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Mark 4:35-41 Why Are You So Afraid?

Mark 4:35-41 is a very familiar narrative. After spending a grueling day debating with scribes and teaching in parables, Jesus tells his disciples to take Him across the Sea of Galilee. He sleeps as a deadly storm hits and wakes to calm it by His word. Having just compared the word to the seed that brings the kingdom, Jesus demonstrates the power of that word as He commands the storm to be silent. While it is certainly true that God sometimes miraculously intervenes and calms the storms of this life, the main point of this passage is who Jesus is. Mark previously narrated four miracles that demonstrate Jesus’ authority over unclean spirits, sickness, and the forgiveness of sin. Now, after Jesus’ kingdom parables, Mark will give us four more miracles. Jesus will calm the storm (forces of nature), cast out a legion of demons, cure a woman with a chronic condition, and raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead. These four miracles, which would seem to be on a grander scale, reveal more of Jesus’ identity and authority. He is God in the flesh. Only God can still the wind and waves. Yet, Jesus calming every storm in your earthly life is not the point. Jesus undoubtedly knew they would sail into a storm when He commanded them to sail across the sea. The storm tested their faith and revealed what they trusted in. When Jesus wakes, He rebukes them, saying, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" (v. 40) They were in far more danger from their fear and unbelief than from the storm. Their fear of the storm caused them to wonder if Jesus even cared (v. 38). This narrative is framed around three questions that could apply to every Christian’s life in this world. These questions call for answers that speak to our trials, sufferings, battles against sin, and things of the world. If Jesus is truly who He says He is, "Why are you so afraid?" The battle in this narrative is not simply a fight for survival on a stormy sea or expecting Jesus to calm our storms whenever we call. The battle, even in the fiercest storm, is answering, " Who then is this?"(v. 41) And trusting the one who is with us in the boat.

I. Setting: An Inevitable Storm (v. 35-37)

II. Do You Not Care? (v. 38)

III. Why Are You So Afraid? (v. 39-40)

IV. Who Then Is This? (v. 41)

Psalm 24 - The King Of Glory

Throughout the early chapters of Mark, Jesus’ emphasis on the kingdom and His authority has been central. The kingdom of God is His rule and reign, which is a present reality and a future fulfillment. As Christ came preaching and working miracles, we saw the fullness of God’s kingdom breaking into the present reality of this fallen creation. Jesus demonstrated His authority to bring God’s kingdom and called people to enter through repentance and faith (Mark 1:14-15). Yet, we have seen wildly different responses to Jesus in Mark’s presentation. It does not look like Jesus’ message and the kingdom of God is gaining traction among the people. Last week in Mark 4:1-20, Jesus explained these responses with the parable of the soils. He presented three soils that bore no fruit and one that bore fruit abundantly. After explaining its meaning, Jesus calls His disciples to "pay attention to what you hear," giving several reasons why this is so important. We must give heed to the word because everything hidden will come to light (v. 21-22), and the way one responds to the word (seed) will shape one’s future (v. 23-25). Those who have will be given more, and those who do not will lose what they have. Jesus clarifies that the word (seed) brings someone into the kingdom and grows the kingdom as the seed is spread. Then, adding to this picture, Jesus gives two more parables involving seed growth. In the first, He shows us that the seed of God’s kingdom grows through God’s power and word. In this parable, the farmer sows the seed and waits in faith for the harvest. The third parable illustrates that the kingdom of God grows from the seemingly smallest of seeds. Though its beginning and spread may seem insignificant in our sight, God’s work in the mundane and insignificant moments grows His kingdom for His glory. God’s kingdom and purpose are unstoppable in our hearts and His creation. Sunday, we will examine how the smallest of seeds can change everything.

