Not everyone receives the words of Jesus, those that do, are healed.

Go in Peace and Be Well

Mk 5:21–34
A ruler of the synagogue implored Jesus, come for my daughter! And Jesus, because of his request, went with him. On the way, a woman touched Him and was healed. There was no conscious effort on Jesus part to heal her. She simply believed, pressed through the crowd, and was healed.

• But she was unclean “according to Leviticus 15:19–33 would have made the woman ceremonially unclean—preventing her from worshiping in the temple or joining her people in everyday activities”1.
• And, she was also unable to find any help. There was no cure, no treatment, no hope until she heard about Jesus.

Then something happened to her, she had an idea, she thought, If I touch Him, I will be healed. She knew He was able. She knew He was willing and she reached passed her uncleanness to touch Him. She did it afraid, trembling, and “the whole truth” about her life came out it in front of everyone. Then, Jesus responded with great grace saying, “go in peace and be well”.

And this is what it says in Ro 10:17 faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word about Christ. And this is why we read that Jesus was teaching the people. They had to hear the good news of the gospel.

See “The Touch”, a C. H. Spurgeon sermon at http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols22-24/chs1382.pdf

Don’t Be Afraid, Only Believe

Mk 5:35–43
Meanwhile, Jairus is waiting impatiently while Jesus is dealing with this woman and then the news comes to Jairus, “Your daughter has died”. Jesus responds by saying, “Don’t be afraid-only believe!” Jesus asked Jairus to believe that He could, and would, heal his daughter. This is the same thing Jesus said to Martha in John 11:26 “and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die forever. Do you believe this?” ²

Now though, Jesus is careful to only bring a few close disciples with Him. And, when he arrives, He dismisses the “agitated and weeping”. Then, with the child’s parents, Peter, James, and John, he takes her hand and says, “get up”.

We don’t seem to have trouble believing in eternal life, but resurrection is harder for us. Yet, Jairus daughter and Lazarus are just two of the biblical examples of what it says in Hebrews 11:35 “Women received back their dead by resurrection” ³

He Was Not Able to do Any Miracle in That Place

Mk 6:1–6
These people in Jesus home town were only able to see Him as the carpenter’s son. To them, he was just the brother of James and … Their unbelief hindered His ability. Others though, knew Him for who He was, and we see Peter answering in Mark 8:29 “You are the Christ”. But, Jesus knew that not everyone would receive His words.

Shake Off The Dust

Mk 6:7–13
After being rejected, He intensified His efforts and commissioned the twelve. He told them, if people won’t listen, move on. And, this is still good instruction for us today. We don’t know if there were places the disciples weren’t received, there isn’t any focus on the unbelief. What is recorded in Mark 6:13 is “that they were expelling demons and healing people”. So, don’t be afraid. Don’t be stopped by opposition. Only believe!

A Righteous and Holy Man

Mk 6:14–20
This was Herod’s assessment of John the Baptist and Mk 6:20 says Herod listened to him gladly. But it also says that Herod was perplexed because John confronted him with his sin. Herod had overstepped by marrying his brothers wife.

Ask Me For Whatever You Want

Mk 6:21–29
How did Herod get to the place where he misused his authority to kill John? Mk 6:26 answers most of it but the first step down this path was when he married his brothers wife. Now, he had her influence, and her daughters, to deal with. He made a bad oath based on momentary pleasure. And, he wanted approval of the people around him.

Study Verses

• Mk 5:21–34
• Mk 5:35–43
• Mk 6:1–6
• Mk 6:7–13

Daily Reading

• Mark 5:21-43
• Mark 6:1-29

 

All Bible verses are Lexham English Bible (LEB) unless noted.

References

1. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Mk 5:25). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
2. Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Jn 11:25–26). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
3. Harris, W. H., III, Ritzema, E., Brannan, R., Mangum, D., Dunham, J., Reimer, J. A., & Wierenga, M. (Eds.). (2012). The Lexham English Bible (Heb 11:35). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Jesus speaks in parables, but it isn’t to hide the truth from His followers.

