New Testament Bible Study by John Stanko

Mark Study 24

Dear Student of the Word,

May I have a drum roll, please? I present to you the final installment of our Mark study! This represents the 18th book in the New Testament for which I have completed a study. One day they will be published for all the world to read, but for right now, I am honored that you are the recipient. I think we will study Second Timothy next.

This week, I wrote:

v. 13 -- The disciples' hearts were so hard that they rejected a second testimony that Jesus was alive. Once again, I caution you not to be too hard on them, for in all probability you have done the same thing. You don't believe me? Then ask God to show you where you have hardened your heart to what He can do. Is there any promise that God has given you to which you have perhaps become calloused or hard?

I have found in my own life I sing the words, "nothing is too difficult for You, Lord" and then act like everything is too difficult for Him. Is there some area of your life where you are stuck and can't seem to make progress? Is there something that you have said for years that you wanted to do or that God wanted you to do that you haven't done yet? Are you truly waiting on the Lord or is your heart hardened to what God can do?

ou can add your comments to this installment, view past studies in Corinthians, Timothy or Mark, or subscribe to receive these weekly emails on the site where this entry is posted.

Download this week's study: Mark Study 24.doc

Mark Study 23

Dear Student of the Word,

Greetings from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I am here on a layover into Israel and thought I should send this next installment, since for the rest of the week I will be a busy pilgrim in the Holy Land. This is the next to last installment of our Mark study and this week we finish looking at Jesus' death and move into His resurrection. Aren't you glad the story didn't end with His death? We wouldn't be talking about the "gospel" or good news of Mark, that's for sure.

This week I wrote:

16:1 -- Then some more women came forward to identify with Jesus, but where were the disciples? These women were not afraid, but the disciples were terrified and disillusioned. This is why I don't understand why women are so discriminated against in the Church. They are often brave, spiritually-sensitive and gifted. yet more often than not, we ignore them only because they are women! It makes no sense. Yes, Paul wrote that Eve was deceived and then Adam fell, but should that now affect how women are treated and utilized in the Church?

It seems that the Church is trying to accomplish its mission with one arm tied behind its back when it doesn't fully utilize women and their gifts. I know it can be said that the women in this case were only coming to anoint Jesus' body, something that was women's work anyway. I say it took tremendous courage to do so in the face of what had just occurred. The Jews or Romans could have taken offense at or even arrested them for what they were about to do. Yet they did it!

You can add your comments to this installment, view past studies in Corinthians, Timothy or Mark, or subscribe to receive these weekly emails on the site where this entry is posted.

Download this week's study: Mark Study 23.doc

Mark Study 22

Dear Student of the Word,

It is my pleasure to once again present a week's worth of daily devotionals from the gospel of Mark. We are almost finished with this gospel as this week we study the crucifixion in all its glory and ugliness.

This week I wrote:

v. 24 -- They did not even turn Jesus' clothes over to His family. Instead the soldiers gambled to see who would get what. Mark doesn't go into may details. He just wrote that they crucified Him. There is so much to say about the significance and effects of the cross. Men have composed songs, hymns and poems, others have written books, and many have preached sermons. Read what one man had to say about the cross in a book about preaching.

Preach the cross in the context of the world's suffering, and men will learn not only that Christ is with them in the dark valley, God "afflicted in all their affliction," gathering up their distress and desolation into HIs own eternal heart -- not only that, though that indeed, even if there were no more to be said, would be a mighty reinforcement: they will learn this other great thing, that God in His sovereign love still leads captivity captive, still transforms the wrecking circumstances on life into means of grace, the dark places into a Holy of Holies, and the thorns that pierce into a crown of glory. For the Cross means that even when things are at their worst, even when life does not bear thinking about, God is master of the situation still, and nothing can spoil His final pattern or defeat His purpose of love (Heralds of God by James S. Stewart, page 78, emphasis added).

Feel free to add your comments to this study on this site where it is posted.

Download this week's study: Mark Study 22.doc

Mark Study 21

Dear Student of the Word,

I apologize for the delay since sending my last update. First, my computer went down. Then I had two weeks of classes for my Doctor of Ministry degree, and classes ran from 8 AM to 5 PM.

