Young Women of Faith Bible, NIV

8/12/2019 Young Women of Faith Bible, NIV

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?Mark

Who wrote this book?A young man named John Mark wrote down stories Peter toldabout Jesus.

Why was this book written?Mark shows people who Jesus is by telling what Jesus did.

For whom was this book written?Mark wrote this book for Gentiles (people who were not Jews).

What happens in this book?Jesus shows his power by performing miracles that help people, andhe teaches his disciples.

Who is important in this book?Jesus is the important person in this book.

When did this happen?Jesus worked miracles and taught from.. 26 to 30.

Where did this happen?Most events in Mark 19 happened in Galilee. Most events in Mark1016 took place in or near Jerusalem.

What are some of the stories in this book?Jesus heals a paralyzed man Mark 2:112Jesus calms a storm Mark 4:3541Jesus raises a dead girl Mark 5:2143Jesus walks on water Mark 6:4556Jesus feeds four thousand people Mark 8:110Jesus heals a young boy Mark 9:1432Jesus holds the Lords Supper Mark 14:1226Jesus dies and is buried Mark 15:2147Jesus is raised again Mark 16:18

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MARK 11267

You may rememberfrom the OldTestament that Godtold Samuel to anointSaulto pour oil onhis headto makeSaul king (1Samuel10:1). And later Samuel

anointed David as king(1Samuel 16:1,13). Andremember when Elijahthrew his cloak aroundElisha (1Kings 19:16,19)? That was thebeginning of Elishaswork as a prophet.The anointing oil andthe cloak showed thatthese people were

chosen by God to dospecial work.

Jesus baptism byJohn the Baptist wassomething like that. Itmarked the beginningof Jesus special work ofshowing Israel that hewas the Messiah Godhad promised themthe peoples savior.

When the Spiritcame down like a dove,this was God giving

Jesus this special work.

Mark 1:913

Jesu

sIsBaptize

d

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Mes-

siah,a the Son of God,b2as it is written in Isaiah theprophet:

I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your wayc

3a voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. d

4And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness,preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness ofsins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people ofJerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were

baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothingmade of camels hair, with a leather belt around his waist,and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his mes-sage: After me comes the one more powerful than I, thestraps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down anduntie. 8I baptize you withewater, but he will baptize youwithethe Holy Spirit.

The Baptism and Testing ofJesus9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and

was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10Just as Jesus was com-ing up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and

the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voicecame from heaven: You are my Son, whom I love; withyou I am well pleased.

12At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,13and he was in the wilderness forty days, being temptedfby Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attend-ed him.

Jesus Announces the Good News14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee,

proclaiming the good news of God. 15The time has come,he said. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and

believe the good news!

Jesus Calls His First Disciples16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon

and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for theywere fishermen. 17Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I willsend you out to fish for people. 18At once they left their netsand followed him.

19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James sonof Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing theirnets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their

a1 OrJesus Chr ist.Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ(Greek) both meanAnointed One. b1 Some manuscripts do not have the Son of God.c2 Mal. 3:1 d3 Isaiah 40:3 e8 Or in f13 The Greek fortemptedcan also mean tested.



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MARK 1 1268

Five hundred yearsearlier, Jerusalemand the temple weredestroyed by theBabylonian army (see2Kings 25). Althoughthey wanted tocontinue worshiping

God, the Israelites wereforbidden to returnhome and there was notemple to worship at.So, they began meetingtogether in groups toread the Scriptures(the Old Testament)and pray. The buildingwhere they met wascalled a synagogue.

The synagogue quicklybecame the center of

Jewish life.By Jesus time,

Jews were living inevery major city inthe Roman Empire.Although the templein Jerusalem had beenrebuilt, the people stillwanted to continue

worshiping God intheir local synagogues.After Jesus returned toheaven, the synagoguebecame the placewhere Christians met,too. This explains whythe Jewish synagogueand the churches weattend today are sosimilar.

Mark 1:21

AJew

ishSynagogu

e

father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followedhim.

Jesus Drives Out an Impure

Spirit21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came,

Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22Thepeople were amazed at his teaching, because he taught themas one who had authority, not as the teach ers of the law.23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed byan impure spirit cried out, 24What do you want with us,Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I knowwho you are the Holy One of God!

25Be quiet! said Jesus sternly. Come out of him! 26Theimpure spirit shook the man violently and came out of himwith a shriek.

27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other,What is this? A new teaching and with authority! He evengives orders to impure spirits and they obey him. 28Newsabout him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many29As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with

James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30Si-mons mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they im-mediately told Jesus about her. 31So he went to her, took herhand and helped her up. The fever lef t her and she beganto wait on them.

32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesusall the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gath-ered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had variousdiseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would notlet the demons speak because they knew who he was.

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus

got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, wherehe prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look forhim, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: Every-one is looking for you!

38Jesus replied, Let us go somewhere else to the near-by villages so I can preach there also. That is why I havecome. 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching intheir synagogues and driving out demons.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy40A man with leprosyacame to him and begged him on

his knees, If you are willing, you can make me clean.41Jesus was indignant.bHe reached out his hand and

touched the man. I am willing, he said. Be clean! 42Im-mediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

43Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning:

a40 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosywas used forvarious diseases affect ing the sk in. b41 Many manuscriptsJesuswas filled with compassion



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MARK 21269

Jesus taught at thelocal synagogue, castout an evil spirit, andhealed many of the sickand demon-possessedpeople in the town ofCapernaumall in oneday. And this was on

the Sabbath, the day ofrest! If you had done allthis, would you sleepin the next morning?Not Jesus. He was upand ready for his firstand most importantappointment of theday. While everyoneelse was still snoring,

Jesus spent time with

his Father.Jesus prayed first

thing, before his mindand his body weretired from the dayswork. He showed usthe importance ofgiving our best andour full attention toGod. And Jesus oftenprayed alone in a quiet

place. He didnt wantanything to take hisattention away fromGod. Do you think thatif even Jesus, the Son ofGod, thought prayingwas so important,perhaps it should beimportant to us, too?

Mark 1:35

Firs

tThings

F

irst

44See that you dont tell this to anyone. But go, show your-self to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses com-

manded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.45

In-stead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading thenews. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openlybut stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still cameto him from everywhere.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum,the people heard that he had come home. 2They gath-ered in such large numbers that there was no room left, noteven outside the door, and he preached the word to them.3Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carriedby four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus be-cause of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof aboveJesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat theman was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said tothe paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven.

6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, think-ing to themselves, 7Why does this fellow talk like that? Hesblaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?

8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was whatthey were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them,Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: tosay to this paralyzed man, Your sins are forgiven, or to say,Get up, take your mat and walk? 10But I want you to knowthat the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.So he said to the man, 11I tell you, get up, take your mat andgo home. 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in fullview of them all. This amazed everyone and they praisedGod, saying, We have never seen anything like this!

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners13Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large

crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14As hewalked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the taxcollectors booth. Follow me, Jesus told him, and Levi gotup and followed him.

15While Jesus was having dinner at Levis house, manytax collectors and sinners were eating with him and hisdisciples, for there were many who followed him. 16Whenthe teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eatingwith the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples:Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?

17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not thehealthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come tocall the righteous, but sinners.

Jesus Questioned About Fasting18Now Johns disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.

Some people came and asked Jesus, How is it that Johnsdisciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, butyours are not?



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the skins, and both the wine and the wine-skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine

into new wineskins.Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23One Sabbath Jesus was going through thegrainfields, and as his disciples walked along,they began to pick some heads of grain. 24ThePharisees said to him, Look, why are they do-ing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?

