from town after town which I take to mean that crowds were coming from each town as He went. But there were also disciples, those who were following with him from town to town.

The Reason for Parables Explained

Mark 4:10-12
Matthew 13:10-17
Luke 8:9-10 

To You Has Been Granted The Secret

Mark 4:10–12
In Mark 4:10 it seems the crowds waned, perhaps later in the day and Jesus was now alone with his followers. The twelve are mentioned and we might assume they were the only followers except that Mark adds “those around him together with the twelve began asking”, so we know there were other disciples in addition to the Apostles.

Seeing They Do Not See

Matthew 13:10–17
There is a revelation that comes with receiving God’s Word and Matthew gives us the best explanation for Jesus speaking in parables. As He says in

Matthew 13:16–17 (LEB) But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it!

These prophets and righteous people that Jesus is talking about did not have Him standing in front of them teaching them. But He is standing in front of His followers, and also every person in these crowds that followed, yet many still did not recognize who He was. Later on, he would explain revelation as he asks his disciples in

Matthew 16:15–17 (LEB) He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 And Simon Peter answered and* said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” 17 And Jesus answered and* said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this* to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

The Mysteries of the Kingdom of God

Luke 8:9–10
Jesus said in Luke 8:10 “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are in parables”. But it wasn’t that He was hiding anything from people. Anyone could have followed Him. Anyone had the choice to be among His disciples who were hearing the interpretation of the parables. But they didn’t value that knowledge or Jesus words enough to stay with him.

The Parable of the Sower Interpreted

Mark 4:13-20
Matthew 13:18-23
Luke 8:11-15

Do You Not Understand This Parable?

Mark 4:13–20
This is not a hard parable. Everyone in that time knew about seeds and planting and harvest. The leap is to recognize that God’s Word is like seed producing in us a harvest of righteousness. 

When Anyone Hears the Word About the Kingdom

Matthew 13:18–23
It isn’t enough to just hear what God has to say. We must understand the message. Matthew says it takes more than just hearing. He says in Matthew 13-20-21 there is “the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while”. It is, in

Matthew 13:23 But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”

When the children of Israel returned from exile, Ezra taught them for understanding.

The Seed is the Word of God

Luke 8:11–15
Good soil – “hearing the word, hold fast to it with a noble and good heart” and the thing that we don’t like to hear in our culture, “with patient endurance”. God’s word doesn’t produce immediately, really quick, right now because we want it to, but it does produce if we hold on to it.

The Parable of the Lampstand

Luke 8:16-18
Mark 4:21-23

Nothing is Secret That Will Not Become Evident

Take Care What You Hear!

Mark 4:21–25

Study Verses

• Mark 4:1–9 He Began To Teach Them
• Mark 4:10–12 To You Has Been Granted The Secret
• Matthew 13:18–23 When Anyone Hears the Word About the Kingdom

Today’s Reading

• Mark 4:1-23
• Matthew 13:1-23
• Luke 8:4-18

The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

Some commentators call this the busy day. Again, the crowds press Jesus. Again, he is healing the sick and exorcising devils. The press of the crowd is so great they cannot even eat. His family hears and go to him. The Pharisees observe the press and accuse him of being motivated by the devil. Jesus is calm in himself. He continues to do the work. He teaches and explains and heals and delivers. When his mother and brothers arrive, they cannot break through the crowd. When Jesus hears they are there, he says, pointing to his disciples, these are my mother and brothers, these who are doing the will of my Father. 

The Crowd Gathered Again

Mark 3:20–30
The crowds are pressing again. People had seen the healings and the deliverance of many from unclean spirits. Now in Mark 3:20 it says “the crowd gathered again, so that they were not even able to eat a meal” and this was after he went home. See the notes He Has Lost His Mind. 

A Demon-possessed Man Was Brought to Him

Matthew 12:22–32
Matthew’s account adds information for us. There was a crowd of people pressing, but this man caused a stir. In Matthew 12:21 we find the man is both blind and mute. And, it says, “he healed him”. Jesus cast out the demon and restored this man so that he could see, hear, and speak. And “The account of the healing and of the response to it (vv. 22–24) is closely parallel to 9:32–34; … especially on the unusual linking of demon-possession with a physical ailment. Here, unlike 9:33, the cure is described as ‘healing’ not as ‘casting out’”¹

The crowd responds “Son of David!” in Mathew 12:22 to which the Pharisees challenge, “This man does not expel demons except by Beelzebul the ruler of demons!” in Matthew 12:24. Jesus then explains and teaches in Matthew 12:25-32. They ought to be able to recognize the difference between the power of God working for good and the destruction wrought by the devil… Jesus puts it plainly in

Matthew 12:28 (LEB) But if I expel demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you!

The Tree is Known by Its Fruit

Matthew 12:33–37
Jesus continues the message in Matthew 12:33-37. And again He says now in a different way, they ought to be able to recognize the difference between the power of God working for good and the destruction wrought by the devil… Jesus makes it plain again in

Matthew 12:35 (LEB) The good person from his good treasury brings out good things, and the evil person from his evil treasury brings out evil things.

We Want A Sign

Matthew 12:38–42
Now, in Matthew 12:38 they say “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!” But what is it that they had just seen? Why is it the crowds are pressing? Isn’t it because Jesus had been healing and delivering? What more sign can He give them? So Jesus uses the history of Nineveh to try to shake them. When Jonah declared God’s word to Nineveh, they repented. Jesus tells them he will rise after three days. They can’t hear him.

An Unclean Spirit

Matthew 12:43–45
Matthew 12:43-45 records a caution from Jesus. Unclean spirits do not recognize boundaries. They will take what they can get and they are seeking human hosts to reside in as we would live in a house. But this warning goes deeper than an individual that was possessed and set free. This is a message to this generation who repented at John’s message but is falling back into even deeper bondage. After Jesus is rejected and crucified, the temple is destroyed and the people scattered.

A House Divided

Luke 11:14–26
Luke’s account is in line with the other accounts. Another witness to these events.

Jesus Mother and Brothers

Mark 3:31-35
Matthew 12:46-50
Luke 8:19-21 

Behold My Mother and My Brothers

Mark 3:31–35
Jesus mother and brothers arrive in Mark 3:31 but can’t get through the crowd. They pass a message to Him but in Mark 3:33-35 He responds by looking at those sitting near him and saying in

Mark 3:35 (LEB) For whoever does the will of God, this person is my brother and sister and mother.”

Behold My Mother and My Brothers

Matthew 12:46–50
Matthews account is very much like the account in Mark 3:31-35 with the added gesture of “stretching out his hand toward his disciples” in Matthew 12:49.

Hear the Word of God and Do It

Luke 8:19–21
Luke’s account is similar but with this emphasis in

Luke 8:21 (LEB) But he answered and* said to them, “These are my mother and my brothers—the ones who hear the word of God and do it.

Study Verses

• Mark 3:20–30 The Crowd Gathered Again
• Matthew 12:22–32 A Demon-possessed Man Was Brought to Him
• Mark 3:31–35 Behold My Mother and My Brothers

Today’s Reading

• Mark 3:20-35
• Matthew 12:22-50
• Luke 8:19-21
• Luke 11:14-26

The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

References

• 1. France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 211). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.