Jesus answers a final question before asking his own, while we are yet again reminded that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Read Mark 12:28-44 and thanks for listening!

We pump the breaks as we look at the second challenge to Jesus' authority, this time from the Sadducees, a challenge that speaks to the central importance of the resurrection and its grounding in the Old Testament. Read Mark 12:18-27 and thanks for listening.

Mark concludes the second half of his sandwich with some teaching on prayer that at first seems disconnected, and then concludes this section with a transitional discussion of Jesus' authority. Read Mark 11:20-33 and see you Sunday.

Coming to Jerusalem, Jesus famously enters but with a certain anticlimax. Then we take part of a Markan sandwich and see if that helps make sense of cleansing temples and cursing fig trees. Read Mark 11:1-19 and thanks for listening!

Jesus makes his third Passion prediction as Act 2 comes to a close and we approach Jerusalem, while the disciples yet again stumble in response. Read mark 10:32-52 and thanks for listening!

Jesus' teaching turns from one particular situation of following him to another as we read about the rich young ruler and the hope we have both in this life and the next. Read Mark 10:17-31 and thanks for listening.

Jesus turns to the topic of marriage, but these verses become much clearer in the context of chapter 9 and a historical debate. Read Mark 10:1-16 and thanks for listening!

We return to Mark and Jesus journey to Jerusalem as well as a familiar theme of the disciples failure to understand what it means to follow Jesus. Read Mark 9:30-50 and thanks for listening!

As Jesus reveals more about who He is to His disciples they struggle to understand Jesus' redemptive plan and fail in their ministry without Him. Read Mark 9:2-29 and thanks for listening!

The questions of who Jesus is and what that means for his followers become explicitly clear as Peter confesses Jesus is the Christ but fails to understand what that means. Read Mark 8:27-9:1 and thanks for listening!