Jesus came into the world to make the Father known. He also came to bring sight to the blind. In this text an incident in Jesus’ ministry reveals who He is, the Light that illuminates both our sin and the path to eternal life. Blindness was found in both the man who could not see and the Pharisees […]
When we enter the Advent season, we are reminded of that profound moment in human history when the Second Person of the trinity took on human flesh. Jesus was God incarnate, God with us. The scriptures teach that this was not one of God’s afterthoughts, or a reaction to events on earth, but the outcome of a […]
Like a Caesar or an Alexander the Great, Jesus sets out to take over the world. But He doesn’t use money or political power or sword. He fulfills the prophetic announcement of John the Baptist, receives the blessing of His Father and the Holy Spirit at His baptism, repels Satan in the desert, and begins preaching. In our […]
In this text, we hear a declaration and a command. Jesus prophesies the arrival of a new age, the kingdom of God, embodied in Jesus himself. He proclaims this gospel to all who will embrace the truth of it and look to Him as their king for their salvation as they live a life of repentance. Even though this […]
In this gospel text we see the Jesus who identifies with our sin in His baptism, and then enters the desert, the cursed place, to do battle with Satan. Just as the Israelites were tempted to unfaithfulness in the desert after passing through the waters of the Red Sea, so Jesus experienced a far more severe […]
Mark continues his authentication of Jesus’ deity by appealing once again to Old Testament prophecies and events, especially Isaiah. Just as the Holy Spirit led the people of the Exodus through the waters of the Red Sea to freedom, so Jesus leads His followers through His baptism into the New Exodus. Mark identifies Jesus as the […]
John the Baptist was a prophet after the pattern and stature of Elijah. His baptism went beyond ritual self-cleansing to a baptism that marked repentance in search of forgiveness from God. In all this he was an effective herald of the ministry of Jesus, a prophet far greater than John or any who had preceded him. Jesus, […]
We cannot fully understand the New Testament without a proper knowledge of the Old Testament. In his gospel account Mark rests his claim that Jesus is God by equating Yahweh the Deliverer in the Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah, Exodus, and Malachi with Jesus. But Jesus’ rescue of captives would be greater. His deliverance would complete the Old […]