25He answered, Have you never readwhat David did when he and his compan-ions were hungry and in need? 26In the daysof Abiathar the high priest, he entered thehouse of God and ate the consecrated bread,which is lawful only for priests to eat. And healso gave some to his companions.

27Then he said to them, The Sabbath wasmade for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28Sothe Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

3 Another time Jesus went into the syna-gogue, and a man with a shriveled handwas there. 2Some of them were looking fora reason to accuse Jesus, so they watchedhim closely to see if he would heal him onthe Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with theshriveled hand, Stand up in front of every-one.

4Then Jesus asked them, Which is lawfulon the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, tosave life or to kill? But they remained silent.

5He looked around at them in anger and,deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts,said to the man, Stretch out your hand. Hestretched it out, and his hand was completelyrestored. 6Then the Pharisees went out andbegan to plot with the Herodians how they

might kill Jesus.

Crowds Follow Jesus7Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the

lake, and a large crowd from Galilee fol-lowed. 8When they heard about all he wasdoing, many people came to him from Judea,Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions acrossthe Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.9Because of the crowd he told his disciplesto have a small boat ready for him, to keepthe people from crowding him. 10For he had

healed many, so that those with diseases werepushing forward to touch him. 11Wheneverthe impure spirits saw him, they fell down

19Jesus answered, How can the guests ofthe bridegroom fast while he is with them?They cannot, so long as they have him withthem. 20But the t ime wi ll come when thebridegroom will be taken from them, andon that day they will fast.

21No one sews a patch of unshrunk clothon an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece

will pull away from the old, making the tearworse. 22And no one pours new wine into oldwineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst

If I Were There...

Jesus is preaching, and everyonewants to get a glimpse of thismysterious man with incrediblepowers. If I were there, Id be onmy tiptoes. Id want to make sureI get to see Jesus. I want to ask forhis autograph, but its really hardto even see him because its socrowded.

If I were there, Id be surprisedto see the ceiling opening. Howannoying! These people on the roofwere keeping Jesus from preaching.Cant they wait their turn? But Idnotice the man lying on the mat, andits obvious he is paralyzed. Id waitto see what Jesus does next as theman is lowered down to him.

If I were there, Id feel the shockgo through the crowd when Jesussaid, Your sins are forgiven! Id lookover at some teachers of the lawwho were there. Id see the looks ontheir faces, even though I couldnthear what they said. Id think, Uh,oh! But then Id see the pure joy onthe healed mans face. Id watch him

jump and skip and runso happy towalk again. Jesus is amazing!

Mark 2:15



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MARK 41271

The leaders of the Jewsdidnt want to believe

Jesus was the Messiah,but evil spirits knewwho he was. Theycried and fell downbefore him as theypronounced he was

the Son of God. Jesushushed them.

Why do you thinkhe did that? Jesuswas concernedthat he might bemisunderstood. Thepeople were expectingthe Messiah to helpthem overthrow theRoman government. If

they knew he was theMessiah, their plansto rebel against theRomans might get inthe way of Jesus plans:to show the way oflove and to die for theirsins.

Mark 3:1112

Evil

Spirits

Knew

before him and cried out, You are the Son of God. 12But hegave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve13Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him

those he wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointedtwelveathat they might be with him and that he might sendthem out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out de-mons. 16These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whomhe gave the name Peter), 17James son of Zebedee and hisbrother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, whichmeans sons of thunder), 18Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Si-mon the Zealot 19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Accused by His Family and by

TeachersoftheLaw

20Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gath-ered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.21When his familyb heard about this, they went to takecharge of him, for they said, He is out of his mind.

22And the teachers of the law who came down from Je-rusalem said, He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the princeof demons he is driving out demons.

23So Jesus called them over to him and began to speakto them in parables: How can Satan drive out Satan? 24If

a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannotstand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that house can-not stand. 26And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, hecannot stand; his end has come. 27In fact, no one can enter astrong mans house without first tying him up. Then he canplunder the strong mans house. 28Truly I tell you, peoplecan be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will neverbe forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.

30He said this because they were saying, He has an im-pure spirit.

31Then Jesus mother and brothers arrived. Standing

outside, they sent someone in to call him.32

A crowd wassitting around him, and they told him, Your mother andbrothers are outside looking for you.

33Who are my mother and my brothers? he asked.34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him

and said, Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoeverdoes Gods will is my brother and sister and mother.

The Parable of the Sower

4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd thatgathered around him was so large that he got into a boatand sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along

the shore at the waters edge.2

He taught them many thingsa14 Some manuscr ipts twelve designating them apostles b21 Or his associates



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MARK 4 1272

dont you put it on its stand? 22For whateveris hidden is meant to be disclosed, and what-

ever is concealed is meant to be brought outinto the open. 23If anyone has ears to hear,let them hear.

24Consider carefully what you hear, hecontinued. With the measure you use, itwill be measured to you and even more.25Whoever has will be given more; whoeverdoes not have, even what they have will betaken from them.

The Parable of the Growing Seed26He also said, This is what the kingdom

of God is like. A man scatters seed on theground. 27Night and day, whether he sleepsor gets up, the seed sprouts and grows,though he does not know how. 28All by itselfthe soil produces grain first the stalk, thenthe head, then the full kernel in the head.29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts thesickle to it, because the harvest has come.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed30Again he said, What shall we say the

kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall

we use to describe it?31

It is like a mustard seed,which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32Yetwhen planted, it grows and becomes the larg-est of all garden plants, with such big branchesthat the birds can perch in its shade.

33With many similar parables Jesus spokethe word to them, as much as they could un-derstand. 34He did not say anything to themwithout using a parable. But when he wasalone with his own disciples, he explainedeverything.

Jesus Calms the Storm35That day when evening came, he said

to his disciples, Let us go over to the otherside. 36Leaving the crowd behind, they tookhim along, just as he was, in the boat. Therewere also other boats with him. 37A furioussquall came up, and the waves broke over theboat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesuswas in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. Thedisciples woke him and said to him, Teach-er, dont you care if we drown?

39He got up, rebuked the wind and said tothe waves, Quiet! Be still! Then the winddied down and it was completely calm.

by parables, and in his teaching said: 3Lis-ten! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As

he was scattering the seed, some fell alongthe path, and the birds came and ate it up.5Some fell on rocky places, where it did nothave much soil. It sprang up quickly, becausethe soil was shallow. 6But when the sun cameup, the plants were scorched, and they with-ered because they had no root. 7Other seed fellamong thorns, which grew up and choked theplants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Stillother seed fell on good soil. It came up, grewand produced a crop, some multiplying thirty,some sixty, some a hundred times.

9

Then Jesus said, Whoever has ears tohear, let them hear.10When he was alone, the Twelve and

the others around him asked him about theparables. 11He told them, The secret of thekingdom of God has been given to you. Butto those on the outside everything is said inparables 12so that,

they may be ever seeing but neverperceiving,

and ever hearing but neverunderstanding;

otherwise they might turn and beforgiven!a

13Then Jesus said to them, Dont you un-derstand this parable? How then will you un-derstand any parable? 14The farmer sows theword. 15Some people are like seed along thepath, where the word is sown. As soon as theyhear it, Satan comes and takes away the wordthat was sown in them. 16Others, like seedsown on rocky places, hear the word and atonce receive it with joy. 17But since they haveno root, they last only a short time. When trou-ble or persecution comes because of the word,they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seedsown among thorns, hear the word; 19but theworries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealthand the desires for other things come in andchoke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others,like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, ac-cept it, and produce a crop some thirty, somesixty, some a hundred times what was sown.