This week, we look at Jesus' betrayal and the start of the events leading to His crucifixion. These verses are always hard and unpleasant reading for me, yet they are the crowning verses of the gospel -- Jesus died on the cross for you and me!

This week I wrote

14:55 -- Of course there was no evidence against Jesus, for He had done and still has not done anything wrong. He is the sinless Son of God. Many have tried to find fault with Him, including this writer. There were times when I examined God and thought He was wrong or hand mishandled me or some other situation. What arrogance on my part to examine and question God! Yet that did not stop me, any more than it stopped those who examined Jesus in these verses.

There were also times when I felt I was more righteous than God, just as these elders and leaders did. I thought I had done what God wanted and He was not holding up His end of the bargain -- and of course that bargain was something that would benefit me or make me feel good.

You can add your comments to this week's study or subscribe to receive these for yourself or others at the site where they are posted. You can also look at my others studies posted there from Corinthians, Timothy and Mark in their entirety.

This week's study: Mark Study 21.doc

Mark Study 20

Dear Student of the Word,

It is time for another installment from our study of Mark's gospel. This week we look at the events immediately preceding Jesus' death, including Judas' decision to betray Jesus and the Last Supper. In preparation for the Passover meal that we know as the Last Supper, Jesus sent His disciples in to secure a room and make preparations. Here is what I wrote about that:

14:14 -- This story is similar to when Jesus sent the disciples to secure His donkey for the triumphal entry. Here He has them secure a room for the Last Supper. God does not lack resources. What you need to do His will, He can and will provide. He can use someone that you know or someone that you don't know. He can use someone who is near or far away. There is no lack in God!

Are you fretting right now because of lack of money or anything else that you need? Cheer up and have faith! God is able to provide for you in amazing ways. So stop limiting yourself by limiting God. Do you believe that God can provide for you just like He did in this instance? If so, then start acting like it!

Feel free to add your comments to this entry on the site where it is posted. Why not add friend to the mailing list on that same site so they can enjoy these studies along with you?

Download this week's study: Mark Study 20.doc

Mark Study 19

Dear Student of the Word,

Greetings from Alaska! I am on a cruise ship with Michael W. Smith, but that doesn't mean that I don't have time for the Word. I hope the same is true for you. In this week's study, we take a look at Jesus' answer to the question as to when the fall of Jerusalem that He had predicted would take place. I try to explain what He meant and why Mark spent so much time recording what Jesus said about an event that would occur in 70 AD. I won't go into all that now, but here is some of what I wrote this week:

13:9 -- Keep in mind that Jesus was answering the question the disciples asked: When will the destruction of Jerusalem take place? Jesus warned that His followers would be persecuted, not by the Romans, but by their own countrymen! That would be more painful and difficult because those were people they knew, with whom they had grown up and with whom they had the closest bonds. The same will be true for you.

Perhaps this is why Jesus warned them to be on their guard. Many would be tempted to fall away or turn back because their Jewish leaders or family would oppose them. In fact, the letter to Hebrews is a letter to believing Jews who considered abandoning Jesus and returning to Judaism. When you read Hebrews, there is one word that stands out and that word is "better." The writer (or writers) were arguing that believing Jews had a better covenant and superior way of life than Jews without Jesus. Yet the persecution and misinterpretations of what would happen to them as believers caused them to doubt the Way they had chosen.

Are you in doubt of your Way? Have things happened to you that you thought would never happen, and have those things caused you to doubt your decision to follow Jesus? Are those closest to you persecuting you because of Jesus? If so, you may want to read Hebrews and receive the encouragement and lessons that are presented there for just such a situation.

Feel free to add your comments to this week's study or to check out the studies from Corinthians, Timothy and Mark on the site where this entry is posted.

Download this week's study: Mark Study 19.doc

Mark Study 18

Dear Student of the Word,

Welcome to another installment of our study of Mark's gospel. This week we see Jesus turn the tables, so to speak, on those who were trying to trick Him into a mis-statement. Jesus took the offensive and asked them a question that no one could answer, to the delight of the crowd. This is what I wrote about that story:

12:35 -- I enjoy these next few verses. Jesus came out of His positive encounter with the man who questioned but fully understood what Jesus said, responding to Him intelligently. I think at this point Jesus was "pumped," if I may use a colloquial expression. No one asked Jesus any more questions, but He didn't stop teaching. In fact, He posed a biblical riddle to the people and they loved it! It's almost as if Jesus was on a roll and He was feeling, a bit frisky!

