Sermon Notes; a Daily Devotional

Mark 4:10-20 "10 And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable. 11 And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. 13 And He said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 14 The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for t...

Mark 4:1-9 "1 And He began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto Him a great multitude, so that He entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And He taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in His doctrine, 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And He said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Je...

Mark 3:31-35 "31 There came then His brethren and His mother, and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. 32 And the multitude sat about Him, and they said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren without seek for Thee. 33 And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brethren? 34 And He looked round about on them which sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren! 35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother." Yesterday we saw the warning of the unforgivable sin; attributing the Holy Spirit’s work to Satan, which rejects God’s will. Today’s verses give the positive counterpart: the family of God is formed by embracing the Holy Spirit’s work through Jesus, that is, by doing God’s will. Those who reject the Spirit remain outside with the skeptical scribes and relatives; those who accept Him are brought inside as brothers and sisters in Christ. Mark 3:31-35 resolves the tension begun in verses 20-2...

Mark 3:20-30 "20 And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself. 22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils. 23 And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. 28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy...

Mark 3:13-19 "13 And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him. 14 And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, 15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: 16 And Simon he surnamed Peter; 17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him: and they went into an house." These verses mark a pivotal shift in Jesus’s ministry; from attracting crowds to forming a structured community that will carry on His work. Jesus ascends a mountain (a place of divine revelation, echoing Moses at Sinai) and summons “those whom He wanted.” Discipleship begins with His sovereign choice, not human initiative. The men re...

Mark 3:7-12 7 But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judaea, 8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him. 9 And He spake to His disciples, that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they should throng Him. 10 For He had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. 11 And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 12 And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him known." Today’s Devotional: Following the Pharisees’ plot to destroy Him, Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the Sea of Galilee. Yet this strategic retreat did not diminish His ministry. Instead, it revealed the explosive growth of His popularity and His sovereign authority over...