A Lamp on a Stand21He said to them, Do you bring in a

lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead,

a12 Isaiah 6:9,10



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MARK 51273

Mark 4:2123

Journal

What good is a flashlight if it s stuffed under your bed?

Get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. In the dark, with

the light turned off, write your name and address on a

piece of paper. Now turn on the light. How does it look?

Maybe no one but you could even read it! Try writing it

now that the light is on. Isnt it a lot easier to write? Now

everyone can read it.

The New Testament often uses light as a metaphor.It says Jesus is the light of the world (John 1:49), and

Jesus says weare the light of the world, too. In Mark 4,

he uses light as a metaphor for doing good. When we do

good because we are Christians, other people will see it

and praise God (Matthew 5:16). For more on metaphors,

turn to Psalm 1.

in the hills he would cry out and cut himselfwith stones.

6

When he saw Jesus from a distance, heran and fell on his knees in front of him.7He shouted at the top of his voice, Whatdo you want with me, Jesus, Son of the MostHigh God? In Gods name dont torture me!8For Jesus had said to him, Come out of thisman, you impure spirit!

9Then Jesus asked him, What is yourname?

My name is Legion, he replied, for weare many. 10And he begged Jesus again andagain not to send them out of the area.

11A large herd of pigs was feeding on thenearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus,Send us among the pigs; allow us to go intothem. 13He gave them permission, and the

40He said to his disciples, Why are you soafraid? Do you still have no faith?

41

They were terrified and asked eachother, Who is this? Even the wind and thewaves obey him!

Jesus Restores a Demon-PossessedMan

5 They went across the lake to the region ofthe Gerasenes.a2When Jesus got out ofthe boat, a man with an impure spirit camefrom the tombs to meet him. 3This manlived in the tombs, and no one could bindhim anymore, not even with a chain. 4For he

had often been chained hand and foot, but hetore the chains apart and broke the irons onhis feet. No one was strong enough to subduehim. 5Night and day among the tombs and

a1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes



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1274MARK 5

the crowd and asked, Who touched myclothes?

31

You see the people crowding againstyou, his disciples answered, and yet youcan ask, Who touchedme?

32But Jesus kept looking around to seewho had done it. 33Then the woman, know-ing what had happened to her, came and fellat his feet and, trembling with fear, told himthe whole truth. 34He said to her, Daughter,your faith has healed you. Go in peace and befreed from your suffering.

35While Jesus was still speaking, some peo-ple came from the house of Jairus, the syn-

agogue leader. Your daughter is dead, theysaid. Why bother the teacher anymore?36Overhearingbwhat they said, Jesus told

him, Dont be afraid; just believe.37He did not let anyone follow him except

Peter, James and John the broth er of James.38When they came to the home of the syna-gogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, withpeople crying and wailing loudly. 39He wentin and said to them, Why all this commo-tion and wailing? The child is not dead butasleep. 40But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took thechilds father and mother and the discipleswho were with him, and went in where thechild was. 41He took her by the hand and saidto her, Talitha koum!(which means Littlegirl, I say to you, get up!). 42Immediately thegirl stood up and began to walk around (shewas twelve years old). At this they were com-pletely astonished. 43He gave strict orders notto let anyone know about this, and told themto give her something to eat.

A Prophet Without Honor

6Jesus left there and went to his home-town, accompanied by his disciples.

2When the Sabbath came, he began to teachin the synagogue, and many who heard himwere amazed.

Where did this man get these things?they asked. Whats this wisdom that hasbeen given him? What are these remarkablemiracles he is performing? 3Isnt this the car-penter? Isnt this Marys son and the brotherof James, Joseph,cJudas and Simon? Arenthis sisters here with us? And they took of-fense at him.

impure spirits came out and went into thepigs. The herd, about two thousand in num-

ber, rushed down the steep bank into the lakeand were drowned.14Those tending the pigs ran off and re-

ported this in the town and countryside,and the people went out to see what had hap-pened. 15When they came to Jesus, they sawthe man who had been possessed by the le-gion of demons, sitting there, dressed and inhis right mind; and they were afraid. 16Thosewho had seen it told the people what hadhappened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the

people began to plead with Jesus to leavetheir region.18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the

man who had been demon-possessed beggedto go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, butsaid, Go home to your own people and tellthem how much the Lord has done for you,and how he has had mercy on you. 20So theman went away and began to tell in the De-capolisahow much Jesus had done for him.And all the people were amazed.

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals aSick Woman

21When Jesus had again crossed over byboat to the other side of the lake, a largecrowd gathered around him while he was bythe lake. 22Then one of the synagogue lead-ers, named Jairus, came, and when he sawJesus, he fell at his feet. 23He pleaded ear-nestly with him, My little daughter is dy-ing. Please come and put your hands on herso that she will be healed and live. 24So Jesuswent with him.

A large crowd followed and pressedaround him. 25And a woman was there whohad been subject to bleeding for twelve years.26She had suffered a great deal under the careof many doctors and had spent all she had,yet instead of getting better she grew worse.27When she heard about Jesus, she came upbehind him in the crowd and touched hiscloak, 28because she thought, If I just touchhis clothes, I will be healed. 29Immediatelyher bleeding stopped and she felt in her bodythat she was freed from her suffering.

30At once Jesus realized that power hadgone out from him. He turned around in

a20 That is, the Ten Cities b36 Or Ignoring c3 GreekJoses, a variant ofJoseph



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MARK 61275

Because the Phariseesand the teachers ofthe law hated Jesus,this synagogue rulermay have risked his jobwhen he asked Jesusfor help. But he didntcare about thathis

daughter was terriblyill. While he and Jesuswere on the way to her,a message came thatshe had died. But Jesustold the father, Dontbe afraid; just believe.When they arrivedat the mans house,everyone there laughedwhen Jesus said the girl

was only asleep.With Peter, James,

John and her parentsin the room, Jesus tookthe young womanshand and told herto get up. And shedid just that! Jesusperformed a miraclefor the synagogueleader. This miracle

probably turned everyfamily member into abeliever.

Mark 5:3543

Jairus

Daughter

4Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor ex-cept in his own town, among his relatives and in his own

home.5

He could not do any miracles there, except lay hishands on a few sick people and heal them. 6He was amazedat their lack of faith.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.7Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out twoby two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

8These were his instructions: Take nothing for the jour-ney except a staff no bread, no bag, no money in yourbelts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10Whenever youenter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11And ifany place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave thatplace and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony againstthem.

12They went out and preached that people should repent.13They drove out many demons and anointed many sickpeople with oil and healed them.

John the Baptist Beheaded14King Herod heard about this, for Jesus name had be-

come well known. Some were saying,aJohn the Baptist hasbeen raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous pow-ers are at work in him.

15Others said, He is Elijah.

And still others claimed, He is a prophet, like one of theprophets of long ago.

16But when Herod heard this, he said, John, whom I be-headed, has been raised from the dead!

17For Herod himself had given orders to have John ar-rested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He didthis because of Herodias, his brother Philips wife, whom hehad married. 18For John had been saying to Herod, It is notlawful for you to have your brothers wife. 19So Herodiasnursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. Butshe was not able to, 20because Herod feared John and pro-tected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.

When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzledb; yet heliked to listen to him.

21Finally the opportune time came. On his birthdayHerod gave a banquet for his high officials and militarycommanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22When thedaughter ofcHerodias came in and danced, she pleasedHerod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, Ask me for anything you want,and Il l give it to you. 23And he promised her with an oath,Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.

