Jesus is less concerned with what is lawful and more focused on what is love, as He Himself shows that love to us

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Jesus calls us to care about the small things, just as He does

Today’s Gospel comes from a transitional portion of Mark’s narrative. The transition is seen in the secrecy of Jesus’ movements through Galilee (9:30); no longer will Jesus heal the sick there. In fact, only one more miracle is recorded before the triumphal entry: the healing of blind Bartimaeus (10:46-52).

Our text includes the second of three Passion predictions in Mark (8:31; 9:30–31; 10:33–34). The Son of God, revealed by miracle and teaching, is the Son of Man who will suffer and die and rise in Jerusalem. Having established Jesus’ identity, Mark is moving toward that very Passion.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

The power of prayer is nothing that has to do with prayer itself, it’s simply that God hears everything, cares about His children, and is able to help in every time of need

The healing of the deaf man describes an event whose sensory possibilities are vividly developed by the prophet Isaiah.

The amazed witnesses to Jesus’ miracle echo their response to his words, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped” (Isaiah 35:5).

One wonders if perhaps they might not have made a connection between what they witnessed and what Isaiah prophesied. Do we?

The Christians’ life is of necessity a life of battle with the powers of Satan. God prepares us for this battle by:

- giving us knowledge of the unseen and ever-present enemy,

- equipping us with divine defensive and offensive weapons, and

- the strength in Christ to use them.

We employ these weapons with prayer and thus extend God’s conquest over the evil one in the lives of His Chosen.

God desires that our hearts belong to Him. He desires that the faith we profess and practice will in fact be the same faith He calls us to…faith based on His Word of promise. Loved by God who gave us His Son, we will respond with faith that loves God with all our heart.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church