Why do I write this? To point out that Jesus was and is human. He responded to positive feedback, spoke out of enthusiasm and was probably having fun! Does this in any way diminish His divinity? Absolutely not! I have met many who are afraid of or who work to avoid their emotions and passions. As long as they aren't sinful, go for it! Follow your heart, just like Jesus did here. Do what you enjoy and trust that God put those energies in you to follow them, not fight them. Does this make sense?

Feel free to write your own insights or comments to this study or any other installments on the site where they are posted.

Download this week's study: Mark Study 18.doc

Mark Study 17

Dear Student of the Word,

Are you staying the Word? That's what these studies are designed to help you do. I cover just four verses a day and I am surprised how much I learn every day. I try to make each day's quota practical, asking you questions that will help you apply what you are reading and studying.

Mark's gospel is full of nonstop action. This week, we take a look at several instances where the Jewish leaders tried to trap Jesus in a mis-statement because Jesus had made the leaders look bad. Before we get to that story, however, I wrote this about leadership.

vs. 31&32 -- Just a simple question, but it stumped the experts. By what authority did John do what he had done? If they said heaven's authority, then they were condemning themselves for disobedience. If they answered that John did what he did from the authority of men, then the people would rise up against them.

Here again we see that the people were more spiritual than their so-called leaders! They knew John was a prophet, while the leaders held that he was not. Why do we continually maintain that somehow our leaders are automatically more spiritual, intelligent or insightful than those who follow? When I was on church staff, I told the people that I was a member who happened to be employed by the church. I was not on staff because I was somehow superior in any way to those who were not. I have an obligation to get skilled and wise in the things of God after I am called, but I am not called because I am skilled or wise in the things of God. Does that make sense?

Leaders serve because it is a calling, not because they are better than others. The calling equips them to do their work, not their inherent talent or insight.

Feel free to add your comments to any part of this study on the site where it is posted.

Download this week's study: Mark Study 17.doc

Mark Study 16

Dear Student of the Word,

It's time again for your regular dose of God's word, compliments of yours truly. There were several verses this week that really impacted me and I hope it comes through in what I wrote. We start this week's study with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a triumph that was short-lived. Here is some of what I wrote about that parade into Jerusalem:

11:3 -- Jesus was asking His disciples to borrow someone's donkey, without the owner's permission. If anyone inquired as to what they were doing, they were to put the responsibility on the Lord. Here is another subtle example of Jesus indicating that He was God. While some would that the Lord in heaven was the One who needed the donkey's services, it was really the Lord God walking among them who needed it.

This took great faith on the part of the two disciples. First, they had to believe that the colt would be where Jesus said it was and that they would select the correct one. Then they had to trust that the owner would understand and not accuse them of stealing.

What is the Lord telling you to do that requires faith-filled obedience? Why are you hesitant? Are you concerned about what others will think? Are you fearful it won't turn out as the Lord promised, or as you would like? What is holding you back?

You can visit the other studies in this series from Mark or post your own comments on the site where every installment is located.

Download this week's study: Mark Study 16.doc

Mark Study 15

Dear Student of the Word,

It's been a few weeks once again since you've had a study, but technical challenges, lack of Internet and electricity here in Zimbabwe and my schedule all worked against posting this installment.  That's all past history, however, and I am glad to be back in touch.

In this week's study, I wrote:

10:24 -- Jesus was talking about the rich in this verse.  I asked in previous studies and I will ask again:  Do you own your stuff or does your stuff own you?  One of the problems with being rich is that it requires so much money and effort to keep the riches.  You need attorneys, accountants, advisers and investment counselors.  That can take a lot of time and energy away from the kingdom of God!

What is the kingdom of God?  Simply put, it is God's government in your life and the life of the body of people of which you are a part.  It is the visible expression of God's rule in your life.  Money can interfere with God's authority and supremacy, for He wants to direct you to use and distribute your wealth as He sees fit, not as your advisers see fit.

Feel free to add your insight or comments to this study on the site where it is posted at www.stankobiblestudy.com.

Download this week's study: Download mark_study_15.doc