Exodus 39:1-40:38, Mark 1:1-28, Psalms 35:1-16, Proverbs 9:11-12
Today is the 15th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today to take the next step. So, yesterday was a big day - Valentine’s Day, we talked about the beginning of Lent, finished the book of Matthew yesterday, the first of the Gospels, which will lead us, of course, into the book of Mark when we get to our New Testament reading. So we’ll talk about that when we get there. But first, the law is being given in the wilderness with the children of Israel and Moses and we’ll pick up with that story. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Exodus chapter 39 and 40.
Mark:
Okay. So, I mentioned at the beginning that we concluded Matthew’s gospel, which leads us, now, into Mark’s gospel. And we should probably say up front, Mark wasn’t one of the 12 disciples, he wasn’t an apostle. He was rather, mostly, a long-term disciple of Peter. And we first see him show up in the Bible in the book of acts, which, obviously, we haven’t gotten to yet. He’s also known as John Mark and he lived in Jerusalem and came from pretty well-to-do family. His mother’s name was Mary. She had a big house. She had a servant whose name was Rhoda. So, John Mark’s mother, Mary, was one of the earliest of believers and she opened her home to early believers. And church tradition holds that her home may have been the place of the upper room where the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early believers after Jesus ascension. Of course, that’s a church tradition that just goes way back. But it’s not explicit in the Bible, but John mark, or Mark, was around the gospel all his life, even as a boy. The apostle Peter was captured by Herod. And we’ll read about this story little further into the New Testament. And he was going to be executed by Herod who had put other Christians to death. And this seemed to be pleasing the people. So, we plan to execute Peter, but an angel came and sprung Peter from jail. And it was to John Mark’s house, to Mary’s large home, that Peter first came. And all the believers were there praying earnestly for Peter. And that prayer was answered by God, sending an angel to spring Peter from jail. So, Peter comes to John Mark’s house and Rhoda, the servant girl, comes to the door and sees him and slams the door in his face, basically, because she can’t believe it’s Peter. And that’s a story we’ll come to later, but it shows us a little bit about who Mark is. So, John Mark had been around the gospel his whole life. His cousin’s name was Barnabas, who was a dear friend of the apostle Paul. And Mark went with Barnabas and Paul on Paul’s first missionary journey. So, there is a long pedigree with Mark. And church tradition holds that Mark later became a disciple of the apostle Peter and traveled all around the countryside with him and served as an interpreter in Italy, and especially in Rome. And everywhere that Peter went, he was there to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, John Mark had heard Peter’s gospel over and over and over everywhere that they would go as Peter was evangelizing. And Mark recalls and remembers this because he’s heard it so many times. And he’s finally asked to write it down so people can remember the whole story that Peter’s giving everywhere that he goes. And, so, Mark eventually does. In a real way, what Mark could be recording is the gospel according to Peter. And most agree that Mark himself was the writer of Mark. There’s some speculation as to the time of its writing, but most scholars believe this…and this might sound surprising to you…but the first books, the first Christian writings preserved in the New Testament are the earliest letters of Paul and, perhaps, the letter of James. The gospel of Mark, being the first of the Gospels, so the first narrative of the life and ministry of Jesus, came later. About 10 or 15 years after Mark comes Matthew and Luke. And they’re a few years apart. And then about a decade, maybe even more, later, comes the gospel of John. So, we’re in the section of the New Testament known as the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And we’re about to enter the gospel of Mark, which is the first one. So, you may be like, yeah, I don’t care about all this stuff, just read the Bible, but this stuff is actually kind of important. Because when we can understand it, then we can begin to see how the gospel developed and spread. So, Mark is the first of the Gospels, then comes Matthew, then comes Luke, then comes John. And they’re spread out over a couple of decades. So, they’re written at different times and they’re also written to different audiences. So, their purpose is different. Mark is writing for the first time, the life and times of Jesus. And Mark’s gospel, more than any of the other Gospels shows the apocalyptic nature of some of Jesus teachings. We’ve already covered the apocalyptic worldview as we’ve talked before, but certainly will talk about it more in the gospel of Mark. Whereas the gospel of Matthew, that we just completed, was written for different purpose and to different people. Matthew was written to Jewish people and its intention was to show how Jesus connects to the Jewish story, how it’s the same story, how Jesus fulfills prophecy, and how Jesus fulfilled the law. If Matthew were being written to a Gentile audience, they wouldn’t even understand what was being talked about and they wouldn’t particularly care that Jesus was fulfilling prophecies from a different religion. However, Mark influences Matthew and Luke. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic Gospels. And we’ll talk more about that along the way. But that means that they share a lot of the same stories and in a lot of cases they share exactly the same wording. Now, as it turns out, Greek scholars have examined the Greek of St. Luke, which is very educated and well written, contrasted with the Greek used in the gospel of Mark, and it’s very different. Mark’s gospel is written almost in like fifth grade elementary, like it’s written in very, very basic Greek. So, although Matthew and Mark use a lot of the material from Mark’s gospel, they’ll often make corrections to the grammar and expand the stories, as the traditions and stories about Jesus are collected through oral tradition. So, that’s kind of the lay of the land. What we’re going into as we go into the book of Mark is the first telling in written form in the New Testament of Jesus life and ministry. And we’ll see that it’s focus is on Jesus and his ministry. For example, there isn’t a birth story. Like, the Christmas story isn’t in the gospel of Mark. It begins with Jesus ministry. And so, we begin the second gospel in the New Testament in order, but the first gospel in the New Testament in time. Mark 1, 1 through 28.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us to this point. And as we enter into the gospel of Mark, we invite Your Holy Spirit. Jesus, it’s You that we seek. You are our Savior and it’s You that we are getting to know day by day through this process of sanctification. The Gospels, they give us the opportunity to follow along with You, hear the things You had to say, see the things that you did, all while modeling what humanity can look like, what humanity should look like, what it’s supposed to look like. And, so, we pay such close attention, because the Gospels introduce us to Your heart. And, so, as we move into this second gospel we continue to invite You to reveal Yourself to us through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it’s home base, it’s where you find what’s going on around here. So, check it out.
