Sayings
of the Kingdom 1: 14-15
Parables
of the Kingdom 4: 1-34
Jesus
and the children 10: 13-16
Entry
into the Kingdom 10: 17-27
The
Greatest Commandments 12: 28-34
Most
Jews in Jesus’ time were looking forward to God’s rule - the Kingdom of God.
The Jews had been ruled by foreign powers for many centuries. The people began
to hope for a time when God would be in charge. God would save them from their
enemies, just as long ago he had saved them from the Egyptians when Moses was
their leader. Instead of just another human kingdom, the Kingdom of God would
arrive. The Kingdom of God meant that God would be in charge. But different Jews
had different ideas of the way in which God would rule.
The
Zealots thought the kingdom of God meant that the Jews would rule their
own country. Jewish rule was God’s rule, so a Jewish kingdom would also be a
kingdom of God. Once he had defeated the Romans, the Messiah would be their
king.
The
Essenes thought it meant there would be a war against the powers of
darkness. All evil powers and evil people would be destroyed. The paradise that
followed would be the Kingdom of God.
Jesus’
teaching
shows that he disagreed with both these views. He believed in the kingdom of
God, but thought that only God could bring it about. Just as only God could make
a seed grow, only he can make the kingdom come. The Kingdom would not involve a
struggle against the Romans but it would involve a struggle against: sin, which
Jesus forgives; illness, which Jesus heals; demons, which Jesus defeats by
exorcising them.
1.
The
Kingdom would also be a new society. It was not just about God ruling
over the people, but also people living by God’s laws.
2.
Also the
kingdom was not just open to Jews, it was open to everybody. Sinners,
outcasts and Gentiles could enter.
3.
The
relationship with God in the Kingdom was not just for this life: after death
people would be happy with God forever. The future with Jesus, which would
continue after death, is the full and final arrival of the Kingdom.In some of
Jesus’’ sayings about the Kingdom, he appears to expect it to arrive in the
future. In others, he speaks as though it is already here.
Some
Christians see the kingdom to refer only to heaven, what happens after death,
and when the world comes to an end.
Many
Christians believe the Kingdom already exists – it is the fellowship of all
those who believe in Christ, which partly exists now, but will fully exist in
the life to come.
Catholics
believe that the Kingdom is already found in the Church, and will be fully known
after death and at the end of time.
All
Christians understand the teaching about the Kingdom to challenge Christians to
live in the way God wants and to make sure that there is justice on earth.
You
need to understand the meaning of the passages about the kingdom of God
in Mark.
Sayings
of the Kingdom 1: 14-15
To
be a part of the Kingdom you must repent and believe
These
parables tell us about some aspect of the Kingdom:
Very
simple meaning only!
Sower
- How some people accept the word/ some don't
Lamp
under a bowl - Stand up for your beliefs and faith
Growing
seed - The Kingdom is not be obvious but is growing never-the-less
Mustard
seed - The Kingdom will begin small but grow very big
Jesus
and the children 10: 13-16
To
be a part of the kingdom you must be humble
Entry
into the Kingdom 10: 17-27
You
must put God above all else
The
greatest commandment 12: 28-34
To
be a part of the kingdom you must love all people and love God most of all
·
The Jewish
people were looking forward to the Kingdom. Some saw it as mainly political,
others as mainly spiritual.
·
Jesus’
teaching was about the Kingdom
·
For Jesus
the Kingdom was a real thing, a struggle against evil, but people joined it
through repentance, belief in God and following Jesus’ message.
Jesus
at prayer 6: 45-46
Jairus’
Daughter 5: 21-24, 35-43
Woman
with a haemorrhage 5: 25-34
The
epileptic boy 9: 14-29
Faith
is not just believing in a set of teachings, although this is part of it. It is
a belief in a person whose presence enters your life, the person of Jesus
Christ. Faith involves accepting Christ and placing your trust in him.
Christians
use prayer to strengthen them in their struggle against the evil which
lies in themselves and in the world. They
turn to God for guidance in making the right decisions in life. They ask for
help in taking the path in life that God wants of them. They turn to God for
comfort in times of trouble. They ask God to forgive their sins. Yet they also
simply wish to express their love for God and their gratitude to him for all he
has done for them.
Jesus
at prayer 6: 45-46
This
miracle is often said to be a raising from the dead, but Jesus himself said that
the girl was only sleeping. This might mean that she was in a coma, or that she
was only clinically dead. Whatever the case, she was not dead in the final sense
of the word.