24She went out and said to her mother, What shall I askfor?

a14 Some early manuscripts He was saying b20 Some earlymanuscripts he did many things c22 Some early manuscriptsWhen his daughter



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MARK 6 1276

53When they had crossed over, they land-ed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54Assoon as they got out of the boat, peoplerecognized Jesus. 55They ran throughoutthat whole region and carried the sick onmats to wherever they heard he was. 56And

wherever he went into villages, towns orcountryside they placed the sick in the

fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanksand broke the loaves. Then he gave them to

his disciples to distribute to the people. Healso divided the two fish among them all.42They al l ate and were satisfied, 43and thedisciples picked up twelve basketfuls of bro-ken pieces of bread and fish. 44The numberof the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water45Immediately Jesus made his disciples get

into the boat and go on ahead of him to Beth-saida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46Afterleaving them, he went up on a mountainsideto pray.

47Later that night, the boat was in themiddle of the lake, and he was alone on land.48He saw the disciples straining at the oars,because the wind was against them. Shortlybefore dawn he went out to them, walking onthe lake. He was about to pass by them, 49butwhen they saw him walking on the lake, theythought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50be-cause they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said,Take courage! It is I. Dont be afraid.51Then he climbed into the boat with them,and the wind died down. They were com-pletely amazed, 52for they had not under-stood about the loaves; their hearts werehardened.

The head of John the Baptist, she an-swered.

25

At once the girl hurried in to the kingwith the request: I want you to give me rightnow the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

26The king was greatly distressed, but be-cause of his oaths and his dinner guests, hedid not want to refuse her. 27So he immedi-ately sent an executioner with orders to bringJohns head. The man went, beheaded Johnin the prison, 28and brought back his head ona platter. He presented it to the girl, and shegave it to her mother. 29On hearing of this,Johns disciples came and took his body and

laid it in a tomb.Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30The apostles gathered around Jesusand reported to him all they had done andtaught. 31Then, because so many people werecoming and going that they did not evenhave a chance to eat, he said to them, Comewith me by yourselves to a quiet place andget some rest.

32So they went away by themselves in aboat to a solitary place. 33But many who saw

them leaving recognized them and ran onfoot from all the towns and got there aheadof them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a largecrowd, he had compassion on them, becausethey were like sheep without a shepherd. Sohe began teaching them many things.

35By this time it was late in the day, sohis disciples came to him. This is a remoteplace, they said, and its already very late.36Send the people away so that they can goto the surrounding countryside and villagesand buy themselves something to eat.

37

But he answered, You give them some-thing to eat.They said to him, That would take more

than half a years wagesa! Are we to go andspend that much on bread and give it to themto eat?

38How many loaves do you have? heasked. Go and see.

When they found out, they said, Five and two fish.

39Then Jesus directed them to have all thepeople sit down in groups on the green grass.40

So they sat down in groups of hundreds andfifties. 41Taking the five loaves and the two

a37 Greek take two hundred denarii

Mark

6:50

Memo

ryVerse

Take courage! It is I.Dont be afraid.



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17After he had left the crowd and enteredthe house, his disciples asked him about

this parable.18

Are you so dull? he asked.Dont you see that nothing that enters a per-son from the outside can defile them? 19Forit doesnt go into their heart but into theirstomach, and then out of the body. (In say-ing this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

20He went on: What comes out of a per-son is what defiles them. 21For it is fromwithin, out of a persons heart, that evilthoughts come sexual immorality, theft,murder, 22adultery, greed, malice, deceit,lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.23

All these evils come from inside and defilea person.

Jesus Honors a SyrophoenicianWomans Faith

24Jesus left that place and went to the vi-cinity of Tyre.gHe entered a house and didnot want anyone to know it; yet he could notkeep his presence secret. 25In fact, as soon asshe heard about him, a woman whose littledaughter was possessed by an impure spiritcame and fell at his feet. 26The woman was a

Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She beggedJesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.27First let the children eat all they want,

he told her, for it is not right to take the chil-drens bread and toss it to the dogs.

28Lord, she replied, even the dogs un-der the table eat the childrens crumbs.

29Then he told her, For such a reply, youmay go; the demon has left your daughter.

30She went home and found her child ly-ing on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man31Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre andwent through Sidon, down to the Sea of Gal-ilee and into the region of the Decapolis.h32There some people brought to him a manwho was deaf and could hardly talk, and theybegged Jesus to place his hand on him.

33After he took him aside, away from thecrowd, Jesus put his fingers into the mansears. Then he spit and touched the manstongue. 34He looked up to heaven and with adeep sigh said to him, Ephphatha!(which

marketplaces. They begged him to let themtouch even the edge of his cloak, and all who

touched it were healed.

That Which Defiles

7The Pharisees and some of the teachersof the law who had come from Jerusalemgathered around Jesus 2and saw some of hisdisciples eating food with hands that weredefiled, that is, unwashed. 3(The Phariseesand all the Jews do not eat unless they givetheir hands a ceremonial washing, holdingto the tradition of the elders. 4When theycome from the marketplace they do not eat

unless they wash. And they observe manyother traditions, such as the washing of cups,pitchers and kettles.a)

5So the Pharisees and teachers of the lawasked Jesus, Why dont your disciples live ac-cording to the tradition of the elders insteadof eating their food with defiled hands?

6He replied, Isaiah was right when heprophesied about you hypocrites; as it iswritten:

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

7They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human

rules.b

8You have let go of the commands of Godand are holding on to human traditions.

9And he continued, You have a fine wayof setting aside the commands of God in or-der to observecyour own traditions! 10ForMoses said, Honor your father and moth-er,dand, Anyone who curses their father ormother is to be put to death.e11But you say

that if anyone declares that what might havebeen used to help their father or mother isCorban (that is, devoted to God) 12thenyou no longer let them do anything for theirfather or mother. 13Thus you nullify the wordof God by your tradition that you have hand-ed down. And you do many things like that.

14Again Jesus called the crowd to him andsaid, Listen to me, everyone, and understandthis. 15Nothing outside a person can defilethem by going into them. Rather, it is whatcomes out of a person that defiles them. [16]f

a4 Some early manuscriptspitchers, kettles and dining couches b6,7 Isaiah 29:13 c9 Some manuscriptsset up d10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16 e10 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9 f16 Some manuscripts include herethe words of 4:23. g24 Many early manuscripts Tyre and Sidon h31 That is, the Ten Cities



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1278MARK 7

Witchcraft, spiritualwarfare, demonpossessionJesusmet it all in his work.Mark tells here abouta woman whoselittle girl was demon-possessed. Because

of the womans beliefin Jesus, Jesus healedher child.

You may knowsomeone who is playingaround with some formof witchcraft or sorcery.Some people say theyare just having fun ortrying it out, but evilis real, and sometimes

there are real, evilspiritual powers behindbooks, games, videosand song lyrics. Playingwith these things candamage a personsmind and spirit.

The good news isthis: Jesus has morepower than any evilspirit. Be careful of

witchcraft and othersupernatural powersthat dont followGods Word. If youare a believer in Jesus,dont be afraid. Godhas power to destroyevil and heal peoplefrom it.

Mark 7:2430

APosse

ssedChild

means Be opened!). 35At this, the mans ears were opened,his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

36

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But themore he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37Peo-ple were overwhelmed with amazement. He has done ev-erything well, they said. He even makes the deaf hear andthe mute speak.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 During those days another large crowd gathered. Sincethey had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples tohim and said, 2I have compassion for these people; theyhave already been with me three days and have nothing toeat. 3If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the

way, because some of them have come a long distance.4His disciples answered, But where in this remote placecan anyone get enough bread to feed them?

5How many loaves do you have? Jesus asked.Seven, they replied.6He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When

he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he brokethem and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the peo-ple, and they did so. 7They had a few small f ish as well; hegave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distributethem. 8The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the dis-ciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were

left over. 9About four thousand were present. After he hadsent them away, 10he got into the boat with his disciples andwent to the region of Dalmanutha.

