In the section we are considering here, we have an account of two meals. One is in Bethany and the other in Jerusalem. One is a picture of preparation for burial, and the other is a picture of His death itself. At each, one disciple is singled out — Mary for glory and Judas for …
Stumbling Against a Pulpit
“How may a young man know whether he is called or not? That is a weighty enquiry, and I desire to treat it most solemnly . . . That hundreds have missed their way, and stumbled against a pulpit is sorrowfully evident from the fruitless ministries and decaying churches which surround us . . . …
Things That Accompany Salvation
INTRODUCTION: One of the perennial pastoral problems in the Church is the question of assurance of salvation. On the one hand are some Christians who hold that to seek any kind of solid assurance is presumptuous. On the other hand are other Christians who appear to glory in just that kind of presumption—”just prayer this …
The Great Tribulation
If we believe, by the time we are done, that God has given us an understanding of this chapter, our response should be one of humility and gratitude. The apocalyptic sections of the gospels have been the occasion of no end of confusion and dispute within the Church, and so we must watch our step. …
Preachers or Fops?
“As a general rule, I hate the fashions of society, and detest conventionalities, and if I conceived it best to put my foot through a law of etiquette, I should feel gratified in having it to do. No, we are men, not slaves; and are not to relinquish our manly freedom, to be lackeys of …
Portico of Wrath
Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has been in conflict with the authorities at Jerusalem, who will eventually kill Him. “And he began to speak unto them by parables . . .” (Mark 12: 1-44). Remember that in the early portion of Mark, Jesus had five controversies with the Jews. Here, at the other end …
Holy Cheerfulness
“Sanctity in ministers is a loud call to sinners to repent, and when allied with holy cheerfulness it becomes wondrously attractive” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, pp. 18-19).
King David Returns
Jesus comes now to the outskirts of the City of David, and does so in all authority. He is the Son of David, arrived to claim His inheritance. Bartimaeus has set the stage for this by calling upon Jesus as the Son of David, and Mark emphasizes the point by how he cites the praises …
The Bane of Clever Preachers
“The devil is a greater scholar than you, and a nimbler disputant; he can ‘transform himself into an angel of light’ to deceive. He will get within you and trip up your heels before you are aware; he will play the juggler with you undiscerned, and cheat you of your faith and innocency, and you …
Bartimaeus, Son of Faith
We come now to the last healing miracle recorded by Mark. We are on the threshold of the Lord’s suffering at Jerusalem. He has set His face to go there, knowing what will occur when He arrives. And He has come now to Jericho, which is about eighteen miles away from His abandonment by the …