The Good Word

From his baptismal experience Jesus knows the purpose of his life to preach a major element of which was to call people to repentance We consider three episodes which follow the statement of Jesus purpose in 1 38 Jesus cleanses a leper Surely not as astonishing an exercise of power as

After Jesus had spent time in the desert then called four companions to leave all and follow him Jesus and his four came to Capernaum a town on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee about twenty or so miles east of Nazareth Mark tells us four stories he has chosen about Jesus visit here Ma

The time of fulfillment which Jesus announces can well be understood as the fulfillment of the promise recorded by Jeremiah that God would one day create a new Covenant with His people it reflects the new covenant of the Last Supper a covenant in My blood Such good news is this th

The bronze serpent which Moses lifted up in the desert Numbers 21 4-9 becomes a type of the Christ who is to come in the Gospel of John While the bronze serpent held up by Moses heals the Israelites of the snake bite that leads to physical death Jesus upon the cross heals us from the wounds

After placing John the Baptist as the prophet to introduce with divine authority the One who is to come and now embarking on the development of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God how shall Mark actually introduce Jesus Mark fastens on the adult Jesus since the birth stories at least as they

John the Baptist never became a Christian or follower of Jesus indeed there are signs of a cult about John even in the 50 s AD a sign that a number of John s followers never became followers of Jesus John s importance lies in the fact that for all four Gospels the reality of God s int

Mark introduces Jesus as Son of God While some consider this title another way of saying Messiah the tradition prior to Mark about 40 years indicates that with this title Jesus is professed to be divine and that is saying much more about him than does Messiah The Gospel will not be out to

When couples who are going to be married in the Church come to see me for the first time I get them to fill out a brief questionnaire The last two questions on the form ask What do you like best about your partner What do you like best about yourself The first question usually presents n

The Messiah as Jesus own Jewish history shows was anything but a person who should die in humiliation powerless defenseless and public criminal Mark set himself the task in composing his Gospel story to flinch neither from the powerful demonstration of glorious attributes of a king Messia

Mark s opening line focuses his reader s attention upon Jesus Mark speaks about good news which has all the richness of divine blessing since it is God s joyful message to human beings for their good In the tradition leading up to the New Testament such good meant above all f