Mark 1:25   Was Jesus afraid of this demon? Is that why he responded so quickly? Did he not want to be made known? Quite the contrary. Statements of belief from evil spirits don’t pose a problem to Christ, but they are not a help either. When Satan is the source of a statement about Scripture…

Mark 1:24   This phrase where the unclean spirit asks what Jesus has to do with them is a figure of speech. It is a way of saying that hey have nothing in common, and that they should naturally be completely separated. The demon is thus, in an agitated and angry state, telling Christ that the…

Mark 1:23   It might make us wonder how that a man possessed could be in the synagogue. But, this is not really that surprising for several reasons. Demonic possession, as we see throughout the gospels, does not always manifest itself in the same way. Some appear very ill or deranged. Others are very clearly overrun…

Mark 1:22   Though it may seem to some foolish to presume, I think we can know why it is that Jesus’ teaching brought about such astonishment. This is not because we are somehow as wise as the Lord Christ. It is simply because we know the message of the gospel. We understand the great contrast…

Mark 1:21   Though synagogues were not directly a part of what had been commanded in the law, they seem to have worked in the favor of good doctrine on many occasions. And why is this? Well, though the hypocritical Jewish leaders did use the synagogues against Jesus, they had difficulty controlling them outside of Jerusalem.…

Mark 1:20   As we read Scripture it is sometimes easy to lose touch with the reality of the lives of those who are found there. But, these were real people. They had loves and concerns, and fears, just as anyone has. So, do not miss the human element in the Bible accounts.   For example, we…

I am still quite swollen and on pain meds. But, I plan to resume blogging tomorrow morning.

I will be having oral surgery this week. I am also taking the week off from blogging for extra reflection time as I gear up for the new year. Have a great week!

Mark 1:19   From what we can gather, these were the business associates of Peter and Andrew. While Peter and Andrew were out fishing, James and John were fixing their net so they could go out once again. Though they may have had separate boats, it seems likely that they were not competitors, but friends. Jesus,…

Mark 1:18   We have in this verse two very important ideas. For one, these brothers forsook their nets. This translation of the word is very appropriate. It means more than that they simply dropped their nets. They gave them up. They left off caring about them. They were finished with that part of their life.The…