GOSPEL OF MARK 1-8

9 During this time, Jesus traveled south from his hometown of Nazareth (a village near the Sea of Galilee) to the place along the Jordan River where John was carrying out his ministry of baptism (probably just north of the Dead Sea on the eastern side of the Jordan River). There Jesus was baptized by John. 10 As Jesus was rising out of the water, he saw heaven open and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the manner of (or like) a dove. 11 He heard a voice from heaven and it said, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Memory Verse)

12 Then the Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the nearby wilderness. 13 He remained in the desolate region alone for forty days (a traditional period for serious spiritual preparation for a mission). There he was put to the test by the tempter who people call by the name of Satan (a Greek transliteration for a Hebrew word meaning "adversary"). Jesus was alone except for the wild animals and the angels who ministered to him.

14 After John the Baptist had been arrested and then imprisoned, Jesus returned to the region of Galilee, preaching the good news about the kingdom of God. 15 He proclaimed, "The fullness of time has arrived; the kingdom of God is nearly here. Repent (change your lives) and believe in the Good News!"

16 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee (a freshwater lake in northeast Palestine, 13 miles long and 8 miles wide, known for its prosperous fishing industry), Jesus saw two fishermen, Simon and Simon's brother, Andrew, casting their nets into the waters. 17 Jesus called out to them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of me." (Memory Verse) 18 They immediately left their fishing business and followed Him, becoming his disciples.

19 Further along the Galilean coast, Jesus came upon James and John, the sons of a man named Zebedee. These two fishermen were sitting in their boats, mending their nets. 20 Jesus called them as well to follow him. And immediately they left their father Zebedee and his servants to also become disciples of Jesus.

21 Jesus and his disciples journeyed on to Capernaum (a fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee). On the Sabbath (the weekly holy day of rest) Jesus went to teach in the synagogue (local places of worship for the Jews established after the destruction of Solomon's Temple). 22 The members of the synagogue were deeply impressed with both his teaching and the authoritative manner with which he taught, in a manner far different than the scribes (the Biblical scholars of Jesus' time).

23 Just then a man with an unclean spirit appeared in the synagogue. 24 He cried out, "Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus' hometown), what are you going to do to us? Are you going to destroy us? I know who you are, Jesus of Nazareth - you are the Holy One of God." 25 But Jesus sternly challenged him, "Be silent! Come out of him!" 26 And with those words, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions, and then crying out with a loud cry, the unclean spirit left the man.

27 All those in the synagogue were astonished by they saw and they asked among themselves, "What is this new teaching and by what authority does he teach? And this power he has to cast out unclean spirits, even they obey him." 28 And with that event the fame of this teacher from Nazareth spread throughout the region of Galilee.

29 Immediately after leaving the synagogue, Jesus and the disciples went to the home of Peter and Andrew. 30 There they found Peter's mother-in-law (evidently Peter was married) in bed with a fever. They asked Jesus if he might be able to help her. 31 So Jesus took her by the hand and raised her up. And when he did, the fever left her and she then waited on those gathered.

32 After sunset, the people in town began bringing to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 Soon the whole town was gathered outside the home of Peter and Andrew. 34 Jesus healed many of the ill, and he cast out many demons. And Jesus did not allow the demons to speak for the demons knew who Jesus was.

35 Early the next morning before sunrise, Jesus left the house and went off to a private place so that he might have a quiet time of prayer. 36 Peter and the others went searching for him. 37 When they found him they said to him, "Everyone has been looking for you." 38 Jesus replied, "We need to be headed to other nearby towns, so that I may preach in those other places as well, for this is the purpose for my being here." 39 And so Jesus went to all the synagogues around Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.

40 Then a man suffering from leprosy knelt down before Jesus and said to him, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Jesus, moved by compassion, reached out and touched the leper, saying, "It is my will to do so. Be clean." 42 And immediately, the leprosy left the man and was made clean. 43, 44 Jesus gave him a stern command, "See that you tell no one of this, but go to the priest and offer the sacrifice that Moses' commanded (see Leviticus 14 for the elaborate procedure for proving a leper clean), as evidence to others of your having been made clean." 45 But instead the man went out and spoke freely about what had happened, spreading the news to the extent that Jesus could no longer be seen entering the city without drawing a crowd.

CHAPTER 2

1 Word spread that several days later Jesus had returned to the Galilean fishing community of Capernaum. 2 So a crowd gathered at the home where Jesus was staying, a crowd so great that a person could not even enter through the door. Jesus began speaking the word of God to them.

3 Then four men arrived carrying on a stretcher a paralyzed man. 4 Unable to enter through the door, they opened a hole in the roof and lowered the paralytic into the house. 5 Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven!" 6 In the crowd, there sat some scribes (Jewish scholars) who were debating among themselves about what Jesus had just said and done. 7 "Why does this Jesus say such things? Does he not know that these words amount to blasphemy (disrespecting the character of God, see Leviticus 24:14-16)? Only God can forgive sins!" 8 Jesus, sensing within his soul that these men were saying such things, turned and said to them, "Why this debate about what I have said and done? 9 Which would you say would be easier to do, to forgive this man his sins or to have him stand up and walk? 10,11 But to let you know that the Son of Man (a messianic title that Jesus often uses of himself, probably drawn from Daniel 7:13-14) has the authority to forgive sins here on earth, I now say to this paralytic man, 'Stand up and walk.' " 12 And immediately the man stood up in front of those gathered and then passing through the amazed crowd, returned to his own home. Those who witnessed this miracle began to praise God saying, "We have never seen anything like this before!"

13 The crowds then followed Jesus to the shore of the Galilee and there he taught them.

14 As Jesus walked along he came upon Levi (presumably Matthew) son of Alphaeus (possibly also the father of another apostle known as James the Less, see Mark 3:18) seated at the tax collector's station. Jesus said to him, "Follow me." And Levi (Matthew) left his station and followed him.

15 Later when Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Levi's home, many of the tax collectors and sinners were dining with them. Many of them had begun following Jesus as he walked and taught. 16 When the scribes of the Pharasaic tradition (a movement of progressive Jews who sought to rigorously apply the law to every life situation; the word "Pharisees" means "the separated ones") observed his eating with sinners and tax collectors, they began asking Jesus' disciples, "Why is your rabbi eating with such people?" 17 Overhearing these questions, Jesus spoke up and said, "It is not the healthy who need a physician but those who are ill. I do not come to call those who are already living godly lives (literally, the righteous), but those who are not living godly lives (literally, sinners)."

18 Disciples of John the Baptist and the members of the Pharisees who were observing a fast (a spiritual discipline of abstinence from food and/or water for a period of time, often related to a time of confession or a time seeking the direction from God), approached Jesus and asked, "Why are you not observing the fast as are we?" 19 Jesus replied, "When the bridegroom is present, do the groomsmen fast? As long as the groom is there, they cannot fast. 20 But there will come a time when the groom will no longer be with them; then they will fast."

21 Jesus then said, "No one repairs a torn gament by sewing an unshrunken patch on the old garment because the new patch will pull away from the old cloth, resulting in there being an even worse tear. 22 No one pours new wine into old wineskins because the fermenting wine will burst the old skins, spilling the wine and ruining the wineskins. No, a person puts new wine in new wineskins."

23 One Sabbath (the seventh day of the week, a holy day of rest see Exodus 20:8-11), Jesus and his disciples were walking through the grainfields. The disciples were picking some of the grain as they walked along. 24 Some Pharisees said to Jesus, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!" (yet read Deuteronomy 23:25 for a contrary opinion) 25 Then Jesus answered them by saying, "Have you not read what King David did when he and his men were hungry? (see I Samuel 31) 26 David entered the house of God in the time of the High Priest Abiathar (one of King David's top counselors ca. 1000 BC) and ate the holy bread sharing it with his men (see Exodus 25:30; 12 loaves of bread placed in the Temple, replaced each Sabbath), bread that is not suppose to be eaten by anyone but the priest (see Leviticus 24:5-9). 27 Jesus then said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Thus the Son of Man is Lord of all, even the Sabbath."

Chapter 3

1 Once again, Jesus entered a synagogue. There was present a man with a withered hand. 2 Many in attendance were watching to see if Jesus would heal this man though it was the Sabbath, hoping to find reason to accuse Jesus. 3 Jesus invited the man with the withered hand to come forward. 4 Jesus then said to the congregation, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath? And what would say, is it lawful to save life on the Sabbath or kill a life?" No one answered, they all sat silent. 5 Jesus gazed at them all with anger, filled with grief at their hardness of heart. He then said to man with the withered hand, "Stretch out to me your hand." And when the man did so, his hand had been restored to normal. 6 The Pharisees present stood up, left the synagogue and immediately began making plans with the Herodians (aristocratic Jews, supportive of Herod Antipas, ruler of the Galilean region, often seen as a collaborator with the Roman occupation forces) as to how they might put an end to this Jesus.

7 Jesus and his disciples returned to the Sea of Galilee. A great number of Galileans followed them there, even a number of Judeans (the region to the south of which Jerusalem was a part), 8 including many from the city of Jerusalem. Among those who followed were also many from Idumea (a region to the southeast, beyond the Dead Sea), from the region beyond the Jordan River (a river running from the Sea of Galilee and then south ending in the Dead Sea), the region of Tye and Sidon (two Phoenician cities often mentioned together situated to the west of Galilee near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea). They all came because of the spreading news of what Jesus was doing.

9 So that the crowd would not press in on him, Jesus called for the disciples to ready a boat. 10 Because of the miraculous healings he had performed, large numbers of people with afflictions would rush toward Jesus, trying to touch him. 11 Whenever those people afflicted with an unclean spirit would see Jesus, they would collapse and shout out, "You are the Son of God!" 12 And Jesus would warn them not to tell this to others.

