Masterclass: The Book of Mark // Jesus Makes a Way to the Kingdom

You Have Said So, Pilate Pontius Pilate was a Roman official who was tasked with governing over Judea, during Roman occupation. In Jesus’ day, the Romans allowed the Jews to keep their own law, have their own leaders, and practice their own religion. The Sanhedrin were the ruling body of Jews in Judea, and they…

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Masterclass: The Book of Mark // Jesus as King of the Kingdom

The Anointing at Bethany In His last days before the crucifixion, Jesus spent a lot of time in the town of Bethany. There, a woman unnamed by the Gospel of Mark (but believed by scholars to be Mary Magdalene) stepped forward and anointed Jesus’ head. Anointing was the practice of applying oil or a similar…

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Masterclass: The Book of Mark // The Coming of the Kingdom

Understanding Biblical Genres Chapter 13 of the Gospel of Mark contains teaching from Jesus’ about the End Times. Biblical descriptions of what is yet to come can be difficult to interpret. But there are some tools we can use as we dig into The Word that can help guide our understanding. Two of the biggest…

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Masterclass: The Book of Mark // Invest in God’s Kingdom

The Parable of the Tenants In Mark 12:1-11, Jesus tells the chief priests and teachers of the law a parable. The story involved a man who rented his vineyard to a group of tenants while he lived in another place. When the man sent servants to collect some of the fruit at harvest time, the…

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Masterclass: The Book of Mark // The Kingdom of God

Jesus Enters Jerusalem How would you expect a king to enter his land? The Israelites thought their Messiah would come on a chariot of horses, or something equally impressive. But Jesus, the King of kings, entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Why?  Jesus didn’t come to conquer His enemies, like the Jewish people expected. As we’ve…

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Masterclass: The Book of Mark // The Call to Serve

Relationships Over Religion Have you ever heard someone say that Christianity is a relationship, not a religion? Many of the people Jesus came into contact with during His earthly ministry were very religious, but those same people misunderstood Jesus’ teaching time and time again.  Take, for example, the story of Mark 10:2-12. The Pharisees, who…

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Masterclass: The Book of Mark // The Bigger Picture

The Best of Your Life is Still to Come Did you know that, as a Christian, the best of your life is still to come? To be clear, we mean in eternity. Since we live in a broken and fallen world, there’s no promise that tomorrow will be easy, if we get a tomorrow at…

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Masterclass: The Book of Mark // The Call to Commitment

Compassion for All People As we begin Mark 8, let’s remember that Jesus is still in the Gentile territory of Decapolis. Even though the strategy of His ministry was to focus mainly on the Jews, He still spent time with the Gentiles. A large crowd gathered around Jesus, undoubtedly because they were amazed at His…

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Masterclass: The Book of Mark // Jesus Heals

What Defiles a Man?  At the start of Mark 7, the Pharisees seek to catch Jesus in some sort of unrighteousness, but fail once again. This time, they saw that His disciples did not ceremoniously wash their hands before eating, and asked Jesus why He allowed them to do this. Jesus responded by calling out…

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