Episodes

Welcome to this new podcast, Bible Wisdom Today, and to our first book of study, the Gospel of Mark. Believed to be one of the source documents for both Matthew and Luke, the Gospel of Mark is perhaps the most important gospel despite its shorter length. In this introductory episode, we will meet Mark, the author. We will also learn about the historical context of Mark’s gospel, Mark’s writing style and the narrative structure of his book. We will also see how Mark uses this structure to communi...

In this second episode of Bible Wisdom Today, we explore the prologue of the Gospel of Mark, covering chapter 1, verses 1 through 15. We begin with an overview of the primary truths Mark seeks to present: Jesus as the Messiah, Son of God, bringer of God's kingdom, and his battle with Satan. We then discuss Mark’s thesis statement, which he places in his very first sentence: “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” We cover each of the important words in that sentence and...

Jesus begins His public ministry with a splash of authority, calling his first disciples, teaching, expelling demons, and healing the sick. The crowd was amazed. He also showed his authority in more private ways by avoiding the temptation to play to the crowd and ignoring law and custom to give a leper His healing touch. Jesus willing choices to stay true to His mission challenge our own tendency to seek our own best interests. 00:00 Welcome 02:45 Authority to Call Disciples 08:39 Authority t...

The main drama in the Biblical narrative of this episode is the escalating conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities. In Jesus’ day, the leaders of Judaism were hugely invested in tradition and status quo. They were concerned with who to eat with and how to keep from profaning the Jewish Sabbath. Meanwhile, Jesus was on a mission to meet people’s deepest needs, and cared little for contrived religious observance when it conflicted with healing, forgiving, and loving the desperate peop...

In this episode, Jesus interacts with various groups of people—the crowd, the disciples, his family and religious leaders—making a distinction between “insiders” who follow him and “outsiders” who oppose him. Mark highlights the irony when those we expect to be insiders are left outside and those we expect to be outsiders are circled around him inside. This encourages us to reflect on our own relationship with Jesus. For those who think they are insiders, Jesus invites us to ponder carefully. Fo...

This episode of Bible Wisdom Today extends our understanding of Jesus ministry to those inside and outside his circle of followers, as he finds a way to speak meaningfully to both groups at the same time by using parables. These short stories from ordinary life tantalize the listener to think deeply to truly discover their meaning, giving Jesus the opportunity to communicate profound truth to those who are willing to ponder his message, while keeping his true identity and purpose secret from tho...

In this episode, we follow Mark, the gospel writer, as he turns from recording Jesus’ teaching to telling stories of his deeds. The two miracle stories discussed today continue Jesus’ slow unveiling of his identity. First, Jesus and the disciples encounter a fierce storm on the Sea of Galilee, so violent that his seasoned fisherman-followers despair of their lives. Jesus calms the storm with his simple word. In response, the disciples ask the profound question, “Who is this? Even the wind and th...

Today we examine the concept of faith, as demonstrated in the miracle stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. By examining the healing of a bleeding woman and the raising of a young girl to life, we discover the practical aspect of faith. Specifically, Mark teaches that faith is action, not just beliefs or emotions. Mark also contrasts the action of faith with the inaction of skepticism which Jesus encounters in his hometown of Nazareth. These stories challenge us to recognize Jesus as God and a...

How to be a disciple of Jesus is an important theme throughout the book of Mark, but it comes to the foreground in this section. When we follow along with the Twelve as they go out on mission without Jesus and as they engage in ministry with Jesus, we discover the practicalities of following him. We see that it means engaging in ministry even if we feel we are not ready yet, it means speaking boldly for him even in the face of opposition, and it means following his lead, even when we think we kn...

In our Bible passage for today, Mark uses the same key word to connect two stories that seem to be about different subjects. That word is “heart.” In the story of Jesus walking on water, we read that the disciples were amazed because their hearts were hardened. They were spiritually insensitive. After all the miracles Jesus had done, including the feeding of the 5000 which he had just completed, they should have understood that he was not limited by natural laws because he was God. In the next s...

In our study of Mark, today, Jesus makes a trip of at least 120 miles into foreign territories surrounding Galilee. There he finds a woman with a persistent faith, heals a deaf and mute man, and feeds a crowd of 4000 people. Through these stories of Jesus’ ministry among non-Jewish people, Mark shows that Jesus’ good news transcends cultural and geographical boundaries. Jesus offers abundant blessings to all, no matter their background, who come to him in faith. Send me your comments or questio...

This episode brings us to the pivotal point in Mark where the disciples finally begin to understand who Jesus is. Mark ties this section together with many references to sight or the lack of it. First the Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign from heaven, then Jesus accuses his disciples of being spiritually blind. Next Jesus heals a blind man, but this was an unusual healing. At first the man’s vision returned in a blurry state and was not fully restored until Jesus second touch. This miracle becomes ...