13 Jesus then proceeded up the mountain (probably one of the rising hills north of Galilee). There he called by name those whom he wanted to designate as his chosen disciples. 14 That day, Jesus appointed twelve of the followers (later known as apostles) to serve as his teaching assistants, to not only study with him but also to be sent forth as teachers of the message. 15 They were also given authority to cast out demons. 16,17 The twelve whom Jesus apponted were: Simon (also known as Peter, the name given to him by Jesus), James and John, the sons of Zebeddee (also known together as the Sons of Thunder, a name given to them by Jesus), 18 Andrew (the brother of Simon Peter), Philip (from the Galilean village of Bethsaida), Bartholomew (possibly another name for Nathanel from the village of Cana), Matthew (a name meaning "Gift of God", also known as Levi, a tax collector), Thomas (a Hebrew name meaning "twin" ), James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, and Simon the Cananaean (the Gospel of Luke refers to him as Simon the Zealot) and 19 the disciple who betrayed Jesus, Judas Iscariot (from the town of Kerioth, a town far to the south of Galilee in a region south even of Jerusalem).

20 Then Jesus returned from the mountain and went into the house for a meal. Hearing that Jesus had returned, the crowd gathered once more, calling for Jesus t come out, so much so that Jesus and the disciples could not eat. 21 When Jesus' family heard of all this, they went to take Jesus into their protection, for the people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind!" (This passage is quite unclear, an alternative reading might be, "they went to take control of Jesus, saying, 'He is beside himself').

22 Some scribes from Jerusalem (capital of Judea and site of Herod's Temple, some fifty miles to the south of Capernaum) declared "He is possessed by Beezebul (a name used in the time of Jesus to refer to Satan, probably derived from the name of a local Canaanite god; literaly meaning 'Lord of Flies'; the name is not found in the Old Testament and rarely in the New Testament only in this and one other occasion) and because of this he is able to cast out demons. 23 Jesus called out to these scribes but he did so in parables (teaching stories). He said, "How can Satan cast out Satan (a letter for letter of the Hebrew word meaing "adverary")? 24 "If a kingdom is divided against itself, the kingdom will not stand; or 25 if a royal house is divided against itself, that royal house will not stand. 26 Thus if Satan is going against himself and is thus divided, he cannot stand and he will be destroyed. 27 Can anyone enter a strong man's house and steal his property without first tying up the strong man? It is only if the strong man is bound can that house be plundered. 28 I tell you the truth when I say that people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies (expressions of disrepect for God) they may speak, 29 but whoever utters such disrespect against the Holy Spirit can never experience forgiveness, but is guilty of a sin that is eternal." 30 This Jesus said because the scribes had said, "Jesus must have an unclean spirit within him."

31 Then the mother and brothers of Jesus arrived at the house. They sent for Jesus to come out. 32 Word was passed up through the crowd, and so some there said to Jesus, "Your family is outside and they are asking for you." 33 To this Jesus answered, "Who are the members of my family (literally, mother, brother and sister)?" 34,35 And then as he looked at those gathered around him, Jesus said, "Here are the members of my family, those who do the will of God."

Chapter 4

1 Jesus returned to teaching by the Sea of Galilee. The crowds were so large that he had to teacht from a boat anchored in the water while the people stood along the shoreline. 2 He was teaching the people through parables, and among the many teachings was this story. 3 Jesus said, "Please hear what I have to say. A farmer went out to sow seed in his field. 4 As he was sowing the seed (farmers in that day sowed using their hands in a wide sweeping motion known as broad cast), some the seed fell near the path, this seed the birds ate. 5 Some seed fell on the shallow soil found on the rocky ground, this seed, having such little soil in which to take root, started to grow 6 but when the noonday sun beat on it, it soon withered away. 7 Some seed ended up among the thorny weeds, and the thorns choked the plants, yielding no crop. 8 But some of the seed fell into good soil, and this seed grew, increasing into an abundant crop, yielding thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold." 9 Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Memory Verse)

10 After the crowds left, the twelve disciples and a number of his followers, asked Jesus about the parables. 11 Jesus said to them, "To you has been provided the mysteries of the realm (or kingdom) of God, but for those in the crowds, I must couch these mysteries in parables, so that while they may see they do not perceive, and while they may hear they do not understand, otherwise they might repent and be forgiven."(these same words are used by the prophet Jeremiah and the prophet Ezekiel)

13 Then Jesus said to these disciples, "If you cannot understand this parable, how will you be able to understand any of the parables? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 The seed that falls along the path, they hear the words, but then Satan (the Deceiver) comes and snatches away the truth. 16 In a similar way, the seed that falls on the rocky ground, they are those who quickly receive the word with joy; 17 but having no depth of soil in which the word to take root, when hard times come, they fall away. 18 Others are like the seed that was cast among the thorny weeds, they are those people who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of this world and the lusts for worldly things crowd in and choke off the truth, and word never bears fruit. 20 And those who are like the seed that was sown into the fertile soil, they are those who not heard the word, but also accepted the word into their lives, and then yielded a bountiful harvest, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

21 Jesus then said to them, "One does not take a lamp (probably referring to a small oil lamp that is carried in the palm of the hand) and then keeps it hidden under a bushel basket or hidden beneath a bed. No, one places the lamp on a lampstand (a small shelf usually placed higher on a wall allowing for a wider cast of an oil lamp's light). 22 For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed; nor are there any secrets that will not be brought into the light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let that person hear what I have said." 24 He then added, "Take serious note of what you have heard. By your standard of measure, it will be measured to you, and beyond that, even more will be given to you. 25 For to the person who already has, more will be given; and from the person who has nothing, even that will be taken away."

26 Jesus also said, "The realm of God is like a farmer who casts seed into the soil. 27 He then goes to bed and rises in the morning, day after day, and while he does so, the seed sprouts and grows - how this all happens, the farmer does not know. 28 The soil produces the crops in its own way. First, the blade appears and then the first stalk and finally the full head of grain. 29 It is only when the crop itself has reached its maturity does the farmer come to harvest the grain."

30 Jesus also taught the people with this parable. "How might we imagine the realm of God, by what parable might we use to explain it? 31 The realm of God could be likened to a small, mustard seed. It is smaller that all the other seeds, yet when it is full grown it becomes larger than all the other plants, it grows large branches, so large that even the birds find shade within her."

33 Jesus taught the people using many such parables, each hearing their meaning as they were able. 34 When teaching publicly to the crowds, he used only parables, but in private settings, he explained to his disciples their meaning.

35 When evening came on that day, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's travel over to the other side of the lake (the Sea of Galilee)." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, Jesus and the disciples left in boats. 37 While they were crossing a storm set in with gale force winds causing the waves to break over the boat filling the boat with water. 38 Jesus was asleep on the bed roll located in the rear of the boat. The disciples woke him, shouting, "Rabbi, we are perishing, don't you care?" 39 Jesus rose from his sleep, shouted into the wind, "Quiet! Be calm! (traditionally,"Peace! Be still!") " And with that, the winds subsided and the sea became completely calm. 40 Jesus then asked his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you have such little faith?" 41 Becoming fearful, the disciples began saying among themselves, "Who is this man that even the wind and the waves obey him?"

Chapter 5

1 After the storm, they arrived at Gerasa (a town on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee) 2 Just as Jesus disembarked, a man with an unclean spirit came running out of the nearby cemetary and up to Jesus. 3,4 It was reported that this man had been living among the tombs. And even though people had tried to restrain him with chains, he had broken free of them and no one had the physical strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day, this man would continually go about screaming, in the tombs and in the mountains. He would cut himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus, this man ran up to Jesus and knelt down before him. 7 The man with the unclean spirit then shouted, "Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what are you here to do with me? I plead with you, do not torment me!" 8 While the man was screaming this, Jesus was saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of this man!"

9 Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" The man answered, "My name is Legion; for we are many." 10 And then the man begged Jesus not to cast them out of the land. 11 Nearby was a herd of pigs grazing on a bluff overlooking the sea. 12 The demons within the man then begged of Jesus, "Send us into the pigs so that we might enter into them." 13 This Jesus allowed. The unclean spirits came out of the man and entered the herd of pigs. The herd then ran off the bluff and into the sea where they drowned, about two thousand of them. 14 Those herding the pigs ran off and reported what had happened. People came from the city and the countryside to see what had happened. 15 When they arrived, they found Jesus sitting with the man who had been tormented by the legion of unclean spirits, only now the man was clothed and in his right mind. This frightened many who came. 16 Those who had witnessed the events share with these people all that had happened with this man and the herd of pigs. 17 Then many of these people begged Jesus to leave this region of the country. 18 As Jesus returned to the boat, the cleansed man kept asking Jesus if he might be allowed to go with him. 19 Jesus would not allow him to come, but did say to him, "Go home to your people and tell them about the great things that the Lord has done for you. Tell them how the Lord had mercy on you." 20 The man then returned home and began to tell everyone throughout region of Decapolis (a region reaching to the south and east that, at the time, included ten cities - "deca- polis") what Jesus had done for him. All were amazed at the testimony that he shared.

21 When had once again sailed across the Sea of Galilee, another large crowd assembled to meet him, thus Jesus remained on the seashore. 22 A man named Jairus, a officer of the local synagogue, approached Jesus and fell at his feet. 23 The man pleaded with Jesus, "My young daughter is near death. Please, come and lay hands on her that she might be healed and live." 24 So Jesus went with the man, and a large, pressing crowd surrounded them as they made their way.

25 There was a woman who had been suffering with hemorraging for twelve years, 26 in spite of spending all her money on serious treatment by various physicians. None of the treatment was helping, in fact, her condition had been worsening. 27 When she heard the Jesus was nearby, she made her way to the crowd, reached out and touched Jesus' cloak. 28 She thought, "If I could just touch his cloak, I will be healed." 29 Immediately she was healed, the hemorraging stopped. 30, Jesus, sensing that power had flowed out of him, turned around and asked the crowd, "Who is it who touched me?"

31 His disciples answered, "Look at this crowd that is pressing in on us, and you ask, 'Who touched me?'" 32 But Jesus looked at the woman who had touched him. 33 Trembling over what had just happened to her, she knelt down before Jesus and confessed what she had done. 34 Jesus then said to her, "Daughter, it is your faith that has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your condition."