11The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. Totest him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12He sigheddeeply and said, Why does this generation ask for a sign?Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it. 13Then he leftthem, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees andHerod14The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for

one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15Be careful, Jesus

warned them. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees andthat of Herod.

16They discussed this with one another and said, It isbecause we have no bread.

17Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: Why areyou talking about having no bread? Do you still not see orunderstand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have eyesbut fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And dont you re-member? 19When I broke the f ive loaves for the five thou-sand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pickup?

Twelve, they replied.20And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thou-

sand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pickup?They answered, Seven.21He said to them, Do you still not understand?



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MARK 91279

Jesus and his disciplestraveled around theregion of Galilee. Thedisciples saw him healpeople, feed thousandswith the tiniest bitof food, cast out evilspirits and walk on

water. And they heardhim preach about thekingdom of God thatwas coming. Theyhad seen and heardall these things when

Jesus asked them,Who do you say Iam? Peter was theone who answered,You are the Messiah.

Messiah is anotherword for Christ, theking and savior Godhad promised to the

Jews and to the world.At some point every

person has to answerthat question. Whatwill you answer when

Jesus asks you, Whodo you say I am?

Mark 8:2730

Jesus

=

?

Jesus Heals a Blind Man atBethsaida22They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a

blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23He took theblind man by the hand and led him outside the village.When he had spit on the mans eyes and put his hands onhim, Jesus asked, Do you see anything?

24He looked up and said, I see people; they look liketrees walking around.

25Once more Jesus put his hands on the mans eyes. Thenhis eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw ev-erything clearly. 26Jesus sent him home, saying, Dont evengo intoathe village.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

27Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages aroundCaesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, Who dopeople say Iam?

28They replied, Some say John the Baptist; others sayElijah; and still others, one of the prophets.

29But what about you? he asked. Who do you sayIam?

Peter answered, You are the Messiah.30Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Predicts His Death31He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must

suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chiefpriests and the teachers of the law, and that he must bekilled and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainlyabout this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebukehim.

33But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, herebuked Peter. Get behind me, Satan! he said. You donot have in mind the concerns of God, but merely humanconcerns.

The Way of the Cross34Then he cal led the crowd to him along with his disci-

ples and said: Whoever wants to be my disciple must denythemselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35Forwhoever wants to save their lifebwill lose it, but whoeverloses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36Whatgood is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeittheir soul? 37Or what can anyone give in exchange for theirsoul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in thisadulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will beashamed of them when he comes in his Fathers glory withthe holy angels.

9 And he said to them, Truly I tell you, some who arestanding here will not taste death before they see thatthe kingdom of God has come with power.a26 Some manuscriptsgo and tell anyone in b35 The Greekword means either lifeor soul; also in verses 36 and37.



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MARK 9 1280

his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your dis-ciples to drive out the spirit, but they could

not.19You unbelieving generation, Jesus re-plied, how long shall I stay with you? Howlong shall I put up with you? Bring the boytome.

20So they brought him. When the spiritsaw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy intoa convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolledaround, foaming at the mouth.

21Jesus asked the boys father, How longhas he been like this?

From childhood, he answered. 22It has

often thrown him into fire or water to killhim. But if you can do anything, take pityon us and helpus.

23 If you can? said Jesus. Everything ispossible for one who believes.

24Immediately the boys father exclaimed,I do believe; help me overcome my unbe-lief !

25When Jesus saw that a crowd was run-ning to the scene, he rebuked the impurespirit. You deaf and mute spirit, he said, Icommand you, come out of him and neverenter him again.

26The spirit shrieked, convulsed him vio-lently and came out. The boy looked so muchlike a corpse that many said, Hes dead.27But Jesus took him by the hand and liftedhim to his feet, and he stoodup.

28After Jesus had gone indoors, his disci-ples asked him privately, Why couldnt wedrive it out?

29He replied, This kind can come outonly by prayer.a

Jesus Predicts His Death a Second

Time30They left that place and passed through

Galilee. Jesus did not want any one to knowwhere they were, 31because he was teachinghis disciples. He said to them, The Son ofMan is going to be delivered into the handsof men. They will kill him, and after threedays he will rise. 32But they did not under-stand what he meant and were afraid to askhim aboutit.

33They came to Capernaum. When he wasin the house, he asked them, What were youarguing about on the road? 34But they kept

The Transfiguration2After six days Jesus took Peter, James and

John with him and led them up a high moun-tain, where they were all alone. There he wastransfigured before them. 3His clothes be-came dazzling white, whiter than anyone inthe world could bleach them. 4And there ap-peared before them Elijah and Moses, whowere talking with Jesus.

5Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is goodfor us to be here. Let us put up three shel-ters one for you, one for Moses and one forElijah. 6(He did not know what to say, theywere so frightened.)

7

Then a cloud ap peared and coveredthem, and a voice came from the cloud: Thisis my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!

8Suddenly, when they looked around,they no longer saw anyone with them exceptJesus.

9As they were coming down the moun-tain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell any-one what they had seen until the Son of Manhad risen from the dead. 10They kept thematter to themselves, discussing what ris-ing from the dead meant.

11

And they asked him, Why do theteachers of the law say that Elijah must comefirst?

12Jesus replied, To be sure, Elijah doescome first, and restores all things. Why thenis it written that the Son of Man must suffermuch and be rejected? 13But I tell you, Elijahhas come, and they have done to him every-thing they wished, just as it is written abouthim.

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed byanImpureSpirit

14When they came to the other disciples,they saw a large crowd around them and theteachers of the law arguing with them. 15Assoon as all the people saw Jesus, they wereoverwhelmed with wonder and ran to greethim.

16What are you arguing with themabout? he asked.

17A man in the crowd answered, Teach-er, I brought you my son, who is possessedby a spirit that has robbed him of speech.18Whenever it seizes him, it throws him tothe ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes

a29 Some manuscriptsprayer and fasting



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Im

Becominga

Woman

ofFaith

Can You Believe the Unbelievable?Jesus gave his disciples power to drive out demons (Mark 3:1415). But thedisciples cant heal this particular boy who has an evil spirit. Why (Matthew17:1920)? The boys father has heard of Jesus and his disciples and the many

people they have healed, so he brings his son. But when he says, if you can, heshows he doesnt really believe in Jesus.

How does Jesus answer him (Mark 9:23)?

What does the father ask Jesus to do (Mark 9:24)?

Not believing in Jesus power to do something can keep your faith fromgrowing stronger. Like this boys father, ask Jesus to help you defeat your unbelief.

Read About ItRead Joshua 6:120. The people living in Jericho wonder what is going on. Whyin the world are 40,000 Israelite soldiers marching around their citywithoutsaying anything? And why do the priests keep blowing trumpets? Its beenthe same thing every day for six days. On the seventh day, something newhappensthe army marches around the city seven times. After the seventh

time, the Israelites give a loud shout and the wall of Jericho comes crashingdown.

Do you think the Israelites were a little surprised when God saidtheyd defeat a city by blowing trumpets and walking around the wall?

They had just seen God part the Jordan River so they could easilycross on dry land (Joshua 3:117). This gave them confidence. The

people trusted in God, and they showed their faith by obeyingGods command. Its their faith in the Lord that makes the wall ofJericho fall (Hebrews 11:30).

Experience It

Do you believe God can do anything? Think back over your lifeand look for ways God has helped you in ways you never thoughthe would. Ask family members if they have experienced amazingthings God has done when doubt may have been hanging around.