In today’s episode, Jesus begins the difficult work of revealing himself clearly to his followers. They now understand that he is the Messiah, but their definition of the Messiah is seriously insufficient. Jesus reveals his that his true mission is to suffer, die, and then to rise again. Not only will he suffer, but his followers will as well. This is far beyond their understanding, and his disciples are in imminent danger of falling away. In order to confirm his divinity and mission, he takes a...

In this episode, Jesus and his disciples continue their journey towards Jerusalem and Jesus continues systematically revealing his mission to his followers. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection a second time and his disciples continue to misunderstand. He also teaches about servant leadership and his radical expectation for disciples. This episode also includes a detailed explanation of Jesus’ reference to Gehenna, which is typically translated “hell” in English Bibles and offers insight in...

On occasion I am asked to preach at my local church and today I am sharing one of those sermons with you. This is a break from our current series, but I am releasing it now so that I can maintain my pattern of releasing new episodes every other week, while also enjoying some time away with my wife. This message is based on Matthew 5:1-12, commonly known as the beatitudes. We all want to live our best life, and in these famous words from Jesus, he teaches how to do just that. Send me your comme...

The mission of Jesus was not what the disciples expected. Jesus commended the weak for how easily they entered the kingdom and warned how difficult it was for the rich, those his followers assumed were blessed by God, to enter. The disciples expected Jesus to conquer the nation’s enemies achieving great glory, but Jesus predicted how he would suffer, ultimately giving his life to redeem all. Though Jesus expected his disciples to be servants like him, they looked instead for every opportunity t...

This episode brings us to the final major section of Mark’s gospel, where events begin to accelerate toward Jesus death and resurrection. All events in this episode are set in the temple or are directly related to it. Mark shows us that Jesus did not come to reform temple worship but to replace it with his own sacrificial death. In this episode we see Jesus’ triumphal arrival at the temple and his prophetic judgement against the temple as he interrupted temple commerce and cursed the fig tree in...

Jesus’ contest with the Jewish leaders continues when they confront him in the temple with a series of questions. They intend to trap him, but Jesus skillfully addresses each question, discussing the appropriateness of paying taxes to Rome, the resurrection of the dead, and the greatest commandment. These questions still were not adequate to uncover who Jesus was, so he asks them one additional question regarding his divine identity. Throughout, Jesus demonstrates unparalleled wisdom and authori...

In this episode we dig deeply into Mark chapter 13, the longest block of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Mark. We will take special note of the historical and prophetic contexts which shape our understanding of Jesus’ last teaching. Here, he predicts the coming destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70 and uses that event as a prototype to reveal details about his second coming at the end of the age. This is a complex chapter, but Jesus gives us an important clue to its interpretation by the...

In Episode 19, Jesus moves determinedly, agonizingly toward his final passion, feeling the full weight of his coming destiny. We see the contrast between the devotion of an unnamed woman anointing Jesus with costly perfume and the treachery of Judas grasping for a few pieces of silver even at the cost of betrayal. We hear Jesus offer himself as a sacrifice, even while he could foresee that all his disciples would soon desert him. And we experience the distinction between the agony of Jesus’ pray...

In this episode, Jesus continues to march resolutely toward his final predetermined destiny. We see the culmination of Judas’ plot to betray his master as Jesus is seized and led away for questioning. In the presence of the high priest, Jesus unwaveringly gives true testimony before his questioners, even when they resort to false witnesses. He boldly declares his identity, sealing his own condemnation. Meanwhile, in sharp distinction, Peter denies his lord, testifying falsely under the questioni...

In this episode we see the final drama in Jesus’ earthly life, as he keeps his agreement with his father to give his life for the salvation of humankind. Jesus single-minded devotion to the purpose of God saw him condemned by Pilate, scourged and mocked by the soldiers, executed on a Roman cross, and abandoned by all around him. This obedience to his calling came at the cost of excruciating pain, vile mockery, cowardly abandonment and unprecedented separation from his Father. Amazingly, he did a...

This is the final episode in our series on the Gospel of Mark. Today we look at Mark’s story of Jesus’ resurrection, focusing on the boldness of Joseph to request Jesus’ body from Pilate for burial and the devotion of the women who also intended to honor his physical body by anointing him with spices. They were surprised and overwhelmed, however, by an angel who announced that Jesus had been raised to life, becoming the unexpected heralds of the resurrection. We also spend time examining the com...

Welcome to a new series of studies on the Book of Genesis. In this season, we will study the early chapters of Genesis, which relate stories from primeval history, in preparation for studies in the patriarchal history of Abraham and his descendants in a later season. While Genesis is anonymous, Moses has traditionally been considered its author. Scholars have challenged that view in the last 150 years, however. This episode summarizes the authorship issue and suggests a mediating position that a...