Margin Notes From the Gospel of Mark

I have a hard time highlighting the Gospels, as there is so much good stuff. But I do extensively mark my Bible. Here I have shared a few verses where I have written margin notes, and also added some expanded comments on my notations

Margin Notes From the Gospel of Mark

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"And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him" Mark 1:20

Margin Note: Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, John & Matthew (Levi) Five prosperous businessmen become Christ's students. I don't think this was such an impulsive action.

Expanded: A time of choice. Jesus chose them & they chose Jesus. These men wanted to follow a godly teacher. Peter, Andrew, James & John were devout men, they must have been seeking a teacher to follow.

     They were subjects of Rome, a very cruel and dangerous government. If you didn't agree with the government, or the social religion, you were in peril of arrest and the threat of death. These men jumped ship and willingly went against the social patterns of selfishness, self-righteousness, and self-love by following Jesus.

     Nothing much has changed. Today's Christ's followers look for God to move in our government and social norm. Are we willing to follow Him even against the religions of society around us?

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"Then He said to them, 'Take heed how you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but to whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him" Mark 4:24,25

Margin Note: The one who wants to know more of God--God will give more and more knowledge. & cross referenced 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

Expanded: A Christian really has no excuse for not learning something from reading the Bible alone. It is God who personally teaches His children what the Bible says about Himself. Either you believe God can teach you or you can say "It's too hard for me" and reject the supernatural aspect of God's teaching.

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"Also He said to them, 'In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of judgement than for that city" Mark 6:10 & 11.

Margin Note: I'm not responsible for the people who reject Jesus. Let it go. Plant seeds.

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"So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them" Mark 6: 12 & 13.

Margin Note: Went with very little training for something unfamiliar.

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"So they answered and said to Jesus 'We do not know.' And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.'" Mark 11:33.

Margin Note: Jesus doesn't have to explain Himself to stubborn disbelief. They were asking, almost demanding, He show His credentials even after they had seen and heard everything He was already doing.

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"Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes" Mark 13:15,16.

Margin Note: A life saved is more important to God, and to us, than any material thing.

Expanded: This is Mark's (or possibly Peter's) account of The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is primarily speaking of the nation Israel when He foretells of the signs of coming troubles. And when the Antichrist takes over world power, they are to flee without hesitation. Drop everything and run for their lives.

     Yet, the lesson for today's Christians is the same...lives are more important than our stuff.

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And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You? But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, "Are you the Christ. the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?" "You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death" Mark14:60-64.

Margin Note: Even in the mock trial Jesus had to give them an excuse to condemn Him. Jesus had to give them their excuse . They could find no other way to kill Him.

Expanded: They had interrogated Him all night and yet his accusers could find no corroborating testimonies from their list of witnesses at this kangaroo court. They at least agreed with the Law that two or more witnesses had to testify the same crime to condemn a man.

     But for all their witnesses testimonies, they weren't given the hard evidence they needed to take to the Roman court to get Him publically executed.

     So Jesus speaks up and hands them His life with the statement that He is God. In truth, a claim like that would ordinarily be blasphemous if a man claims such a name for himself. Such a blasphemy is worthy of death. 

     One small factor--- in Jesus the claim is true!

     What an amazing thing for Jesus to do knowing He would die on the cross in a few hours, yet He came to do just that----Die for the sin of the world!

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"but he (the angel) said to them, 'Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him" Mark 16:6.

Margin Note: The happiest angel in the world at that time! & cross referenced it with 1 Peter 1:12.

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What are some of the verses you have purposefully marked, or some notes you have written in your Bible?

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Father's Day---Not Very Good Memories

My earth Father worked hard and played hard.

A farm boy with an 8th grade education, my father was very smart. He was a superb machinist, and could draw in 3D any machine design inside and out. If he had the right tools he could build it to any scale needed or build the tools needed to build the machine!...

He was a superb auto mechanic and metal body builder/customizer.

He dreamed big and wanted the best things.

Six feet tall, he was ruggedly handsome with shoulders and chest of a body builder. His hair was thick, black and wavy. He was a great dancer, even on roller-skates. His singing voice was a deep tenor. He could sit in on a 'red-neck' band, playing the spoons, mouth harp, harmonica, washboard and the saw blade. He was a wonderful cook.

He married a sweet, dark haired girl, who matched his wisdom. When she helped my brother Mike with a paper he had to write for school, his teacher failed him for it, stating it was obviously written by a college graduate and not a sixth grader. (Mother also an 8th grade graduate.)

Together they raised 5 very smart children.

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I hated my father.

My father was a pedophile who molested his own daughters, messed up the lives of his sons, and battered his wife.

I didn't attend his funeral and I have never been to my father's grave.

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If there was ever a dysfunctional family, we were it. But today, I have a great Christian family at Grace Bible Church.

I've had to learn to love. And I have found love.
God has shown me love and has helped me love Ivan as I have never loved anyone before.

I have forgiven my father. I do hope he asked Jesus to forgive him before he died. I would love to have my father greet me in heaven.

He was asking for a priest on the day he died in Togus but he died before the man came.

A priest cannot absolve anyone of their sins, only God can do that when you ask Him, so that information has little meaning, but if my father was thinking he needed forgiveness, he may have cried out to God at the end.

God is that loving and gracious and would have forgiven my father. God died on the cross for the sins of my father. All he needed to do was ask Jesus to save him.

Praise the Almighty Lord Father God!!!

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God is my Father in heaven. I am born into God's family through Jesus Christ. He has made me one of His daughters and loves me much more than any earthly father ever could.

"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15.

But.......

Father's Day doesn't have good memories.

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Today's Christians are Modern Daniels

The way the majority of Liberals want to suppress Christianity in America by making laws against us and our worship of God, has similarities to the way the leading rulers of Daniel's day attempted to kill him by making his faith in God illegal.

"Then these men said, 'We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.'" Daniel 6:5.

The modern pantheologist know they cannot be rid of true Christianity attacking us through our law-honoring live-styles, so they attack us through our worship of our God. So like these men set a trap for Daniel in making his worship of God illegal, so today's American Liberal community are attempting to do to us.

"All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisers have consulted together to establish a royal statue and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions."

"Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which does not alter"

"Therefore King Darius signed the written decree."

Daniel 6:7,8,9.

Since it is impossible to eliminate God from the earth, it is only reasonable for pantheologists to attempt to eliminate the people of God from the earth.

So what are we to do in defense?

"Now when Daniel knew the writing had been signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days" Daniel 6:10.

As difficult as it is sometimes, today's Christians need to be as steadfast as Daniel in our faith. We must know we will be attacked for our faith, yet our faith is in Almighty God, the Savior. Let us go into our rooms and pray to our God every day as habitually as Daniel.

Daniel's adherence to his faithful prayers, did result in being thrown into the lion's den, yet God saved him from the people who hated him. We have no guarantee of not being eaten by lions, but God is will intercede for us, making a distinction between us who worship Him and those who work to harm us. (Hebrews 11)

Let our faith be known as our witness. And may our God give us the strength and peace to do so.

"For without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" Hebrews 11:6.

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