Mark 5: 21-43

Some truly miraculous events take place in these few verses. 

The woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and spent everything she had sounds a lot like people in our generation. People who have diseases that even the best doctors in the world can't cure. People can't buy cures but Jesus offered one here. She had so much faith in him that it only took the touching of his cloak to heal her. This woman must have thought she was in big trouble when he turns and asks who touched him. I bet she was surprised with what he said.

 I can't help but think that they guys who laughed at Jesus when he told them that the girl was just asleep must have felt foolish when she started to walking around. You would think that at this point that would know there was something special about this man. They didn't though and again Jesus proves them wrong. What an amazing set of verses.  

Marl 5:1-20
I have often wondered what it must have been like to witness someone who was demon-possessed. Especially with a guy like this one. He was so violent and so strong that chains couldn't even control him. I wanna know who was brave enough to attempt to put the chains on him. Someone must have loved this guy an awful lot. It is character like this in the bible that I wish i knew more about. I don't know why it is that they appeal to me. I guess its because they are just ordinary people who had extraordinary things happen to them. I understand the the apostles were ordinary men too but we know some of their lives. I wonder what this guy had to think about all of this after it was over. I wonder what he told his friends and family that had happened. He must have been shocked that Jesus wouldn't let him go with him. And on a side note can i say poor pigs!

Mark 4:26-41

Two more parables in this chapter; The Seed and the Mustard seed. Both are really great parables but I would rather focus on the events of the last few versus where Jesus calms the sea. 

I was on a boat once in the ocean at night. The sea was relatively calm and I still felt like it was going to tip over. I cannot imagine what it would have been like in gale force winds. Some of these men were seasoned veterans at sea and even they were scared. All Jesus had to do though was yell at the wind and it was calm. I have always been amazed that after he asks them why they are so afraid that they get even more afraid at how powerful he was. I would just be grateful that he was on the boat and able to stop it.  

Mark 4:1-25

Chapter 4 begins to enter into some of the parables that Jesus taught in. I relate to these more than almost anything in the bible. Things are easier for me to understand with illustrations. The first parable and the longest of chapter 4 is the parable of the sowers. This is probably one of the most used parables in the bible and for good reason. It appeals to everyone and Jesus himself offers and explanation of it. 

If you read the text you will of course find that there are 4 seeds which fall in 4 different locations. The seed represents the word, the soil the peoples hearts. You can read the types for yourself. I have always strived to be good soil I hope that I can continue to be. 

 

Mark 3:13-35

So much happens in these verses. Jesus chooses his apostles, people think he has lost his mind, he is accused of being demon-possessed and he explains who his mother and brothers truly are. How would you like to have been one of the twelve that he chose? Can you imagine what it might have been like to learn from Jesus Christ himself? There is an interesting mix of people here that he chose. I find it interesting that he didn't choose all bible scholars. He chose ordinary normal people just like me and you. In fact some them must have a shocker to some people. Thats the beauty of God, he doesn't want your past he wants your future. 

I can't help but laugh when they accuse Jesus of being demon-possessed. How absurd would this be? He can't possible be the one who we have been looking for and prophesied about for thousands of years, he must be demon possessed! Thats just not logical. Of course it much easier for me to sit back 2000 years later and criticize these guys than it must have been to live during all of this. I love his answer. Does Beelzebul fight against himself? His logic makes perfect sense. An army doesn't fight against itself. Why would they? That would be self-defeating.   

Mark 3:1-12

The man with withered hands has always been a peculiar situation to me. Luke 6:6 tells us that it was his right hand that was withered. From what I have read most do not know why this mans hand was this way. Most of the things i have read suggest that it was as the result of an accident but that is merely a suggestion. Then the look that Jesus gives the pharisees because he knows what they are trying to do. I can almost feel the piercing stare of Jesus' eyes as he stared angrily at the pharisees. I imagine being an extreme version of the one my parents used to give me when I had done something wrong. It really scares me to even think about that look coming from the Son of God. What an amazing turn around for this man who would have spent his life as a beggar if Jesus had not healed him on that day.  Thats all for me!

 

Ben Wright

Mark 2

Some very interesting things happen in Mark 2. This first story is one that has always interested me. They take a roof off of a house in order to get this man in. How cool is that? Like a sunroof for your car. I sometimes have wondered what the reaction of the home owner would be. I can't help but find that part of the story at least a little bit amusing. I can never get over the fact of Just how powerful Jesus is and was. He didn't even have to touch this man to heal him, he just told him to get up. It blows my mind that after seeing this that some people still didn't believe he was the Christ, i just don't understand it.

Jesus seems to have a habit of eating with people others thought he shouldnt have, especially tax collectiors. This was of course on purpose, I love the reply he gives when asked about it, "You don't give doctors to those who aren't sick (paraphrase)" I often time have believed that in the church today we tend to turn away people who are too sinful. Thats crazy! Imagine going to hospital and them telling you that they treat you because you are too sick? We wouldn't stand for that!

Chapter 2 ends with the pharisee's trying to again warp the law to convict Jesus. It doesn't work here either. They never seem to learn.

Mark 1:14-45

So much happens in this set of verses. More than I could ever write about in one little blog.  The fishers of men quote is such a powerful one to me. I can remember as a young boy my dad and I would wake up early to go fish. We were terrible fisherman, we never caught anything at all. Hopefully, we are better at evangelism than we are at fishing. This is something that that applies to every christian young or old. We all have a responsibity to teach those who are lost. I also have a hard time understanding how these men just up and left everything they had and followed Jesus. We have a hard time just leaving our houses to go to church. It is a very humbling set of verses for me.

The part about the demonic man is a quite a scene. Over and over again we read about men who were demon possessed. I wonder what these men must have been like. It would have a been a crazy site to see. I am glad these things no longer exist today.

 The power of Jesus' healing is something truly marvelous. These peoples entire lives were changed by just the touch of a hand. I am glad we can have this same healing in a spiritual sense, he can clean us of our sins. What a great thing to have!!

 

 

Ben Wright

Mark 1:9-13

This scene has always blown my mind. I simply cannot fathom the scene as it unfolds. Can you imagine what it must of been like to be there that day when the heavens opened open and to hear that voice?! I can't possibly imagine what my reaction might have been. I also always marvel at how concise Mark is. All he says is "Jesus was baptized." I have often wondered about the significance of Jesus' bapitsm. Such a great example that even the son of God was baptized.  Again the concise nature of Mark, where as other Gospel writers took multiple verses to describe just the baptism of Jesus, Mark describes his baptism and his wilderness temptation in 2 sentences! What an amazing set of scripture! Thats all for tonight.

 

Ben Wright

Mark 1:1-8

Just a few short verses today but really powerfull stuff. I have always had this image in my head of John the Baptist, as this big burly looking guy. I sometimes wish I could see a picture of what he actually looked like but then I feel it would be like those guys on the radio whose voice never seems to match their face. I am amazed at the the description of John and what he ate. Doesn't really sound to appealing to me. The thing that intrigues me the most about this passage is that old testament prophecy that predicted it in is Isaiah 40. This guy was born to be the "voice crying in the wilderness"! What an amazing task to undertake. I especially like the book Mark because it doesn't begin with a list of names. I know the names are important but it sometimes makes it tough to begin with that, at least for me. Anyways, thats all for tonight.

 

Ben Wright