In
this story when Jesus told the bereaved parents to have faith he was saying
"Trust me. I can do something about this." The meaning of the story is
that trusting in Jesus is the way to bring his power to bear in your life.
In
this story we read of a woman who was considered unclean and, therefore, unfit
to take part in public worship. She was unclean because of a flow of blood, and
anyone who touched her became unclean as well for a short period.
She
touched Jesus' cloak, possibly because she felt too embarrassed to ask for help,
or because she felt that her uncleanness would have made a great rabbi despise
her. She would have felt worthless: such illnesses were often thought of as
punishment from God.
Her
action shows great faith in Jesus. Jesus makes it clear that it is no kind of
magic which healed her: ‘Your faith has healed you’, he says.
In
the time of Jesus this condition would have been interpreted as the result of
possession by an evil spirit. Nowadays we know it as epilepsy, a disease caused
by physical damage to the brain.
The
words of the father are important ‘I have faith, help my lack of faith’
(there are different translations of these words). The father was asking Jesus
to strengthen his faith. These words, and the failure of the disciples to heal
the boy, remind Christians that sometimes faith is weak, and Jesus can help
those who are weak in faith (an important idea when Christians are suffering or
persecuted).
Jesus
says this kind of illness can only be cast out by fasting and prayer. Fasting
and prayer bring a person closer to God so God can work through a person in a
more powerful way.
·
Jesus
would spend time in prayer to support his work
·
Faith
in Jesus and prayer were required for a miracle to occur
·
Christians
may sometimes be weak in faith, but Jesus can strengthen them.
The
widow at the treasury 12: 41-44
Cost
of Discipleship 8: 34-38
Rewards
of discipleship 10: 28-31
Jesus
made it clear that it was not easy to follow him, it would require a person to
‘...deny himself and take up his cross..’, but he also said that eventually
a person would be rewarded if they did follow him - their motives must be
genuine however.
The
widow at the treasury 12: 41-44
Although
she gave little, what she did give was very valuable to her.
Cost
of Discipleship 8: 34-38
Being
a disciple of Jesus is not easy – it may involve great sacrifice and
suffering.
Rewards
of discipleship 10: 28-31
The
hard road of discipleship leads to great rewards in heaven.
Discipleship
requires sacrifices, but there are also great rewards.
Call
of the disciples 1: 16-20
Choosing
the 12 3: 13-19
Mission
of the 12 6: 7-13
Peter’s
promise and denial 14: 26-31, 66-72
The
commission 16: 14-18
Every
organisation needs leadership, and Jesus organises his followers into leaders.
They are told to be servants of others, to expect to make sacrifices, and not to
expect glory and power. They are sometimes weak, and often in Mark’s Gospel
they are shown to be slow to understand. They come from very different
backgrounds, and their main task is to draw more people into the Kingdom.
Call
of the disciples 1: 16-20
‘Disciples’
means ‘people who learn’. Other Jewish teachers had disciples. Jesus is
unique in that he ‘calls’ his disciples. He does not wait for them to come
to him, he seeks them out.. The four fishermen- Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and
John - follow Jesus straight away. This is how Mark thinks people should respond
to Jesus’ call. They will no longer catch fish: their catch will be people.
They will get others to follow Jesus- to draw them into the net of the
‘Kingdom’.
Choosing
the Twelve 3: 13-19
Jesus’
disciples are ordinary people, not just educated men. They are from all kinds of
different backgrounds. His message is for al. The number Twelve reminds us of
the twelve tribes of Israel – Jesus is organising a new people of God. This is
the very beginning of the Church.
Mission
of the 12 6: 7-13
The
main task of the disciples was to spread the good news. Christians today are
also required to fulfil the same task. That is why Christian churches send out
missionaries to bring the message of Jesus to others. Christians also live out
the good news by helping and serving those in need.
Peter’s
promise and denial 14: 26-31, 66-72
Peter
was the most important of the apostles. He swore that he would never deny Jesus.
This is precisely what he does, but what we (and Mark’s first readers) know is
that Peter became the leader of the Church.
The
commission 16: 14-18
Just as Jesus sent out the disciples in his lifetime, so after his resurrection he sends them to preach to the whole world.
Christian
leaders should not be proud. They have failings, but are called to their work by
God.
For each passage summarise, in three columns, (a) what happens or is said in the passage
(b) what the passage means (use these notes)
(c) what it means for Christians today.