THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapters 5-8)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now,
“Go home to your friends, and tell
them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion
on you” (Mk. 5:19). I’m
Ben Bailey:
And I’m Ben Bailey. Welcome to our study of the Book of Mark. This lesson is being brought to you by individuals and congregations of the churches of Christ. We hope you will visit the churches of Christ in your area and let them know how much you appreciate their support of this broadcast. If you have a Bible question or a spiritual concern, they would be happy to help you with it. If you would like a Bible study, they also would be glad to assist you with that. We, too, would like to be of service. Visit us on our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com, where we have streaming audio and video lessons of our broadcasts. You may download these and use them to assist you in your study of God’s Word. We also are making available CDs of these broadcasts, as well as VHS and DVDs. We will be glad to send any of these to you completely free of charge.
From Mark 5, we learn that Jesus is the best friend we could ever have. We see a man who is demon possessed, and who lives a horrible life. These demons antagonize him, throw him to the ground, and cause him to be miserable. People had tried to help by restraining him, but he has even broken out of the chains that served as his restraints. This man is in a pitiful condition. But then he comes to Jesus. Jesus sends the demons out of the man and into a nearby herd of swine. The swine run off the edge of a cliff and are destroyed. A little later, we see the man properly clothed and in his right mind. Jesus instructs him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you” (Mk. 5:19). What a great lesson on the friendship of Christ. We can have no closer, no greater, no more trustworthy friend than Jesus. He is our best friend—so much so that He gave His life for us. Jesus said, “I am your friend. And if I am your friend, you do whatever I command.” A friend will lay down his life for his friend (John 15:13). Jesus laid down everything He had for us (as He died on the cross) so that we could have eternal life. But here is the practical lesson we learn. The only way I can be properly dressed and in my right mind is when I come to Christ to let Him heal me. This has to do with modesty. Here was a man who was probably dirty, and who didn’t dress properly. He probably didn’t wear many clothes. But after he has made contact with Christ and has been healed, he is dressed properly and in his right mind. There is a lot of improper dress today. We read in 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Peter 3 that we as Christians are to wear modest apparel, not things that might cause someone else to lust. Today, some women wear things like halter tops or mini-skirts. Some men wear shorts that are too short, or do not wear a shirt. But we should not wear, or do, anything that might cause someone else to sin by lusting. Thus, we should always dress modestly. But Jesus is also the only way I can be in my right mind. Yes, for me to say this implies that those who are outside of Christ, those who are not children of God, are not thinking clearly. The truth is, there is a literal place called “Hell,” and some people are going to spend eternity there. Anyone who ignores that fact truly isn’t thinking with his or her right mind. Do you want to learn how to live life properly, dress properly, talk properly, act properly? Do you want to have a right (biblical) mindset? Then you have to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. In the Book of Mark, written to the Romans, we see the active nature of Christ. And what a wonderful lesson we learn from this book.
Jesus is the best friend we’ll ever have. In the passage in Mark 5:19, He told the man he had healed to “go home” and tell his friends. That’s exactly what we, too, should do. We should tell our friends about the great things Jesus has done for us. We don’t have to go around the world to bring a lost soul to Christ. All we have to do is go to our friends, our neighbors, or our relatives to tell them about Jesus. But in order to do that, we must first know Jesus ourselves. The only way we can know Jesus is through His Word. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (Jn. 17:3). To “know” Jesus means that we have to know His Word and His will for our lives. We cannot teach what we do not know. And we cannot lead where we will not go.
Only when the man who had been possessed of demons was willing to let
Jesus into his life was he then “clothed and in his right mind.” He had to let
Christ take control of his life. Today, people may allow Satan to rule and
reign in their hearts and lives, not through demon possession, but through
their actions, their words, their speech, the way they live, and the way they
deny God. But if people will surrender their lives through faithful obedience
to the Gospel of Christ, then they can think right and act right. They also can
lead others to Jesus Christ. And so we learn from Mark 5:19 that Jesus Christ
is the very best friend anyone could ever have. He’s the only One Who can save
us from our sins. The writer of the Book of Hebrews said that “that through
death He destroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (2:14).
What other friend is willing to die for us to save us from our sins? No other
friend but Jesus Christ can do that. The Book of Mark teaches us about the
power and majesty of Jesus. But it also teaches us how He took time for
individuals, and how He will do the same for us today. He is concerned for the
souls of all those who are lost. He cares for you; He cares for me; and He
cares for each individual human being created “in His image and likeness” (Gen.
1:26-27).
