Mark 16

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 16 - the last chapter of Mark.

Mark 16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to [...]

Mark 15

Greetings! This reading is Mark 15.
Mark 15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “Yes, it is as you [...]

Mark 14

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 14.
One of the main Jewish celebrations was Passover, where they remembered how God miraculously led the Israelites out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery.  The religious leaders had hundreds of their man-made laws that they tried to make people obey, yet they plotted to murder Jesus.

Mark 14 Now the [...]

More about Mark

I heard a good sermon by David Moore about failure that dealt a lot with the author of this Gospel, so I thought I would add some additional thoughts to the Overview of the Gospel of Mark. 
Mark’s real name was John.  Mark was a nickname, and it apparently wasn’t very complimentary. 
Tradition holds that this passage refers [...]

Mark 13

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 13.
This is a challenging chapter, as it deals with predictions of Jesus’ return and other prophecies.  As with other Biblical prophecies, there can be a mix of near-term and long-term predictions.  Jesus predicted that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, and it happened in 70 A.D. (roughly 37 years after [...]

Mark 12

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 12.
The first section is a parable that deliberately angered the Jewish leaders because it exposed their hypocrisy.  God is the man, and the vineyard is Israel.  The servants are the prophets God sent to the Israelites.  The son is Jesus. 

Mark 12 He then began to speak to them in parables: [...]

Mark 11

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 11.

Mark 11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has [...]

Mark 10

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 10.
The first passage is about marriage and divorce.  The Pharisees (religious leaders) are trying to trick Jesus to make him look bad or to find an excuse to have him killed.
Mark 10 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of [...]

Mark 9

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 9.
I am trying a new format.  You can still click the link above to read the whole passage separately, but I thought I would try pasting the verses below then commenting in between passages.  Leave a comment or email me at neil@4simpsons.com if you have a preference. It seems like this [...]

Mark 8

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 8.
I am trying a new format.  You can still click the link above to read the whole passage separately, but I thought I would try pasting the verses below then commenting in between passages.  Leave a comment or email me at neil@4simpsons.com if you have a preference. It seems like this [...]

Mark 7

Greetings!  This reading is Mark 7.
The first section about washing hands had nothing to do with germs.  The issue wasn’t whether everyone was using Purell or not; the washing in question was ceremonial in nature.  It was a ritual the Pharisees (religious leaders) came up with on their own and expected the other Jews to [...]

Mark 6

Greetings!
This reading is Mark 6. 
People who knew Jesus from his youth were amazed at his teachings and miracles.  The Bible records very little of his youth.  This passage notes that Jesus had at least four brothers and two sisters.  
Yet some people were offended by his message (this hasn’t changed in 2,000 years!).  When it says Jesus [...]

Mark 5

Greetings!
This reading is Mark 5.
From the end of chapter 4 through chapter 5 Jesus displays his awesome powers over nature (calming the waves), evil spirits, sickness and even death.  Among other things, He was proving his nature as God and the expected Messiah.   
The man was possessed by many demons.  Some Bible critics claim that when the Bible [...]

Mark 4

Greetings!
This reading is Mark 4.
Jesus often taught in parables, which are short stories that have settings familiar to the listeners.  The parables typically had one major point.  Some thought and reflection is required to understand them (I don’t know if I understood any parables the first time I heard them).  They often seem to go [...]

Mark 3

This reading is Mark 3.
This chapter begins with something you’ll find throughout the Gospels: Jesus healing someone on the Sabbath.  The Sabbath was Saturday, a Jewish Holy day set aside by God.  There were various Old Testament laws prohibiting work on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees (a group of devout but often hypocritical Jewish leaders) [...]

Mark 2

This reading is Mark 2.
The story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man is powerful on many levels.  There is the dedication of the friends who went to great lengths to bring the man to Jesus, even carrying him to the top of the house to lower him through the flat roof. 
There is Jesus’ compassion for [...]

Mark 1

This reading is Mark 1.
Mark is action packed.  Consider how much occurs just in chapter 1:

Prediction and arrival of John the Baptist
John baptizes Jesus
Satan tempts Jesus in the desert
Jesus preaches in Galilee
Four fisherman follow Jesus
Jesus teaches
Jesus heals many
Jesus preaches
Jesus heals a man with leprosy 

Mark starts off with a quote from the Old Testament (Isaiah the prophet), one [...]

Overview of The Gospel of Mark

This reading is an overview of Mark.
The Gospel According to Mark is an action packed book. Just glance through the first couple chapters and see how many things take place. This Gospel is considered the most chronological.
All of the Gospels are true and have meaning for each of us, but each one had a slightly [...]