35 While he was talking to the woman, people arrived from the Jairus' house. They reported to Jairus, "Your daughter has died. Do not trouble the Teacher." 36 Overhearing their report, Jesus said to Jairus, "Do not be afraid any longer. Only believe." 37 Jesus did not allow the crowd to go with him, excepting Peter, James and his brother John. 38 When they arrived at Jairus' house, Jesus saw the people wailing and weeping, causing a great commotion. 39 As he entered, he said to the people, "Why are you in such distress? The little girl is not dead, she merely sleeping."

40 The people in the house began laughing at Jesus. He then removed them from the house, and then with only the girl's parents and the disciples he had brought with him, Jesus entered the little girl's room. 41 Taking the child's hand, Jesus said to her, "Talitha kum! which translated means, "Little girl, arise." 42 The girl immediately stood and walked. She was twelve years of age. And all were amazed at what had happened. 43 Jesus then gave strict orders that no one should be told about what had happened. He then instructed the family to give her something to eat.

Chapter 6

1 Jesus left that town and then journeyed with his disciples to his hometown of Nazareth. 2 On the Sabbath, Jesus went to teach in the synagogue. Many of those there were amazed his teaching, saying, "Where did this teacher learn of such things, and what is the nature of this wisdom that he brings? And what of these miracles he accomplishes with the touch of his hands? 3 Yet, is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of Joses and Jacob, Simon and Judas? Do not his sisters live among us?" Many were offended by his teaching. 4 Jesus then said to them, "A prophet is not without honor in many lands, but in his own country, he is seldom honored." Except for a few healings through the laying on of hands, Jesus could not perform many miracles there in Nazareth. 6 He was disturbed by their unbelief, but still he went from village to village, teaching and preaching.

7 Jesus then sent the twelve disciples out in teams of two, giving them authority to cast out unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to carry nothing with them on their journey except for their wooden, walking staffs (often used for the fending off of wild animals and robbers) 9 and their sandals. They were to carry no bread, no knapsack, no money, not even an extra tunic. 10 Jesus gave them these instructions, "Whenever anyone offers you accommodations in their home, stay there until it is time for you to leave that village. 11 And if there is any place that will not receive you or listen to you, as you leave that village, simply shake the dust off your sandals and journey on. There rejection of you says more about them than about you." 12 So the disciples then went out preaching a message of repentance. 13 They cast out many unclean spirits and through the anointing with oil, healed many people.

14 As Jesus' fame grew, King Herod took notice of him (Herod Antipas, the Hebrew ruler of the region of Galilee, more or less, a puppet regime of the Roman occupation). The rumor was going around that John the Baptist had risen from the dead and this was why Jesus could perform such miracles. 15 Others were saying that Jesus must be the prophet Elijah (a prophet of the 9th century B.C. who was supposed to return before the coming of the Christ or Messiah). Still others were saying that Jesus must be a new prophet, like the prophets of old. (A prophet is one who speaks on behalf of God, a bringer of God's word to the people.) 16 When Kng Herod heard of such claims, he began to worry that John the Baptist whom he had beheaded had somehow risen from the dead. 17,18 For one needs to remember that it was Herod who had arrrested John the Baptist and thrown him into prison. He had done so because John had been publicly confronted Herod about his adulterous marriage to Herodias, the wife of Herod's own brother, Philip.

19 Thus Herodias carried deep resentment toward John the Baptist and wanted her husband, Herod, to put John to death. 20 However, Herod was unwilling to do so because he feared John's reputaton as a holy and righteous man. So Herod protected him. It was also true that although Herod was distressed by John's criticism, Herod was still impressed by the power of his preaching. 21 But then one day, on the occasion of Herod's birthday banquet, with all the military officers, all the government leaders, and many of the leading citizens of Galilee present, 22 the daughter of Herodias danced for King Herod and his guests. Because the king was so pleased with her dancing, he made a public promise to her, "Ask me for whatever you desire and I will grant it to you. Anything ... up to half my kingdom." 24,25 After consulting with her mother, Herodias, she returned and asked for the head of John the Baptist on a plate. 26 This demand troubled Herod causing him to regret his ever making such a brash and foolish promise. But because he had made his promise in front of all these important guests, he was unwilling to refuse her demand. 27 He then called for the executioner and commanded him to return with John's head. And the executioner went and did so, 28 bringing back John's head on a plate, giving it to Herodias' daughter who in turn, gave it to her mother. 29 When they received word of John's death, his disciples came and placed his body in a tomb.

30 The apostles returned from their preaching missions and reported back to Jesus about all that they had done and taught during their time away. 31 Jesus then said to them, "Come, let us go off by ourselves to a quiet place, and there we will rest for awhile." There were still many people making so many demands on Jesus and the disciples that they couldn't even find time to eat. 32 So they left by boat and retreated to a private place.

33 People noticed Jesus and his disciples were setting sail across the lake and word quicky spread that he must be resuming his ministry of healing and teaching. So they came from all the nearby villages, travelling on foot to where Jesus and the discples were sailing. 34 When Jesus went ashore, he was met by a crowd numbering in the thousands. He felt compassion for these people, for they seemed to him to be like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them. 35 As it grew late in the day, the disciples came up to Jesus and said, "Since we are here in this remote area and the hour is late, 36 we ought to send them off to the nearby villages so that they might gather provisions for the night." 37 But Jesus answered, "No. I believe we ought to provide food for them." 38 Then he asked the disciples, "Go and see how many loaves of bread we have." The disciples returned to report that they had only five loaves of bread and two fish. 39, 40 Jesus then directed the people to be seated on the grass in groups of fifties and hundreds. 41 Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish and looking toward heaven he offered a prayer of blessing. He then broke the bread and gave it to his disciples to share with the people. He did the same with fish. 42 All ate and were satisfied. 43 When they collected the leftover bread and fish, the disciples ended up with twelve baskets full. 44 The men there that day numbered five thousand.

45 Jesus then directed his disciples to take the boat over to Bethsaida (a town on the northern shore of Galilee, just east of Capernaum) while he finished teaching the crowd. 46 After he sent the people away, Jesus returned to the hills to pray. 47 When nightfall came, the boat was still on the waters of the Galilee while Jesus was walking along the shore. 48 Jesus noticed that they were struggling with the oars for the wind was against them. Later that night, sometime between three and six o'clock in the predawn morning, Jesus appeared before the disciples as if he were walking past them on the water. 49, 50 Thinking that they were seeing a ghost, the disciples began crying out in fear. Jesus anwered back to them, "Take courage; do not be afraid; it is I." (Memory Verse) 51 Then Jesus got into the boat, and when he did the wind stopped. The disciples were overwhelmed with wonder, 52 because they had not gained any understanding from the miracle of the loaves, their minds not able to comprehend it's meaning. (literally, their hearts were hardened).

Chapter 7

1 Some members of the Pharisees and some scribes traveled from Jerusalem to the region of Galilee to see Jesus. 2 They had observed that some of Jesus' disciples were eating bread without first performing the ritual of handwashing. 3 Devout Jews of that day were very careful about keeping the traditions that they had inherited from their elders, such as these rules of handwashing. 4 Whenever they came in from the marketplace, they would never eat until they had first performed the cleansing rituals including the ritual of washing the kitchen utensils. 5 So these Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus why his disciples did not observe this tradition of the elders. 6 Jesus responded by saying, "The prophet Isaiah was so right when he spoke about hypocrites like yourselves, when he said, 'These people (or this people) honor me merely with their words, their hearts (or their heart) are (is) far away from me. 7 They worship me, the Lord, in vain, teaching as divine doctrine, the precepts of men.' (see Isaiah 29:13) 8 You are so careful about observing these man-made traditions, but you neglect to keep the commandments of God."

9 Jesus then went on to say, "Yes, you have become experts at avoiding the commandments of God while take such pride in keeping all your traditions. 10 Moses (known as the great Lawgiver, traditionally known as the writer of the first five books of the Old Testament) said, 'Honor your father and mother (see Exodus 20:12)' and he also said, 'Anyone who speaks evil of their father or mother shall be put to death (see Exodus 21:17).' 11, 12 But you scribes and Pharisees go about saying, "If a man says to his father or mother, whatever I have that would support you is now declared as Corban (resources designated for future offering to the Temple thus making it unavailable for support of needy parents). 13 By using your tradition in this way, you end up disobeying the word of God. You use so many of your traditions in this way."

14 Jesus once more resumed teaching the crowd. He began his teaching by saying, "I need all of you to listen carefully and understand what I am about to say. 15 It is not what goes into a person that makes a person unclean, but rather what comes out of the person. 16 If anyone has ears to ear, let him hear." 17 After Jesus had finished speaking to the crowd and had returned to the house, the disciples began asking him about this teaching (literally, parable ... but it must be used here in the broadest sense of the word). 18 Jesus answered by saying to them, "Do you also not understand? Do you not understand that whatever goes into a person from the outside does not make him unclean, 19 because such things do not enter the heart, but go into the stomach, and eventually are eliminated from the body. (By saying this Jesus was declaring that all food was clean!) (this insertion sounds like later commentary by Mark or a later editor) 20 But what makes a person unclean is what comes out of a person's life. 21 For it is from within the person's heart that sins originate, sins such as evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thievery, murder, 22 even such things as envious desire, deceit, jealousy, pride and foolish living . 23 All this evil starts in a person's heart and that is what defiles a person."

24 Jesus then traveled to the region of Tyre (the coastal region to the northwest of Galilee, known for its maritime trade). He wanted to quietly enter town, but word quickly spread. 25,26 A Gentile (non-Jewish) woman, a Syrophoenician (probably of Canaanite descent from the coastal region of ancient Phoenicia), fell came and fell down at the feet of Jesus. She had brought her young daughter who was afflicted with an unclean spirit. The mother begged Jesus to rid her dughter of this demon.27 To this woman Jesus said, "The children must be cared for first, for the it is not right for the children's bread to be given to the dogs." 28 But the woman appeaed to Jesus, "This may be true, Lord, but even the dogs may gather the crumbs that fall from the table." 29 To this, Jesus then said, "Because you have answered in such a way, go, for the demon has left your daughter." 30 And so the woman returned to her home and she found her daughter lying in bed, free of the demon.

