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 communicate his theological message. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus slowly and methodically reveals who He is. He is the Son of God, who came to establish his kingdom on earth through humble suffering and calls his followers to follow him on the same road.

Narrative Structure of the Book of Mark[1]

Prologue: In the desert (1:1-15)

Galilee: On the shore (1:16-3:35). Phase 1: Secrecy

Galilee: Parables Discourse (4:1-36)

Galilee: On the lake (4:35-8:22)

Healing a nameless blind man (8:22-26)
The Journey (8:27-10:45). Phase 2: Schooling
Healing blind Bartimaeus (10:46-52)

Jerusalem: In the temple (11:1-12:45). Phase 3: Suffering

Jerusalem Discourse—The last times (13:1-37)
Jerusalem: Toward the cross (14:1-15:39) |

Epilogue: At the tomb (15:40-end)

[1] Oefele , C. (2019). "To Have or Not to Have” and its Polyphonic Meaning in Mark 8,1-22a. In Reading the Gospel of Mark in the Twenty-First Century (pp. 691–704). essay, Universität Bern. Retrieved November 27, 2024, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
352251520_TO_HAVE_OR_NOT_TO_HAVE_AND_ITS_POLYPHONIC_MEANING_IN_MARK_81-22A

Text me your comments or questions

Episodes released every two weeks | Next: April 28, 2025

Mark 1:1-15

The Beginning of the Good News About Jesus Christ

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 then turn to Mark’s introduction of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Jesus and the theological importance of Jesus' baptism and testing. We conclude with Jesus' declaration of the Kingdom of God and His call to repent and believe.

Study Questions for Mark 1:1-15

for your personal or small group use.

1. What role did John play in God’s overall plan (v. 2-3)?
2. Look up the quotations in verses 2-3 in their original Old Testament locations (Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3). What do the original contexts contribute to your understanding of the meaning of these quotes?
3. John the Baptist brought a message of repentance (v. 4). How could you explain this idea to your unbelieving friend? Why is repentance the essential starting point of faith?
4. Why did people flock to hear John rather than avoid him (v. 5)?
5. If John the Baptist came to your neighborhood, with his dress, diet, and message (vv. 6-8) how do you think he would be received?
6. Why did Jesus seek to be baptized (v. 9)?
7. What do you think the tearing open of heaven, the Spirit descending on him like a dove, and the heavenly voice mean to Jesus as He came up out of the water (vv. 10-11)? As he endured his testing in the wilderness (vv. 12-13?
8. Why do you think that Mark mentions that John was put into prison (v. 14)? How does that relate to the beginning of Jesus own ministry?
9. How is Jesus’ message the same as John’s (v. 15)? How is it different?
10. Who has God used in your life to prepare the way for you to meet Jesus? How can you be used to prepare the way for your friends to meet Jesus?

Text me your comments or questions

Episodes released every two weeks | Next: April 28, 2025

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 to Teach and Expel Demons

14:02 Authority to Heal

18:10 Authority to Choose His Own Priorities

22:23 Authority to Touch the Untouchable

29:42 Concluding Comments

Study Questions for Mark 1:16-45

for your personal or small group use.

1. What were some of the struggles the first disciples of Jesus may have felt when they chose to follow Jesus? What are some of the struggles His followers face today?

2. Jesus promised to make his disciples become fishers of people (v. 17). In what ways have you experienced Jesus remaking you into a different person?

3. Jesus called his disciples to be involved in His ministry right away. How does that compare with your own experience? What areas of ministry do you feel Jesus calling you to take up?

4. Why do you think Jesus started His public ministry in a synagogue?

5. What was it about Jesus that amazed the crowd (v. 27)? What does it mean to teach with authority? Where did Jesus get His authority?

6. How does Jesus’ method of healing Peter’s mother-in-law compare with His method of casting out the demon (vv. 25, 31)?

7. Mark reports the events of vv. 21-32 as happening in one day. What all happened on this day?

8. Why did Jesus not allow the demons to speak (v. 34)?

9. After Jesus’ previous day, what might be his concerns for the new day as he prayed (v. 35)? How might this affect his decision in v. 38? If you were Simon, how would you feel about His decision (v. 38)?

10. Why do you think the leper may have been unsure if Jesus wanted to heal him (v. 40)?

11. If you had been the leper living alone, separated from friends and society, how would you feel to receive Jesus’ healing touch (v. 41)?

12. Was the leper disobedient in spreading the news of his healing (v. 45)?

13. If you just got engaged, who would you tell? If you just inherited a million dollars, would you want to share your good fortune? Most of us want to tell others about good news. How excited are you to share the gospel (good news) with others? Are you so excited that you cannot possibly be quiet (v. 45)?

14. What do the actions and words of Jesus we have seen today tell us about the Kingdom of God?

15. In what ways do we see the battle between good and evil in this section of the Bible?

Text me your comments or questions

Episodes released every two weeks | Next: April 28, 2025

Mark 2:1-3:6 | A Rising Crescendo of Conflict

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 people around him. We will observe the heart of Jesus to heal the sick and consider the moral imperative of healing relative to our contemporary health care issues. We also will learn an important literary structure which Mark uses in this passage, which will help us understand the meaning of many other sections of the Bible.

