a 11:29 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.

b 12:4 Some manuscripts and translations read "they ate."

c 12:6 Some manuscripts and translations read "someone."

a 15:11 "Unclean" refers to anything that Moses' Teachings say is not presentable to God.

a 16:18 In Greek there is a play on words between petros (Peter or pebble) and petra (rock).

a 17:20 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 21: "However, this kind of demon goes away only by prayer and fasting."

a 18:10 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 11: "The Son of Man came to save the lost."

b 18:15 Some manuscripts and translations add "against you."

a 21:44 Some manuscripts and translations omit this verse.

a 23:13 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 14: "How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses' Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You rob widows by taking their houses and then say long prayers to make yourselves look good. You will receive a most severe punishment." (See Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47.) a 26:28 Or "testament," or "covenant."

Introduction to MARK.

The Gospel of Mark is an excellent introduction to Jesus. Writing for gentile Christians in Rome, the author tells one story after another in rapid succession: Jesus is baptized, is tempted, heals the sick, forgives sins, and-once in a while-slows down long enough to answer questions or teach the crowds. Mark loves words like immediately and quickly and at once. With quick, deft strokes, he sketches his portrait of "Yeshua Christ ['the Messiah'], the Son of God" (1:1).

Mark is not the disciple by that name. According to tradition, he is John Mark, a young man who briefly traveled with Paul and Barnabas before going to Rome to study with Peter. In fact, Mark arranged his Gospel around a story about Peter. The book begins by presenting Jesus as a man of incredible authority over the forces of nature, disease, demons, sin, and religious tradition. Everyone is talking about Jesus; no one knows who he is. Right in the middle of the book, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Peter answers: "You are the Messiah" (8:29).

Once Peter has clearly stated Jesus' identity, Mark's tone changes. The last half of the Gospel begins with Jesus predicting his death and resurrection. He is the Messiah-God's anointed King-but he is not the kind of Messiah the disciples are expecting. Anyone who wants to follow him "must say no to the things they want," "pick up their crosses," and be prepared to "lose their lives" (8:34-35). In the words of the twentieth-century martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

Mark wrote his Gospel during the tyrannical reign of the Roman emperor Nero, who persecuted Jews and Christians and ordered the deaths of Paul and Peter. The historian Tacitus described the fate of many Christians at that time: "Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired." Mark's picture of Jesus-a Messiah with limitless power who was willing to suffer and die-was intended to encourage suffering Christians. Death is followed by resurrection. "Those who lose their lives for me and for the Good News will save them" (8:35).

Key Names of God in Mark Spirit Son of David Son of Man Son of God Rabbi, Teacher Father Messiah, Christ Lord Bridegroom MARK.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.

11 12 13 14 15 16.

John Prepares the Way-Matthew 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-18 1 1 This is the beginning of the Good News about Yeshua Christ, the Son of God.

2 The prophet Isaiah wrote, "I am sending my messenger ahead of you to prepare the way for you."

3 "A voice cries out in the desert: 'Prepare the way for the Lord!

Make his paths straight!'"

4 John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentancea for the forgiveness of sins. 5 All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

6 John was dressed in clothes made from camel's hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

7 He announced, "The one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

John Baptizes Jesus-Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-22 9 At that time Yeshua came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 10 As Yeshua came out of the water, he saw heaven split open and the Spirit coming down to him as a dove. 11 A voice from heaven said, "You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you."

Satan Tempts Jesus-Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13 12 At once the Spirit brought him into the desert, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days. He was there with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.

Calling of the First Disciples-Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11 14 After John had been put in prison, Yeshua went to Galilee and told people the Good News of God. 15 He said, "The time has come, and the kingdom of God is near. Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News."

16 As he was going along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the sea because they were fishermen.

17 Yeshua said to them, "Come, follow me! I will teach you how to catch people instead of fish." 18 They immediately left their nets and followed him.

19 As Yeshua went on a little farther, he saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat preparing their nets to go fishing. 20 He immediately called them, and they left their father Zebedee and the hired men in the boat and followed Yeshua.

Jesus Forces an Evil Spirit out of a Man-Luke 4:31-37 21 Then they went to Capernaum. On the next day of worship, Yeshua went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teachings. Unlike their experts in Moses' Teachings, he taught them with authority.

23 At that time there was a man in the synagogue who was controlled by an evil spirit. He shouted, 24 "What do you want with us, Yeshua from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God!"

25 Yeshua ordered the spirit, "Keep quiet, and come out of him!" 26 The evil spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out of him with a loud shriek.

27 Everyone was stunned. They said to each other, "What is this? This is a new teaching that has authority behind it! He gives orders to evil spirits, and they obey him."