31 Jesus then left the region of Tyre and traveled through Sidon to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, to the region known as the Decapolis (Ten Cities) 32 It was in that region that a deaf man who had great difficulty speaking was brought to Jesus to be healed through the laying on of hands. 33 Jesus took the man away from the crowd so that he and the man might have some privacy. Jesus then placed his fingers in the man's ears. He then, using the moisture of his own mouth, Jesus touched the man's tongue. Then Jesus called out, "Ephphata!" which when translated [from the Aramaic] means "Be opened!" 35 With that the man's ears were opened and his speech impediment was no more, enabling him to speak clearly. 36 Jesus instructed the people to tell no one. But the more Jesus asked them to not talk to others about what had happened, the more people they told. 37 Because they were so amazed, they would say, "He has done all things well. He causes the deaf to hear and the must to speak."

Chapter 8

1 Not long after this, another large crowd had gathered. Once again, they had nothing to eat. Jesus said to his disciples, "I have compassion or these people. They have been here for three days and now have nothing to eat. 3 I fear that if we send them back to their villages now, they will be too weak for the journey. Many of them have come from a far distance." 4 His disciples said to Jesus, "Where we can we possibly find enough bread out here in the countryside to feed all these people?" 5 Jesus then asked his disciples, "How much bread do you have?" They answered, "We have but seven loaves." 6 Jesus then directed the crowd to be seated on the ground. He then took the seven loaves of bread, gave thanks and broke the bread into pieces. He then gave the bread to his disciples who in turn distributed the bread among the people. 7 Jesus did the same with a few small fish. 8 All ate and were filled, leaving seven baskets filled of leftover bread. 9 There were about four thousand people there that day. Jesus then sent them on their way. 10 Jesus and his disciples then boarded the boat and set sail for the region of Dalmanutha (a now unknown location, possibly Magdala, at the center of the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the site used in Matthew's version of this story, Matthew 15:32-39)

11 Some representatives of the Pharisees came up to Jesus to argue with him, testing him by demanding a sign from heaven. 12 Sighing deeply from within, Jesus asked, "Why does this generation always ask for a sign from heaven? Listen to me! No sign will be provided this generation." 13 Jesus then walked away from them and headed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

14 The disciples neglected to pack provisions in the boat, leaving them with only one loaf of bread. 15 Jesus said to his disciples, "Beware of the leaven (or yeast) of the Pharisees and the leaven of the Herodian monarchy." 16 This caused the disciples to worry among themselves about their failure to provide bread for the journey. 17 Jesus, sensing their concern, said to them, "Why are you expressing concern about the fact that you have not enough bread? Do you not yet understand? 18 You have eyes, but do not see. You have ears, but do not hear. And have you forgotten? 19 I took the five loaves and fed the five thousand, and how many baskets of bread were leftover?" The disciples answered, "There were twelve." 20 "And when I took the seven loaves and fed the four thousand, how many baskets of bread were leftover?" They answered, "Seven." "And yet you fail to understand!"

22 They then arrived at the village of Bethsaida. A blind man was brought to Jesus so that Jesus might place on him his healing touch. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, Jesus led the man out out of the village. Jesus then spit in his eyes and touched him with the laying on of hands. Jesus then asked the man, "Can you see anything?" 24 The man looked about and said, "I see men walking around as trees." 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on the man's eyes once more. This time the man could see clearly. 26 Jesus directed the man to go directly to his home and to not return to the village.

27 Jesus and his disciples then journeyed on to Caesarea Philippi (a village well north of the Sea of Galilee, situated over 1100 above sea level, an ancient worship center, now named after a Roman ruler). As they travelled, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28 They gave a variety of answers, "John the Baptist", "Elijah", "One of the prophets." 29 Jesus then asked, "But who do you say that I am?" (Memory Verse) Peter spoke up and said, "You are the Christ (or in the Hebrew, the Messiah)." 30 Jesus then cautioned the disciples to tell no one of this. 31 He then began teaching them that the Son of Man (Jesus' preferred title for himself) must suffer many things, be rejected by the religios leaders, be executed, and after three days, rise from the dead. 32 Jesus told this to his disciples openly and clearly. Peter then took Jesus aside and began to chastise him for saying such things. 33 But Jesus, as he turned and gazed at the rest of his disciples, said harshly to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan (or adversary). You are not thinking as God is thinking; you are thinking as people of this earth think."

34 Jesus then called for the crowd to join him and his disciples. He said to all gathered, "If any one of you wants to follow me, you must deny your own wishes, take up the cross and then follow me. (Memory Verse) 35 For whoever hopes to save his (or her) life will lose it, but whoever gives up his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel will save it. (Memory Verse) 36 For what does a person profit if he or she would gain the whole world yet forfeit his or her own soul (in New Testament usage, soul refers to the whole person)? 37 For what will a person exchange for his or her own life? 38 Whoever is ashamed of me and what I teach before this spiritually compromised and sinful generation, the Son of Man will then be ashamed of him or her when he comes in the glory of His father and the angels of heaven."

1:1-8 "The Gospel begins here!" So declares John Mark, the author of this Good News story. For Mark, the story begins in the vision of ancient prophets, centuries ago. For Mark, he feels no need to tell of a birth in Bethlehem, no angelic proclamations, no virgin births or cosmic pre-existence. No, Mark sees the seeds of Christian Gospel in the expectations of revered prophets such as Malachi (5th century B.C.) and Isaiah (8th century B.C.). Both prophets were ministering in hard times, when foreign powers were exerting their control over the Hebrew people, a time much like the times of Jesus and John Mark. Those ancient prophets, those proclaimers of God's words, pointed to a Coming Day when a Messiah, an anointed one, a Deliverer, a Savior, would be sent to set the people free and to establish justice once more in the land. For Mark, Jesus was the embodiment of both the faithful expectation of a long-suffering people and the faithful promise of a just and righteous God. "We have been long waiting for a Messiah to come and Jesus proved to be that messiah; we have long been waiting for God to enter into this human circumstance we find ourselves, and Jesus proved to be that Presence of God in our earthly history."

And for Mark, the Good News story begins with a new prophet in the spirit of prophets such as Malachi and Isaiah, a man totally devoted to God, a preacher who called for people to change their ways, to ready themselves for a Great Change that was about to take place. His name was John, often identified as John the Baptist, so named for his emphasis on the ritual of baptism, washing away the old way of life so that one could begin a new way of life. He was a cousin of Jesus, born but a few months apart (see Luke 1). And as they were related by human kinship, so they were also related in their holy mission. John would bring new life with a washing with water; Jesus would bring new life with a washing with the Spirit of God, the life=breath of God. The baptism with water would be our human effort to live a new life; the baptism with the Spirit would be God's effort to help us live a new life.

1:9-13 Where did the Good News story begin? It began with the promises of God and the expectations of the prophets and the people, but the first event in story of Jesus' ministry begins with his baptism at the age of thirty at the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Mark has just emphasized that John's baptism was one for the purpose of changing the direction of one's life as one's sins were being forgiven by God. Now Jesus makes that fifty mile pilgrimage to experience that same baptism by John. What could be the purpose of this baptism for the sinless Jesus? Mark offers no explanation, but it cannot be denied that Jesus' life did take a dramatic change of direction at that moment. If nothing else, the baptism of Jesus was the signal to all that Life as we hadknown it was about to change.

As far as we know, Peter, Mark's primary source or his gospel, was not present at the baptism of Jesus. But quite possibly Peter's brother, Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist, witnessed this event (see John 1:35-42). When Mark wrote his Gospel, whose account of this baptism moment did he use? Of course, it could have been dictated to Mark by God's Spirit, but more naturally I sense that it may have been related to Mark by way of Simon Peter by way of Andrew.

The reference to "the heavens opening" may have been a mystical experience on the part of Jesus and/or it may have been the parting of the clouds letting the beams of sunshine to shine down upon the baptism scene. Or maybe both!

The reference to "the Spirit descending like a dove" may have been a descriptive of how gently the Spirit of God settled upon Christ's soul and/or it may have been the beautiful vignette of an actual dove settling upon the baptism scene. Or maybe both!

The reference to "the voice from heaven" may have been the mystical experience of Jesus as he hears the reassuring voice of His Divine Father and/or it may have been the reassuring awareness of men like John the Baptist and Andrew that surely this Jesus was the One who would come to be the divine, well-pleasing son of God, the newly anointed One, the messiah so long expected and so long awaited. Or maybe both!

All this reminds us that life can be experienced in either limited, "so-called realistic", earthly ways or in spiritually significant ways. This is how we experience events today and it was how people experienced life in the time of Christ.

Throughout the Bible, the number "forty" represented a full length of time. Moses was reported to have spent forty years in preparation for his mission of leading his people to the Promised Land. For forty years the Hebrew people wandered in the wilderness, being prepared for their building of a new nation. Jesus begins his ministry by a forty day period of serious spiritual retreat. He withdraws to his own thoughts, not to prove himself to God but possibly to prove himself to his own soul. Mark gives no account of what took place out there in the time of isolation and introspection (Matthew and Luke add the questions that Satan offers). Mark seems satisfied to simply report that Jesus takes the time to deal with the temptations that he will encounter.

1:14-20 The active ministry of Jesus appears to begin with the imprisonment of John the Baptist. It is possible that John's arrest signalled to Jesus that the time had come for his rise. John's mission had been to stir the people to readiness for the approach of a new king and kingdom; Jesus' mission was to announce that this new king and kingdom had finally arrived.

