Tag Archives: hope

A Few Final Thoughts on Mark

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Don Merritt

I didn’t want our tour through the gospel of Mark to end; I was having too much fun. But alas, there are only 16 chapters. You might have noticed that there are more verses in chapter 16 than I have … Continue reading →

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The Kingdom Comes

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Don Merritt

Mark 16:1-8 Parallel Texts: Matthew  28:1-8; Luke 24:1-8, 12; John 20:1-10 When Jesus was born in that manger in Bethlehem nobody would have noticed, but God sent choruses of angels out to the fields and they were seen by the … Continue reading →

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The Moment They’ve Been Waiting For!

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Don Merritt

Mark 15:24-32 Parallel Texts: Matthew 27:31-44; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:17-27 All those sleepless nights, the opportunities missed, the embarrassments in public, the plots, the cabals, the treachery… all of it had come to fruition for the loving and righteous men … Continue reading →

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Roman “Justice” on Display

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Don Merritt

Mark 15:1-20 Parallel Texts: Matthew 27:11-30; Luke 23:2-25; John 18:28-19:16 As usual, Mark is pithy, and a more complete version is available in the other accounts. The main thing that Mark conveys about this whole situation of Jesus before Pilate … Continue reading →

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Looking for an Excuse

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Don Merritt

There’s an old saying about excuses. OK, well maybe it isn’t all that old, but it’s a pretty good one, at least I think it is a good one. True it isn’t famous or anything… fine, you got me, but … Continue reading →

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In the Garden

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Don Merritt

Today, more than most days, is about a garden.  It was a garden where the great event took place, the event that both confirmed and changed everything, for you see, that garden tomb is empty!  In a sense, our rebirth … Continue reading →

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Final Hours Together

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Don Merritt

Mark briefly describes the time Jesus spent with the disciples after their last meal together, quite a contrast with the several chapters John gave to the  “Farewell Discourse.” Mark breaks this into three short scenes: Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial Mark … Continue reading →

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The Last Supper

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Don Merritt

Mark 14:12-26 Parallel Texts: Matthew 26:17-25; Luke 22:7-18, 21-23; John 13:22-26 Mark, as was his custom, approaches this subject with an economy of words, with verses 12-16 being about Jesus’ instructions for preparations, followed by a brief description of their … Continue reading →

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Naked Before God

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Don Merritt

We have come to the point in our study of nakedness as a metaphor in Scripture where there is really nothing left to do except to dive into the metaphor itself. By this time, you should be clear that in … Continue reading →

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The Temple, The City… The World

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Don Merritt

Mark 13 Parallel Texts: Matthew 24-25; Luke 21:5-37 From the beginning of the book, Mark has taken us on the Kingdom Tour. He began with John’s announcement that the Kingdom is at hand, and then proceeded with Jesus preaching the … Continue reading →

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