Mark 7:1-23 Dear RTB’ers, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 29:13, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. (v. 7) Putting myself into this “story” (this Isaiah verse), I split the verse in half at the semicolon and …
Author Archives: Fred
March 20 / Mark 6:30-56
Mark 6:30-56 Dear RTB’ers, The feeding of the five thousand is one of only two incidents outside of Holy Week that is recorded in all four gospels, the other being Jesus’ baptism. I can imagine that the Jewish people who were there and were part of this miracle would later recall their ancestors wandering in …
March 19 / Mark 6:6b-30
Mark 6:6b-30 Dear RTB’ers, We never know the exact time frame for Jesus in Mark’s gospel, or in any of the other gospels, for that matter. But it was only a few days ago (Mark 3:13, ff.) that we saw His twelve apostles named. So, one wonders how long they had been with Jesus before …
March 18 / Mark 5:21-6:6a
Mark 5:21-6:6a Dear RTB’ers, I have often suggested in my posts that anyone reading our text put him/herself into the story. Today’s reading has quite a cast of characters: people in the crowd beside the sea; Jairus, the synagogue official, whose daughter is dying; the woman with the 12-year hemorrhage; one of Jesus’ skeptical disciples …
March 17 / Mark 4:35-5:20
Mark 4:35-5:20 Dear RTB’ers, Jesus calming the storm. At Avanza for many years we used the Jesus Storybook Bible (JSB) for devotionals with the kids. An interesting line comes from the JSB in this incident of Jesus calming the storm. The book has Jesus speaking His calming words, “Peace! Be still!”, and the wind and …
March 16 / Mark 4:21-34
Mark 4:21-34 Dear RTB’ers, A week ago I mentioned that there were only six items in Mark’s gospel that were not included in any of the other gospels. Today’s parable of the growing seed is one of those six items. This parable contains one precious sentence: He sleeps and rises night and day, and the …
March 15 / Mark 4:1-20
Mark 4:1-20 Dear RTB’ers, The sower and the seed. This one is another gospel reading that has been used for sermons, kid story time, group application activities, etc. – it’s a parable well known to all of us. So, we ask, “What’s new? What have I not seen before?” And my own answer – what …
March 14 / Mark 1-3 Review
Mark 1-3 Dear RTB’ers, Today, reviewing Mark’s first three chapters. STS asks some good questions. I hope you all will spend some time with those. For me, I’m struck again by how fast Mark’s gospel moves, how many different activities in which Jesus is engaged every daily section that we read. I’m also struck by …
March 13 / Mark 3:19b-35
Mark 3:19b-35 Dear RTB’ers, Today, a verse that’s always been confusing to me: But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. (v. 27) The verse is straightforward in itself, but its context has confused me. Why …
March 12 / Mark 3:7-19a
Mark 3:7-19a Dear RTB’ers, The naming of the twelve apostles. When we’ve read through the Bible using The Chronological Study Bible Jesus’ naming of His twelve apostles is reported sequentially in Mark and Luke (Lk. 6:13-16), then later for Matthew (Mt. 10:2-4). The three gospels agree on eleven of the names – Peter and Andrew, …