¹² While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ¹³ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

The leprous man expressed his faith by coming to Jesus and falling on his face before him.  In response, Jesus reached out his hand to touch him.  Normally this was prohibited because anyone touching a leper would become unclean.  In this case, the opposite happens, the leper becomes clean.  Christ’s ability to cleanse the leper was greater than any power the leprosy had to make Christ…

Jesus is in Jerusalem.  It is the final week running up to his crucifixion.  He will criticize spiritual showiness while encouraging us to practice complete love and commitment to God.

Mark 12.pdf

Mark 12.mp3

The primary Parable of the Sower (as Jesus calls it in Matthew 13:18) is recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke.  This other one, also called the Parable of the Growing Seed, is only in Mark.  I like to think of it as a further elaboration on the sower’s seed sown on good ground, which “yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred” (Mark 4:8).

²⁶ And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷ and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. ²⁸ For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain ripens, immediately

Jesus begins to attract more attention, both positive and negative.  His family begin to think he is crazy.  Religious leaders accuse him of being under demonic influence.

Mark 03.pdf

Mark 03.mp3

Heavenly Father,

We see Jesus having to endure being misunderstood by his family and accused of being evil by the religious leaders of his day.

We do not want to make those mistakes. We realize that if we reject Jesus, then there is no payment available for our sins against you.

Our relationship with you, through Christ, is and always needs to be the most important relationship in our lives.

It makes us your family and gives us the truest family we will ever have – the family of God.

Help us to be obedient and willing to do your will. Help us to respond well to whatever calling you place upon our lives.

And help us to see Jesus as Lord, the one who truly deserves our worship and complete obedience.

In Christ,

Amen.