I. The Kingdom Is Given Through Word: Heed What You Hear (v. 21-25)

II. The Kingdom Grows By God’s Word & Power (v. 26-29)

III. The Kingdom Grows From The Smallest Seed (v. 30-34)

Mark 4:21-34 Pay Attention To What You Hear

Throughout the early chapters of Mark, Jesus’ emphasis on the kingdom and His authority has been central. The kingdom of God is His rule and reign, which is a present reality and a future fulfillment. As Christ came preaching and working miracles, we saw the fullness of God’s kingdom breaking into the present reality of this fallen creation. Jesus demonstrated His authority to bring God’s kingdom and called people to enter through repentance and faith (Mark 1:14-15). Yet, we have seen wildly different responses to Jesus in Mark’s presentation. It does not look like Jesus’ message and the kingdom of God is gaining traction among the people. Last week in Mark 4:1-20, Jesus explained these responses with the parable of the soils. He presented three soils that bore no fruit and one that bore fruit abundantly. After explaining its meaning, Jesus calls His disciples to "pay attention to what you hear," giving several reasons why this is so important. We must give heed to the word because everything hidden will come to light (v. 21-22), and the way one responds to the word (seed) will shape one’s future (v. 23-25). Those who have will be given more, and those who do not will lose what they have. Jesus clarifies that the word (seed) brings someone into the kingdom and grows the kingdom as the seed is spread. Then, adding to this picture, Jesus gives two more parables involving seed growth. In the first, He shows us that the seed of God’s kingdom grows through God’s power and word. In this parable, the farmer sows the seed and waits in faith for the harvest. The third parable illustrates that the kingdom of God grows from the seemingly smallest of seeds. Though its beginning and spread may seem insignificant in our sight, God’s work in the mundane and insignificant moments grows His kingdom for His glory. God’s kingdom and purpose are unstoppable in our hearts and His creation. Sunday, we will examine how the smallest of seeds can change everything.

I. The Kingdom Is Given Through Word: Heed What You Hear (v. 21-25)

II. The Kingdom Grows By God’s Word & Power (v. 26-29)

III. The Kingdom Grows From The Smallest Seed (v. 30-34)

Mark 4:1-20 How Is Your Hearing?

This Sunday, in Mark 4:1-20, Jesus teaches the Parable of the Soils and challenges us with a profound question: “How are you hearing?” Since the fall of creation into sin, God promised a Savior—a seed of the woman—who would crush the serpent’s head, deliver humanity from sin’s corruption, and establish an everlasting kingdom. In Jesus of Nazareth, that promise is fulfilled. He proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). Through miracles such as healing the sick and forgiving sins, He demonstrated His authority as the long-awaited Messiah. Yet, as we’ve seen in Mark’s Gospel, people responded to Jesus in unexpected ways. Crowds pursued His miracles but overlooked His kingdom. Religious leaders, who were most familiar with the Scriptures, rejected Him. Even His family believed He had lost His mind. How could so many hear the same teachings, witness the same wonders, and respond so differently? In Mark 4, Jesus addresses this through the Parable of the Soils. He describes four types of hearers: the hardened heart, the shallow heart, the strangled heart, and the receptive heart. Each hears the word of the kingdom, but only one bears fruit. Jesus emphasizes hearing—a term mentioned thirteen times in this chapter—not merely as listening, but as accepting and obeying His message. He warns, “Take care how you hear” (v. 24), because our response reveals whether we truly follow Him or simply agree with Him. Jesus’ parables judge the hearer, not the other way around. They call us to examine our lives: Are we bearing fruit for His kingdom, or are we distracted, indifferent, or unchanged? The difference, as Jesus says, has an eternal cost.

1. "Hear" The Parable of the Soils (Mark 4:1-9)

2. "Hear" The Parable’s Purpose (v. 10-13)

3. Hearing is a Matter of the Heart (v. 14-20)

Mark 3:20-35 Unbelief & Jesus' True Family

Mark 3:20-35 is two stories sandwiched together. Verses 20-21 introduce Jesus’ earthly family traveling to retrieve Jesus because they believe he has gone insane. Then, Mark talks about an interaction with scribes who came from Jerusalem to oppose Jesus. Verses 31-35 give us the rest of the story regarding Jesus’ family. By using this structure of one story sandwiched between the beginning and end of another, Mark sets these two groups side by side, showing two kinds of unbelief. Then, he shows us the characteristics of Jesus’ true family. In this passage, we see two types of unbelief common to mankind. His earthly family does not believe Jesus knows what He is doing and has come to "seize" Him. They certainly don’t oppose Jesus or seek to harm him, but they do not believe He knows what is best. They think He is out of His mind and are attempting to control Him for His own good. Today, many do the same, following only the parts of His word they deem acceptable and neglecting the commands that seem too outlandish. This is a well-meaning unbelief that assumes Jesus cannot adequately know what our specific situation requires, and, therefore, His word is malleable depending on what we think is best. However, well-meaning unbelief is still unbelief. The scribes, on the other hand, are not ignorant. They know the prophecies of the Messiah better than anyone on the planet. Yet, when they are faced with the undeniable miracles the Spirit accomplishes through Jesus, they attribute His word to Satan. Jesus warns them of what is often called the unpardonable sin. Sunday, we will examine this sin and how it is committed today. Finally, when Jesus’ family arrives, Jesus is told they wish to speak to Him. Jesus tells those who sit at His feet and listen to His word that His true family is "whoever does the will of God." (v.35). This passage presents us with the two groups who should have known more than any other who Jesus is. His family knew Him better than anyone. The scribes knew the scriptures better than anyone. Yet, both respond with dangerous unbelief, and Jesus says the mark of His true family is those who sit at His feet (come to Him in faith) and whose lives are characterized by living for the Lord.