The fullness of time is the understanding that certain things must first come into place or come together before the ultimate moment can come into being. When speaking of Christ, this fullness of time refers to the history of heaven and the history of earth, the history of God and the history of humanity, arriving together at a certain hour of destiny. For the people of Palestine, they had long awaited a liberation from the Roman occupation. For most of the audience of John and Jesus, the good news of a coming kingdom of God meant the imminent return of liberty and justice.

The Sea of Galilee is nestled in the rolling hills of the northern region of Galilee. The coastline of this large, freshwater lake is for the most part rocky with an occasional stretch of clear beach scattered here and there. On these beaches, the professional fishermen would "dock" their fishing boats and dry their nets. As Jesus walked along the coast, he found two sets of brothers, Simon (later to be known as Peter) and Andrew, James and John the sons of Zebedee. It appears that Andrew and possibly John had already been disciples of John the Baptist. One could easily assume that Jesus was no stranger to these men. They all seemed to have been devout men before Jesus ever called them. We must consider the possibility that Jesus' call, "Follow Me," may have been more an anticipated call to action by John's designated successor than an out-of-the-blue invitation to follow some unknown itinerant preacher. They appear to have understood that when they left their fishing businesses that they were becoming students in a travelling rabbinical school led by a Rabbi (a Jewish teacher) named Jesus of Nazareth.

1:21-28 With the recruitment of the Galilean fishermen Andrew, Peter, James and John, Jesus appears to begin his public ministry. An early stop is the synagogue in Capernaum, a fishing village that would serve as the base of operations for Jesus' Galilean work.

The synagogue had been a creation of necessity dring a period of history when invading armies had destroyed the Jerusalem Temple and relocated to foreign lands a large share of the Judean population. The Jewish people would gather weekly in homes, shops, or designated buildings for the purpose of studying the Scriptures and lifting praise to God. As the Jewish people began to disperse throughout the Middle East and the Mediterrean region, the synagogue became more and more the centre of Jewish life, not Jerusalem and the Temple.

During the time of Jesus, the rulers in the line of Herod the Great were putting the finishing touches on a massive rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. In what many have interpreted as an effort to unify the Jewish population during the long occupation of their land by the Roman Empire, the Herods tried to restablish the ancient Temple practice, but now on a grand scale. This new Temple initiative was not universally embraced by the devout, it proved to be instead quite divisive and controversial. A sizeable portion of the Jewish constituency did not favor the burdensome cost of a project that, in their opinion, had not been ordained by God. And even as the Temple practice was being restored, the now long-established role of the synagogue was still of primary importance -- especially in the regions more distant from Jerusalem such as Galilee.

Apparently Jesus' style of teaching was of marked distinction from the style of the typical scribe. What distinguished Jesus' teaching, what gave it a more authoritative ring, we can only draw from his manner of teaching in the fields and marketplace. He seems to have avoided the mire of getting lost in the minutia of the Biblical text and was able to capture the spirit and essence of the Biblical truth through the use of story and metaphor. While the scribal style of the day was tangled in complexity, Jesus' teaching was presented in remarkable simplicity.

The belief in rather personal, demonic forces seems to have been quite prevalent at the time of Jesus. When we read the earlier Biblical history, we witness little of this demonic activity. In the synagogue, an agitated soul stands and interrupts the proceedings. The man's use of the second person plural "we"could be referring to the common understanding that numerous demons could reside within a person. Or the "we" could be referring to the many souls gathered in the synagogue. It may be insightful to ask if this ambiguity on the part of the author might not be so done by intention.

The import of this account seems to be to introduce the reality that the ministry of Jesus would be resistedand challenged by the forces of evil. And early on, Mark wants to demonstrate (and he will demonstrate it often!) that there is something about Jesus that casts evil out of the human soul and the human community.

Jesus' reputation quickly spreads to the neighboring Galilean villages- "This rabbi from Nazareth both teaches and acts with authoritative power."

1:29-39 Jesus demonstrates his power to heal. Later in the Gospels we witness that his disciples and even others also seem to have this healing power. Thus, Jesus' healing power is not so much a proof of Christ's divinity, but rather evidence of the extraordinary activity of God in the human experience. Surely compassion is part of Jesus' motivation to heal, yet we must recognize that Jesus chooses not to heal everyone.

A counterpart of Christ's power to heal is the power to cast demonic forces out of a person's life. Careful observation of the Biblical accounts gives no evidence of dramatic struggles between Jesus and these demonic forces. He simply casts them out with the command of his voice - and we must assume that when the disciples did similar miracles, it was accomplished with this same almost matter-of-fact approach. One view of this act of casting out demons is that Jesus were trying to "cleanse" his world of this demonic activity. In the early days of Mark's Gospel, this casting out of demons is quite frequent, yet when we get into the later stages of Christ's ministry, this ministry is less frequently mentioned, and even less so in the later accounts of the early Church such as in the Acts of the Apostles.

Jesus prays. He obviously feels the need to pray. Even Christ needs the communion and the communication that comes with time alone with the Divine. In the Gospels, we often find Jesus slipping away to spend time in private pray. On most occasions, Jesus returns from these times of prayerful retreat to announce a decision that he has made concerning the next steps in his ministry.

1:40-46 Lepers were treated with extreme caution in Biblical times. Out of fear of the disease spreading, lepers walked about in an invisible zone of quarantine (ironically, later medical science has found that much of the fear was unfounded). Much of the Levitical law from the early days of the Exodus erred on the side of caution in an age of limited diagnostics. Much of the law was willing to encroach on personal liberty for the sake of protecting the communal well-being. Here Jesus performs a work of healing, but even moreso a public demonstration of restoration of an individual to his community. The order to follow the prescribed Levitical law for being public declared no longer contagious was probably the essential need of this man.

It is theologically significant to note that though Jesus exercised the power to heal and to silence the demons, he could not (or chose not) to force this man follow his command to remain quiet about what had happened.

2:1-13 Jesus attempts to slip back into the village of Capernaum, but he is soon discovered and the crowds press in on him. It provides the occasion for the first of Jesus' teaching miracles (the use of a miracle to communicate a specific spiritual truth).

Four men take extreme measures to bring a paralytic friend or family member to this new healer. Most likely they disassembled the palm thatch often used on the flat roof buildings most common in those days. Jesus seems impressed with the extent to which these four men went in order to find healing for their friend. It is their faith and not the faith of the invalid that seems to stir Jesus to action.

The paralytic man came for healing, the crowd were expecting a healing, but instead Jesus ... offers forgiveness. Ah - the teaching moment! The scribes or Bible teachers in the crowd are taken aback by this new rabbi's act of bestowing forgiveness. To be sure, people have always been asked to forgive those who have sinned against them, but Jesus is offering forgiveness on behalf of God!

And their understanding is in line with Old Testament teaching - it is God who forgives sins. The scribes may be thinking of Biblical passages such as Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions (sins) for My sake. And I will not remember your sins." NASB

Jesus responds to their unspoken concern with a rhetorical question. "Which is the easier thing to do, forgive sins or heal a paralytic?" With his question follow by his then proceeding to the healing, Jesus seems to be teaching that if God can heal through a human agent then God can certainly forgive through a human agent. We must remember that people would be soon healed through the ministry of the disciples. Would it be their own power that enabled them to heal or would it be God's power to heal through their hands The same then would hold true with the ministry of forgiveness, would it not?

Also take note of the connection of the act of forgiveness and the command, "Stand and walk." There appears to be a significance in this visual of "standing up and walking" when forgiveness is bestowed upon a person.

As is the pattern with Mark - a dramatic moment is followed by an interlude of extended teaching. Jesus relocates to the hillside along the Galilean Sea. In this larger venue, you sense that Jesus sets up an extended time of teaching (possibly in the manner of the Sermon on the Mount as found in Matthew 5-7).

2:14-20 Jesus adds to his school of disciples, a man named Levi (meaning"joining") also known as Matthew (meaning "the gift of God"). We do not know whether he simply known by both of these Hebrew names or we have an occasion of renaming as we have with Simon becoming known as Peter (see John 1:42). Either way, he is Hebrew and he is a tax collector. The Roman occupation forces often used local citizens to do the dirty work of collecting tribute from the local population. Thus they were seen as colloborators with the enemy. Add to this the opportunity for corruption and it is easy to see why the tax collectors were looked upon as a rather undesireable lot. Jesus uses the same command with Levi as he did with the four fishermen, James, John, Andrew and Simon Peter. "Follow me!" The word "follow" describes well the life of the disciple. Jesus' rabbinical school was an itinerant ministry, travelling from town to town. The disciples would literally follow their Teacher on their journey, learning their lessons on the way to the next preaching mission. Then when the Master taught, the disciples would serve as the teaching assistants with the cowds. The disciples learned by following the example of their Teacher, in both teaching and practice.

The tax collectors are here lumped together with a group of simply known as "sinners". This designation seems to refer to those people who did not seem to be following traditional Jewish mores and practices. The term might be better translated as "irreligious" to distinguish it from the more universal condition that we are all sinners. Most of us, even today, can picture the concern the devout might have when a member of the clergy appeared to be running with the "wrong" crowd. But with the Pharisees, whose very name seemed to communicate that is better "to be separated from the world's sinful ways", Jesus' approach to relating with the other side seemed to be in direct contradiction to their own approach. Jesus, in a rather gentle way, with almost indisputable logic in the form of a medical metaphor, offers another strategy for converting the world around them.

For reasons we are not informed, the disciples of John the Baptist and the members of the Pharisees are participating in a fast. It may have been a fast called for by the religious calendar, or it may have been a "National Call to Prayer", an act of devout protest. The specific purpose of the fast mentioned here, we do not know - we only know that Jesus and his disciples had chosen not to participate. Jesus speaks to their question using a wedding metaphor that seems to subtly send the message that the long-awaited time for celebration had finally arrived - possibly the very hope for which the nation was fasting was finally being fulfilled.

