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Daily Bread 2011 - Mark 13

Daily Bread 2011 – Monday, February 28th 2011 Mark 13 The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times 1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” What Does This Mean? Jesus continues to usher in new reality for his disciples. In this passage, he gives a foreshadowing of future events by re-defining the temple. In the Jewish faith, the temple was the locality where God showed up and met the people. In the temple the High Priest went in once a year to offer the unblemished lamb for the forgiveness of the people’s sins. The temple was the sign of God’s blessing and His presence. In Leviticus, we learn of the detail and importance of everything in the temple. It was a holy place where God dwelt by His Spirit. As Jesus ushers in the new kingdom and new...

Daily Bread 2011 Mark 12

Daily Bread 2011 – Friday February 25th, 2011 Mark 12 Marriage at the Resurrection 18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in t...

Daily Bread 2011 Mark 11

Daily Bread 2011 – Thursday February 25th, 2011 Mark 11 Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King 1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and tho se who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he wh...

Daily Bread 2011 Mark 10

Daily Bread 2011 – Wednesday February 24th, 2011 Mark 10 1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” What Does This Mean? Meanwhile as Jesus returns to the public scene, the Pharisees are at it again trying to trap him into a lose/lose argument. As he has confronted t...

Daily Bread 2011 Mark 9

Daily Bread 2011 – Tuesday February 22nd, 2011 Mark 9 The Transfiguration 2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him! ” What Does This Mean ? As Jesus was nearing the end of his journey, he realizes he and the disciples have been doing a lot of work for the kingdom and it is time for some rest. Most people rest from their work, but Jesus shows the principle of working from our rest. In this situ...

Daily Bread 2011 Mark 8

Daily Bread 2011 – Monday February 21st, 2011 Mark 8 1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” 4 His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” 5 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied. 6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7 They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. What Doe...

Daily Bread 2011 - Mark 7

Daily Bread 2011 – Friday February 18th, 2011 Mark 7 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) 20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” What Does This Mean? One of the great paradigms Jesus had to confront in the Jewish religion was that a right relationship with God was defined by what happened on the outside. What a person wore, what they ate, or their outward expressions of worship. The Pharisees and teach...