James Reed's FORGE

We have been making our way through Mark’s Gospel, and in a sense we have been journeying with our Lord

Jesus responds to His disciples, to Peter, James, and John specifically.

As we consider our passage today, we need to keep in mind the previous chapters we’ve covered. Remember how we’ve considered Christian service to others. Remember the things our Lord has said about the first being the last or the greatest being the least. Remember how He has emphasized the totally helpless dependency of a child as a comparison of what our dependency upon the Lord should be.

The world’s attitude toward children of the Hellenistic society in the 1st century was hostile. Of course, we all know that Herod had children put to death at the Advent according to Matthew 2:16-20. Children were in a precarious position. Sometimes they were loved. Sometimes they were exploited. This all depended upon how the family thought they could best benefit. There is a fragment of a letter believed to be dated 1 BC which contains instructions from a husband to his pregnant wife. She is instructed if it’s a boy, keep it; if it’s a girl cast it out. There was no Roman law which protected children in this case. Exposing children to the elements was not outlawed in Rome until 375 AD, in large part because of the Christian Church. It was the Christians who rescued babies.

Is someone who is divorced and remarried in a permanent state of sin with no chance of salvation?

Your salvation is free. However, did you know that Jesus requires things of His disciples?

There was too much for a single episode, so I had to make a part 2. I hope this is a blessing to all who hear it.

Jesus and His disciples are now heading south from the mount of transfiguration. Jesus has told them where they are going and what is going to happen. There is a decisiveness as Jesus is passing through Galilee for the final time. Jesus is not going to be stopping. His final destination is Jerusalem. We’ve just read that the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. After He is killed, He will rise again on the third day. As we’ve pointed out before, the disciples did not understand this; they were afraid to ask Him about it. I want us to notice today not only what Jesus says, but how He reacts to the disciples.

This episode was first posted on March 19, 2024. I had to do some edits. Hopefully, this is the better recording. In this episode, we might begin to understand why people wanted to make Jesus their king. However, what was in the minds of people had more to do with physical healing and free food than with true followership. We are going to further see that Jesus is and was God in the flesh- the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New!