Ben Bailey:
In Mark 5:25ff.,, we see another illustration of Christ’s concern for individuals. A woman had a flow of blood. She sees Jesus, and struggles to make her way through the throng of people that surrounds Christ, saying “If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed.” She eventually was able to touch Jesus’ garment, and He felt the healing power go out of His body. He turned and said, “Who touched me?” The disciples couldn’t understand His question, since He was surrounded on every side by people who were “touching him.” But Jesus knew that someone with great faith had touched Him—and that that “someone” had been healed. This woman believed that if she could touch Christ, she would be healed. Jesus was concerned about her as an individual—so much so that He wanted to speak to her personally. From this text in Mark 5, we learn that Jesus was active in doing good. There’s a practical lesson here for us today. Jesus is concerned about each of us as individuals. He wants us to do the will of His Father. He wants us to go to Heaven. He has given us the means by which to get to Heaven. During His lifetime, He taught people how to go to Heaven. He even died on the cross so that we could go to Heaven. Anyone who suggests that Jesus doesn’t have an interest in them personally and can’t understand what humans go through, simply hasn’t read Hebrews 4:15—“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” The woman who had a flow of blood had spent all she had, trying to find a cure. Yet only when she came to Jesus was she cured. Today, we can spend every dime we possess, trying to find a cure for sin. But only when we come to Christ for salvation will we have the peace that passes understanding.
In Mark 6, we find a discussion about how John the Immerser—one of the stalwarts of Christ’s cause—is beheaded. John pointed out the sin in people’s lives. He did it to help them, just as preachers and teachers today should do if they find themselves in the position of having to point out someone’s errors. We shouldn’t find joy in having to do this. Rather, we should do it to help people. In John’s case, it was Herod’s wife who wanted John beheaded (Herod’s wife’s daughter, Herodias, actually made the request). The disciples, of course, took John’s death very hard. Jesus Himself had said of John, “He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light” (Jn. 5:35). John was a “lesser light”—one who was supposed to poinit the way toward Christ, Who is the light of this world (Jn. 8:12). After John’s death, Jesus invited the disciples to accompany him into a desert place for a time, probably to spend time in solitude as they recovered from the horrible event perpetrated by Herod. There’s nothing wrong with taking a break or a vacation. Those who often spend long hours in the cause of the Lord need to be able to take a break from their tiring efforts. All of us need time to recuperate and refresh ourselves. But we must never take a vacation from serving the Lord. That’s not what the disciples did. They took “time away” so that they could then turn and serve Christ with more vim and vigor. Toward the end of Mark 6, we see Jesus putting the disciples into a boat so that He can be alone to pray. But as He looks out on the sea, He sees the disciples rowing and struggling. He decides to go to them, and so He walks to them on the water.
Ben Bailey:
When the disciples see Christ approaching, they are frightened, and wonder if it’s an apparition, a ghost? But Jesus says to them: “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (Mk. 6:50). We learn in Mark 5:19 that Jesus is our best friend. But from Mark 6:50, we learn that Jesus also is a man of peace. Did you know that you cannot have real peace in your life without Christ? But where Christ is, there is “peace that passes all understanding” (Phil. 4:6-8). Since Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6), and since the angels sang “peace on earth, and good will toward men” (Lk. 2:15), we can have the peace of Christ in our lives (Col. 1:2) if we will access the Gospel of peace that provides the bond of unity (Eph. 4:3). We live in a frightening world. But it may be even more frightening for some people to think of eternity—a place where time does not pass. If a person does not correctly during his or her time on Earth, eternity will be a place of torment and pain. But if a person lives his or her life in line with the teachings of the Gospel, he or she can spend eternity in Heaven. Jesus is the only One Who can provide true peace. We can know that we have done the will of God, that we are saved, and that we are going to Heaven (1 Jn. 5:13). Christ, as the Prince of Peace, brings peace to our lives, and, ultimately, He brings peace between God and man. Sin broke that peaceful relationship. When sin entered into the world, God had to separate Himself from us (Is. 59:1-2). Jesus’ death brought us back together again. He is the peacemaker Who made peace between God and man. True peace can be found only “in Christ.”
In Mark 7, we learn about what is the overall theme of the book—the majesty of Christ. We learn that He has done all things well (vs. 37). He made the deaf able to hear, and the mute able to speak. Who else had ever done such a thing? In this chapter, Jesus heals a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment (probably resulting from the fact that he was deaf). Jesus healed the man so that he could instantaneously hear, and so that he could speak clearly. This miracle documented that the things Jesus said and did had the approval of the heavenly Father. In John 8:28, Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.” Jesus, even at the tender age of twelve years old, said that He had to “be about His Father’s business” (Lk. 2:49). In Acts 10:38, we read that Jesus “went about doing good.” Jesus sets the standard—a standard of “doing good” for which we today should strive. He told His disciples, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). Everything we do, we should to the very best of our ability. We should “strive to be perfect,” just as Jesus was perfect. We may never actually achieve perfection, but we certainly should strive for it. Paganism is a religion that is based upon fear. Judaism is a religion based upon law. Christianity, however, is a religion based upon genuine love. Jesus did the most because He loved the most. God loved so much that He sent His only Son Jesus to the Earth. Jesus loved so much that He freely gave His life on the cross to take away our sins. Paul tells us that “the love of Christ compels us because we thus judge that since one died for all, then we who are alive should be willing to die for him. We sacrifice because the love of Christ compels us to do so. That love activates, motivates, and stimulates us.