28 The news about him spread quickly throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Cures Simon's Mother-in-Law and Many Others-Matthew 8:14-18; Luke 4:38-41 29 After they left the synagogue, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew. James and John went with them. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. The first thing they did was to tell Yeshua about her. 31 Yeshua went to her, took her hand, and helped her get up. The fever went away, and she prepared a meal for them.

32 In the evening, when the sun had set, people brought to him everyone who was sick and those possessed by demons. 33 The whole city had gathered at his door. 34 He cured many who were sick with various diseases and forced many demons out of people. However, he would not allow the demons to speak. After all, they knew who he was.

Spreading the Good News in Galilee-Matthew 4:23-25; Luke 4:42-44 35 In the morning, long before sunrise, Yeshua went to a place where he could be alone to pray. 36 Simon and his friends searched for him. 37 When they found him, they told him, "Everyone is looking for you."

38 Yeshua said to them, "Let's go somewhere else, to the small towns that are nearby. I have to spread the Good News in them also. This is why I have come."

39 So he went to spread the Good News in the synagogues all over Galilee, and he forced demons out of people.

Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease-Matthew 8:1-4; Luke 5:12-14 40 Then a man with a serious skin disease came to him. The man fell to his knees and begged Yeshua, "If you're willing, you can make me clean."a 41 Yeshua felt sorry for him, reached out, touched him, and said, "I'm willing. So be clean!"

42 Immediately, his skin disease went away, and he was clean.

43 Yeshua sent him away at once and warned him, 44 "Don't tell anyone about this! Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifices which Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean."

45 When the man left, he began to talk freely. He spread his story so widely that Yeshua could no longer enter any city openly. Instead, he stayed in places where he could be alone. But people still kept coming to him from everywhere.

YESHUA.

Jesus the SAVIOR Luke's Gospel tells us that the infant Christ was given the name Jesus at the time of his circumcision, a name communicated by the angel Gabriel, who appeared to his mother, Mary (Luke 1:31; 2:21).

Jesus was a common name in first-century Palestine, and it has been found on various grave markers and tombs in and around Jerusalem. The full name of Barabbas, the insurrectionist Pilate released instead of Jesus, was probably Jesus Barabbas. To distinguish him from others of the same name, Jesus is sometimes referred to in the Gospels as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the son of Joseph, or Jesus the Nazarene. Later on, particularly in Acts and the New Testament letters, he is referred to as "Jesus Christ," almost as though Christ is his surname. By the second century, the name Jesus had become so closely associated with Jesus of Nazareth that it nearly disappeared as a name given to either Christians or Jews.

The name Jesus (in English) or lesous (in Greek) is the equivalent ofthe Hebrew Yeshua, itself a contraction of the Hebrew name Yehoshua, translated "Joshua" in English Bibles. The name Joshua is the oldest name containing Yahweh, the covenant name of God, a name so sacred it was considered too holy to pronounce. Both Jesus and Joshua mean "Yahweh Is Help" or "Yahweh Is Salvation." Indeed, Jesus is Yahweh come to earth.

Through the centuries, the church has affirmed the belief of the earliest followers of Jesus that "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12 NIV).

Praying to Yeshua The man fidgeted in his seat at the synagogue in Capernaum, his eyes darting about. The words of the young rabbi pierced him: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." He covered his ears and hunched his back, as though bracing against an assault.

He could feel the rage rising. Without knowing what he was doing, without caring what anyone thought, he stood up and shouted: "What do you want with us, Yeshua from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God!"

Instead of recoiling from the man's attack, the rabbi held his ground. "Keep quiet," he commanded. "Come out of him!" Suddenly the man felt as though a hundred people were yanking on him at once, tearing him apart. His body went into convulsions. There was a loud shriek and then silence. The demon had fled.

That evening, freed of his demon, the man joined the crowd thronging the house where Yeshua was staying. He watched as the rabbi laid his hands on men, women, and children, curing them of all kinds of diseases and driving out many demons.

Thinking back on the events of the day, his joy felt boundless. Held captive by an oppressor who was too strong for him, he knew that Yeshua had set him free.

No one really knows what happened to the man after Yeshua drove out the evil spirit. The point is that Christ came to earth for one thing-to save men and women from the power of sin and Satan so that we might be free to live for God. Of course, we know this. But have we become numb to the reality of what Yeshua has accomplished? Do we begin to realize the kind of darkness that would inevitably have gripped us had there been no Savior, no one to deliver us from evil? Sooner or later, in this life or the next, we would have devolved into the kind of creature who sat at that synagogue in Capernaum, possessed by an evil spirit from which he could not save himself.

Fortunately for us, our Savior has come. Yeshua is God, the all-powerful; the Lord who bends toward us, dying and then rising and reaching out to save us.

Jesus, name above all names, beautiful Savior, glorious Lord!

