Christ the Healer: The Man with a Withered Hand. Please read Mark 3:1-5. 1. A Heavenly Rule. In Mark 2:27, just before this incident, Jesus said this to the Pharisees: “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even …
Christ the Healer: The Deaf and Mute Man. Please read Mark 7:31-37. A Healing Tour. After touring the region around Tyre and Sidon, Jesus returned to his adopted ministry headquarters around the Sea of Galilee. In the parallel passage in Matthew 15:29-31, Jesus sits on a hill and gathers many people in dire physical need… the deaf, …
Christ the Healer: The Paralytic in Capernaum. Please Read Mark 2:1-12. Capernaum. This flourishing city on the Sea of Galilee was Jesus’ adopted hometown. Because of its thriving businesses, especially in fishing and many different trades, it was densely populated and wealthy. Several major highways intersected in Capernaum, which brought people from as far away as Egypt …
Christ the Healer: The Ear in Gethsemane Please Read Luke 22:47-53. Parallel Passages. Each of the four Gospels has a version of the arrest of Jesus… Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; and John 18:1-11. Only Luke recorded Jesus healing the high priest’s servant’s ear. This was the last recorded physical healing that Jesus accomplished on earth. His healing …
Christ the Healer: The Hopeless Demoniac. Please read Mark 5:1-20. a. Parallel Passages. Matthew 8:28-34 and Luke 8:26-39 offer other glimpses of this story. Matthew’s account has two demoniacs, not one. Either Matthew made an honest mistake, being human and all, and he didn’t get the story quite right. Or Mark and Luke only referred to the prominent demoniac who ended …
Christ the Healer: The Centurion’s Servant. Please read Matthew 8:5-13 or Luke 7:1-10 (or both). PARALLEL PASSAGES. In Matthew, the Roman centurion came to Jesus personally, asking for help. In Luke, the centurion sent a group of Jewish elders to represent him in asking for Jesus’ help. Either, one of these two writers didn’t quite get the story right. Or, maybe …
Christ the Healer: The Young Demoniac. Please read Mark 9:14-29; (compare with Matthew 17:14-20 and Luke 9:37-43). CONTEXT. a. Peter, James, John (and Jesus) were coming down the mountain immediately after the momentous Transfiguration. The hearts of the disciples were on fire after this once in a lifetime experience. They were eyewitnesses to the uncreated light in Jesus, the eternal …
Christ the Healer: A Leper Please read Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, and Luke 5:12-16. CONTEXT. According to Matthew, right after Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, He was immediately pressed into service. He had no choice but to go right to work. “When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a …
Christ the Healer: One Full Day. Please read Mark 1:29-34 (also Matthew 8:14-17 and Luke 4:38-41). CONTEXT. Jesus seemed tireless on this one full day in Capernaum. He taught with authority in the synagogue, He cast out a demon after His teaching, He healed Peter’s mother-in-law at Peter’s home, then after sunset Jesus continued His powerful healing ministry with sick …
Christ the Healer: The Blind Man at Bethsaida. Please read Mark 8:22-26. (There are no parallel passages in the Gospels). CONTEXT. Sandwiched around this healing of the blind man were significant gospel events. a. Jesus had just fed 4,000 people in the middle of nowhere, multiplying seven little loaves of bread and a handful of fish. (Mark …
Calendar – January. Bear One Another’s Burdens. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens… Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ.” (Ps. 68:19; Galatians 6:2). Bearing Burdens: to lift up and carry; to take up and walk with; to intercede for someone else, whether through prayer or caregiving, whether tangible or …
Calendar – February. Honor One Another. “Take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:10, NLT). Honor: show deference to; to prefer over one’s self; to highly esteem; to greatly respect; to revere; to focus on the importance of another. a. Honoring someone goes beyond mere respect. To honor another person is to revere that person because that …