2:21-22 Jesus adds two very brief metaphors to his explanation of his eating with sinners and his disregard of the fast. He draws from two very common, well-known practicalities. If you try to patch a garment with a patch that has not been pre-shrunk, at the first washing, the patch will shrink ripping the old garment even further. And if you pour unfermented wine into already stretched wineskins, when the wine ferments, the wineskins will burst. Both metaphors seem to be simply saying, "In these new circmstances we now find ourselves, we will need to try new ways. But don't try to apply these new ways to our old ways, you will end up ruining both the old and the new. We will reach these Romans, Greeks, and sinners of this new age through new approaches. Yet, we must still respect the old ways that we have known. The old ways are right - in their context - and the new ways are right - in their context." Certainly this is a lesson that needed to be learned in all the passing generations of the faith.

2:23-28 In our modern, secular culture, we might not appreciate the weight the Sabbath carried in the world of Christ and the Hebrew people. The Sabbath was THE holy day. The keeping of the Sabbath is what visibly set the Hebrews apart from whatever culture was around them. The Pharisees were especially keen about applying with great detail the Sabbath laws to the present-day situation. It appears that a number of the people travelling with Jesus were Pharisees - possibly still trying to discern at this early date if this Galilean healer were truly the long-awaited Messiah. The somewhat cavalier attitude of the disciples about "harvesting" grain on the Sabbath surely must have unnerved the strict Pharisees causing them to question Jesus' devotion to the Biblical Law. Ironically, this specific situation had been covered in ancient Biblical Law. In Leviticus 23:25 we read, "When you enter your neighbor's full grown grain, then you may pluck the grain with your hand, but you shall not take the sickle to the grain." Though this law does not speak directly to the issue of whether such action would be considered labor and thus restricted by Sabbath law, it does build the case that such "gleaning" by hungry travellers was not seen inn the same light as harvesting. But all that seems to be of little significance to Jesus. He draws from a rather obscure moment in the life of David. When David and his men were in desperate need of food, the priests gave them the loaves of holy bread that were kept in the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle. The point Jesus seems to be making is this ... the Law was created for the well-being of the human community, not to its detriment.

The meaning of the phrase "... the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath"..? Possibly ... the Messiah will define what is proper for the keeping of the Sabbath, not the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus may be simply yet seriously saying to Law-Revering Pharisees, "In respect to the Sabbath, you are missing the point."

3:1-12 Chapter three begins with almost a reprise of the opening moments of Jesus' ministry - another confrontation in the synagogue, another miraculous healing, another demon told to be silent and another controversy with some Pharisees about Jesus' seemingly casual attitude toward observing the Sabbath. It is as if Mark is emphasizing themes for his version of the Good News story: Jesus is a rabbi of the synagogue tradition; Jesus is a healer of the afflicted; Jesus is a confrontational force against the spirit of evil; and Jesus is a re-interpreter of the Law.

Again, Jesus uses the persuasive technique of asking the obvious rhetorical question. "Should one do good or do harm on the Sabbath?" The answer is obvious (though they all choose to be silent), "Do good." To this Jesus implies the answer, "Then let's do good on the Sabbath - instead of doing nothing." The follow-up question may be a deft stroke of irony considering what the critics apparently began doing right after services... "Should one save a life or kill a life on the Sabbath?" The answer again is too obvious even to answer, "Save a life." Yet -- it says that certain Pharisees present at the services went out and began to conspire with some well-placed political souls in the service of King Herod, "How do we get rid of this troublemaking rabbi?"

The time line of a Gospel is vague and varying. How much time passed between chapters 1 and 3 is difficult to determine though Mark tends to write in such a way that it feels as if it is all taking place in rapid sequence, in one non-stop flow. Yet the appearance of people from far distant places such as Tyre and Sidon may indicate a passage of time, time enough for the news to spread to distant towns and time enough for travel to be accomplished.

In the Gospel of Luke (5:1-11), the incident with the boat or one very similar to it, is connected to the call of Peter; here it is not. Here we find Mark seemingly moving Jesus' ministry from the pulpit of the synagogue to the pulpit of the open air. (Ever wonder why so many Christian pulpits are shaped like the bow of a boat?)

In the first casting out of demons in chapter 1, verses 23-27, the evil spirits identify Jesus as "the Holy One of God". Jesus does not want that identification yet broadcast tot he world. He silences the evil spirits. Here in this second account of a casting out of demons, the voice identifies Jesus as "the Son of God." This too is silenced. This may provide a clue to a deeper, clearer understanding of what it means to be the Son of God - the Holy One of God, the One set apart for a holy work by God.

3:13-35 There, up in the Galilean hills, Jesus informs twelve selected disciples that they will now do the miracles that he has done, to proclaim the Good News that the expected new realm of God had finally come and to cast the demons out of the people (and maybe out of the culture and the belief system of that day). Did this make these twelve somehow "divine"? No, this empowerment made these twelve "divinely appointed". And one must take note - that Judas Iscariot was among them.

The scribes' reference to Beelzebul or Beelzebub may give us a clue that demonology had gone through much exotic transformation and development during the hundreds of years between the last Old Testament writings and the time of Jesus. There is scant mention of Beelzebul in the Old Testament, if any, and it is in reference to the god of Ekron and not specifically Satan.

Jesus' logic is somewhat obscure. One needs to consider what Jesus' may be implying when he makes reference to "binding the strong man". There may be a communication here that it is not the "demons" that are causing the problem, but Satan, often referred to as the "Deceiver" - conquer Satan and the demons are no more.

The episode with Jesus' mother, Mary, and the other members of his family, can be difficult to picture accurately. The Greek text uses the idiomatic "beside himself" when referring to the family's concern for Jesus. To hear this idiom as connoting that Jesus was mentally unbalanced would seem to go contrary to our traditional understanding of Mary's early awareness of Jesus' divine calling. Such a reading would give a certain negative feel for Jesus' family. But if the connotation of the idiom is that Jesus was being overwhelmed by the pressing, demanding crowds caused by his sudden fame (and for some, notoriety), one could imagine that the family was more likely tring to "rescue" Jesus from both the demanding crowd and the rising threat of the suspicious religious authorities. Whatever the mindset and intention of Mary and the family, Jesus uses the occasion to define what it means to be a member of the family of God ... "those who DO the will of God."

4:1-12  Mark introduces Jesus' use of parables, here, after we witness the conflict between Jesus and certain religious leaders. Was this behind Jesus' perplexing if not troubling explanation of the reason for his use of parables?

Jesus offers the parable of a farmer doing what this rural Galileans saw all he time - casting seed in his field. There is no reason to think that this farmer was being the least bit careless; the efficiency of labor in this rather primitive period of agriculture was to cast the seed far and wide.

It is best to first read this parable as it was first heard -- without the later explanation. On first hearing this story, what would a person take it to mean? Is the focus on the seed or the soil? Was Jesus trying to explain why not every one will respond to his teaching? The seed does not seem to be variable in the story - the variable is the soil. Given the right soil, the seed will grow and produce an abundant harvest.

The very message planted in this parable of four differing soils may be a parable on parable-teaching itself. Possibly, Jesus is teaching his students and soon-to-be teaching assistants that not all people will be ready and prepared to receive the teaching.  Those souls that are fertile will wrestle with the parable until the truth is found. Yet be not discouraged for not all people who listen to the words will actually hear the message. Still they need to remember -- like that farmer who keeps generously casting seed far and wide, so must they keep generously casting the Good News far and wide -- for you never know which souls are the fertile soil.

4:13-20  In a simple story, Jesus foreshadows the reality of the Church's future; some people hear the Good News and immediately the message is rationalized away, some people eagerly accept the Good News but soon drift away, some people accept the Good News but the Good News never gets around to transforming their lives, and yet, for some people, the Good News takes hold of their lives and it is those people who change the world.

So those who will take up the word of Christ must remember this -- keep spreading the word and don't get discouraged for it won't take hold with everyone. But if you don't cast the seed, then you can be sure that nothing will ever grow.

4:21-34   Jesus' teaching of the lamp is placed in a different context here in the Gospel of Mark than it is used in Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:14-16, this same, exact teaching is immediately followed by Jesus saying,"Let your light shine before others in such a way that they might see your good works and give glory to your heavenly Father." In Mark's context, the apparent purpose of the teaching is to explain further the reason for Jesus' teaching through parables. The parables do not serve the purpose of keeping things hidden but allowing things to be revealed in the proper settings, at the proper time. In Matthew's context, Jesus appears to be emphasizing the need to be a public witness. (?)

Mark follows this teaching of the lamp with another illustrative image - the measure. Jesus urges his followers not to be frustrated by the parables that he teaches in public. Those who choose to go futher and deeper with Jesus in his school of discipleship will receive more and more understanding. This is solidified with Mark's commentary in verse 33,34.

If indeed Mark has clustered these teachings together to explain Jesus' use of parables, then the teachings of the growing grain and the mustard seed must, at least on one level,  be there to serve the same purpose. As to the story of the mysteriously growing grain ... truth grows as does a seed grows, step by step, in a developmental flow. And, if you read carefully, the seed also grows because of the nature of the soil. Remember the parable of the four soils. As to the story of the mustard seed that though it starts out small, with time grows into something so large that even birds can roost within its branches ... truth takes time to become full-grown, but given time, it will grow and grow. Obviously, these two parables could be used to serve other teaching purposes, but Mark seems to have placed them here to serve this specific purpose.

4:35-41   The key to understanding this story is to remember that most of the disciples were well-experienced, Galilean fishermen. They had ridden through these frequent storms that rose up quickly and blew through just as quickly on this inland sea. The fact that the exhausted Jesus was sleeping through the storm might give evidence that he had complete "faith" in able seamanship of these fishermen. But for some reason on this particuar occasion they panic. They wake Jesus. What they were expecting Jesus to do is unclear? Maybe, they were expecting Jesus to lend a hand with the oars, or to help bail water from the boat. Jesus stands up and shouts words that could just as easily be directed to the disciples as to the wind and the waves. "Quiet down or Be at peace! Be calm!" And the storm quieted and the seas calmed.

