GRACE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP | 恩道堂

Scripture Reading        : Mark 7:1-23

Theme                            : External vs. Internal

1. External Behaviour. The Pharisees focused on external behavior, rituals and human tradition, thinking that by so doing, it made them right before God. However, external behavior not resulting from an inward regeneration of the heart is the same as hypocrisy (Mark 7:6). The Pharisees were guilty of making such legalistic teachings higher than God’s Word.

2. Internal Defilement. Jesus spoke yet another parable about what truly defiles a person, extending the judgment against His hearers, because speaking in parables was an act of judgment (Mark 4:11-12). Jesus explained to the disciples that it is from the heart that sin arises, and a person does not commit any sin due to eating any food.

Praying the Scripture

1. Pray that we will not just focus on external behavior, but truly ask God to cleanse our hearts of all unrighteousness.

2. Do we abstain from eating certain food (e.g. blood of animals) and teach others to do the same, quoting Scripture to prove our point? According to the Bible in this passage, such teachings are legalistic traditions of man that displeases God. Let us pray that God strengthen our conscience to accept eating all kinds of food.

经文：马可福音7:1-23

主题：外在与内在

Scripture Reading        : Mark 6:30-56

Theme                            : The Compassion of the Perfect Servant

1. Compassion on the Twelve I. After Jesus sent the Twelve to preach the Gospel, they returned to Him and reported to Him all that they did. Jesus had compassion on the Twelve and wanted them to retreat to a quiet place to rest (Mark 6:31).

2. Compassion on the People I. The crowd knew about where Jesus and the Apostles were headed, and they followed Jesus. Even though Jesus intended to have a retreat with the Apostles, He had compassion on the people when He saw them. In the end, He did another miracle and fed more than 5000 people (plus women and children) with five loaves and two fish.

3. Compassion on the Twelve II. After feeding the people, Jesus did not forget His original intention of letting the Apostles rest, so He sent them away without Him, but He stayed to dismiss the crowd. Jesus knew that if He had gone with the Apostles, the people would certainly follow them again, denying the Apostles rest.

4. Compassion on the People II. When they came to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the people there (a different group) also came to Him. Again, Jesus had compassion on them and ministered to them instead of resting.

Praying the Scripture

1. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Let me remark that being ‘led by the Spirit of God’ is a remarkable expression. It does not say, ‘As many as are driven by the Spirit of God.’ No, the devil is a driver, and when he enters either into men or into hogs he drives them furiously.” Not so with Jesus. He had compassion on His disciples and desired that they rest. Let us pray that we will not be drivers, but have compassion on others, just like our Lord.

2. Some Christians think of God as a slave-driver, a cosmic kill-joy, who is out to torture His people. This is far from the truth. Let us thank God for His compassion on sinners like us.

经文：马可福音6:30-56

主题：完美仆人的怜悯

Scripture Reading        : Mark 6:1-29

Theme                            : Three Responses

1. Response to Unbelief. The people of Nazareth did not accept or believe that Jesus is God. They knew Jesus and probably watched Him grow up (Mark 6:3). As a result, Jesus did not do many miracles in Nazareth. Many people interpret this passage wrongly, by saying that it requires faith to be healed. They think that because the people of Nazareth did not have faith, so Jesus could not exercise His power. Such a view is flawed because it has a very low view of God – that God’s power could be limited by human will.

           The real purpose of miracles is to authenticate Jesus as God. But since the people were already presumptuous and rejected             Jesus, there was no need for the miracles anymore. In fact, if Jesus had performed more miracles in Nazareth, it would have             made their judgment more severe (Matthew 11:20-24).

2. Response to Unwelcome. Jesus sent the Twelve Apostles out to preach the Gospel, and gave them instructions on how they should respond if they were not welcomed. Again, Matthew 10:15 shows us that those who did not welcome Jesus’ messengers face a greater judgment.

3. Response to Unrepentance. The narrative changes scene to John the Baptist. John was a very faithful servant of God, who did not shrink from declaring the message that God had given to him. By proclaiming the truth and rebuking Herod, John was imprisoned. Herod was unrepentant, but John did not change his message. John’s response to unrepentance was to continue preaching the truth and rebuking those who sinned.

Praying the Scripture

1. Who do we say that Jesus is? If, after reading the Bible about Jesus and His mighty works, we still reject Him, a much greater judgment than that faced by Sodom and Gomorrah awaits us in hell. Let us repent from unbelief and beg Jesus to save us from eternal judgment in hell.