Nothing Secret

Mk 4:21–29
Mk 4:23 is often quoted, “If anyone has ears to hear” and Jesus also says “Take care what you hear”. In God’s Kingdom we are, as it says in 2 Cor 3:18 “transformed into the same image from glory into glory”.

Revelation comes by Gods Spirit as it says in Eph 1:17-18 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,* may give you a spirit of wisdom* and revelation in the knowledge of him 18 (the eyes of your hearts having been enlightened), so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the saints. However, we don’t always know how the Spirit of God will do it, as Mk 4:27 says, “he does not know how” (the seed sprouts and grows). But it does grow!

The Smallest of Seeds

Mk 4:30–34
Reading further in the gospel of Mark, we find the parable of the mustard seed. And, we often wonder how we can expect anything to come from the little we have to offer. We can only be sure because God is in the mix so as it says in 1 Cor 3:7 So then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who is causing it to grow. It is God who gives the increase!

The Wind and Seas Obey

Mk 4:35–41

Jesus said, let us cross over. And the boat was filling with water, they were sinking. They asked Jesus “is it not a concern”? But it wasn’t a concern because the water in the boat was just a symptom.

Where was their faith in what Jesus had already said? “Let us cross over”. After he rebuked the storm in Mk 4:40 Jesus questioned their fear and asked if the had faith. Do we believe what God has already said?

What Have I to do With You?

Mk 5:1–8
Next, we find Jesus going across the Sea of Galilee and instead of being greeted by crowds wanting to hear him, a man with unclean spirits came to him. Why would an unclean spirit come to him? Wouldn’t the spirit avoid a confrontation? But no, they, the legion of spirits in the man, came to ask permission to stay in the region.

Can you see the effect of an unclean spirit? This man roamed day and night. He cut himself. He overpowered everyone and no one could subdue him. But when Jesus spoke, the legion could not stay. And, with them gone, we see a man at peace. Is there turmoil happening around you that you just can’t seem to get rid of? Take your authority and command that evil influence to leave. It has nothing to do with you.

Legion

Mk 5:9–20
Don’t send us out of the region.

Here we see a different response to Jesus as in Mk 5:17 they “urge him to depart from their region”. Earlier the gospel of Mark, we see them bringing their sick and demon possessed to him so they can be healed and set free.

This man who had lived his life in the tombs, now went to the city, to Decapolis, and proclaimed what Jesus had done. And this was not just one city but a region described as:

Decapolis. Group of city-states where Greeks settled following Alexander the Great’s conquest of the area in the fourth century BC. They were located to the southeast of the Sea of Galilee, with the exception of Scythopolis, which was west of the Jordan River. About AD 77 Pliny gave what is the earliest known list of the cities: Canatha, Damascus, Dion, Gadara, Gerasa, Hippos, Pella, Philadelphia, Rephana, and Scythopolis.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Decapolis. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 607). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

And, this regions seems to have been important as:

The Decapolis is mentioned three times in the NT. The first is in Matthew 4:25, where great crowds (mostly Greeks and Canaanites) followed Jesus during his early ministry. In Mark 5:20 the demoniac who was healed by Jesus went and proclaimed Jesus throughout the Decapolis region. Finally, in Mark 7:31 Jesus passed through the Decapolis region on his way from Tyre and Sidon to the Sea of Galilee.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Decapolis. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 607). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Study Verses

• Mark 4:21-29
• Mark 4:30-34
• Mark 5:1-8

Daily Reading

• Mark 4:21-41
• Mark 5:1-20

The gospel of Mark continues showing the work of Jesus, the Son of God.

Fasting

Mk 2:18–22
Fasting is an important part of our Christian walk. It isn’t to punish us or deprive us. Fasting draws us closer to God and helps us become more sensitive spiritually, stronger.

And, Jesus said in, Mt 17:21 this kind goes not out by prayer and fasting.

But while they walked with Him, they were not fasting because as it says in Ps 16:11 (ASV) “in thy presence is fulness of joy”.

