Gospel of Mark
Mark Study 5
Read Mark 2: 18-22
1. What are some reasons that people fast? Why might the Pharisees and the disciples of John have fasted? (Note: Luke 18:12 hints that some Pharisees fasted twice a week. Remember also that John the Baptist was in prison - Mark 1:14).
2. How was Jesus' time of ministry like a wedding feast? What was the appropriate response to his presence?
3. What did Jesus' words in verse 20 foreshadow?
4. Jesus was beginning to show a new way of freedom from the law. What is the meaning of Jesus' analogies of merely attaching His new teachings onto the old laws?
Read Mark 2:23 - 3:6
5. What two things did Jesus and the disciples do that was unlawful according to the Pharisees?
6. How does Jesus bring new understanding to the meaning of the Sabbath and its purpose?
7. The Pharisees are plotting murder on the Sabbath. Can you think of other ways that legalism can lead people away from the heart of God?
Mark Study 6
Read Mark 3: 7-12
1. What did the crowd want from Jesus? (It might be helpful if you have a map of the Holy Land to see how far people had travelled?)
Read Mark 3: 13-19
2. What would be the job of the newly appointed "apostles"?
3. For what special quality were they chosen? (v13)
4. How will Jesus train them? (v14)
5. Why is it significant that Jesus chose twelve men?
Read Genesis 49:28 and Revelation 21:9-14
6. What did Jesus intend to build with these twelve men?
7. What leadership qualities should we look for in the church today?
Mark Study 7
Read Mark 3: 20-30
1. Why are Jesus' family concerned about Him?
2. How do the teachers of the law try to discredit Jesus?
3. According to this parable, how was Jesus able to cast out demons?
4. The teachers of the law are defining good as evil. How is this a blasphemy against the Holy Sprit and why is it such a serious offence?
5. Why should they have known better?
Read Mark 3: 31-35
6. Who did Jesus define as His family?
7. What does Jesus' definition of family mean for us?