2. Do we welcome messengers sent by Jesus? This includes missionaries, preachers, and most importantly, the pastor of our local church, who proclaims God’s Word to us. If we failed to heed their message, we are in danger of judgment. Let us pray for willing hearts to welcome God’s messengers and their message.

3. Let us pray for our pastor, that he will have the boldness to proclaim God’s Word faithfully, even when facing death. Pray that we too might be courageous to proclaim God’s Word in face of death.

经文：马可福音6:1-29

主题：三种反应

Scripture Reading        : Mark 5:21-43

Theme                            : Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’ Daughter

Jesus was on the way to heal Jairus’ daughter when a woman suffering from chronic internal bleeding, perhaps from a tumor, touched Him and was healed. The woman was trying to avoid detection by mingling with the crowd. But Jesus is God and He knew what happened (v.30). The disciples were puzzled by Jesus’ question on who touched Him because there was a big crowd following with lots of jostling and many people touching Jesus. In the end, the woman had to identify herself to Jesus.

By the time Jesus reached Jairus’ home, his daughter had already died, but Jesus demonstrated that He had power over death by raising her from the dead. To prove that they were not having an illusion, Jesus told them to give the resurrected girl food to eat.

There are three similarities that can be observed about the bleeding woman and Jairus:

1. Faith in Jesus. Both the woman and Jairus had faith in Jesus. Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue, a leader of the Jews. Many Jewish leaders were plotting to kill Jesus (3:6), but Jairus implored Jesus to heal his daughter (v.23). Jesus commended the woman for her faith (v.34).

2. Fell before Jesus. Jairus “fell at his feet” (v.22) and the woman “fell down before Him” (v.33). Both were acts of humility before God.

3. When the woman knew that she could no longer hide, she “came in fear and trembling” (v.33). After Jairus heard of his daughter’s death, he too was filled with fear, because Jesus had to comfort him (v.36). In both cases, Jesus alleviated the fear by comforting the afflicted.

Praying the Scripture

1. Are we ashamed of our faith, or do we dare to declare in public that our faith is in Jesus? May God help us not to be ashamed of our faith.

2. Are we humble enough to fall at Jesus’ feet? Or do we think of God as our servant, to do our bidding? Pray that God will humble us and make us fall at His feet, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

3. Are we fearful of losing anything in our lives, such as our health, our love ones, or our possession? Pray that we will fear God more than fearing any other thing. When we fear God and have faith in Him, He will give us courage to face difficulties in life.

经文：马可福音5:21-43

主题：耶稣医治女人及睚鲁的女儿

途中，当耶稣前往去医治睚鲁的女儿时，一位患有慢性内部出血（或因肿瘤）的女人摸了祂，得医治。那位女人想混入人群，避免被耶稣发现，但耶稣是神，必晓得发生了什么事（30节）。门徒因耶稣问谁摸了祂而觉得困惑；那时跟随他们的人很多，都拥挤并碰耶稣。最后，那位女人必须向耶稣揭示自己。

耶稣到睚鲁家时，睚鲁的女儿已经死了，但耶稣彰显祂胜过死亡的大能，叫她从死里复活。为要证明这一切不是幻觉，耶稣告诉他们给那位复活的女子吃东西。

对于出血女人和睚鲁两者，我们可观察到三个共同点：

Scripture Reading        : Mark 5:1-20

Theme                             : Jesus Casts Out a Legion of Demons

1. Severe Possession. The man who was possessed by demons was in dire straits, because the demons caused him great physical harm. The reason that Jesus asked the demon for its name is not because He needed to be informed, but it was for the people to see the severity of the possession. This is not a demon-casting formula for us to follow. The Bible does not tell us how the man became possessed by so many demons, and any explanation would just be speculations.

2. Son’s Permission. The demons recognized that Jesus is “Son of the Most High God” (Mark 5:7). They were powerless before Jesus, and needed His permission to do anything. Without Jesus’ permission, they could neither speak nor act. When the people saw that the man was healed, they did not praise God, but wanted Jesus to depart. It is likely that they focused more on the financial loss suffered by the death of the pigs, than to see their fellow countryman healed.

3. Salvation and Proclamation. The man who was healed clearly knew that if not for Jesus, he would be doomed. He wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus had a different plan for him – he was to return home and evangelize to his friends. The man gladly submitted to God’s will and returned home to proclaim Jesus.

