James Reed's FORGE

This narrative found here in Mark is also found in Matthew 12:9-14 and Luke 6:6-11. When you put all three accounts together, here is what we learn. Another sabbath has arrived, and Jesus has entered the synagogue. Here He begins to teach (Luke 6:6). Attending the service is a man with a shriveled hand; specifically, the physician Luke (Col. 4:14) tells us it is the right hand. The Pharisees and scribes (Luke 6:7) are closely watching Jesus (Mark 3:2; Luke 6:7), with the purpose of preparing a charge against him. Jesus knows their thoughts, and forces the issue out of them (Luke 6:8; Matthew 12:10). His opponents ask Him, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath?” Jesus turns to the man and says, “Step forward,” (Mark 3:3; Luke 6:8). Then Jesus asks them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” (Luke 6:9; Mark 3:4). When they remain silent, Jesus gets angry, and He was grieved by the hardness of their hearts (Mark 3:5). In Matthew 12:11-13 the Bible says, “11Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.” The Pharisees are furious (Luke 6:11). They leave the synagogue and discuss what should be done. They even make contact with the Herodians, and the plot was hatched. The aim was to kill Jesus (Mark 3:6; 6:6; Matthew 12:14).

This was supposed to be a the final point of the previous sermon, but ended up being its own sermon. It is my hope that this episode will be useful to you.

According to a quick internet search, our national budget for fiscal 2022 was 1.688 trillion dollars. That’s a of tax dollars. It is almost beyond comprehension. In fact, we were talking about it a bit last week as we tried to wrap our heads around the concept of a trillion. As of February 2023, the US national debt was 31.4 trillion dollars. I did the math on our national budget only—not our national debt. Here’s what I came up with:

If you began at the birth of Christ spending $2,286,039.32 a day, every day, without any time off for weekends or holidays, and continued spending at that rate through the fall of Rome, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, right on into the Twentieth Century

⁠[1]⁠ R. Kent Hughes, Mark: Jesus, Servant and Savior, vol.

Lord God, gracious and merciful, You anointed Your beloved Son with the Holy Spirit at His baptism in the Jordan, and You consecrated Him prophet, priest, and

[1] Faith Alive Christian Resources. The Worship Sourcebook. 2nd. Grand Rapids, MI: The Calvin

We are going to be going through the Book of Mark. It is one of the four Gospels, and it has been called the “action” Gospel. Mark does not give a lot of details.This Gospel takes a fast pace, and it is a summary of the ministry of Jesus Christ. Mark hits the highlights. I expect you as devoted Christians to read the entire Book of Mark. If the only time you read your Bible is on Sunday, you

Mark is the person we find in Acts (12:25; 13:5, 13; 15:37-39), and he is the one Peter calls his “son” in 1 Peter 5:13. In Acts 12:12 we find John whose surname was Mark. This is where we read that Barnabas and Paul took John Mark with them. Mark’s Jewish name was John, but it was customary at that time in history to add a Latin surname. Thus the Gospel of Mark is actually the Gospel of John Mark.

John Mark was probably a disciple of Peter, and you can really get a sense of Peter’s personality in this action Gospel. Mark is here to give the gospel of Jesus Christ, and doesn’t waste time doing it. He gets right to the point.

He accompanied Paul on Paul’s first missionary journey. We are not told what happened between Paul and Mark,

We should note that Paul softened toward Mark. 2 Timothy 4:9-11 is where Paul asks for Mark by name and states that Mark is useful in ministry. We should take a lesson from this. Friends, our brothers and sisters will disappoint us at times; however, look at Paul and

This is the Mark who gives us this Gospel. He is the one who departed from the missionary team and went home to Jerusalem.

Today, we’re going to get a sense of Mark’s fast pace as we look at four action points brought out in verses 29-45.

I've been away for a while, but the podcast is still here! I've not had time to drop anything new, but this is something I found in my archives. It's me from 2012 speaking on a Sunday morning. So, it looks like we're going to skip from Matthew 5:26 all the way to Matthew 7. I will be back at some point to fill in the gaps as we continue to take the Bible verse by verse. I hope this is helpful and encouraging to you, my faithful listeners!