New Testament Bible Study by John Stanko

Mark Study 4

Dear Student of the Word,

I am preparing to head back to Africa later today, but first things first.  Attached is your regular edition of my study from Mark's gospel.  Some of the verses from this week's study deeply impacted my thinking, and I hope that is reflected in what I wrote.  While being fully God, Jesus was also a remarkable man.  I marvel at His divinity and humanity.

This week I wrote:

v. 21 -- Jesus' family thought He was out of His mind!  I can remember when I first met the Lord; my family thought I was crazy, too!  One day I was in my backyard crying out to the Lord and He brought me to this verse.  I remember thinking, "If Jesus' family thought He was crazy, what's going to make my family think any differently about me now that I am following Him?"  It set me free from trying to please my family as I tried to do the will of God. Are you free from your family as you serve Him?  If not, in what area do you need to be free?

v. 22 -- If it wasn't already bad enough that His family thought He was crazy, the religious leaders accused Him of being in league with the devil!  We cannot overlook the fact that Jesus was a controversial man.  His peers thought Him demonic and His family considered Him mad.  God is so "normal" and our sinful state so "subnormal" that when God restores godliness, which is the true normal, the true normal looks abnormal or crazy.  Does that make sense?  My other thought here is that a small criticism of me can set me off into a week of depression or anger.  Jesus faced much more than I will ever face, yet He maintained His ministry composure and focus. Help me, Lord, I want to be like Jesus!

Feel free to add your insight or comments to this study on the site where these studies are posted every week.   You can also give a gift subscription by going to the same site or unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.

Download this week's study: Download mark_study_4.doc

Mark Study 3

Dear Student of the Word,

It is my privilege to forward this weekly Bible study to you once again.  As you know, we are in the gospel of Mark and we are already into chapter three.  Mark wrote the shortest gospel and he moved from story to story and subject to subject without a minimum of words and details.  It is interesting how God inspired His word yet the writers maintained their own style and personality as they wrote.

This week I made these comments about Mark 3:5 where Jesus was angry due to the hardness of heart in those among whom he ministered:

v. 5 -- Jesus was angry!  Hallelujah!  He did not always walk around as He has been portrayed in the movies, with an angelic, dreamy look on His face.  Jesus was a man, yet without sin.  If there is one trend I noticed when I was a pastor and counseling, it was how ambivalent people were about anger, which led them to suppress or deny their anger.  This in turn caused them all kinds of trouble.  It's all right to be angry!  It's what you do with your anger that can become sinful.  Let me explain.

If you are angry at someone's bad behavior and hit them, or example, your anger led you to sinful behavior.  But if you use your anger as a motivation to do something positive, like talk to that person (in a constructive manner), or as a motivation for change in your own life, then your anger can actually be positive.  In this case, Jesus' anger was used for good because He did not back down but healed the man, knowing full well that it was going to cause trouble.  Jesus used His anger to motivate Himself to do the right thing.

Plus almost everyone has been hurt by someone else's anger, so we tend to avoid our own anger so that it won't be used to hurt someone else. 

It is often overlooked that anger is an emotion that God gave you.  Use it properly and it will serve you well. Use it improperly and it will hurt you and other people.  Is this your view of anger?  Do you need to change your thinking where anger is concerned?  Do you deny or hide your own anger?

Feel free to add your insight or comments to this study on the site where these studies are posted every week.   You can also give a gift subscription by going to the same site or unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.

Download this week's study:  Download mark_study_3.doc   

 

Mark Study 2

Dear Student of the Word,

It's time for your dose of the Word, this time from Mark's gospel.  This week we move into the second chapter where Jesus was a hero with the people and in trouble with the leaders.  That pattern holds true throughout this gospel. 

This week I wrote:

v. 4 -- These men were creative.  They would not take "no" for an answer or accept the fact that the crowds were going to prevent them from getting their friend to Jesus.  They recognized the urgency of the moment and the need of their friend, so they thought "outside the box" to come up with a solution.  They then dug through the roof!  I can only wonder if they repaired it after they were done.  These men had their priorities in order; they knew that a man's healing was more important than an intact roof.  They knew they could repair the roof, but they could not repair their friend. Only Jesus could do that.  So they did what they could do in faith so that Jesus could do what only He could do in response to their faith.

In wonder what Jesus thought when He looked up and saw what they were doing while He was teaching.  Did the owner of the house try to stop them?  I'm certain they disrupted Jesus' meeting, but it doesn't appear that He tried to stop them or rebuked them. I like Jesus.  I'm glad I am His follower.

vs 5&6 -- Jesus "saw" their faith. Remember what James wrote:  "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:17).

They believed that, if only they could get their friend, to Jesus, their friend would be healed. So they put their faith into action and dug a hole in the roof.  What do you have faith that God can do?  What are you willing to do to act out that faith?  What steps are you willing to take to see God act on your behalf?  Remembering what these men did, come up with a plan of what you can do in the near future.

Feel free to add your insight or comments to this study on the site where these studies are posted every week.   You can also give a gift subscription by going to the same site or unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.

Download this week's study: Download mark_study_2.doc

Mark Study 1

Dear Student of the Word,

It's time to begin another study.  This study of Mark represents the 17th New Testament book in this study series.  At this rate, we should be done with the entire New Testament in this format by the end of 2009 (I began this work in August, 2001).  My goal this year is to publish some of the past studies in e-book format for distribution. 

The best thing about studying a gospel is that it allows us to look directly at the words of Jesus.  Followers of Mao study Mao's words, followers of Confucius study his words, disciples of Lenin study his sayings, so we should certainly and regularly study and meditate on the words and acts of Jesus.  I hope this study furthers your relationship with the King of kings.

As we begin in chapter one, this week I made the following observation:

v. 20 -- John and James left what they were doing on the fishing boat to be with Jesus, and they did so without delay.  It is interesting that the first thing Jesus did when He began His ministry was to recruit a team.  If Jesus didn't want to function alone, then no one else in ministry should either.  Who is on your team?  Of whose team are you a member?

Jesus didn't just have a team; He equipped His team members to carry on the work after He was gone.  This is one of the main weaknesses I see in ministries and churches today.  Who is part of Bishop Jakes' ministry team?  Benny Hinn's?  Name the number two for any ministry you see on television.  How about your own church?  Is there a succession plan for leadership continuity that you know of?  Do you know of any good examples of team ministry in your world?  Why do you think that teams aren't more prevalent today?  When you can name the "number two," all too often it's a family member.

If Jesus is our model for ministry, then why don't we see more teams?  Am I being too judgmental?  Too harsh?  Are my expectations too high?

Feel free to add your insight or comments to this study on the site where these studies are posted every week.   You can also give a gift subscription by going to the same site or unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.

Download this week's study: Download mark_study_1.doc