Ask for Jesus help to conquer your disbelief. He will lovingly lenda hand just as he did with the father in Mark 9. Praise him for the

work hes already done in your life.

Go to Luke 1 for your next Bible study.

Mark 9:1429

Week34



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1282MARK 9

Causing to Stumble42If anyone causes one of these littleones those who believe in me to stum-ble, it would be better for them if a largemillstone were hung around their neck andthey were thrown into the sea. 43If your handcauses you to stumble, cut it off. It is betterfor you to enter life maimed than with twohands to go into hell, where the fire nevergoes out. [44] a45And if your foot causes youto stumble, cut it off. It is better for you toenter life crippled than to have two feet and

be thrown into hell.[46]a

47

And if your eye

causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is bet-ter for you to enter the kingdom of God with

one eye than to have two eyes and be throwninto hell, 48where

the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.b

49Everyone will be salted with fire.50Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness,

how can you make it salty again? Have saltamong yourselves, and be at peace with eachother.

Divorce

10Jesus then left that place and wentinto the region of Judea and across

the Jordan. Again crowds of people came tohim, and as was his custom, he taught them.

2Some Pharisees came and tested him byasking, Is it lawful for a man to divorce hiswife?

3What did Moses command you? he re-plied.

4They said, Moses permitted a man towrite a certificate of divorce and send heraway.

5

It was because your hearts were hardthat Moses wrote you this law, Jesus replied.6But at the beginning of creation God madethem male and female.c7For this reason aman will leave his father and mother and beunited to his wife,d8and the two will becomeone flesh.eSo they are no longer two, butone flesh. 9Therefore what God has joinedtogether, let no one separate.

10When they were in the house again, thedisciples asked Jesus about this. 11He an-swered, Anyone who divorces his wife and

marries another woman commits adulteryagainst her. 12And if she divorces her hus-band and marries another man, she commitsadultery.

The Little Children and Jesus13People were bringing little children to

Jesus for him to place his hands on them, butthe disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesussaw this, he was indignant. He said to them,Let the little children come to me, and donot hinder them, for the kingdom of God be-

longs to such as these.15

Truly I tell you, any-

quiet because on the way they had arguedabout who was the greatest.

35

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelveand said, Anyone who wants to be first mustbe the very last, and the servant of all.

36He took a little child whom he placedamong them. Taking the child in his arms,he said to them, 37Whoever welcomes oneof these little children in my name welcomesme; and whoever welcomes me does not wel-come me but the one who sentme.

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is forUs38Teacher, said John, we saw some-

one driving out demons in your name andwe told him to stop, because he was not oneofus.

39Do not stop him, Jesus said. For noone who does a miracle in my name can inthe next moment say anything bad aboutme, 40for whoever is not against us is for us.41Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cupof water in my name because you belong tothe Messiah will certainly not lose their re-ward.

a44,46 Some manuscripts include here the words of verse48. b48 Isaiah 66:24 c6 Gen. 1:27d7 Some early manuscripts do not have and be united to his wife. e8 Gen. 2:24

God wants me tohelp others.

Mark 9:41

IBelieve

...



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MARK 101283

Mark 10:1731

JournalDear Journal,

Im sort of confused. I just read about the rich young

ruler and how he really loved his money. I feel like I love

my money, too. Not that I have a lot of it. But when

I go to the mall with my friends, I want to buy almost

everything in sight. I love clothes and jewelry and teddy

bears and . . . well, you get the point.

Im worried that I might not be putting Jesus first in

my life. If Jesus told me never to go to the mall again,

could I do it? Im really going to try to be better about my

priorities. Ill write more later,

Janna

have treasure in heaven. Then come, fol-lowme.

22

At this the mans face fell. He went awaysad, because he had great wealth.23Jesus looked around and said to his dis-

ciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter thekingdom of God!

24The disciples were amazed at his words.But Jesus said again, Children, how hard itisbto enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easierfor a camel to go through the eye of a nee-dle than for someone who is rich to enter thekingdom of God.

26The disciples were even more amazed,and said to each other, Who then can besaved?

27Jesus looked at them and said, Withman this is impossible, but not with God; allthings are possible with God.

28Then Peter spoke up, We have left ev-erything to follow you!

29Truly I tell you, Jesus replied, no one

one who will not receive the kingdom of Godlike a little child will never enter it. 16And

he took the children in his arms, placed hishands on them and blessed them.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran

up to him and fell on his knees before him.Good teacher, he asked, what must I do toinherit eternal life?

18Why do you call me good? Jesus an-swered. No one is good except God alone.19You know the commandments: You shallnot murder, you shall not commit adultery,you shall not steal, you shall not give falsetestimony, you shall not defraud, honor yourfather and mother.a

20Teacher, he declared, all these I havekept since I was a boy.

21Jesus looked at him and loved him. Onething you lack, he said. Go, sell everythingyou have and give to the poor, and you will

a19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20 b24 Some manuscripts is for those who trust in riches



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MARK 10 1284

Blind Bartimaeus Receives HisSight46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and

his disciples, together with a large crowd,were leaving the city, a blind man, Barti-maeus (which means son of Timaeus), wassitting by the roadside begging. 47When heheard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he beganto shout, Jesus, Son of David, have mercyonme!

48Many rebuked him and told him to bequiet, but he shouted all the more, Son ofDavid, have mercy onme!

49Jesus stopped and said, Call him.So they called to the blind man, Cheer

up! On your feet! Hes calling you.50

Throw-ing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet andcame to Jesus.

51What do you want me to do for you?Jesus asked him.

who has left home or brothers or sisters ormother or father or children or fields for

me and the gospel30

will fail to receive ahundred times as much in this present age:homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, childrenand fields along with persecutions andin the age to come eternal life. 31But manywho are first will be last, and the last first.

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time32They were on their way up to Jerusalem,

with Jesus leading the way, and the discipleswere astonished, while those who followedwere afraid. Again he took the Twelve asideand told them what was going to happen tohim. 33We are going up to Jerusalem, hesaid, and the Son of Man will be deliveredover to the chief priests and the teach ers ofthe law. They will condemn him to death andwill hand him over to the Gentiles, 34whowill mock him and spit on him, flog him andkill him. Three days later he will rise.

The Request of James and John35Then James and John, the sons of Zeb-

edee, came to him. Teacher, they said, wewant you to do for us whatever we ask.

36What do you want me to do for you?he asked.

37They replied, Let one of us sit at yourright and the other at your left in your glory.

38You dont know what you are asking,Jesus said. Can you drink the cup I drink orbe baptized with the baptism I am baptizedwith?

39We can, they answered.Jesus said to them, You will drink the cup

I drink and be baptized with the baptism Iam baptized with, 40but to sit at my right or

left is not for me to grant. These places be-long to those for whom they have been pre-pared.

41When the ten heard about this, they be-came indignant with James and John. 42Jesuscalled them together and said, You knowthat those who are regarded as rulers of theGentiles lord it over them, and their high of-ficials exercise authority over them. 43Not sowith you. Instead, whoever wants to becomegreat among you must be your servant, 44andwhoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

45For even the Son of Man did not come tobe served, but to serve, and to give his life asa ransom for many.

If I Were There...

Jesus was leaving Jericho. Everyonewas crowding around him, when onevoice rose louder than the rest. Ablind beggar sitting by the road wasshouting his head off.

If I were there, and I were thisblind beggar, Id keep shouting asloud as I could to make sure Jesusknew I was there. Id feel desperateto get his attention. When peopletold me to be quiet, Id shout even

louder. Id heard of Jesus, and Idknow he could heal me.If I were there, and Jesus stopped

to talk to me, I might start crying. Iwant to see, Id say.

