Saturday, April 29, 2017

Mark Chapter 1 to 3:12

Outline
I.                  The Beginnings of Jesus' Ministry (1:1-13)
A.    His Forerunner (1:1-8)
                       II.         Jesus' Ministry in Galilee (1:14;6:29)
    • Early Galilean Ministry (1:14;3:12)
      1. Call of the first disciples (1:14-20)
      2. Miracles in Capernaum (1:21-34)
      3. Preaching and healing in Galilee (1:35-45)
      4. Ministry in Capernaum (2:1-22)
      5. Sabbath controversy (2:23;3:12)
    • Later Galilean Ministry (3:13;6:29)
      1. Choosing the 12 apostles (3:13-19)
      2. Teachings in Capernaum (3:20-35)
      3. Parables of the kingdom (4:1-34)
      4. Calming the Sea of Galilee (4:35-41)
      5. Healing a demon-possessed man (5:1-20)
      6. More Galilean miracles (5:21-43)
      7. Unbelief in Jesus' hometown (6:1-6)
      8. Six apostolic teams preach and heal in Galilee (6:7-13)
      9. King Herod's reaction to Jesus' ministry (6:14-29)
                                       III.         Strategic Withdrawals from Galilee (6:30;9:29)
    • To the Eastern Shore of the Sea of Galilee (6:30-52)
    • To the Western Shore of the Sea (6:53;7:23)
    • To Syrian Phoenicia (7:24-30)
    • To the Region of the Decapolis (7:31;8:10)
    • To the Vicinity of Caesarea Philippi (8:11-30)
    • To the Mount of Transfiguration (8:31;9:29)
IV.         Final Ministry in Galilee (9:30-50)
  1. Jesus' Ministry in Judea and Perea (ch. 10)
VI.         The Passion of Jesus (chs. 11-15)

VII.         The Resurrection of Jesus (ch. 16)

Mark 1
1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began
2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written: “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way.
3 He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD ’s coming! Clear the road for him!’ ”
4 This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.
5 All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
6 His clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
7 John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals.
8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”
9 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River.
10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
12 The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness,
13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.
14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News.
15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
16 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living.
17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
18 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets.
20 He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.
21 Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach.
22 The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.
23 Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit began shouting,
24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
25 Jesus cut him short. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered.
26 At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.
27 Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!”
28 The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.
29 After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home.
30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away.
31 So he went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them.
32 That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus.
33 The whole town gathered at the door to watch.
34 So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.
35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.
36 Later Simon and the others went out to find him.
37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”
39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.
40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”
42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.
43 Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning:
44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”
45 But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.


Mark 2
1 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home.
2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them,
3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.
4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.
5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves,
7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?
9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’?
10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said,
11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”
13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him.
14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.
15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)
16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum? ”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
18 Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?”
19 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them.
20 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
21 “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.
22 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”
23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat.
24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
25 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”
27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.
28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”


Mark 3
1 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand.
2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.”
4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.
5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!
6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.
7 Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea,
8 Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.
9 Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him.
10 He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him.
11 And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!”
12 But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.

Friday, April 28, 2017

Summary of the Gospel of Mark

Mark, The Book of
Summary of the Gospel of Mark
This summary of the Gospel of Mark provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Gospel of Mark.
Author
Although there is no direct internal evidence of authorship, it was the unanimous testimony of the early church that this Gospel was written by John Mark ("John, also called Mark," Ac 12:12,2515:37). The most important evidence comes from Papias (c. a.d. 140), who quotes an even earlier source as saying: (1) Mark was a close associate of Peter, from whom he received the tradition of the things said and done by the Lord; (2) this tradition did not come to Mark as a finished, sequential account of the life of our Lord, but as the preaching of Peter -- preaching directed to the needs of the early Christian communities; (3) Mark accurately preserved this material. The conclusion drawn from this tradition is that the Gospel of Mark largely consists of the preaching of Peter arranged and shaped by Mark (see note on Ac 10:37).
John Mark in the NT
It is generally agreed that the Mark who is associated with Peter in the early non-Biblical tradition is also the John Mark of the NT. The first mention of him is in connection with his mother, Mary, who had a house in Jerusalem that served as a meeting place for believers (Ac 12:12). When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from Jerusalem after the famine visit, Mark accompanied them (Ac 12:25). Mark next appears as a "helper" to Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Ac 13:5), but he deserted them at Perga in Pamphylia (see map, p. 2273) to return to Jerusalem (Ac 13:13). Paul must have been deeply disappointed with Mark's actions on this occasion, because when Barnabas proposed taking Mark on the second journey, Paul flatly refused, a refusal that broke up their working relationship (Ac 15:36-39). Barnabas took Mark, who was his cousin (Col 4:10), and departed for Cyprus. No further mention is made of either of them in the book of Acts. Mark reappears in Paul's letter to the Colossians written from Rome. Paul sends a greeting from Mark and adds: "You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him" (Col 4:10; see Phm 24, written about the same time). At this point Mark was apparently beginning to win his way back into Paul's confidence. By the end of Paul's life, Mark had fully regained Paul's favor (see 2Ti 4:11 and note).
Date of Composition
Some, who hold that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a major source, have suggested that Mark may have been composed in the 50s or early 60s. Others have felt that the content of the Gospel and statements made about Mark by the early church fathers indicate that the book was written shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. See essay and chart, p. 1943.
Place of Origin
According to early church tradition, Mark was written "in the regions of Italy" (Anti-Marcionite Prologue) or, more specifically, in Rome (Irenaeus; Clement of Alexandria). These same authors closely associate Mark's writing of the Gospel with the apostle Peter. The above evidence is consistent with (1) the historical probability that Peter was in Rome during the last days of his life and was martyred there, and (2) the Biblical evidence that Mark also was in Rome about the same time and was closely associated with Peter (see 2Ti 4:111Pe 5:13, where the word "Babylon" may be a cryptogram for Rome; see also Introduction to 1 Peter: Place of Writing).
Recipients
The evidence points to the church at Rome, or at least to Gentile readers. Mark explains Jewish customs (7:2-415:42), translates Aramaic words (3:175:417:11,3415:22,34) and seems to have a special interest in persecution and martyrdom (8:34-3813:9-13) -- subjects of special concern to Roman believers (and to Peter as well; cf. 1 Peter). A Roman destination would explain the almost immediate acceptance of this Gospel and its rapid dissemination.
Occasion and Purpose
Since Mark's Gospel is traditionally associated with Rome, it may have been occasioned by the persecutions of the Roman church in the period c. a.d. 64-67. The famous fire of Rome in 64 -- probably set by Nero himself but blamed on Christians -- resulted in widespread persecution. Even martyrdom was not unknown among Roman believers. Mark may be writing to prepare his readers for such suffering by placing before them the life of our Lord. There are many references, both explicit and veiled, to suffering and discipleship throughout his Gospel (see 1:12-133:22,308:34-3810:30,33-34,4513:8-13).

