Bethel Christian Center

Jesus often ran afoul of the religious leaders over the matter of keeping traditions; plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath, or eating with unwashed hands. Tradition is not necessarily a bad thing, but when it has more authority than the Word of God then it is wrong. Colossians 2:8 warns us against man-made traditions, but we should heed the traditions given by God and handed down to His people (1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Thes. 2:15; 2 Tim. 2:2). Apostolic teaching (God’s Word) is to be passed on to succeeding generations without addition or alteration.

The plan was to trap Jesus. In chapter seven, the religious leaders sent officers to arrest Him, but they returned saying, “no man ever spoke like this man.” Now bringing a woman caught in adultery, Jesus is trapped between the Law of Moses and the law of the Romans. At first Jesus ignored the accusers, and then He exposed them. Let’s follow this cruel scheme.

Important to the ministry of Jesus was the appointment and training of His apostles…Men who would follow Him and continue His work after His death; men that would be with Him and later to be sent out to preach, heal, and cast out demons.

In this temporary life, what/who are you trusting in?

The miracles of Jesus are stories arranged to tell a bigger story about the life of Jesus. In other words, there is a message behind the miracle; the steps of understanding this message is: (1) Observation, study the events of the miracle; the context, and the culture (2) Interpretation, determine what truths it teaches, what does it mean theologically and (3) Application, determine how the truths apply to us. Bible.org

The miracles of Jesus are stories arranged to tell a bigger story about the life of Jesus. In other words, there is a message behind the miracle; the steps of understanding this message is: (1) Observation, study the events of the miracle; the context, and the culture (2) Interpretation, determine what truths it teaches, what does it mean theologically and (3) Application, determine how the truths apply to us. Bible.org

The story contained in these verses is also recorded by Matthew and Luke; each supplies additional details not given by the others - so when you take all three gospel accounts together you get the complete picture of what was said and what happened. This is a story that contains some powerfully important lessons for you and me.

Christianity is founded on miracles. The Bible speaks of the virgin birth, Christ's miracles, the resurrection of the dead, the coming of the Holy Spirit and much more. Yet many who call themselves Christians deny them for today. Hebrews 2:3-4 tells us three reasons to accept the great salvation that God offers through Jesus Christ. First, it was "announced by the Lord." Second, it was "confirmed...by those (apostles) who heard him." And third, "God also testifies to it by signs, wonders and miracles, and also the gifts of the Holy Spirit." Miracles are God's present witness of the validity of the gospel.

Palsy is a medical term which refers to various types of paralysis, often accompanied by weakness and the loss of feeling and uncontrolled body movements. This particular man was brought to Jesus by believing friends, and Christ answered their faith by not only healing the man, but forgiving him of his sins. These four men are carrying more truth than we might think.

Jesus has introduced a new counter-cultural standard of living: deep, genuine bliss that only He can offer.

The first recorded miracle Jesus performed was at a wedding. The wine had run out, and the Lord Jesus Christ, at the request of His mother, moved in to take care of the embarrassing situation. He told the servants to fill six available water pots with water; then, He turned the water into wine — but not ordinary wine, the very best. But this was not just a miracle. It was a miracle with a message.

Preaching the miracle stories of the Gospels in a rational age is not easy. Yet the Synoptic Gospels and the first nine chapters of Mark in particular, are filled with stories of Jesus as a miracle-worker. There are 18 miracles of Jesus recorded in the Book of Mark. The Gospel of Mark is well able to establish a healthy faith in Jesus Christ and his kingdom. Mark proceeded to do this through an emphasis on the miracles of Christ.

Communion should be a time of unity, reverence, self-reflection, and expectation for the coming of Christ.

All of the apostles were chosen by the Lord for a reason. All of them shared in the ministry and apostleship. Despite this equality, the gospel accounts reveal that on three different occasions, Jesus chose three of His apostles, and allowed them to see things that they were not permitted to tell the others. These three are regularly singled out to attend Him at His most sacred moments, both as helpers and as witnesses.

This is the last picture that we have of the apostle Paul in the book of Acts. The book of Acts is the one book in the New Testament Scriptures that tells us about the early church; it shows us what the early church was like; it gives us a pattern of churches in all time to come. Acts begins with Jerusalem, which, of course, was the capital city of the Jewish people, and concludes by bringing us to Rome. Rome was the capital of the non-Jewish world; so we see here the center of gravity move from Jerusalem to Rome. The purpose is to show that the Gentiles are brought into the Kingdom of God.

Mark deals with the subject of the keeping of the Sabbath, according to the Pharisaical interpretation of the law. This passage has two major divisions. Verses 23-28 give an account of the protest of the Pharisees and the response of our Lord, stemming from the “harvesting” of food on the Sabbath by Jesus’ disciples. Mark 3:1-6 deals with Jesus’ healing of the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath.

Change is in the air when God is involved. The resurrection of Jesus is synonymous with change. Old gives way to new. Death gives way to life. Deadness is transformed into something new and vital and life-giving. Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and about the triumph of eternal life over death. With the resurrection come new hope, new possibilities, new life, new promise, and change. Let us consider some of the changes, some of the transformations that the resurrection of Jesus has already made. Before, life was filled with despair. But now it has purpose, direction and meaning. Before, death was the end. But now it is just the beginning.

It is a rare thing that all four gospels record the same event in Jesus’ life. But what happens on this day in Jerusalem is recorded by all four of the gospel writers. For that reason alone, we should consider what happened here to be important. Six days before the Passover, on what we call Palm Sunday, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem. His dynamic entrance into the city fulfilled prophecy (Zechariah 9:9), affirmed his messianic royalty, and set the stage for his crucifixion. There was a great crowd there that day that had come to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. But who were the faces in that crowd that day, and what were they thinking?

Chapter two of Mark begins with the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof. The next story is the one for today. Here he calls Levi, who happens to be a tax collector. The people of Israel hated tax collectors. Tax collectors were viewed as low-lifes who would sell their own people down the river to make a buck. They were lumped with the worst of sinners. Now here comes a powerful and influential leader in the person of Jesus and he is calling one to be a disciple and then going and eating in his home.

“Jesus did not leave behind a powerless church when He ascended back to heaven. To the contrary, He imparted divine authority to those who follow Him, along with Holy Spirit power to accomplish great things for Him on this earth.” Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.