Gentle Shepherd
We go from a banquet of people of nobility, military leaders, and other men of status at King Herod's perverse birthday party. We go from the palace to a side of a hill. I am sure Herod had many exotic foods and expensive wine. However, we see Mark explain that Jesus feeds the crowd of 5,000 men. He does not have an exquisite menu but simply bread and fish. Yet, the contrast is that Christ is the shepherd who cares
He Sat Down
Christ has ascended into heaven, and he sat down. Every hour at ten minutes to the hour, my watch will tell me to stand up if it has not recorded me standing for a minute in the previous hour. When sitting at a desk, working at a screen, or reading, we stand up and walk around to have a short break. However, to be seated means to be finished, no more work is to be done. Like sitting down after
Are you willing to go?
Mark chapter six continues to show the reality of discipleship. Jesus does not receive honor from those in his hometown, and they are offended by him. Mark continues to explain the reality of those who follow Jesus. Mark 6:7-13 Jesus sends out the twelve disciples, Mark then writes about the death of John the Baptist in Mark 6:14-29. These two pericopes could be viewed as different texts; however, what I hope to show is that Mark deliberately places the story
And Ascended into Heaven (Part 2)
Last time we looked at Christ ascending into Heaven and the benefits of his ascension for believers. This week we will be looking at the same line in the Nicene Creed but with a different focus. This week we will be looking at what he accomplishes in his ascension. The Westminster Larger Catechism answer fifty-three. Christ was exalted in his ascension, in that having after his resurrection often appeared unto and conversed with his apostles, speaking to them of the things
And ascended into heaven (Part 1)
We worship the risen and ascended Lord. Christ came to earth in his humiliation, taking the form of a servant in his birth, life, and death. After his humiliation, he was exalted in his resurrection, ascension, his sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and when he returns to judge the world. We do not worship a corpse in a tomb, nor do we worship a risen Lord whose body remained on earth. We worship the risen and
Helpless but not Hopeless
Mark 5:21-43 Mark chapter five shows Christ's power and authority over all things. In the first half of Mark chapter 5, we saw that Jesus' power and authority was over the strongman of this world. We saw Jesus show his earthy ministry was not just for those who physically descended from Abraham. Jesus went over the other side of the sea of Galilee to cast out the unclean spirit of the man living in the cemetery. He becomes the first gospel
According to Scriptures
The Westminster Confession of Faith begins with the first chapter on the Holy Scriptures. In section five, the Divines draw attention to the Holy Spirit's inward work, who bears witness to the Word in our hearts. Before this, they explain many aspects of the Word such as "the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts…" They explain that these items listed above and more can be external
He rose again
We say things frequently enough it becomes standard in our speech. Christ rose from the grave. We have heard this phrase multiple times, but I believe we have lost how amazing this is. Christ physically died on the cross and was laid in the tomb, then rose again from the dead, after being in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Matt 12:40). At the resurrection, Christ ends his humiliation and is now exalted. He is
We are Beggars
Jesus, in Mark 4:35, told his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side." Chapter five begins when they have reached the other side, to the country of the Gerasenes. The end of this passage explains that Jesus went back to the other side (Mark 5:21). Jesus and his disciples are not merely going to a different city. They cross over the sea of Galilee. The region is disputed but is located on the east side of the sea
The third day
One question that comes up is the timing of the final days of Jesus. Critical scholars mention the apparent contradiction in the Bible between the Gospel accounts (such as the timing of the ripping of the temple curtain (Luke 23:45 and Mark 15:38). One apparent contradiction is the prophecy of Jesus in Matthew 12:40, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days