Ben Bailey
In Mark 7:25-28, a Syro-Phoenician woman comes to Jesus.
Her daughter has demons, and so she asks for Christ’s help. Christ’s response
is, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the
children’s bread and throw it
to the little dogs.” But the woman is determined. She says to the Lord. “Yes,
Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs.”
Jesus was touched by her faith, and said, “For this saying go your way; the
demon has gone out of your daughter.” This story teaches the universal nature
of God’s love. Although Jesus and his apostles went first to the children of
Timothy Sparks:
In Mark 8, we learn that Jesus is a man of proper values. In (vs. 34), He said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Jesus then went on to say, “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Notice what Jesus says in verses 36 and 37 about the proper priorities we should have. Jesus asks, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Jesus says that we must take up our cross and follow Him. In Luke 9:23, we learn that we must take up our cross daily. If you lose your soul, do you realize what you’ve lost? You’ve lost everything. You don’t have anything of any value. What would you give in exchange for your soul? So many people sell out for so very little. Then end paying a high price for low living. Sin has a price—death (Rom. 6:23). But if we take up our cross for Jesus’ sake, then we will receive a wonderful reward—not necessarily on Earth, but most assuredly in Heaven. What will a person gain if he loses his immortal soul? God has placed a soul only in humans—not in animals. We alone have a spirit that will abide forever—and where that soul abides will be determined by what each of us does.
Ben Bailey:
The Gospel of Mark shows us how we can spend eternity with
the Lord. Mark 5 teaches us that Jesus is our best friend. If you want to be
saved, you have to go to Jesus and no one else. He’s the only way you can have
peace, because He is the Prince of Peace (Mk. 6:50). We learn in this book how
to live life properly. Jesus was able to teach us how to do that, because He
“did all things well” (Mk. 7:37). If we follow Jesus, we, too, can do all
things well. Jesus was also a man of proper values and priorities. What will it
profit an individual if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul? Are you
in a right relationship with Christ at this very moment? If you died today,
would you spent eternity with Him in Heaven? The Bible contains an easy-to-understand plan of salvation. One must
hear the Word of God, believe that Jesus is His Son, repent of his sins,
confess the name of the Savior before me, and be baptized in water. Jesus said
in Mark 16:16, “He that believes and is baptized, will be saved.” If you have
not done that, we will be happy to assist you in any way possible.
Today, it is our hope and prayer
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Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. In John 15:13, Jesus commented on a “great love.” What did He say? And why did He say it?
2. In Hebrews 2:14, the text says about Christ that, “through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Explain that statement.
3. In this lesson, the comment is made that “Jesus is the best friend we could ever have.” Why is that the case?
4. There is only one way we can ever really “know” Jesus Christ. What is that “one way”?
5. The writer of the Book of Hebrews said, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). How does this relate to Jesus being “the best friend we could ever have”?
6. Who beheaded John the Immerser, and why?
7. Isaiah prophesied about Jesus being “the Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6). Paul wrote that Christ was able to offer “peace that passes all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). Explain the correlation between these two passages, and tell how Jesus provides that peace.
8. Some people suggest that Christians “think” they are going to Heaven, or “believe” such, but cannot know it. Explain how 1 John 5:13 impacts such a suggestion.
9. Matthew 5:48 teaches us, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Since no one can ever be perfect, what is this passage trying to teach us?
10. Jesus helped a Syro-Phoenician woman (Mk. 7:25-28), and a Samaritan woman (Jn. 4:4-26). By doing so, He showed His impartiality. Explain why that is the case.
11. In Galatians 3:28, Paul said, “There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus.” What was his point? How does this relate to Jesus’ impartiality—and to ours?
12. Where did Jesus get the things He taught? Incorporate into your answer John 8:28.
13. According to Mark 8:34, what is the “cost” of Christianity?
14. Jesus said that humans possess one particular thing that is more valuable than all the world. What is it? Incorporate Mark 8:36-37 into your answer.
15. What is the ultimate cost of sin, according to Romans 6:23?
16. How does a person get rid of his or her sin?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST,