TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?” Mark 6:2
Read: Mark 6:1-12
Listen: Mark 6
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Jesus taught a lot. If you look at a Bible with Jesus’s words in red, you will find he had much to say. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus says to his disciples, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come,” (Mark 1:38). When Jesus did this, there was a line of people hoping he would heal them or to see a miracle. But Jesus moves to the next village to teach.
Jesus is unlike any other teacher the crowds had heard. They often don’t understand his teaching because he taught with power and authority they didn’t know. But Jesus isn’t just any teacher; he is God-in-flesh come to show people a picture of God the Father. Jesus knows that people have a distorted view of God, a warped view of themselves and a twisted view of life. So, out of compassion, he teaches.
We, too, can have a distorted view of God, a warped view of ourselves and a twisted view of life. We need the teachings of Jesus to show us the heart of the Father, help us understand ourselves and live the way God intended. This is the heart of the good news—to know Jesus and his teachings and respond. Yet, it’s easy for us not to take Jesus’s teaching seriously. We may view him as just another teacher to consider, failing to see him as God. Or we may view him as so many other things we forget he is a teacher. If we take Jesus seriously, we will be his student (called a disciple) and follow his teachings.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Are you a student of Jesus’s teaching? The best way to know Jesus’s teachings is to read and study his words in the Bible. Last week we talked about reading the Gospel of Mark during this series. Commit or re-commit to being a student of Jesus and read Mark during this sermon series.
2023 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.
April is CONFESSION. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
