http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress Blogging the Gospel of Mark Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:00:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Read Luke 8:49-56 Jesus is Lord over death. When He arrived at the home of Jairus, the synagogue ruler, the usual death wailing was in full swing. Over the din, Jesus says to Jairus and his wife, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed” (v. 50). The mourners laughed ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=90 Read Luke 8:40-48 Jesus is Lord over physical health. How were Jairus and the nameless woman alike? Both had desperate needs beyond their own power to help. The similarity ended there. Jairus was a man of prominence, comparative wealth, power and social position. The woman was poor, sick, and ceremonially unclean. As God, Jesus ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=89 Read Luke 8:26-39 Jesus is Master over Satan, the god of this world. When Jesus asked the man his name, the demons, for once, gave an honest answer: “Legion,” because so many of the foul critters inhabited the man. The pigs’ debacle provided witnesses for what Jesus had done (vv. 32-35). The folks ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=88 Read Luke 8:22-25 Jesus is Lord over nature. Whose idea was this trip anyway? Jesus suggested it. He must have been exhausted, falling asleep quickly. We marvel at someone who could sleep through heavy weather. Such windstorms were not unusual on the Sea of Galilee, the scene of this event. The lake lies ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=87 Read Luke 8:19-21 The oddest people in the world are the folks we are kin to. Jesus must have believed it one day when His mother and brothers showed up, attempted to interrupt His work and take Him home. Matthew and Mark also record the incident, Mark adding that they did it ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=86 Read Luke 8:1-18 Can we say anything new about the parable of the sower? We all know about the four kinds of soil. We all know what happened to the seed. Do we remember what immediately follows? Jesus said truth would be disclosed, even if it seems hidden at first (8:17). So what ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=85 Read Luke 7:36-50 Jesus could be pretty blunt sometimes. Evidently He had said nothing when Simon denied Him the common courtesies of the day. Now He lets Simon have it between the eyes (7:44-46). Jesus wasn’t the only one who spoke plainly that day. The unnamed woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=84 Read Luke 7:18-35 What on earth was the matter with John? John should have had no doubts about who Jesus was? Their mothers were related, so they were family. Just six months older than Jesus (Luke 2:36), John must have grown up on his mother’s story of Jesus’ mother, Mary, visiting when ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=83 Read Luke 7:11-17 Was it something in Jesus’ quiet authority? Nobody asked Jesus to raise this young man from death. With the quick sympathy for which He is famous, Jesus said to the sorrowing mother, “Don’t cry,” and touched her dead son’s coffin. The record says that when He touched it, the bearers ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=82 Read Luke 7:1-10 Did you ever suffer from lack of self-esteem? Join the crowd; almost all of us have, including this unnamed Roman army officer. He was desperate to get help for his valued servant, but so sure Jesus would not help a hated Roman that he asked his Jewish friends for ... http://martha-evans-sparks.com/WordPress/?p=81