Praying the Scripture

1. Many situations recorded in Scripture are not meant to be experienced by us, but there are still lessons to be learned. Unbelievers who become Christians may not experience such drastic changes as having a legion of demons cast out of them, but there is still much to thank God for saving them from the depths of hell. Let us thank God for saving us from the eternal fire of hell.

2. The people focused more on their financial loss than the salvation of a man, and they rejected Jesus. In contrast, the angels rejoice over the repentance of one sinner (Luke 15:10). Jesus also taught that if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul, it is the most serious mistake (Mark 8:36-37). Let us pray that we will not love the world and its riches and sacrifice our souls.

3. The man who was saved submitted to God’s will to proclaim the Gospel to his friends. Sometimes, we think of doing big things for God by preaching great sermons bringing about great revivals, but what God really wants is that we preach the Gospel to people around us. If all Christians will preach the Gospel to their friends, the Gospel will reach the ends of the earth in no time. Let us pray that we are willing to preach the Gospel to our friends and wherever we go.

经文：马可福音5:1-20

主题：耶稣赶走一群魔鬼

Scripture Reading        : Mark 4:25-41

Theme                            : Jesus Calms a Storm

1. Fear of Death. A few of the disciples were fishermen by trade, before they followed Jesus. They would have seen many storms before when they were out fishing at sea. Based on their experience, this storm was so severe that they believed they would not make it back to shore alive. Jesus, in contrast, was able to sleep peacefully in the midst of the storm. Jesus was extremely tired after all the things He had done to serve the people, and Mark noted that He was not even able to eat at times (Mark 3:20). However, to be able to sleep in the midst of a severe and life-threatening storm demands more than physical tiredness, but supreme trust in God the Father. The disciples did not have such faith, and so they feared for their lives.

2. Faith in Jesus. The Apostles were given authority to cast out demons (Mark 3:15), and they witnessed Jesus healing the sick and performing all the miracles. Yet, when it came to a life-threatening situation, they were still fearful. Jesus rebuked the Apostles for their lack of faith in Him.

3. Fear of Jesus. Jesus demonstrated that He had authority over the physical realm by healing the sick. He also demonstrated that He had authority over the spiritual realm by casting out demons. Now, He demonstrated that He had authority over the realm of nature by calming the storm. The disciples were thus filled with fear of Jesus.

Praying the Scripture

1. Do we allow our life experiences to distract us, or do we trust in the Lord? Or maybe we trust in our own experience, that we know better than God? Pray that we will trust in God and not depend on our own wisdom in all circumstances (Proverbs 3:5-8).

2. We can claim to have faith in Jesus in different circumstances, but the real test of our faith in Jesus comes when our lives are threatened. Let us pray that we will be willing to “take our cross” and to give up our lives to follow Jesus.

3. The Apostles asked, “Who then is this?” (Mark 4:41) Do we believe that Jesus is the Son of God? After reading the Bible and seeing that Jesus had authority over illnesses, demons and nature, we should believe and not doubt. Pray that we will place our trust in Jesus and not doubt in our hearts.

经文：马可福音4:25-41

主题：耶稣平息风浪

Scripture Reading        : Mark 4:26-34

Theme                            : Two Parables on Seeds

1. Grain Seed. This parable illustrates that spiritual growth in the lives of genuine believers is apart from the sower. The sower is responsible only to sow, but the growth is caused by God. The sower can provide the conditions suitable for growth, but the growth cannot be forced. If the sower tries to speed up the process by pulling the ear and the blade before the grain is ripe, it will certainly damage the grain. In a similar fashion, spiritual growth cannot be prematurely forced.

2. Mustard Seed. The mustard seed is not the smallest of all known seeds, but the smallest of the different kinds of seeds Jews sowed in their fields. The leaves of the mustard plant were used as a vegetable and its seed as a condiment. When fully grown, the size of the mustard plant was larger than all the other garden plants of similar use. Such growth is out-of-proportion, considering that the seed is the smallest. The kingdom of God is like such a seed, said Jesus, because it had a small and seemingly insignificant beginning, but eventually will grow in such proportions that will affect the entire world.

Praying the Scripture

1. We should be diligent as sowers and preach the Gospel and the Word of God, which is our responsibility as Christians. Spiritual growth in the lives of believers is not our responsibility. Paul also wrote that “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” Therefore, we should be faithful in planting and watering (preaching and teaching the Word of God), and leave the growth to Him (1 Cor. 3:6-7). Let us pray that we have patience as we counsel and guide immature believers, and not try to force their spiritual growth by our means.

