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Key Verse: Mark 4:9 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” This has been called by some commentators the chapter of parables. Mark suggests in verses 2, 33 & 34, that the parables here are just some of the many Jesus taught. Two of them deal with the kingdom and what the kingdom […]

Key Verse: Mark 3:27 “Stretch out your hand…” Two things stand out in this chapter. First of all, Jesus heals someone who has had a withered hand all his life. Notice that Jesus asks a man who has never used his hand before to stretch it out. This seems to be a rather unreasonable demand. […]

Key Verse: Mark 2:17 “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. In this chapter, Jesus really does and says some radical things. First of all, He heals a paralytic which in itself is outstanding, but […]

Matthew 5 Adultery and Lust vv. 27-30 To be clear, the Old Testament injunction against adultery is about more than sex. Mainly it’s about property. As grating as we may find patriarchy today, the fact is that the Old Testament Israelite culture was totally patriarchal. The man was king. His wife/wives, his children, his entire […]

Key Verse: Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” After Mark tells us about John the Baptist and his ministry of repentance in preparing for the coming of Messiah, he immediately gets into the ministry of Jesus. Jesus’ ministry is characterized by […]

  It’s a big world out there. The mind is boggled by reports of natural disasters ( eg. wild fires on the west coast of America), wars ( latest being Armenia vs Azerbaijan), widespread corruption (read: government leaders everywhere), and relentless surges of Covid. Could bring on a surge of depression!   Nevertheless the critical […]

Matthew 5 Murder and Anger vv. 21-26 (Part 2) Israel’s means of atonement (“at-one-ment”) was blood sacrifice. As the penitent brought his lamb to the altar he would press his hands down on the lamb’s head conferring his guilt to the helpless animal. He would make a statement of confession, something like, “I confess my […]