Jesus queries the disciples about their faith ... but their faith in what? In God? Quite possibly. But it is not beyond possibility that Jesus may have been referring to the fishermen not having the same faith in their seamanship as did he.

The disciples were awed by Jesus' ability to get the wind and the waves to obey him, when the disciples may needed to have considered if they were obeying his command, "Quiet! Be calm!"

5:1-20   Mark follows up the story of Jesus calming the tempest on the Sea of Galilee with a dramatic account of calming the tempest within a human soul. The man is obviously distressed, if not disturbed, having a hitory of being a threat and danger to the community. The scene is puzzling.  The dialogue between Christ and the demonic character named "Legion" is not what one would expect. It is the demon possessed man who takes the initiative in the encounter, and does so with what most might consider as demonstrations of belief: he bows down before Jesus; he declares Jesus to be the Son of the Most High God; he even at one point, begs Jesus for mercy.

The name Legion is certainly used to denote many - a Roman legion of soldiers numbered in the thousands. The request by Legion to be cast into the pigs seems to defy logic. What difference would it make to the dens where they were? Well, it makes a point in the story. There is a powerful symbolism for Jesus' ministry of ridding his world of unclean spirits. The unclean spirits are cast out of the human realm and into unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7 reads "You are not to eat of ... the pig, for though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew its cud, it is unclean for you.") and then both are driven into the sea. Jesus not only cleanses the man of the unclean spirits but also clanses the community of the unclean animals.

An obvious question is "Why were these Jewish herdsmen raising this large herd of unclean animals?" One possibility, I suppose, is that they were being raised to feed the Roman legions.

As dramatic and well-known as this story is, the end of the story is so often forgotten or ignored - probably the most significant part - this man with the unclean spirit apparently becomes a highly effective witness if not evangelist in the ten city region known as the Decapolis. That seems to be Mark's intent, not to tell of what became of the demons and the poor pigs, but what became of the man.

5:21-43   A devout leader of the synagogue asks for Jesus to come and heal his daughter. Along the way, a woman with a chronic affliction desperately seeks a miraculous healing. These two miraculous healings seem structured by Mark in such a way as to contrast the two events while still tying them together. The girl is twelve years of age; the woman has suffered with her affliction for twelve years. Jesus travels to the young girl's house; the woman travels to Jesus. Jesus is asked to heal the girl by his touching her; the woman seeks to be healed by her touching him.

With the woman with the hemorrage, the text indicates that she first believes that she has been healed, but seemingly after the fact, Jesus proclaims, "Be healed of your affliction." With the little girl, Jesus states that she is sleeping (would Jesus tell an untruth?) and he never does actually use the words, "Be healed." Instead Jesus uses the phrase, "Arise, get up!"

To the woman, he calls her "daughter" and offers the blessing, "Be at peace!" To the family of the little girl, he states a similar blessing, "Do not be afraid any longer." In both cases, there seems to be miraculous healing but there also seems to be therapeutic, pastoral care. Again and again, we can observe that Jesus seeks always to heal both body and spirit.

The Aramaic phrase (the everyday language of the Galileans) "Talitha kum!" is emphasized by its not being translated into the original Greek. This would indicate that this phrase carries a certain memorable significance for Mark. A possibility is that for Mark  these words resonate with the spirit of the coming resurrection.

What are we to make of Jesus' near-medical advice for the family to feed the little girl?  It may be that Mark simply likes to place next to one other, the miraculous moment and the commonplace moment, to accentuate that this is the way life will be in this new realm of God.

6:1-13   In the time of Jesus, teaching in the Sabbath teaching in the synagogue would involve reading from the Law (the first five books of our present day Bible) or from one of the Prophets. This reading would be followed by an interpretation and application of that text. Sometimes there would be question and answer, possibly even some debate and discussion.

Again, Mark makes special note that there was something about Jesus' teaching that was distinctive from that of other teachers. Here, Mark indicates that Jesus' teaching was of an unrecognized origin (hence, original?) and that it carried a certain air of wisdom.

The hometown crowd makes mention of Jesus' family. His mother Mary is mentioned, but not his father, Joseph. We presume Joseph had died by this time. Then we have surpise of the mention of the brothers and sisters of Jesus, four brothers and at least two sisters. Some have offered that these were cousins and not siblings, possible but not likely given the context. Others have conjectured that the crowd was mistaken - again unlikely.

The real mystery is why the local people took such offense at Jesus. What did he say that caused such a negative reaction? Some have applied the observation from human nature that it may have been difficult to place authority in someone that you saw play in the streets as a boy and as a teenager.

When Mark adds the comment that Jesus "was disturbed by their unbelief" or possibly "was amazed at the unbelief", it can certainly give us something upon which to reflect long and deep. Did Jesus see this coming? Was he surprised or was he disappointed? Or was he frustrated? In a careful and houghtful reading of the Gospels, Jesus the Son of God comes across as so deeply human.

Jesus now send his disciples, his apprentices, out for their internship in the work. Providing us a very practical example, he sends them out two by two.   This provided them with mutual protection, mutual encouragement, mutual accountability. He sends them out in such a way that they will be dependent upon the hospitality of soul who will welcome them. It is as if Jesus is teaching his disciples that the work of the Gospel will always be a partnership between those who proclaim and those who receive the proclamation.

Jesus also draws upon an idion of the day, if a village rejects you, knock the dust off your sandals and move on. A very, very practical bit of counsel - all you can do is the best that can do, and if some reject the good news, move on, for there are many who will. Never neglect those who might hear by being preoccupied with those who won't hear. It may be left to others in another time to reach them.

The disciples are still seen still preaching the need for repentance, for the changing of the direction of one's life. With the traditional ritual of anointing the sick with oil, they go about the ministry of healing. This anointing with oil has within it a pseudo-nursing quality about it, it not only hearkened back to ancient sacred rites such as the anointing of kings ad prophets but also provided a measure of compassionate comfort, a lingering, fragrant reminder of the presence of someone's taking the time to care.

6:14-32   For some reason, Mark places here an extended recollection of the death of John the Baptist. Serving almost as an interlude to suggest the passing of time as the disciples go off on their mission, Mark remembers (or is it Jesus poignantly remembering?) the death of Jesus' cousin and Jesus' predecessor in the messianic mission, John.

The Herods had come from the region of Idumea, to the southeast of Judea. They came to power through a long series of political transitions involving the Greek and Roman conquests of the Judean region. Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, the builder of the new Temple in Jerusalem. Here is referenced his son, Herod Antipas. During the ministry of Christ, Herod Antipas was given authority to rule over the region of Galilee, his brother Philip, the region to the northeast of Galilee.

Here we are reminded that the Biblical prophets were also political commentators of their day. They spoke not only for God but also for the people, often coming into direct and dramatic conflict with the political leaders of the day.

Apparently the lurid and tragic details of John the Baptist's execution were well-known. The story is told in such a way that Herod comes across as a man of weak character, vulnerable to public opinion. This characterization of the political authorities is rather consistent throughout the Gospels.

In verse 30, we are reminded that John the Baptist also had his disciples who were ministering at the same time as Jesus and his disciples. Later in the early days of the church, we find evidence that the School of John the Baptist continued well after the resurrection of Christ.

After this remembrance of John's passing, Mark has the disciples returning from their missions. Jesus attempts to withdraw with his disciples to a secluded place away from the crowds, but as we shall see, without immediate success.

Jesus' intention was to get away from the crowds by sailing to a remote location, but the crowds managed to still find him. We do not know the length of the discple' two-by-two missions, possibly they were of a rather substantial duration. This may explain the rush of the crowd when they heard the news that Jesus was about to begin perfomng miacles gain. . But we must also consider the impact of the just completed two-by-two missions into the many neighboring Galilean towns. Surely this must have increased the fame of their Teacher.

The phrase "like sheep without a shepherd" is a Hebrew idiom for leadership, probably drawn from the heritage of the great King David of Israel, the shepherd boy turned national hero. We witness this Hebrew understanding of the shepherd-leader in Jeremiah 25:34-38. Thus it is reasonable to translate this famous verse to read, "Jesus felt compasion for the people for they seemed to be desperately searching for a leader."

This story, one of the few found in all four gospels, seems to be told less for the reason of demonstrating Jesus' miraculous powers and more for the reason of demonstrating a fundamenta lesson to the disciples - their need to share whatever they had in the face of great need.

If the sole reason was to feed the people, he certainly could have done so without the five loaves and two fish. The verbal exchange between Jesus and his disciples and the specific of there being "twelve" baskets leftover at least hint that this miracle was more about demonstrating the miracle of compassionate sharing than about proving the divinity of Jesus.   Though in the year t come, we will witness many occasions when the disciples performed miracles of healing, never do they perform a miracle of breadmaking. But ... we do hear about their sharing what they had in time of desperate need and scarcity. (see Acts 2:37-47)

6:45-52   As best as we can calculate, the disciples were cutting across the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee, probably from near the town of Tiberius on the eastern shore to the town of Bethsaida. We get the sense that Jesus would walk the modest distance, meeting them there. The winds rose up, blowing against them. In this era of square sheet sailing, this meant the sails would be dropped and the oars would come out. If the wind were against them on a course from Tiberius to Bethsaida, this probably meant that the wind was driving them toward the rocky coastline. The rocky coastline was the real danger on stormy waters of the Galilee, not the deeper waters. Winds driving boats against the rocks meant destruction. So it would seem as though the disciples were struggling to keep their boat from crashing on the rocks. A rather short voyage turned into one of many hours. The text indicates that it was Jesus who first caught sight of the disciples. "He saw them struggling with the oars." The text also indicates that Jesus intended to walk "by" the disciples. It would be rather odd to have Jesus seeing this disciples in distress and then merely pass them by ... unless his intention was to guide them to safe harbor, to an opening in the rocks so that they might beach their boat. They cry out. He gets into the boat. The wind dies down and they arrive at ... not their destination of Bethsaida but in a town just a short distance from where they first set sail. They arrive in Gennesaret, less than half the way to Bethsaida! They had barely left shouting distance from the coast the whole night.

