Last week we saw the angel Gabriel appear to Zechariah and give him the good news of the impossible task of him and his wife Elizabeth having a child because they were advanced in years. Then Elizabeth conceives and when she was 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist. Her response was one of joyous exclamation as she knew the promises of God were being fulfilled. This week we continue to ask the question about the correct response to the

Jesus had told his disciples three times what was going to happen. And every time he finished by saying, “Three days later he will rise” (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34). Now everything he had said had come to pass. However, this last comment was different than the others. He has pointed out that this was God’s definite plan since the beginning (Acts 2:22–23). To be able to point out seven different things that will happen to the Son of Man; delivered,

I have often mentioned that we often look at Christ's death on the cross as the only thing that Christ came to earth to achieve for us. It is an essential part of his earthly ministry but not the only part of his ministry on earth. The burial of Jesus is an integral piece of the gospel message (1 Cor 15:3-4, Acts 13:26-31). The burial is mentioned in all of the Gospel accounts (Matt 27:57–61; Mark 15:42–47; Luke 23:50–56; John

Jesus had hung on the cross since 9:00 AM that morning. Those watching had mocked the Lord of Glory. They had asked for a sign, but it was at midday that they saw a sign. Everything started to go dark. Joshua was there the day the sun stood still, but this day was the opposite. Darkness came over the whole land. This is the darkest day in the history of mankind. There had been dark days before and dark days

Over the past weeks, we have seen the words of Jesus fulfilled. Jesus told his disciples three times that the Son of man came to suffer. We have noted that every piece has been falling into place. This week is no different. Before we get to this passage, we need to be reminded that sometimes when we hear something frequently, we can become numb to the emotion. I know people with emotionally draining jobs that see the effect of that

The rooster had crowed, and the sun had risen. Peter was weeping. The chief priest and scribes had condemned Jesus to death (Mark 14:64). Over the proceeding pages, we have seen how the words of Christ are coming to pass. Judas had betrayed him. He was handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They condemned him to death. The disciples had scattered. Peter had denied his Lord three times. Now we see the next fulfillment of Christ’s words,

The gospel of Mark has many various layers to it, one major theme is, of course, the earthly life death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can see sublayers throughout the pages of the Gospel of Mark. One which comes up is “who do you say that I am?” Another great theme that flows throughout the gospel is that of discipleship. Reading through the gospel and looking at discipleship and the disciples is a great exercise. It shows the realities

He has been telling his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer many things (Mark 8:31-33, 9:30-31, 10:32-34). We see this unraveling as we continue to read through this chapter. We see the beginning of these events beginning to take place, mainly that Christ is delivered into the hands of the chief priests and scribes. I. Treated like a Traitor Jesus as he was telling the disciples that his betrayer is at hand (Mark 14:42) in steps Judas. We know what

As we continue to this dark and depressing chapter, we see one of the depths of sorrow that Christ felt in his humiliation. As we have seen this chapter shows the faithlessness of Christ’s disciples. As Jesus’ earthly ministry comes to an end the disciples will betray, abandon and deny Christ. In today’s passage, we see the disciples' shortcomings and weakness, in the flesh. However, we see Christ’s sorrow and the realities of anxiety that is upon his human shoulders.

The chapter truly is depressing. One could almost forget what has happened over the last three years or so of Jesus' earthly ministry. The chapter is marked with betrayal, denial, abandonment, weakness, arrest, and false testimony. Jesus’ days were filled with conflict; however, these last days of his earthly ministry are dark moments in world history. These grievous sins are horrific for us to consider but in light of Jesus' ministry which sought to heal so many and teach the