If I were there, the first thingId see is Jesus face! If I could evenspeak, Id thank him. I would followhim along the road and tell everyonewho would listen to me what hewhat Godhad done for me.

Mark 10:4652



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MARK 111285

Maybe youve seenmovies about Jesus orpictures people havepainted that show howgentle Jesus wasmaybe he even lookedlike a wimp. Well, getthose pictures out of

your mind. Yes, Jesuswas gentle and kind,but read what he didin the temple. Hedrove out the peoplewho were buying andselling. He flipped overtables and benches andstopped people fromcarrying through thetemple the goods they

wanted to sell. Soundsalmost like a superhero, doesnt he? But itwasnt some little thingthat he was angryaboutit was peoplemaking Gods house,the temple, a place forbusiness instead of aplace for prayer andworship. Jesus cleaned

it out.

Mark 11:1519

ASu

perHero?

The blind man said, Rabbi, I want to see.52Go, said Jesus, your faith has healed you. Immedi-

ately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.Jesus Comes to Jerusalem asKing

11As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpha-ge and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent twoof his disciples, 2saying to them, Go to the village ahead ofyou, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there,which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3Ifanyone asks you, Why are you doing this? say, The Lordneeds it and will send it back here shortly.

4They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied ata doorway. As they untied it, 5some people standing thereasked, What are you doing, untying that colt? 6They an-swered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let themgo. 7When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw theircloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloakson the road, while others spread branches they had cut inthe fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followedshouted,

Hosanna!a

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!b

10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!

11Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the templecourts. He looked around at everything, but since it wasalready late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and ClearstheTempleCourts

12The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus washungry. 13Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he wentto find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he foundnothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.14Then he said to the tree, May no one ever eat fruit from

you again. And his disciples heard him sayit.15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts

and began driving out those who were buying and sellingthere. He overturned the tables of the money changers andthe benches of those selling doves, 16and would not allowanyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.17And as he taught them, he said, Is it not written: Myhouse will be called a house of prayer for all nationsc? Butyou have made it a den of robbers.d

18The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard thisand began looking for a way to kill him, for they fearedhim, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

a9 AHebrew expression meaning Save! which became anexclamation of praise; also in verse10 b9 Psalm 118:25,26c17 Isaiah 56:7 d17 Jer. 7:11



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1286MARK 11

they seized him, beat him and sent him awayempty-handed. 4Then he sent another ser-

vant to them; they struck this man on thehead and treated him shamefully. 5He sentstill another, and that one they killed. Hesent many others; some of them they beat,others they killed.

6He had one left to send, a son, whom heloved. He sent him last of all, saying, Theywill respect my son.

7But the tenants said to one another,This is the heir. Come, lets kill him, andthe inheritance will be ours. 8So they tookhim and killed him, and threw him out ofthe vineyard.

9What then will the owner of the vine-yard do? He will come and kill those tenantsand give the vineyard to others. 10Haventyou read this passage of Scripture:

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyesd?

12Then the chief priests, the teachers ofthe law and the elders looked for a way toarrest him because they knew he had spo-

ken the parable against them. But they wereafraid of the crowd; so they left him and wentaway.

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar13Later they sent some of the Pharisees

and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in hiswords. 14They came to him and said, Teach-er, we know that you are a man of integrity.You arent swayed by others, because you payno attention to who they are; but you teachthe way of God in accordance with the truth.

Is it right to pay the imperial taxeto Caesaror not? 15Should we pay or shouldntwe?

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. Whyare you trying to trap me? he asked. Bringme a denarius and let me look at it. 16Theybrought the coin, and he asked them, Whoseimage is this? And whose inscription?

Caesars, they replied.17Then Jesus said to them, Give back to

Caesar what is Caesars and to God what isGods.

And they were amazed at him.

19When evening came, Jesus and his dis-ciplesawent out of the city.

20

In the morning, as they went along, theysaw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Pe-ter remembered and said to Jesus, Rabbi,look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!

22Have faith in God, Jesus answered.23Trulyb I tell you, if anyone says to thismountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea,and does not doubt in their heart but believesthat what they say will happen, it will bedone for them. 24Therefore I tell you, what-ever you ask for in prayer, believe that youhave received it, and it will be yours. 25Andwhen you stand praying, if you hold any-thing against anyone, forgive them, so thatyour Father in heaven may forgive you yoursins. [26]c

The Authority of Jesus Questioned27They arrived again in Jerusalem, and

while Jesus was walking in the temple courts,the chief priests, the teachers of the law andthe elders came to him. 28By what authori-ty are you doing these things? they asked.And who gave you authority to do this?

29Jesus replied, I will ask you one ques-

tion. Answer me, and I will tell you by whatauthority I am doing these things. 30Johnsbaptism was it from heaven, or of humanorigin? Tellme!

31They discussed it among themselves andsaid, If we say, From heaven, he will ask,Then why didnt you believe him? 32But ifwe say, Of human origin... (They fearedthe people, for everyone held that John reallywas a prophet.)

33So they answered Jesus, We dontknow.

Jesus said, Neither will I tell you by whatauthority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Tenants

12 Jesus then began to speak to themin parables: A man planted a vine-yard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit forthe winepress and built a watchtower. Thenhe rented the vineyard to some farmers andmoved to another place. 2At harvest time hesent a servant to the tenants to collect fromthem some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But

a19 Some early manuscripts came, Jesus b22,23 Some early manuscripts If you have faith in God, Jesusanswered, 23truly c26 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Matt.6:15. d11 Psalm118:22,23 e14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens



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MARK 121287

the kingdom of God. And from then on noone dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?35While Jesus was teaching in the temple

courts, he asked, Why do the teachers of thelaw say that the Messiah is the son of David?36David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit,declared:

The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. f

37David himself calls him Lord. How thencan he be his son?

The large crowd listened to him with de-

light.

Warning Against the TeachersoftheLaw

38As he taught, Jesus said, Watch out forthe teachers of the law. They like to walkaround in flowing robes and be greeted withrespect in the marketplaces, 39and have themost important seats in the synagogues andthe places of honor at banquets. 40They de-vour widows houses and for a show makelengthy prayers. These men will be punished

most severely.

Marriage at the Resurrection18Then the Sadducees, who say there is no

resurrection, came to him with a question.19Teacher, they said, Moses wrote for usthat if a mans brother dies and leaves a wifebut no children, the man must marry thewidow and raise up offspring for his broth-er. 20Now there were seven brothers. Thefirst one married and died without leavingany children. 21The second one married thewidow, but he also died, leaving no child. Itwas the same with the third. 22In fact, noneof the seven left any children. Last of all,the woman died too. 23At the resurrectiona

whose wife will she be, since the seven weremarried to her?

24Jesus replied, Are you not in error be-cause you do not know the Scriptures or thepower of God? 25When the dead rise, they willneither marry nor be given in marriage; theywill be like the angels in heaven. 26Now aboutthe dead rising have you not read in theBook of Moses, in the account of the burningbush, how God said to him, I am the God ofAbraham, the God of Isaac, and the God ofJacobb? 27He is not the God of the dead, but

of the living. You are badly mistaken!

The Greatest Commandment28One of the teachers of the law came and

heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus hadgiven them a good answer, he asked him, Ofall the commandments, which is the mostimportant?

29The most important one, answeredJesus, is this: Hear, OIsrael: The Lord ourGod, the Lord is one.c30Love the Lord yourGod with all your heart and with all your

soul and with all your mind and with allyour strength.d31The second is this: Loveyour neighbor as yourself.eThere is no com-mandment greater than these.