I. Unbelief That Seeks To Control Jesus (v. 20-21)

II. Unbelief That Willfully Rebels Against Jesus (v. 22-30)

III. Faith that Characterizes Jesus’ True Family (v. 31-35)

Mark 3:7-19 Responding To Jesus

Having seen the repeated questions and confrontations between Jesus and the religious leaders in Mark’s gospel, we came to a decisive moment last Sunday. In Mark 3:6, the Pharisees and Herodians resolved that Jesus had to be "destroyed." He had disregarded their traditions regarding ritual fasting, separation from sinners, and the Sabbath, and His message of God’s kingdom was not the same message they taught. He had become a threat. Though the Pharisees’ opposition was now at a fever pitch, Jesus’ ministry had never been more popular. As Mark 3:7 begins, Jesus withdraws to the seashore, and a massive crowd of people from a hundred-mile radius come to Him. As the leaders refuse to acknowledge Jesus’ identity, masses of people are coming. However, Mark doesn’t present this as a cause for celebration. Mark 3:7- 19 contrasts how the crowd (and unclean spirits) respond to Jesus and how his called disciples respond. The crowd comes to Jesus as nothing more than consumers. They desire relief from their physical ailments and spiritual maladies rather than Jesus Himself. Mark presents their press upon Jesus to touch him and be healed as a danger to Jesus, whose priority is proclaiming the kingdom of God (hence his need for a boat. 3:9; 4:1). Yet there is another group present who acknowledge Jesus’ identity and authority in all its reality. The unclean spirits fall before Jesus and declare Him the Son of God, something the religious leaders would not do. However orthodox their profession may be, they are not citizens of His kingdom or those whose hearts desire and love Him. They profess the truth about Him, but they hate it. Finally, Jesus chooses the twelve, committed and commissioned, as His ambassadors: three groups - three responses to Jesus. Sunday, we will apply this passage to our own lives and ask which group describes us.

I. The Consumers: The Crowd (v. 7-10)

II. The Cognizant: The Unclean Spirits (v. 11-12)

III. The Committed & Commissioned (v. 13-19)

Mark 2:23-3:6 Lord Of The Sabbath

This Sunday, we will be working through a difficult section of Mark’s gospel. There are several ways that this text can be misinterpreted or applied wrongly. It will be a challenge to navigate all these issues within a 35 minute sermon, so I would encourage you to read Mark 2:23-3:6 several times before Sunday. We will use a very simple outline to work through this account. Over the last several weeks, Jesus has demonstrated His authority to bring the Kingdom of God which He preached. He healed sickness, cast out demons, claimed authority to forgive sin, and compared himself to the bridegroom who has come for His bride. We have also seen the religious leaders increasingly oppose and confront Jesus. They doubt His authority to forgive sins, question his company of tax collectors and sinners, and call out His view on ritual fasting. Mark 2:23-3:6 shows the Pharisees challenge Jesus for breaking the Sabbath. First, they question His disciples picking and eating grain on the Sabbath day. To them, this amounted to reaping and threshing (doing work on the day God commanded for rest). Then, their hearts stand ready to accuse Him if he heals a man on the Sabbath. There are several ways we might go off the rails in interpreting and applying this passage. The most common is to deny that God fourth commandment still applies today. It certainly does. There are 10 commandments not 9. Jesus does not deny the creation ordinance of a sabbath rest. Yet, the Sabbath is not the legalistic, burdensome, & rule-filled reality that the Pharisees made it either. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (2:27). In the Christian life, we must keep all of God’s word in balance and stay out of the ditches. Foundationally, the Pharisees’ nit picking confrontations with Jesus were not because He kept company with sinners, didn’t require fasting, or was neglecting the Sabbath. The real problem was their hard heartedness (3:5). The religious leaders knew that their view and teaching on God’s salvation was fundamentally different than Jesus preaching on the Kingdom of God. Their view of legal obedience earning righteousness is not compatible with Jesus’ call for sinners to come to Him in faith. Because of this, their hearts were hard to Jesus’ identity and His call to repentance and faith. To receive Jesus would be to deny their teaching, their worldview, and their own righteousness. They would not do that. So, at the end of this passage, Jesus using the healing of a man’s hand to expose their hearts and Mark 3:6 says began seeking how they might destroy Him. From this point, Jesus is headed to the cross as their hearts grow harder to His call. It is easy to veer off into topical expositions of the Sabbath and legal technicalities (some of which we will do) but this text shows Jesus authority as the Son of Man to rightly interpret the word (for He is the author) and call the most religious of sinners to salvation in Him. 

READ Exodus 20:8-11 for God’s sabbath command

I. Jesus is Confronted With the Law (2:23-24)

II. Jesus Cites Precedent From Scripture (2:25-26)

III. Jesus is Lord Of The Sabbath (2:27-28)

IV. Jesus Reveals The True Problem (3:1-6) 

Mark 2:18-22 Jesus Changes Everything

Remember, daylight savings time begins this Sunday! Everything moves up an hour. When we last left Mark’s gospel, Jesus had called Levi, the tax collector, to follow Him. Having left all behind, Levi held a banquet at which Jesus ate with many tax collectors and sinners, drawing the questions of the Pharisees. As we examine Mark 2:18-22, we again find Jesus questioned about this feast at Levi’s house. Jesus is asked why the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees’ disciples fast while Jesus’ disciples are feasting. Jesus does not condemn the practice of fasting as a spiritual discipline. Jesus himself fasted in the gospels. But Jesus answers by comparing Himself to a bridegroom at a wedding. His presence is a time for joy and celebration. Then, He gives two illustrations showing that the New Covenant Kingdom of God has not come as an addition or addendum to the traditions of Judaism. Jesus says no one sews a new patch on an old garment or puts new wine in old wineskins. Doing so would destroy both the old and the new. Jesus does not come as a helpful addition to an already religious life. He did not come to add an extra little benefit to our already put-together goals and aspirations. Christ comes as the bridegroom to transform the sinner’s nature. He has come to make us new creatures, not to sprinkle some good theology and doctrine on our religious traditions. Sunday, we will examine what kind of fasting Jesus is being asked about and how his answer and illustration apply to us today. 

I. Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting (v. 18)

II. Jesus Presence Is An Occasion For Joy (v. 19-20)

III. Jesus is Not An Accessory To Life Or Religion (v. 21-22)

Mark 2:13-17 Friend Of Sinners

This Sunday, we enter a new section of the gospel of Mark. Having seen four demonstrations of Christ’s authority, culminating in His authority to forgive sins. The next four passages show us the religious leaders’ opposition to Jesus, which leads to their resolution to destroy Christ (Mark 3:6). Last week, as Christ forgave and healed the paralytic, we saw the beginning of this opposition as scribes viewed Jesus’ authority to forgive sins as blasphemy. In Mark 2:13-17, Jesus calls one of the most despised and immoral people in Hebrew culture - a Jewish tax collector. As Jesus continues to proclaim the Kingdom of God, calling people to repent and believe the gospel, He shows that this salvation is even open to the worst of sinners. Not only that, but Jesus fellowships at table with the worst of sinners. Christ’s association with sinners brings the opposition of "scribes of the Pharisees," who saw this as an act of defilement. Jesus responds with a well-known proverb saying, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17). This is both a glorious welcome for sinners and a warning for those who see themselves as righteous by their works (as the Pharisees did). Jesus is a friend of sinners, but He is not a friend of sin. In Luke’s account of this event, Jesus says, "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32). A sure sign of the Kingdom of God breaking into the life of a sinner is repentance and faith. When Jesus calls Levi, who is probably well-known and hated for his extortion of the people of Capernaum, He calls him to leave everything behind and follow Jesus. Sunday, we will examine Levi’s call, this fellowship meal of sinners, and Jesus’ warning to the self-righteous.

I. Jesus Calls The Worst Of Sinners (v. 13-14)

II. Jesus Fellowships With The Worst Of Sinners (v. 15-16)

III. Jesus Calls Sinners Not Self-Righteous (v. 17)

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Mark 2:1-12 Authority To Forgive Sins

Jesus’ kingdom authority has been the focus throughout Mark 1. He burst onto the scene proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is at hand and calling people to repent and believe the good news. Then, Mark presents four consecutive miracles that demonstrate Christ’s authority. Jesus casts out an unclean spirit in the synagogue of Capernaum, showing His authority over the kingdom of darkness. He heals Peter’s mother-in-law because He has authority over every effect of the fall. Last week, we examined the third miracle, when Jesus cleansed a leper. Only Christ has the authority to make the unclean clean. Each of these miracles reveals more of the Messiah’s authority to bring God’s Kingdom, culminating in the exercise of His most incredible display of authority.  This Sunday, Mark presents the fourth miracle, revealing that Jesus has the authority to forgive sin. The story of four men breaking through the roof to let down their paralytic friend before Jesus is a well-known narrative. Yet, this event is not just another physical healing. After seeing the faith of these men who are determined to get to Jesus and seeing the paralyzed man suffering before Him, Jesus does not immediately say, “Pick up your bed and walk.” Instead, His first words are, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus looks past this man’s physical suffering and meets his greatest need. Jesus only heals this man’s physical body to prove that He has the authority to forgive sins. When Christ pronounces the man’s sins forgiven, scribes in the crowd are offended that Jesus would claim an authority only God has. Only God can forgive sins, and claiming this authority is blasphemy. Knowing what is in their hearts, Jesus heals this man proving that He indeed is “the Son of Man” and “has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Mark 2:10).

I. Setting (v. 1-2)

II. Faith Is Displayed In Action (v. 3-5a)

III. Jesus Meets Our Greatest Need (v. 5)

IV. Jesus Has Authority To Forgive Sin (v. 6-12)

Mark 1:40-45 You Can Make Me Clean

Sunday, we examine the third of four miracles grouped together in the first section of Mark. Each of these miracles reveals another dimension of Jesus’ authority and mission. The first showed Jesus’ authority over evil spirits. The second illustrated His authority over sickness & the effects of the fall. In Mark 1:40-45, we will see Jesus’ authority to make clean what is unclean. As Jesus moves through Galilee, preaching and casting out spirits (1:39), Mark singles out one miracle for emphasis, the cleansing of a leper. While this miracle is indeed a physical healing similar to Peter’s mother-in-law, the word "heal" is not used in this passage at all. Instead, both the leper and Jesus repeatedly refer to "being clean." The leper approaches Jesus and says that Jesus can make him clean if He so wills. Jesus touches him and says, "I am willing. Be clean." While this is certainly a healing in every sense of the word, the emphasis is on the cleansing of the leper’s uncleanness. Leviticus 13:45-46 tells us that leprosy not only was a debilitating and deadly disease, but it required the afflicted person to live an isolated, lonely, and humiliating life. Not only this, but the leper would never be allowed into any synagogue or the temple courts to worship God as He commanded. The defilement of the disease separated the leper from the community of faith, his family, the worship of God, and from life in Israel. Because of this, leprosy has often been seen as a fitting picture of sin, which also defiles and separates us from God. As we examine this miraculous cleansing, we see that Jesus has authority not only to heal and roll back the effects of the fall, but Jesus can remove the defilement of sin as well. Jesus can make the unclean clean. That in itself is most instructive as we root ourselves in the gospel of Christ, but the passage doesn’t end there. In a curious turn of events, Jesus tells the leper not to tell anyone of his healing and to go to the priest and be declared clean according to the ceremonial law. Mark chronicles the disobedience of this cleansed man who immediately tells everyone. Because of this, Jesus’ ministry is hindered and he is no longer able to enter the towns to preach in the synagogue. Sunday, we will talk about what this means and how it applies in our own lives.

I. The Faith To Be Made Clean (v. 40)

II. The Compassion & Power To Make Clean (v. 41-42)

III. The Cost of Disobedience (v. 43-45)

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