And it’s just a couple of days from now, day after tomorrow…hooo…I have a lot of packing to do…that we will be boarding the big plane and heading across the ocean and landing in Tel Aviv. And many of you from all over the United States and the world will also be making that journey as we prepare to pilgrimage together throughout the land of the Bible. So, I’ve been mentioning this for a couple of days, mostly asking for the community here to begin interceding and praying over every aspect of this trip that we’ll be journeying together. And we’ll be making it as interactive as possible. We do this every year. And, so, we’ll be posting pictures as were at places and videos, when the signal is strong enough. And, so, we’ll be doing as much as we can to connect everybody. And I’ll be talking about where we’ve been and what we’re doing on the Daily Audio Bible each day. But it is just a canopy of prayer that were raising up over this, over technology, over transportation, over safety, over stamina and health, over all of the aspects of moving a couple of busloads of people all over the land. So, if the Holy Spirit begins to move in you to pray as were there, then thank you. And if we come to mind while we’re there, then thank you for your prayers. And if you want to stay connected, I would recommend that you follow the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page, which is facebook.com/dailyaudiobible or follow us on Instagram. This is where we’ll be posting the most. And about halfway through the trip we’ll be doing a Facebook Live from the Sea of Galilee, not from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, but from where we’ll be staying at the Sea of Galilee. So, we’ll give more details as we get closer, but just wanting to pray for this in advance and keep on praying over it as we move through the land of the Bible. So, thank you for your prayers.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. It is February 8th. My name is Barbie and I live in Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania and I wanted to call today for two specific sisters. I wanted to call for Salvation is Mine and for Melody from Canada. Ladies, I heard your prayers this morning. I heard your cries and I want you to know that you are so dear to my heart. And I am going to pray right now. Father, I pray for Salvation is Mine, that she rest in that promise, that she would hear Your voice calling to her, that You would open her eyes to see that You are with her, that she is not alone, that she is not invisible, that she is the only thing that You are looking at right now Lord. Comfort her and give her the strength that needs to move about her days, to be a light in her world, and the witness of Your glorious love. Father, I lift up Melody in Canada. The pain that she feels right now of wanting so deeply to have a career and to be a mother. And it hurts so much to want something that is being denied to you. Lord, I pray that you would give her just strength in knowing that this is for Your glory. We do not know what Your future plans are for her but in this time, as You call to her, I pray that she would respond, that her heart would be moved toward You, that You would use this time of rest to strengthen her for whatever is that You have in store for her and her future. Mold her into the woman that you are calling her to be and let her be strengthened by You Lord in this time. Give her a hunger and thirst for Your word for your company, that every…
Hey Daily Audio Bible. This is Paul from Houston and I want to pray for people as we’re going into Valentine’s Day next week. I want to pray for the folks that are brokenhearted, the people that are hurting from strained relationships. And I looked at Psalm 34:18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. So, I want to pray now. God, You are sovereign. I don’t understand why we go through this pain, but let that heal our brothers and sisters who are hurting. God, You loved us so much that You would spare Your own Son, but He endured the pain and hurt of the cross to redeem all of us to You. Thank You Lord for revealing Yourself and Your love to each of us in an individual way. Help us to know You personally and to know how much You love each of us individually. Please fill us with Your love so that we can pour Your love out into others that are around us each day. Bring them to know You Father so that we can know that we were made in Your image and for a purpose that You put in us before we were even born. Jeremiah 1:5, before I created you in your mother’s womb I knew you. Help us to know You Father. Help us to love those who are hurting and difficult to love. Thank You for Your presence. Pour out Your spirit, Your love on these brothers and sisters this Valentine’s Day and may they know, Ephesians 3:18, how wide, how long, and how high, and how deep is Your love for them. I just thank You Lord for being with us all Lord. Please give people peace and seal Your love and Your Spirit toward them and to know You personally, Father. And thank You. Thank You for the opportunity. Paul from Houston. Have a great Valentine’s Day…
Hello this is Candace from Oregon. Salvation is Mine, our beautiful, beautiful sister from San Leandro California. Our hearts ache for you amidst all that you’re going through. 2017 was shockingly difficult for so many of us. And in your case, I feel proud of you and honored that you are my sister when I remember your many calls across this past year and how many times you valiantly withstood hardship. A year like that requires recovery time. Please, immerse yourself in the Psalms. Cry out to Your beloved Savior, Jesus. It was kind of a shock to hear you say that you feel invisible. You are not invisible to us. And the Lord, Your beloved, as you engraved on the palm of his hand. He longs for you to just look to Him, cry out to Him, weep, even be angry. Just come to Him. Come to Him every minute that you have that you can and just pour out your heart. He loves you so deeply. One time, after I’d lost my husband of 41 years, a month later, it was in April I think, I asked the Lord to forgive me for how angry I was. And He…I heard Him in my heart say to me…I don’t have to forgive you for that…I hate death to. So, just know that you can fellowship with Him in a deeper way, even more than ever. So, go there my sister. We love you. We are praying for you.