What was the lesson of the loaves that they disciples had missed? That Jesus could perform miracles? Or that Jesus would provide?

Again the crowds race to wherever Jesus and his disciples can be found.  It seems obvious that it is Jesus' miracles of healing that draw the crowds. Sometimes it is Jesus' touch that activates the healing; sometimes it is the believer's touch of Jesus' garment that does so. Is it the person of Jesus that has the power to heal or is it the faith of the person? Mark seems to suggest that the mystery is that sometimes God performs miracles of healing - at the town of Gennesaret, it was through the personal presence of Jesus.

7:1-13    As so often happens, efforts to apply eternal truth in a specific circumstance have resulted in the application of the rule supplanting the intended purpose of the rule. There was nothing wrong about the ritual of handwashing.   It probably was wise hygiene and it certainly could have been meaningful ritual. But the ritual itself became the rule rather than the rule it was attempting to apply.

It is obvious that Jesus and his disciples chose not to follow the course of the Pharisees and their devotion to the meticulous keeping of the law. We must remember that not all Jews of that day were so preoccupied with these rituals. Many devout Jews would have not been distressed by the disciples' lax attitude about such ritual. In this handwashing controversy, Jesus was distinguishing himself from the Pharisaic movement.

The protest of the Pharisees and the scribes provided Jesus' the occasion to highlight a major theme in his teaching - whatever the application we might make of God's Word, it must not end up itself defeating the divine intention of that Word. And oh, how often the application of the Good News of Christ has ended up becoming harbingers of bad news; how often the mission of Christian love has been somehow twisted into an act of hate.

Jesus illustrates by what apparently had become a rather common practice in Jesus' day. The culture expected the devout to care for their aging parents - but there were some clever scribes who came up with a scheme where people could set up an ancient version of the "tax shelter" or the "Swiss bank account". Yes, "corban" was legal but Jesus reminded them back then and reminds us in our day that not all things "legal" are necessarily "right and good".

7:14-23    Jesus gets to the heart of the matter, figuratively and literally. Mark portrays Jesus drawing the crowd closer in, as if to teach them a more intimate truth. He then sets clearly before the crowd, including the Pharisees and the Jerusalem scribes, a central tenet in his teaching ... God is concerned about the purity of our hearts for that is where sin begins. Purify the heart and the life will follow.

Often we observe Jesus displaying impatience or frustration with his disciples slowness to comprehend his teaching. We all should find some comfort and encouragement in realizing that even Jesus struggled with commnicating with others. But he didn't give up ... we witness an example here ... he tries again to explain.

We are not sure what to make of Mark's insertion into the middle of Jesus' words. We must ask if Jesus' words actually says what Mark indicates he says. Or is Mark (or whoever the editor might be) over-interpreting Jesus' words?

One must not make the mistake of confining the activity of the Biblical idea of the "heart" to the our modern understanding of "feeling". The Biblical notion of the "heart" includes all the dimensions of what we might call the "mind" in our contemporary understanding -- the "heart" was the seat of thought, emotion and will.

7:24-37     Jesus takes his ministry to a wider audience, leaving the region around the Sea of Galilee and touring the towns near the Mediterranean Sea (or the Great Sea, as it is sometimes called). Often the city of Tyre is paired with the city of Sidon. But by the time of Jesus, Tyre had gained the greater stature. The population of this region identified more with the ancient maritime civilization of Phoenicia than with Judea or Galilee, though commercial relations were always strong.

Mark emphasizes that this woman was not of the Jewish tradition, specifically Syrophoenician Gentile woman. And add to this the strange and cryptic dialogue between Jesus and the woman, Mark introduces the universal mission of Jesus, a mission not only to the Jewish people but to all people. Jesus' faint refusal to help seems to be for the subtle purpose of allowing the Gentile woman to give a justification for why a devout Jew would offer such divine grace to a non-Jew.

The geographical leap in the ext is dramatic, Tyre is far to the west, Dedcapolis, far to the east. The healing of the deaf and mute man is filled with curiosities.  The first question is why does Jesus feel the need to isolate the man from the crowd? Was he trying to tone down the spectacle of his healing ministries? The second question is why the drama of Jesus placing his fingers in the man's ears and placing the spittle on the man's tongue? Jesus seems to have no standard practice for healing, probably giving evidence that the healings had a teaching dimension. For the second time, Mark chooses to quote the original Aramaic word used by Christ (the first in Mark 5: 41 was the word "Talitha kum" meaning "Arise"). What was the intent of Mark in emphasizing these Aramic words? Possibly ... these were words that had become often used in the life of the early Church ... such in th church of today we often use the words, "Amen" and "Hallelujah".

Once more, Mark highlights what is called the "Messianic Secret". Jesus urges the people to keep all these miracles quiet. But they do not listen ... but Jesus has gone on record that his desire is not for publicity but for other things. Most scholars hold to the interpretation that Jesus was concerned with certain events happening in their proper time.

8:1-10     Deja vu or feeding the multitudes, take two.  A mere two chapters earlier (Mark 6:33-44) we have a strikingly similar story. In the earlier miracle, five thousand is the count, here four thousand. In the earlier miracle, five loaves of bread and two fish, here seven loaves and some fish. The conversation between Jesus and his band of disciples is quite similar in both miracles as is Jesus' pattern of blessing and distributing the food. Why would Mark choose totell the two accounts of such a similar events? If feeding the crowds were Jesus' recurring practice, it would not seem likely that Mark would select only two when one would more likely hint at this being a selected example of this aspect of Jesus' miracle. Rather there is a case that Mark more likely journaled the two and only two instances when Jesus fed the multitude. Yet there is a case that Mark is using these two miracles to set the stage for two separate teachings that followed. The Mark 6 miracle was used to teach the lesson about ministry of sharing whatever you have in the face of great need; the Mark 8 miracle was used to teach the lesson about the danger of allowing the ways of the Pharisees and the Herodians to be mixed into the way of His new Messianic realm.

The mysterious name "Dalmanutha" is paralled in Matthew by the name of "Magdala", a town on the coast of Galilee. Probably an ancient but now forgotten renaming of Magdala during one of the many foreign occupations of this region.

8:11-26     Mark uses sequencing to emphasize significant points. The two accounts of feeding the thousands is followed by a confrontation with representatives of the Pharisees, which in turn is followed by the rather mysterious healing of the blind man. They all will lead to Peter's declaration of the messiahship of Jesus (8:29).

The Pharisees demand a sign. Evidently, the miracles to date have not satisfied their critieria for proof of the messiahship of Jesus. Jesus answers by the emphatic statement, "No sign will be given!" But surely the miracles would be considered signs and wonders!? Jesus' warns his disciples to be careful of the "leaven" of the members of the Pharisaic movement and the supporters of the Herods and their massive Temple project. In Hebrew tradition, drawing from the story of the Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:14-20), "leaven", the fermented dough to give rise to the bread, had become a metaphor for a corrupting influence. The Passover ritual involved the removal of all leaven from the Jewish household. This surely is the essential inference Jesus is making, the teachings and attitudes of the Pharisees and the Herodians will corrupt the newly arriving realm of God. But it is possible that this "leaven" imagery may go further. The Passover story explains the unleavened bread was due to the immediacy of their departure from Egypt. There was no time for delay, no time for waiting. Both the Pharisees and the Herodians believed that certain conditions would need to be met before the arrival of the Kingdom of God. For the Pharisees, the wait was for the people of God to first get right with God; for the Herodians, the wait required the completion of the Temple. It is possible that the "leaven" was the matter of waiting and waiting for a sign that would not come. A hint of this is in the use of the words, "no sign will be given this generation." Later in Mark 13:28-32 Jesus says, "...this generation will not pass away until all these things come to pass..."

The two stage healing of the blind man seems to be used by Jesus to illustrate how the disciples will come to "see". Surely Jesus could have healed the blind man in one act, therefore the two steps must be for other purpose. The man first sees "the trees as men walking" ... being away from others, the trees are trees. The disciples will first believe that they see matters as they truly are, but with second sight they will see matters in a clearer understanding. Such is the way of faith ... we see presently see things through a clouded glass, thinking we understand when we do not yet fully understand. But it is the best that we can do within the light that we now have ... but there will come a day when all things will become clear.

The disciples WILL begin to understand what Christ is all about ... but it will only be later that they will understand fully.

8:27-38     Jesus and the disciples make their way up the northern foothills that lead to Mount Hermon. It was the path of ancient pilgrims. Dating back to the times of Abraham, these high places were settings for worship of one faith or another, in particular the town of Caeserea Philippi. Along the way, Jesus asks THE question that all disciples must first answer, "Who do you say that I am?" Others have concluded that Jesus must be the prophet Elijah returned to earth to signal the coming kingdom of God. Others have concluded that Jesus must be a living on on the work begun by the wilderness prophet, John the Baptist, a warning shout to call the people to repentance before the destruction of the now corrupted Temple in Jerusalem.    Yet others were not all that clear as to the identity of Jesus, possibly he was a new prophet in a new age. But when asked, Peter, apparently speaking on behalf of the Twelve, utters the faithful words, "You are the Christ, the Messiah." With that profession of faith, the disciples were recognizing that the new kingdom of God HAD arrived, the Great Change in divine/human history was taking place.

Jesus then explains to the disciples the process by which the new realm of God would be established on this earth. The Christ would be sacrificed, so that the one life of Christ would become the life of Christ in many. Peter and the disciples are distressed by this teaching -- surely this is not the way things will be. But Jesus lifts serious warning. This will be done according to God's reasoning and not according to the reasoning of the human mind. And this has always been the temptation - to do things our way instead of God's way.

In more obscure words, Jesus begins to teach the Christ event to the people. The Christian Way involves self-sacrifice - the giving of our own lives for the sake of others. This is the essence of the Way of Christ.