Mark Review

Mark does not deal with the birth and childhood of Jesus but starts with the beginning of His ministry.  Mark has been called more of a book of action than some of the other Gospels.  Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist which he points out was a fulfillment of a prophesy.  John preached and baptized people to prepare them for the coming Messiah, whose sandals he said he was unworthy to even unlatch.  We are still just as unworthy.  Jesus came to John to be baptized, and as soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove, and a Voice came down from heaven saying, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all present, because They are One.  Jesus was immediately tempted by the Devil, but He was victorious.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we can expect to be immediately tempted to try and keep us from making Him our Lord as well.  We have a record of John the Baptist being beheaded. We have the record of Jesus calling His disciples, not all at once but over time.  We are not all called to follow Jesus at the same time.  We have a record of the miracles Jesus performed, and of the times that the disciples doubted or became self-centered, and this can still happen today.  We have a record of Peter’s great faith and later great denial of even knowing Jesus, because he as yet did not know the resurrected Lord.  Until we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we at best will waver in proclaiming our faith in Him and denying Him the next time trouble comes.  We have a record of Jesus’s agonizing prayer in the Garden while the disciples with Him, Peter who was named the Rock for his faith and James and John who wanted to sit on Jesus’s right and left hand in His kingdom couldn’t even stay awake for an hour. We have a record of Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper, and of His betrayal by Judas shortly thereafter.  We have a record of Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection on the third day, and of the women finding the empty tomb and receiving the good news of His resurrection.  Then, we have a record of the ascension of Jesus into heaven and the disciples going to preach the Gospel to all men.  This is our task today.  This is not all that Mark tells us, but it is a few of the points that we find in Mark.  Next, we will look at Ezra.

Mark 16:14

Mark 16:14 says, Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. Mark says that Jesus appeared to the eleven as they were eating after his appearance to the others that was already mentioned. We might think He would have appeared to them first, but He appeared first to those who were out and at least going about life instead of hiding away, as the disciples were. We cannot be successful in sharing the gospel if we are hiding away in fear. Jesus chastised them for their unbelief and hardness of heart for not believing the good news that had already been brought to them. We can never be saved if we do not believe in the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, and until the disciples encountered Him personally after the resurrection, they did not believe. Likewise, until we encounter Him personally and accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we will not be saved. Verse fifteen adds, And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Jesus then commissioned them to go and do what He had been preparing them to do all along, and that was to go and preach the gospel. The time for hiding away in fear was past. As Christians, God has called us to share the gospel, and He has also called us for a specific purpose in the church, and we can be certain that He has prepared us to do what He calls us to do. Verse sixteen continues, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Jesus said that those that believed and were baptized would be saved. Of course, believing in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord is all that is necessary for salvation, and baptism is simply a sign of our identifying with Jesus and our obedience to His command after we accept Him. This is made clearer in the second part of the verse when it says he who believes not will be damned, and not he who believes not and is not baptized.  Verse seventeen states, And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Jesus then speaks of some of the signs people will see that will be performed by His followers.  Jesus said that they would cast out devils, and when people accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, all devils are cast out of that person.   He said they would speak with new tongues, which I understand to mean they would be able to communicate with people who spoke different languages by power of the Holy Spirit.  On this point, and the next few, Matthew Henry says the same thing.  Verse eighteen adds, They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  Matthew Henry says that in the early church Christians were often given poisonous drinks, and they did not hurt them, and we still serve the same God.  Taking up serpents does not mean willingly grabbing a serpent simply to test God, but means as was the case with Paul if we are bitten while doing what God calls us to do that He will protect us.  Jesus said that Christians would lay their hands on the sick and they would be healed.  I personally believe that we have to understand this as meaning if it is God’s will.  Sometimes, we lay hands on people or pray for them, and they are not healed physically, but that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care.  If they are a Christian, they are already healed forever.  Verse nineteen declares, So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.  After Jesus spoke these words, He was received into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God, where He will be until He returns in victory to claim His people and bring them home to heaven with Him.  Verse twenty adds, And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.  They disciples went forth to preach the gospel everywhere, under the power of the Holy Spirit.  God affirmed their work by the signs following them.  This is where we as followers of Christ are today.  We need to be at work until Jesus Christ returns or until we leave this old world through death.  

