Today's reading opens with a parable that addresses the Pharisees. In the parable of the vineyard owner, farmhands rebel against the owner of the land they are working on. They reject anyone sent by the owner and refuse to give the owner any of the produce of the field. Time and again they reject and even kill the messengers sent to them and when the son of the vineyard owner comes they plot to kill him so that they might take the vineyard for themselves. Later, those view themselves as authorities in matters of theology pepper Jesus with questions about taxes, the resurrection, and the greatest commandment. Christ answers every question deftly and the crowds listen to him with delight.

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Jesus enters Jerusalem and is welcomed heartily with fanfare, cheers, and expectation. Many had concluded rightly that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but had concluded wrongly that Jesus would a conquering king in the traditional sense. They assumed that Jesus had come to take the throne of Israel in a limited, earthly sense, like kings that had come before him. Christ, however, came to vanquish sin and death, not the Roman government. When he enters the temple he rebukes those who use the worship of God as a money-making venture. The chief priests, scribes, and elders challenge the authority of Jesus, but calls their bluff by revealing that fear people more than they fear God.

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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The Pharisees continue to test Jesus to see what his conclusions will be concerning various topics of the law. Today that ask about divorce, and Jesus asserts that divorce was permitted under the Law only because of the hardness of man’s heart. Next, Jesus tells his disciples to let children come to him, for one can never enter the kingdom unless he does so like a child. Here in the 10th chapter of Mark’s gospel we also find a lengthy account of the rich, young ruler who cannot fathom leaving his riches behind to follow Jesus. This account is followed by teaching from Jesus about the nature of riches and the kingdom. We’ll also read Christ’s 3rd prediction of his death, the glory of service, and the faith of a blind man.

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Out of the twelve apostles that Christ selected there are three with whom he had a closer relationship; those men are Peter, James, and John. Today, Jesus takes the three of them up a mountain to pray where he is transfigured before them. In other words, his glory is revealed through his humanity in a unique and tangible way, so that the disciples might bear witness to his divinity. When they descend the mountain to meet the other disciples, Christ finds the remaining disciples trying to cast out a demon, but they are unable to do so. Later, Jesus predicts his death for the second time in the gospel of Mark, answers a question about who is the greatest, and gives a hyperbole for those who go on sinning with the blessings God has given them.

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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In our reading today, Jesus miraculously feeds four thousand people with only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. When the people are satisfactorily fed, they collect the uneaten pieces and gather seven large baskets full of leftovers. Jesus later warns his disciples to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees, and they think he’s talking about literal leaven, and begin talking about how they don’t any bread. Later, Jesus heals a blind man partially, and then fully, as a parallel to his disciples who are beginning to see things clearly but whose eyes are not yet fully open. As a side note, technically we’re also reading verse 1 of chapter nine, as it serves better as a conclusion to Christ’s discussion about endurance.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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The Pharisees observe a number of practices that they have developed outside of Scripture in order to maintain what they perceive to be according to the law. These traditions began to be held in such high esteem that they were seen to be equal to the Law itself. Moreover, they lacked a true love for the God of Abraham, essentially adhering to regulations as their salvation and their righteousness. As we read the interactions Jesus has with the Pharisees today, keep in mind that Christ came to fulfill the law, not abolish it. He teaches the crowd that it is not what goes into a person that makes them unclean, but that which comes out from the heart.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Jesus and his disciples have been traveling from town to town, and in today’s reading, they return to Nazareth, which is where Jesus grew up and where his family resides. Those who knew his family knew that he grew up without formal teaching under the roof of a humble, blue-collar father. Jesus doesn’t have the accolades of the scribes and Pharisees, and so they reject his teaching. Jesus then commissions the twelve apostles and they spread out into the nearby towns and villages teaching, healing, and casting out demons. Later, Mark gives us a detailed account of the fate of John the Baptist, who was beheaded by King Herod at a party. We’ll also hear accounts of Jesus feeding the five thousand, walking on water, and healing the sick.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Jesus and his disciples are crossing the sea. When they reach the other side, they are greeted by a man who is possessed, not just by one demon, but by many demons. While others attempted to bind and imprison this man who caused so much chaos, Jesus chooses to set him free, casting out the demons into a herd of pigs. This display of power freaks people out, and they ask Jesus to leave their region. Jesus and his disciples cross back to the other side of the sea where a leader of the synagogue meets Christ and begs him to come heal his sick daughter. On the way to heal her, a woman who wants to be healed touches Jesus’ clothes, and instantly she made whole. As Jesus nears Jairus’ house, he learns that she has died.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Our reading begins as Jesus tells a parable about the seed of a sower. The sower scatters the seed, but it falls onto different types of ground and into varying circumstances. The seed that falls on good soil is fruitful and reproduces, whereas the rest of the seed is not fruitful. The twelve apostles are confused. Jesus explains that his parables are intentionally obscured from those outside, but the kingdom of God is revealed to his followers. Later, as Jesus and his disciples travel by boat, a great windstorm arises on the open sea. Like Jonah, Jesus is asleep, but unlike Jonah, Jesus calms the wind and the waves himself by speaking to nature authoritatively, and the disciples have trouble wrapping their minds around it.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Jesus puts the hypocrisy of the Pharisees on display by healing a man on the Sabbath, and in turn, the Pharisees begin looking for a way to kill Jesus. The crowds continue to grow, and Jesus has the disciples get a small boat so that he can teach without getting crushed by those asking for healing. From the crowd of disciples, Jesus summons 12 men who be his apostles, and knowing the history of God’s people, we’re meant to understand that these 12 men parallel the 12 tribes of Israel. While eating and teaching in a house, scribes from Jerusalem enter and accuse him of having an unclean spirit, and Jesus jukes them by essentially saying, “You know, you really shouldn’t call the Holy Spirit unclean, because that’s blasphemy.”

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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