The Sabbath

Mk 2:23–27
When Jesus talks about the Sabbath, he doesn’t limit it in any way, but says “The Sabbath was established for people”. It wasn’t just for the Jews. When we have need, all of creation is at our disposal to meet that need.

Everything God does is for us, and not just the redeemed.

When is it permitted to do good?

Mk 3:1–6
The Pharisees, the religious people of the day, where watching to see if Jesus would break the rules. Would he heal on the Sabbath, the day of rest when they were not to do any work?

Jesus asked one simple question, “Is it permitted on the Sabbath to do good”, and this is the rhetorical question. Of course it is permitted.

But what was this anger in them that caused them to react and conspire to destroy Jesus.

You Are the Son of God

Mk 3:7–12
The crowds were pressing in because of their great need. It is true that we are motivated by pain and will go to extreme lengths to get free or avoid it.

There is a key point that we might miss here though. The suffering, the diseased, new that if they touched Him, they would be healed. This is in stark contrast to the Law that said if you come in contact with death or disease you become unclean. Under the Law, touching anything unclean made you unclean. With Him, with Jesus, touching Him made you clean.

Under the Law, all you could do was avoid uncleanness. And now, under the new covenant the Jesus established in the earth, you can touch the sinless, righteous, holy God and be made clean like Him.

Twelve Apostles Appointed

Mk 3:13–19
After the press of the crowds, Jesus went up to the mountain. Sometimes a get-a-way is needed to refocus and reorganize. And that is just what Jesus did. He Appointed, and made positions for these twelve to be with Him and to send them out to preach.

• To be with him when there was a press of the crowd, to deal with the logistics as they themselves needed food and clothes and a place to sleep.
• To send them to preach seems odd by our standards. These had just been with Him a short time. These were not the educated, these were not graduates of the school of Gamaliel, a great teacher of the day. Yet, these are the ones He set in place to send out to preach.

 

He Has Lost His Mind

Mk 3:20–30
Again, we see the crowds. People so thick they could not eat a meal and there was Jesus in the middle of it all. He was so engrossed in meeting peoples needs that his family was worried that he had lost his mind. And, His behavior was so intense, so extreme, that the scribes said he was possessed by a devil.

When Jesus recognized what they were saying, He stopped and explained to them that He was not motivated by a destructive evil spirit. He was though, motivated, energized, moved by compassion, passionately giving himself to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Whoever Does The Will of God

Mk 3:31–34
Jesus introduced a new kind of relationship. The sons and daughters of God are those that do His will. From the time we accept the sacrifice, the blood of Jesus Christ, and Him raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, we are born again into God’s family. And, from that moment on, we are about the family business.

This does not dissolve our natural family relationships. God did institute the natural family structure and one of the last acts we see performed by Jesus was to commit His mothers care to John, see John 13:23.

Sowing Seed

Mk 4:1–9

When reading this, there are many additional views that come to mind.

• The seed has in itself the power to grow and produce a harvest, but must be in the right environment.
• The sower doesn’t pay much attention to where each seed lands, His intent is to cover the ground even if some seed falls onto unproductive ground because he knows that most of his seed will produce.
• Any farmer knows that the plants must be weeded, and watered, and sometimes pruned to produce the best crop.

But Jesus isn’t trying to exhaust all of our thinking about what this means. He is using a common practice, sowing seeds, to make one spiritual connection. The condition of the soil matters. And, our choices, our culture, the people we surround ourselves with all make up the soil, our hearts and minds, where God’s word grows.

The Secrets of the Kingdom

Mk 4:10–12
I don’t personally believe that God is hiding anything from the humble and contrite heart. For me, this is a reference to the devil and fallen angels and people that have denied God.

Rom 1:28 God gave them up unto a reprobate mind.
1 Cor 2:8 for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

Hindrances to the Harvest

Mk 4:13–20

• Satan comes on hearing the word to prevent it from being accepted.
• Affliction or persecution causes people to fall away because they have no faith in God, no root, no trust.
• Cares of the world, and riches are thorn plants that choke the word as weeds do.