00:00 Opening Comments

07:34 Conflict about authority to forgive

18:22 Conflict about eating with the wrong people

24:25 The basic conflict: out with the old, in with the new

30:01 Conflict about eating the wrong food

35:57 Conflict about authority to heal on the Sabbath

41:02 Final Comments

Study Questions for Mark 2:1-3:6

for your personal or small group use.

1. The four friends and the paralytic came to be healed. The crowd expected this, as well. Why didn’t Jesus just heal him, like they expected, rather than offer forgiveness (v. 5)?

2. Why were the teachers of the law so upset (v. 6)?

3. In this story of the man let down through the roof, do you identify most with the paralytic man, his friends, or the religious teachers? Why?

4. What do you think the teachers of the law thought when Jesus responded as he did in verse 17? What did Jesus disciples think? What did Levi and his friends think?

5. How did Jesus’ story of the bridegroom answer their question about fasting (vv. 19-20)?

6. What do verses 21-22 say about the relationship of Jesus with Judaism? The relationship of Christianity with Judaism?

7. How does the story about David apply to the Pharisees’ concern about Sabbath observance (vv. 25-26)?

8. One of the main areas of conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities was the Sabbath. Every one of the 10 commandments is retaught in some fashion in the New Testament except one, the command to remember the Sabbath. What implication should we take from this?

9. Since Jesus had the ability to heal, when presented with the man with a withered hand, did He have a moral imperative to heal him (3:1-3)? Do we also have a similar moral imperative to provide healthcare for all our people?

10. What prompted Jesus’ anger (3:5)

11. In what ways have you seen religious rules or institutions hurt people? What causes that?[1]

[1] Becker, et. al., V. (1988). “Mark.” In Serendipity Bible for Groups: New International Version (p. 1296). Serendipity House.

Text me your comments or questions

Episodes released every two weeks | Next: April 28, 2025

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. For those who think they must be outsiders, Jesus offers an invitation to join his inside circle.

00:00 Opening Comments

02:28 Jesus' Expansive Ministry (3:7-12)

07:02 Jesus Appoints the Twelve (3:13-19)

14:21 Insiders or Outsiders (3:20-35)

29:52 Final Comments

Study Questions for Mark 3:7-35[1]

1. How far were people traveling to come see Jesus (v. 8)? What motivated them to come? What would have motivated you, if you had lived then?

2. What commitment did the crowd have to Jesus (vv. 9-10)?

3. What did it mean for Jesus disciples to be with him (v. 14)? What does it mean for you?

4. Writing approximately 30 years after Judas’ betrayal, why didn’t Mark simply leave off Judas’ name from the list of twelve (v. 19)?

5. Why was Jesus’ family worried about him (vv. 20-21)?

6. What is the significance of where the teachers of the law were from (v. 22)?

7. How must the crowd have felt when they heard what these educated, respected leaders had to say about Jesus (v. 22)?

8. How do Jesus’ metaphors of a kingdom and a house answer the teacher’s charge against him (vv. 24-26)?

9. What point is Jesus making with his story of plundering a strong man’s house (v. 27)? In what way has this story been acted out in your life?

10. What did the crowd expect in vv. 31-32?

11. Is doing God’s will an action or a belief (v. 35?

12. Of the various responses to Jesus in this chapter (v. 8, 13, 21,22, 34-35) which best describes your relationship with him now? Why?

[1] Serendipity House. (1988). Mark 3. In Serendipity Bible for Groups (p. 1297).

Text me your comments or questions

Episodes released every two weeks | Next: April 28, 2025

Text me your comment, suggestion, or question

This episode of Bible Wisdom Today extends our understanding of Jesus ministry to those insider 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 those who do not want to invest the effort. The focus of Jesus sermon of parables in Mark 4 is the parable of the farmer, sowing seed on four types of soil. Jesus’ explanation to his followers includes his rationale for speaking in parables, comparing his ministry to that of the prophet Isaiah. The episode concludes with additional stories and sayings of Jesus which add further insight into the growth of God’s kingdom. Jesus encourages his listeners, then and now, to really ponder his words for spiritual growth.

00:00 Opening comments

04:37 The parable of the sower (4:2-20)

20:57 The lamp (4:21-25)

23:32 The measure (4:24-25)

25:18 The parable of self-growing seed (4:26-29)

27:16 The parable of the mustard seed (4:30-44)

29:40 Concluding summary

31:49 Final comments

Study Questions for Mark 4:1-34

1. What are the four types of soil Jesus talked about (vv. 4-8)? How did the seed grow differently in each one?

2. What blocks might there be to someone’s understanding of Jesus’ message (v. 9)?

3. What modern analogy might you use to explain the truth of the parable of the sower to people who have no experience with farming?

4. What is the secret of the kingdom of God and how has it been given (v. 11)?

5. Why did Jesus ask his followers, “Don’t you understand this parable (v. 13)? What was he feeling towards them?

6. What does it mean to have no root (v. 17)?

7. Can you think of people in Jesus’ ministry who responded to His message in ways that illustrate the four different types of soil?

8. How does the ministry of Jesus disclose what is hidden (v. 22)?

9. How will those who consider Jesus’ words carefully receive even more (v. 24)?

10. Why does Jesus compare the kingdom of God to a seed which grows mysteriously (v. 27-28)? What is his main point?

11. In verse 28, the seed first produces the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. What stage of growth would you see in your own life right now?

12. What hope do these parables give you when you feel that your work for Christ, or your church’s ministry is insignificant?

Episodes released every two weeks | Next: April 14, 2025