Commuter Bible NT

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.

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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 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.

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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 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.

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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 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.

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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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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.

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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 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.”

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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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Here in chapter 2, Mark continues to reveal that Jesus is not just any ordinary man, nor is he just another prophet, but is, in fact, God in the flesh. When a paralytic man is brought to Jesus for miraculous healing, Jesus does not heal him at first, but instead tells the man that his sins are forgiven. When the scribes present begin thinking about how only God can forgive sins, Jesus reveals his divinity threefold by perceiving their thoughts, by confirming that he has such authority, and by miraculously healing the man to attest to his power. This chapter also begins to reveal that the scribes and the Pharisees despise Jesus, questioning his authority, his purity, his devotion, and his commitment to God’s law.

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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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Today, we begin the gospel of Mark, which is one of the three synoptic gospels. “Synoptic” basically means “seeing the same thing,” and the other two synoptic gospels are Matthew and Luke. Historical evidence from early church fathers tells us that the apostle Peter is the one who passed these reports on to his attendant and writer, John Mark. Mark’s gospel is the shortest, but the most action-packed, as he includes a number of accounts and moves quickly from one scene to the next. connecting his stories with phrases like “immediately,” “just then” and “as soon as.” We also get a sense for how hectic life must have been for Jesus, as crowds push in around him demanding more and more of His time.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Paul has argued that to submit to the law’s demands as a means of righteousness is to submit to a yoke of slavery, whereas those who submit to Christ are free. Today, he continues that train of thought by arguing that to submit to circumcision as a means of righteousness is to obligate yourself to the entire law. He encourages the church to reject the works of the flesh and embrace the fruit of Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He encourages the church to share of their blessings with other believers, especially those who teach. As was commonplace, Paul was dictating his letter, but concludes by picking up the quill himself.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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Some of you may have noticed that we didn’t quite finish chapter 3 yesterday, and yes, that was intentional. The last three verses of chapter 3 actually fit better with Paul’s flow of thought into chapter 4, because Paul is pointing us to our inheritance as heirs in Christ. When it comes to what we each inherit in Christ, there is no division or hierarchy between Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; we are all sons and heirs. Paul is concerned that the Galatians will be enslaved to the law rather than free in Christ. Using an analogy, Paul says that Abraham’s sons represent two covenants: one born of a slave woman in Arabia, and another, Isaac, who born of a long-awaited promise through Sarah, a free woman.

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible

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