Mark 3:31-35

 

1. Position yourself to hear God

 

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

 

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

 

4. Pose the question

 

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 3:31-35New International Version (NIV)
³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”


Paraphrase

• The crowd told Jesus that His mother and brothers were looking for him
• Jesus questions them as to who His mother and brothers might be
• He emphasies the fact that those who do God's will are his family

Principles

• Just because they were his blood family didn't mean he didn't have other "family"
• Sometimes fellow brothers ands sisters in the Lord are closer than blood family

Questions

• Who are my family outside of blood family?  How do I invest in them?

Mark 3:20-30

1. Position yourself to hear God

 

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

 

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

 

4. Pose the question

 

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 3:20-30  New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law

²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹ When his family^[a] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
²² And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
²³ So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷ In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. ²⁸ Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
³⁰ He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”


Paraphrase

• Jesus Family thought He was out of His mind
• Scribes thought Jesus was possessed
• Jesus explains well how He can't be Satan
• There is forgiveness unless you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit

Principles

• Jesus didn't care what His family thought.  He was growing obedient to the Father.  God's will came first.
• We can't stand if we are divided amongst ourselves.  We need to be true to who we are
• We need to be obedient to God and not go against Him

Questions

• Do I live a life of compromise with my extended family or does God's will always come first?
• Am I being obedient in every area of my life?

Mark 3:13-19

1. Position yourself to hear God

 

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

 

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

 

4. Pose the question

 

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

 

 

Mark 3:13-19New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve^[a] that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.



Paraphrase

• Jesus was on a mountain and called the 12 to be with Him
• Jesus had a role for them to Play
• They were called by Name
• Jesus had called Judas despite his future betrayal

Principles

• There is a time to be alone with Jesus and to be connected and listen to what He has to say
• Jesus knows us by Name
• Jesus knew who was coming to betray Him as He knows the end from the beginning

Questions

• Am I spending enough quiet time with God?
• Am I faithful to Him and obedient?

 

 

Mark 3:7-12

1. Position yourself to hear God

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

4. Pose the question

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 3:7-12New International Version (NIV)

Crowds Follow Jesus

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

Paraphrase

• Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea because of the crowds
• Jesus was inundated with those who were sick and needed healing
• Unclean spirits knew who He was, the Son of God.  Jesus told them to be silent

Principles

• Jesus withdrew from the crowds to have some time out. This is good practice
• There are always people in need and the work will never end
• Jesus is who He says He is, even His enemies knew who He was

Questions/Reminders

• Do I have enough alone time with God?  Do I need to create it like Jesus did since the crowd keeps pressing in?
• Not everyone that has a need needs to be solved or met by me
• It is good to be remember who God is and all His attributes.

Mark 1:3 -6

1. Position yourself to hear God

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

4. Pose the question

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 3:1-6New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Paraphrase

• Jesus entered the synagogue and encountered a man with a withered hand
• The Pharisees were watching Jesus to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath
• Jesus challenged the Pharisees on their view of the Sabbath
• Jesus was angry and was grieved by their hardness of heart
• Jesus healed the man despite the Pharisees intent to destroy Him

Principles

• Jesus was compassionate and noticed people
• Our sin affects Jesus and causes Him pain
• Jesus did what was right even though it wasn't popular

Questions

• Do we sometimes stand on the sidelines and judge the work that Jesus is doing in people's lives?
• Do we allow Jesus to challenge us personally on the things we believe and do?

Mark 2:23-28

1. Position yourself to hear God

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

4. Pose the question

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 2:23-28New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Paraphrase

• Disciples picked grains on the Sabbath but the Pharisees said it was not lawful
• Jesus gave the example of David eating the consecrated bread because he was hungry
• Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath

Principles

• It is easy to judge when it comes to other people
• We can learn from other people in similar circumstances
• Don't make something that was for our benefit into something binding and legalistic
• Leave the judging to God and pray for the person instead

Questions

• Do I have a tendency towards legalism?  If so, in what areas?
• Am I willing to learn from Jesus example in how he treated people?

Mark 2:18-22

1. Position yourself to hear God

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

4. Pose the question

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 2:18-22New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Paraphrase

• People were being asked Jesus why His disciples were not fasting when John's and the Pharisees were
• Jesus explained that you only fast when the bridegroom is no longer present
• Jesus used the idea of wineskins to prove His point

Principles

• Enjoy the time in the Bridegrooms presence
• Fasting has a spiritual reward if done in the right way
• The new life that Jesus offers us cannot be put into a old form

Questions

• Am I enjoying the Bridegroom and all that He has for me?
• Is fasting something that incorporate into my life as a believer?
• Do I accept the new life Jesus has given me or do I hold onto the old?