Why does Jesus permit a legion of demons to leave a human being and possess pigs? Jesus and the disciples have crossed Galilee and on the other side, they find a man who is possessed by many demons so that he’s been given the nickname Legion. The demons bring with them superhuman strength so that… Continue reading Demons and Pigs (Mark 5:1-20)
Tag: Jesus
Defeated enemies (Mark 4:35-5:43)
We now encounter a series of incredible miracles and signs which demonstrate Jesus’ power over the forces of evil and death. First, we see Jesus as Lord over his creation. Jesus travels across Galilee with his disciples. He is asleep in the boat as a storm brews. There are echoes of Jonah’s flight to Tarshish… Continue reading Defeated enemies (Mark 4:35-5:43)
The call of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-20)
We now begin to see what it means for Jesus to preach about the Kingdom and call people to repentance with a series of examples. – It means calling people to follow him and leave behind other priorities (1:16-20 and 2:13-17) – It means calling evil spirits out of people. Captives are set free (1:21-28)… Continue reading The call of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-20)
Why did Jesus get baptised? (Mark 1:6-13)
Mark’s Gospel is shorter than the others with a greater sense of immediacy and urgency. The focus appears to be much mor eon the narrative and so we don’t tend to get the extended conversatinos and teaching we find in Matthew and John. So, when Mark takes a bit of time to flesh out a… Continue reading Why did Jesus get baptised? (Mark 1:6-13)
A voice crying in the wilderness (Mark 1:1-8)
Each of the Gospels start a little differently. Matthew and Luke both begin with Jesus’ birth and the nativity story but whilst Luke takes us to the specific day with shepherds and angels, Matthew focuses on the arrival of the wisemen. Luke talks about Gabriel’s appearance to Mary but Matthew focuses on Joseph. John begins… Continue reading A voice crying in the wilderness (Mark 1:1-8)
The Kingdom of God in Mark
Jesus begins his ministry by announcing the “good news” that the Kingdom of God is near.[1] Therefore, if we are to benefit from this good news, we need to understand what Jesus means by the phrase “The Kingdom of God.” Firstly, The Kingdom of God is the fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel. We see… Continue reading The Kingdom of God in Mark
Was Jesus married?
This is the question posed by Premier Christianity in a recent article. Not only that but their editor Sam Hailes lays credence to the claim in this tweet. It is concerning that the editors of a mainstream, Christian publication which was traditionally considered at least broadly evangelical could even consider such a piece worthy of… Continue reading Was Jesus married?
Alone?
I saw this quote and image shared on Facebook the other day. I wonder what you made of it? “From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it’s different. Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you… Continue reading Alone?
Signs of the Times (Mark 13) – Preaching in a crisis
Over the past couple of weeks as we’ve seen Russian tanks and troops role into Ukraine and the awful spectre of nuclear conflict has been threatened against the West, I’ve written a bit about how we handled apocalyptic literature and questions about the end times. I thought it might be helpful to share an example… Continue reading Signs of the Times (Mark 13) – Preaching in a crisis
Did Jesus come to give us a holiday?
I saw this message the other day. It’s typical of the type of witty one liner that we Christians think makes a fantastic point, putting a bullet in licentious secularism and making the case for the Gospel. However, I fear that it has a different affect. A lot of people will see this as an… Continue reading Did Jesus come to give us a holiday?
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