Emphases
  1. The cross. Both the human cause (12:1214:1-215:10) and the divine necessity (8:319:31;10:33-34) of the cross are emphasized by Mark.
  2. Discipleship. Special attention should be paid to the passages on discipleship that arise from Jesus' predictions of his passion (8:34 -- 9:1; 9:35 -- 10:31; 10:42 -- 45).
  3. The teachings of Jesus. Although Mark records far fewer actual teachings of Jesus than the other Gospel writers, there is a remarkable emphasis on Jesus as teacher. The words "teacher," "teach" or "teaching," and "Rabbi" are applied to Jesus in Mark 39 times.
  4. The Messianic secret. On several occasions Jesus warns his disciples or others to keep silent about who he is or what he has done (see 1:34,44 and notes; 3:125:437:368:309:9).
  5. Son of God. Although Mark empasizes the humanity of Jesus (see 3:56:6,31,347:348:12;10:1411:12), he does not neglect his deity (see 1:1,113:115:79:712:1-1113:3215:39).
Special Characteristics
Mark's Gospel is a simple, succinct, unadorned, yet vivid account of Jesus' ministry, emphasizing more what Jesus did than what he said. Mark moves quickly from one episode in Jesus' life and ministry to another, often using the adverb "immediately" (see note on 1:12). The book as a whole is characterized as "The beginning of the gospel" (1:1). The life, death and resurrection of Christ comprise the "beginning," of which the apostolic preaching in Acts is the continuation.

Outline
I.                  The Beginnings of Jesus' Ministry (1:1-13)
A.    His Forerunner (1:1-8)
                       II.         Jesus' Ministry in Galilee (1:14;6:29)
    • Early Galilean Ministry (1:14;3:12)
      1. Call of the first disciples (1:14-20)
      2. Miracles in Capernaum (1:21-34)
      3. Preaching and healing in Galilee (1:35-45)
      4. Ministry in Capernaum (2:1-22)
      5. Sabbath controversy (2:23;3:12)
    • Later Galilean Ministry (3:13;6:29)
      1. Choosing the 12 apostles (3:13-19)
      2. Teachings in Capernaum (3:20-35)
      3. Parables of the kingdom (4:1-34)
      4. Calming the Sea of Galilee (4:35-41)
      5. Healing a demon-possessed man (5:1-20)
      6. More Galilean miracles (5:21-43)
      7. Unbelief in Jesus' hometown (6:1-6)
      8. Six apostolic teams preach and heal in Galilee (6:7-13)
      9. King Herod's reaction to Jesus' ministry (6:14-29)
                                       III.         Strategic Withdrawals from Galilee (6:30;9:29)
    • To the Eastern Shore of the Sea of Galilee (6:30-52)
    • To the Western Shore of the Sea (6:53;7:23)
    • To Syrian Phoenicia (7:24-30)
    • To the Region of the Decapolis (7:31;8:10)
    • To the Vicinity of Caesarea Philippi (8:11-30)
    • To the Mount of Transfiguration (8:31;9:29)
IV.         Final Ministry in Galilee (9:30-50)
  1. Jesus' Ministry in Judea and Perea (ch. 10)
VI.         The Passion of Jesus (chs. 11-15)

VII.         The Resurrection of Jesus (ch. 16)