 

Mark 16:9

Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. After Jesus arose from the dead, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene. She had a very good reason to be upset by Jesus's death. He had cast seven devils out of her. This should teach us that there is no one that is beyond redemption when they put their faith in the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ. Verse ten adds, And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. The disciples at that time were mourning and weeping when Mary Magdalene came to share the good news with them. She said Jesus was alive, and this is the message that we as followers of Christ have for the world today, and it is the most important message that we can proclaim. We as Christians have encountered the resurrected Lord spiritually, and we should have an urgent desire to share this good news with the world. Verse eleven continues, And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. When the disciples heard Mary Magdalene's report, they didn't believe her, and many people will not believe us when we share the gospel today, but that should not keep us from doing so. The disciples were those closest to Jesus, whom He had spent a lot of time preparing for His coming death, burial and resurrection, and yet when it happened, they still didn't believe it. Being around the church and even reading and being taught about the Bible is not going to save anyone. Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will. Verse twelve states, After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. Jesus next appeared in another form to two disciples who were out walking. They were not gathered together in a place of worship with other believers, and people can still encounter Jesus that way today. Jesus Christ does not appear to all who meet Him today in exactly the same way. We must accept by faith that Jesus is Who He says He is when He calls us to Him. Verse thirteen adds, And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. They also went and told the disciples and once again they refused to believe the report. In order to come to know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, the reports of others are not enough. We must come to Him personally when He calls and accept Him as our Savior and Lord.

 

Mark 16:1

Mark 16:1 says, And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.  Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome came to prepare the body of Jesus for burial.  They had brought sweet spices to anoint Him, but they still did not understand Who Jesus really was.  They fully expected to find His body in the tomb.  If we are looking for Jesus today, we will not find Him in a tomb nor as just a historical figure.  He has risen, and lives eternally.  Verse two adds, And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. They got there at sunrise.  They had been forced to wait until then by the restrictions of the Sabbath.  Today, there are no restrictions on our coming to Jesus, so we should never put off doing so.  Verse three continues, And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?  They were wondering how they would get the stone rolled away in order to anoint His body.  The stone was large, and they didn't think they could move it.  Whatever stands between Jesus and us today, it is nothing that He can't move.  Verse four concludes, And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.  When they looked, the stone was moved away.  It still is today.  Verse five states, And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.  When the women went into the tomb, they didn't find the body of Jesus but found a young man sitting on the right side clothed in a long white garment, and they were afraid.  This was not at all what they were looking for, nor why they were there.  People today are still looking for Jesus in the wrong places, but He is still sending messengers to tell them the Good News.   Some may even be angels.  Verse six adds, And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.  He told them not to be afraid, because Jesus Christ had risen.  Because Jesus has risen, if we put our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, we have no reason to be afraid.  Verse seven continues, But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.  The young man, or angel, told them to go their way and tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus had gone before them to Galilee, and they would see Him there, as Jesus had already told them they would.  I believe He singled out Peter because he was likely feeling very unworthy at this time after denying Jesus three times.  We, like Peter, may have denied Jesus at some time or another, but if we have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord, we are still His, and He still calls us to come follow Him.  Verse eight concludes, And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.  When the women left the tomb, they were very afraid and said nothing to anyone on the way to tell the disciples.  We cannot allow fear to keep us from sharing the gospel with everyone today if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and if you haven't, my prayer is that you will do so now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark 15:33

Mark 15:33 says, And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. While Jesus was on the cross, the land was dark from noon until three, which was also the fulfillment of a prophesy about the coming Messiah from Amos 8:9.  There was never a darker time in the history of the world than when Jesus died on the cross for the sins of all humanity, and that would include your sins and my sins personally.  Though Jesus died for the sins of all mankind in general, He also died for the sins of each individual personally.  Verse thirty-four adds, And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? At the ninth hour, or three p.m., Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” This was the interpretation of "Eloi, Eloi, lama sebachtani."  During those three hours of taking the sins of the world on Himself, I believe that Jesus was temporarily separated from the Heavenly Father.  I do not profess to be smart enough to explain how this could happen, but I accept by faith that it did.  God and sin cannot coexist, so when Jesus had the sins of the world on Him, he had to be separated from the Heavenly Father, at least in His humanity that He had taken on.  Verse thirty-five continues, And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. Verse thirty-six concludes, And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. The people misunderstood what Jesus was saying, thinking He was calling on Elijah to save Him, though it was really very clear what He had said.  People still misinterpret the Bible today in order to discredit it, or in some cases to justify their actions.  Some people ran and got a sponge full of vinegar to give Him, but others said just leave Him alone and see if Elijah would save Him.  Though the people there said to wait and see if Elijah would save Jesus, Elijah never had that power.  Jesus could have saved Himself if He so desired, but He would have doomed mankind.  Verse thirty-seven declares, And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.  Instead, He cried out in a loud voice, "It is finished", as we see in John 19:30, and gave up the Ghost, or physically died.  He had accomplished what He came to do, which was to willingly die for the sins of mankind so that they might be acceptable by the Heavenly Father if they put their faith Him.  The soldiers nor the crowd took Jesus's life, though they and all of humanity were responsible for the necessity of His death.  Verse thirty-eight adds, And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. The veil of the Temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom.   Mankind could not remove the veil that separated people from God, but God did.  Since Jesus's death on the cross, nothing separates us from God except failing to accept Jesus Christ as one's personal Savior and Lord.