Promises Associated with the Name YESHUA.

Peter answered them, "All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Yeshua Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. This promise belongs to you and to your children and to everyone who is far away. It belongs to everyone who worships the Lord our God." (Acts 2:38-39) These miracles have been written so that you will believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that you will have life by believing in him. (John 20:31)

Jesus Forgives Sins-Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26 2 1 Several days later Yeshua came back to Capernaum. The report went out that he was home. 2 Many people had gathered. There was no room left, even in front of the door. Yeshua was speaking God's word to them.

3 Four men came to him carrying a paralyzed man. 4 Since they could not bring him to Yeshua because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof over the place where Yeshua was. Then they lowered the cot on which the paralyzed man was lying.

5 When Yeshua saw their faith, he said to the man, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

6 Some experts in Moses' Teachings were sitting there. They thought, 7 "Why does he talk this way? He's dishonoring God. Who besides God can forgive sins?"

8 At once, Yeshua knew inwardly what they were thinking. He asked them, "Why do you have these thoughts? 9 Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, pick up your cot, and walk'? 10 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." Then he said to the paralyzed man, 11 "I'm telling you to get up, pick up your cot, and go home!"

12 The man got up, immediately picked up his cot, and walked away while everyone watched. Everyone was amazed and praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

Jesus Chooses Levi [Matthew] to Be a Disciple-Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32 13 Yeshua went to the seashore again. Large crowds came to him, and he taught them.

14 When Yeshua was leaving, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting in a tax office. Yeshua said to him, "Follow me!" So Levi got up and followed him.

15 Later Yeshua was having dinner at Levi's house. Many tax collectors and sinners who were followers of Yeshua were eating with him and his disciples. 16 When the experts in Moses' Teachings who were Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

17 When Yeshua heard that, he said to them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor; those who are sick do. I've come to call sinners, not people who think they have God's approval."

Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting-Matthew 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39 18 John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Yeshua and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples fast, but your disciples don't?"

19 Yeshua replied, "Can wedding guests fast while the groom is still with them? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.

21 "No one patches an old coat with a new piece of cloth that will shrink. Otherwise, the new patch will shrink and rip away some of the old cloth, and the tear will become worse. 22 People don't pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins."

Jesus Has Authority over the Day of Worship-Matthew 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5 23 Once on a day of worship Yeshua was going through the grainfields. As the disciples walked along, they began to pick the heads of grain.

24 The Pharisees asked him, "Look! Why are your disciples doing something that is not permitted on the day of worship?"

25 Yeshua asked them, "Haven't you ever read what David did when he and his men were in need and were hungry? 26 Haven't you ever read how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was chief priest and ate the bread of the presence? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. Haven't you ever read how he also gave some of it to his men?"

27 Then he added, "The day of worship was made for people, not people for the day of worship. 28 For this reason the Son of Man has authority over the day of worship."

Jesus Heals on the Day of Worship-Matthew 12:9-15a; Luke 6:6-11 3 1 Yeshua went into a synagogue again. A man who had a paralyzed hand was there. 2 The people were watching Yeshua closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of worship so that they could accuse him of doing something wrong.

3 So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, "Stand in the center of the synagogue." 4 Then he asked them, "Is it right to do good or to do evil on the day of worship, to give a person back his health or to let him die?"

But they were silent. 5 Yeshua was angry as he looked around at them. He was deeply hurt because their minds were closed. Then he told the man, "Hold out your hand." The man held it out, and his hand became normal again.

6 The Pharisees left, and with Herod's followers they immediately plotted to kill Yeshua.

Many People Are Cured-Luke 6:17-19 7 Yeshua left with his disciples for the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd from Galilee, Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, and from across the Jordan River, and from around Tyre and Sidon followed him. They came to him because they had heard about everything he was doing. 9 Yeshua told his disciples to have a boat ready so that the crowd would not crush him. 10 He had cured so many that everyone with a disease rushed up to him in order to touch him. 11 Whenever people with evil spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and shout, "You are the Son of God!" 12 He gave them orders not to tell people who he was.

Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles-Matthew 10:1-4; Luke 6:13-16 13 Yeshua went up a mountain, called those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve whom he called apostles.a They were to accompany him and to be sent out by him to spread the Good News. 15 They also had the authority to force demons out of people.

16 He appointed these twelve: Simon (whom Yeshua named Peter), 17 James and his brother John (Zebedee's sons whom Yeshua named Boanerges, which means "Thunderbolts"), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed Yeshua).

Jesus Is Accused of Working with Beelzebul-Matthew 12:22-32; Luke 11:14-23 20 Then Yeshua went home. Another crowd gathered so that Yeshua and his disciples could not even eat. 21 When his family heard about it, they went to get him. They said, "He's out of his mind!"