32Well said, teacher, the man replied.You are right in saying that God is one andthere is no other but him. 33To love him withall your heart, with all your understandingand with all your strength, and to love yourneighbor as yourself is more important thanall burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34When Jesus saw that he had answered

wisely, he said to him, You are not far froma23 Some manuscripts resurrection, when people rise from the dead, b26 Exodus 3:6 c29 Or TheLord our God is one Lord d30 Deut. 6:4,5 e31 Lev. 19:18 f36 Psalm 110:1

The Lord commandsme to love him with

my whole self, and hecommands me to love my

neighbor as myself. Theseare his most importantcommands.

Mark 12:3031

IBelieve.

..



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1288MARK 12

What do you thinkyou would do if yourfamily was down to thelast $1 you had? Howwould you spend it?

Jesus watchedthe temple crowdas people gave their

money. He heard thecoins drop into thecollection bin. Therich people gave lotsof money, and Jesusnodded. It was goodthat they sharedtheir wealth. Then hesaw a poor widow.She gave two coins,worth less than a

penny. Yet giving thismuch money was atrue sacrifice for thiswoman. It was all themoney she haditwould have boughther a little food to eat.In those days therewasnt the help forpeople that there istodayshe didnt have

a welfare check comingor food stamps. Butshe had faith that Godwould give her thefood, clothes and placeto live that she needed.

Jesus saw her heart.And he sees your heart,too. Whatever yougive from the heartisalways big in the eyesof your Father.

Mark 12:4144

LessIsM

ore

The Widows Offering41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offer-

ings were put and watched the crowd putting their moneyinto the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in largeamounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two verysmall copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, Truly I tell you,this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all theothers. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of herpoverty, put in everything all she had to liveon.

The Destruction of the Temple andSignsoftheEndTimes

13

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples

said to him, Look, Teacher! What massive stones!What magnificent buildings!

2Do you see a ll these great buildings? replied Jesus.Not one stone here will be left on another; every one willbe thrown down.

3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite thetemple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately,4Tell us, when wil l these things happen? And what will bethe sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?

5Jesus said to them: Watch out that no one deceivesyou. 6Many will come in my name, claiming, I am he, andwill deceive many. 7When you hear of wars and rumors of

wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but theend is still to come. 8Nation will rise against nation, andkingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes invarious places, and famines. These are the beginning ofbirth pains.

9You must be on your guard. You wil l be handed overto the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On ac-count of me you will stand before governors and kings aswitnesses to them. 10And the gospel must first be preachedto all nations. 11Whenever you are arrested and brought totrial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just saywhatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking,

but the Holy Spirit.12Brother will betray brother to death, and a father hischild. Children will rebel against their parents and havethem put to death. 13Everyone will hate you because of me,but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

14When you see the abomination that causes desola-tionastanding where itbdoes not belong let the readerunderstand then let those who are in Judea flee to themountains. 15Let no one on the housetop go down or enterthe house to take anything out. 16Let no one in the f ield goback to get their cloak. 17How dreadful it will be in thosedays for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18Pray that

this will not take place in winter,19

because those will bedays of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God

a14 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 b14 Or he



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MARK 141289

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

14

Now the Passover and the Festival of

Unleavened Bread were only two daysaway, and the chief priests and the teachers ofthe law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretlyand kill him. 2But not during the festival,they said, or the people may riot.

3While he was in Bethany, reclining at thetable in the home of Simon the Leper, a wom-an came with an alabaster jar of very expen-sive perfume, made of pure nard. She brokethe jar and poured the perfume on his head.

4Some of those present were saying indig-nantly to one another, Why this waste of

perfume?5

It could have been sold for morethan a years wagesdand the money given tothe poor. And they rebuked her harshly.

6Leave her alone, said Jesus. Why areyou bothering her? She has done a beautifulthing to me. 7The poor you will always havewith you,eand you can help them any timeyou want. But you will not always have me.8She did what she could. She poured perfumeon my body beforehand to prepare for myburial. 9Truly I tell you, wherever the gospelis preached throughout the world, what she

has done will also be told, in memory of her.10Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,went to the chief priests to betray Jesus tothem. 11They were delighted to hear this andpromised to give him money. So he watchedfor an opportunity to hand him over.

The Last Supper12On the first day of the Festival of Unleav-

ened Bread, when it was customary to sacri-fice the Passover lamb, Jesus disciples askedhim, Where do you want us to go and make

preparations for you to eat the Passover?13So he sent two of his disciples, tellingthem, Go into the city, and a man carry-ing a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.14Say to the owner of the house he enters,The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room,where I may eat the Passover with my disci-ples? 15He wil l show you a large room up-stairs, furnished and ready. Make prepara-tions for us there.

16The disciples left, went into the city andfound things just as Jesus had told them. So

they prepared the Passover.

created the world, until now and never tobe equaled again.

20

If the Lord had not cut short those days,no one would survive. But for the sake of theelect, whom he has chosen, he has shortenedthem. 21At that time if anyone says to you,Look, here is the Messiah! or, Look, therehe is! do not believe it. 22For false messiahsand false prophets will appear and performsigns and wonders to deceive, if possible,even the elect. 23So be on your guard; I havetold you everything ahead of time.

24But in those days, following that dis-tress,

the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25the stars wil l fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be

shaken.a

26At that time people will see the Son ofMan coming in clouds with great power andglory. 27And he will send his angels and gath-er his elect from the four winds, from theends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

28Now learn this lesson from the fig tree:

As soon as its twigs get tender and its leavescome out, you know that summer is near.29Even so, when you see these things hap-pening, you know that itbis near, right at thedoor. 30Truly I tell you, this generation willcertainly not pass away until all these thingshave happened. 31Heaven and earth will passaway, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown32But about that day or hour no one

knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the

Son, but only the Father.33

Be on guard! Bealertc! You do not know when that time willcome. 34Its like a man going away: He leaveshis house and puts his servants in charge,each with their assigned task, and tells theone at the door to keep watch.

35Therefore keep watch because you donot know when the owner of the house willcome back whether in the evening, or atmidnight, or when the rooster crows, or atdawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not let himfind you sleeping. 37What I say to you, I say

to everyone: Watch! a25 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 b29 Or he c33 Some manuscripts alert and pray d5 Greek than threehundred denarii e7 See Deut.15:11.



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MARK 14 1290

Mark 14 tells aboutthe last meal Jesusate before he wascrucified. Of course,the disciples still didntunderstand what wasabout to happen, but

Jesus did. The meal

was the Passover, themeal the Jews eat tocelebrate God rescuingthem from Egypt backin the days of Moses.But Jesus gave a newmeaning to some ofthe meal. He said thebread stood for hisbody and the winestood for his blood.

Today Christiansrepeat the breadand wine (or grape

juice) part of thatmeal to remind themof Jesus death fortheir sins. Peoplecall this celebrationCommunion or theLords Supper. Does itseem strange to talk

about celebratingsomeones death? Wecall it a celebrationbecause of the greatthing Jesus deathdoes for usit givesus forgiveness ofour sinsand its acelebration because

Jesus didnt stay dead!He came to life again.

Mark 14:2225

Meal

ofCeleb

ration

17When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve.18While they were reclining at the table eating, he said,

Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me one who iseating withme.19They were saddened, and one by one they said to him,

Surely you dont mean me?20It is one of the Twelve, he replied, one who dips bread

into the bowl with me. 21The Son of Man will go just as it iswritten about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Sonof Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.

22While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when hehad given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples,saying, Take it; this is my body.

23Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he

gave it to them, and they all drank from

Documents

Young Women of Faith Bible, NIV