Study Verses

• Mark 3:7-12
• Mark 3:20-30 He Has Lost His Mind
• Mark 3:31-34

Daily Reading

• Mark 2:18-27
• Mark 3:1-34
• Mark 4:1-20

So, What Will You Do?

There are moments when I feel the need to go beyond my set framework, as I am here because there will be times when the needs are extreme and the pressure to meet those needs is extreme, but God has established us as His Son’s and Daughters. He has sealed us with His Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that motivated Jesus in the crowd.

The world may not understand, and we ourselves may not see how, but as it says in Heb 4:16 (ASV) Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need. So as our brother Pastor Charles Onduso Kiari in Kenya has asked, we make this request, Father, in Jesus Name, feed your children.

The gospel of Mark introduces the Kingdom of God, Jesus, and God’s will.

Prepare the Way

Mk 1:1–8
Preparing the way of the Lord continues to be one aspect of our Christian walk. We are often the voice preparing people to receive salvation. And, when they receive Him, they receive the Holy Spirit. It is important for us to be attentive to these opportunities, and I might even say, that we should create these opportunities as John did.

The Sinless Man – The Kingdom of God

Mk 1:9–20

This account in the gospel of Mark is very short but covers two main points:

Mark 1:9-12

Jesus was baptized in water but anointed from heaven by the Holy Spirit confirmed with the voice of the Father. Jesus was also tempted and withstood temptation, the sinless man, and the angels attended him.

Mark 1: 13-20

Jesus took on His work of ministry as He proclaimed “believe in the gospel”, “the Kingdom of God has come near”. He called four fishermen to follow Him and not Levites, scribes, pharisees, …

Speak with Authority

Mk 1:21–28
Jesus taught in the synagogue. He was welcome as a speaker and they were willing to hear him. But Jesus spoke with authority, not speculating or giving opinions of others. And when He did, the demon responded and was cast out. There is power in God’s word.

God’s Power – God’s Will

Mk 1:29–39
Mark 1:29-34

This gospel shows the power and will of God by example.
– He healed Simon’s mother-in-law.
– He healed many sick (likely all that came).
– He cast out demons (I define demons as fallen angels seeking to inhabit human host bodies.

God’s Direction

Mark 1:35-39

Jesus prayed in the morning and then set a course of action that carried Him forward for much of the time of his ministry. It is good for us to pray in the morning and we should also expect God’s direction.
– Preaching in the synagogues
– Driving out demons (*study why this was important, it is mentioned several times here).

I Am Willing

Mk 1:40–45
What a great prayer example this is. The man said, If you are willing, you can. And the answer, of course was, “I am willing”. God is always willing to do good, to bless those that call on Him.

– Luke 11:13 (ASV) If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

– Exodus 33:18–19 (LEB) And he said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I myself will cause all my goodness to pass over before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.”

There was no cure for leprosy in their time, but there was a priestly method of declaring a leper clean. God is the healer.

Your Sins Are Forgiven

Mk 2:1–12
The people pressed in to get the healing that others had received, and so much so that this man’s friends made a hole in the roof of the building to lower him in.

It was unexpected that Jesus would say “your sins are forgiven”. This is the realm of God’s authority. This caused the religious to challenge Him. He reiterated His authority by saying “take up your bed and walk”.

The people were amazed. They had the custom of animal sacrifice for sin and there were offerings for cleansing from disease (*study the offerings). Here though, Jesus spoke the word and sins were forgiven, He spoke the word and sickness was gone.

But Sinners

Mk 2:13–17
Jesus continued to teach the people and among them found Levi, another of His disciples. But Levi was a tax collector, a sinner in the eyes of the religious.

There are many people in the world that believe they have it all together. Jesus called them the righteous. These are those that are righteous in themselves. They don’t need God, and, they have no room for Him.

“but sinners”, know they have a need and some are willing to hear the truth of God’s Kingdom, forgiveness through Christ’s death and resurrection, and eternal life with God.

Study Verses

• Mark 1:1-25

Daily Reading

• Mark 1:1-45
• Mark 2:1-17