The Gospel of Mark was written between 58 and 63 AD to the Christians in Rome.  The audience is primarily Gentiles because there are very few Old Testament quotations and Aramaic expressions are translated into Greek, and some Latin terms are used, also Mark used the Roman method of reckoning time.  The church in Rome was facing hard times in the early sixties when Mark wrote this letter to them, and the eyewitnesses to Jesus would all soon be martyred.  Therefore, Mark wrote a record of Peter’s eyewitness account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Lesson 1:  Spring_12_Lesson_1  ;  MARK—Introduction  ;  Mark-the_Beginning_of_the_Gospel

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Jesus had begun His active ministry after the age of 30 primarily in the area on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee in and around Capernaum.  After He had amazed everyone with His authoritative teaching of the Word of God, He proved He had the power of God by doing many impressive miracles.  In Mark 2:13, Jesus began a practice of calling and appealing to known sinners, as well as contradicting the traditions of the religious leaders by “working” on the Sabbath.  These two practices greatly offended the religious leaders, and together with Christ’s rebukes of their unbelief, caused them to conspire against Jesus.

Lesson 2:  Spring_12_Lesson_2  ;  Steve_Jobs_and_the_Reality_Distortion_Field

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Jesus did everything that should be expected of the promised Messiah.  He fulfilled the O.T. prophecies, He taught with great authority, and He did the signs and wonders that only God can do.  Nevertheless, the religious establishment was not believing in Him, and we find that even His own brothers and sisters were not believing in Him (John 7:5).  Therefore Jesus explained to His disciples the importance of His spiritual family, and He began teaching in parables that unbelievers didn’t understand.

Lesson 3:  Spring_12_Lesson_3 ;  Mark_3-Pursuit_of_Self_Interest

Although Jesus did a great many miracles, the four Gospels record about 35 for our study.  Although we naturally think Jesus did miracles out of people’s need and His compassion, the primary purpose seems to be a teaching tool for His disciples and a revelation about who He is.  In the miracle recorded in Mark 4:35-41, the disciples were obeying and following Jesus when they found themselves in a great deal of trouble.  The early church saw this story as a sign of the presence of Jesus in the midst of the trouble that was threatening to overwhelm the church.  The storms of life are meant to reveal something new about Jesus.

Lesson 4:  Spring_12_Lesson_4

Jesus had just healed the Gerasene demoniac, and now He returned to the west side of the Sea of Galilee, and was met by a crowd expecting more miracles.  An important synagogue official begged Him to heal his daughter who was laying in his house and near death.  As He made His way through the crowd to get to the man’s house, a poor woman suffering from a hemorrhage came up to touch Jesus.  According to Leviticus 15, the bleeding made her ceremonially unclean and an outcast.  Now that all other hope was lost, she turned to Jesus for help.

Lesson 5:  Spring_12_Lesson_5