Hello there. This is JoAnn Marie. I’m calling from Southern California. Today is Thursday, February 8th. I just heard Salvation is Mine. I heard you this morning. And I just want to give you a word of encouragement. I don’t know what’s going on in your life but about 10 years ago I had a semi-break down. I call it a breakthrough, but it was hell to go through. And God has totally seen me through the whole thing with my emotion, physical healing, finances. He just gave me help through other people. And one thing that you said, you’re struggling to keep it all together. You know what, it might be time not to keep it altogether and just continue to call out to God and let yourself have some of that time for healing for whatever it is that’s going on. But I do want to encourage you that God is with you He hears your call. If you can get the stamina up each day to praise Him no matter what it is you’re praying to Him as you praise Him, and it’s so good for your soul. Have a great day. And again, I’m praying for you Salvation is Mine. God is good. He is with you. Take courage. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Take care. bye-bye.
Bonnie, we heard you. I remember listening to your first call and telling us that your son was coming out of prison and asking for prayer for him. And Jacqueline we hear you. And others like Jacqueline who are screaming inside or so close to that, know that you are not alone even though it feels like that. I’ve been in a similar place myself. But you are not alone. And I know it’s no comfort right now, but God hears you, God ___ you and I pray, I’m praying so hard that He will give you…send you relief and surround you with people who will be an outlet for you where you can express even the feelings to get to the bottom of it and what’s going on. As well, I’ve got another comment Brian. Say, sometimes you leave on such a cliffhanger. Right? You get so into the story and suddenly you stop. It is like wait a minute I just can’t wait till tomorrow. I know that’s how it works but like today your reading along and then you finish on, look my betrayers here… And it’s like… No, you can’t stop now we need to know what happens next. Yeah, I know praise God. I’m getting into the Bible. It’s getting bad isn’t it? But yeah, thank you for your word again today. And it reminds us that, even though it’s a story that we’ve heard many, many times, it’s still relevant and it has relevance for us. All of these stories have relevance now as much as they did back then. This is Blessed by Him from Gloucester in the UK. I will run out of time probably. So, I’m just going to pray for a bit…but if I get cut off I get cut off. Have a blessed day wherever you are. Father God, we lift up Bonnie to You for her son. Thank you Lord that he’s coming out of prison and I pray Lord that you be at work in his heart and that he would want to come back to You and to read Sneezing Jesus and that You would be glorified in his life. Father God I lift up…
Hi DAB family this is Rhonda calling from the UK. I hope you are all doing good. Today I just wanted to pray for Pastor Gene. I heard that she’s in the hospital and I just pray Father Lord Almighty God that You touch her oh God with Your healing hand in the name of Jesus. We come against every attack of the enemy on our life and we pray Father Lord God that her suffering will stop and that she will begin to respond to treatment in the name of Jesus. I thank You Lord God tonight Lord God for Brian. Lord God I thank You for his ministry. I thank You for Jill. I thank You for China. I lift them all up on to Your throne of grace. I pray Your protection on Your call for them in Your life in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray Father Lord Almighty Father that You continue to use them for Your glory in the name of Jesus. Father Lord Almighty God I pray for those that are all over the world that are going through a lot of pain especially the cancer patient and in the midst of God I pray Father Lord Almighty God that You be with them and their family that You touch them and You heal them in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray tonight for Jacqueline oh God. I ask for the Lord Almighty God that You heal Jacqueline Almighty God. That she would know that she’s loved by You in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray for Sophie oh God. I lift her before Your throne of grace. I pray Father God that You make Your way for her where there is no way in the name of Jesus. I pray tonight also almighty Father Lord God also for __. For __ I ask Father Lord God that You bless her husband with a new job ___ that she desires in the mighty name of Jesus. Father Lord God we are just truly grateful for who You are and for what You are doing in each and every one of our lives Lord God. For those who pray regularly Father God I thank You Lord for their life, Blind Tony, Salvation is Mine, Daniel Junior, I thank You Father Lord God for Viola. Father Lord God I lift __ I lift them all before Your throne of grace and I speak blessing upon every member of this DAB community. I pray Father Lord…