2. We should not be discouraged when our ministry started small. As long as we are faithful in doing what is right according to God’s Word, He will grant the growth. When God is blessing the ministry, even a small ministry can grow to become one that does big things for God. Let us pray that we will not be discouraged, but trust in God and be faithful in the ministry He has given to us.

经文：马可福音4:26-34

主题：有关种子的两个比喻

Scripture Reading        : Mark 4:1-25

Theme                            : Judgment by Parables

1. The Purpose of Parables. When the people, especially the religious leaders (the Pharisees), started to show serious antagonism towards Jesus, to the extent that they blaspheme against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:22-30), Jesus began to speak to them in parables. The real purpose of parables is a sign of judgment (Mark 4:11-12), so that those who reject the Word of God will also not be able to understand His Word. And if sinners do not know God’s Word, they will not be saved.

2. The Meaning of the Parable. The parable of the sower talks about four types of ground – the path, rocky ground, thorns, and good soil. Jesus explained the parable to the disciples: the path represents people who hear the Word of God but immediately rejects it, rocky ground represents people who accepted God’s Word but did not persevere during suffering, the thorns represents people who hear God’s Word but unwilling to give up the pleasures of this world, the good soil represents people who accept the Word of God and persevere, bearing fruit in the end. Only the good soil represents true believers who are genuinely saved.

3. The Warning after the Parable. The analogy of the lamp that is not placed under a basket is a warning that it is not possible to be a genuine believer but not bear any fruit. This follows the parable of the sower closely as a further illustration of the good soil that will bear fruit.

Praying the Scripture

1. Much of what God has revealed to us in the Bible is quite easy to understand (e.g. having lustful thoughts equates to committing adultery, homosexuality is sin, etc.). The real problem is that sinners refuse to accept or believe God’s Word. If sinners continue to reject the Word of God, their hearts will become so numbed by sin that they cannot understand even the simplest teaching from the Bible (1 Cor 2:14). When this happens, it is a clear sign of God’s judgment. Let us pray for soft and humble hearts that is ready to accept and believe God’s Word.

2. The parable of the sower shows that we should not be selective in sharing the Gospel with unbelievers. We are not the ones who can tell who is what type of ground. We simply preach the Gospel to everyone, and the type of ground will reveal itself in time to come. Let us pray that we will be bold in preaching the Gospel and not give excuses.

3. The passage is very clear that genuine believers will bear fruit. Bearing fruit is not the cause of our salvation, but the effect/result of our salvation (James 2:17-18). If we have been giving excuses for not bearing fruit, let us repent from this sin and pray that God equip us to serve Him and bear fruit.

经文：马可福音4:1-25

主题：藉着比喻的审判

Scripture Reading        : Mark 3:21-35

Theme                            : Friend vs. Foe II

1. Absolute Sin of the Pharisees. When the Pharisees (and scribes) failed in their bid to discredit Jesus based on their legalistic interpretation of the Law, they resorted to character assassination. So serious is the blasphemy (they charged that Jesus’ authority came from Satan) that Jesus said such a sin is unforgiveable. Mark 3:23 is the beginning that Jesus spoke parables to those whose hearts were hardened, which is a sign of judgment (Mark 4:11-12).

2. Adoption of the Obedient. Jesus’ mother, Mary, and His brothers (naturally born children after Joseph married Mary) came to look for Jesus. It is very possible that they were trying to stop Jesus from what He was doing (Mark 3:21). To stop Jesus was clearly going against the will of God, and that is why Jesus answered by saying that those who do the will of God are His “brother, sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). Jesus was not advocating that Christians disown their parents, for that would contradict His teaching in Mark 7:9-13. Jesus is emphasizing that obeying God the Father is more important than obeying earthly parents.

Praying the Scripture

1. Do we believe Jesus and His Word, the Bible? If we reject Jesus and His Word, we are also guilty of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. If we keep hardening our hearts like Pharaoh, God will harden our hearts one day (Exodus 9:34; 10:1). Let us repent from this sin and beg Jesus for forgiveness, while there is still opportunity.

2. Jesus said, “And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:36-39) Even though we are to honor our parents (Mark 7:9-13), it is more important to obey God. Let us pray that our earthly relationships will not be a hindrance to us as we follow Christ.

经文：马可福音3:21-35

主题：友与敌（二）

Scripture Reading        : Mark 3:1-20

Theme                            : Friend vs. Foe I

1. Antagonism of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were looking for opportunity to accuse Jesus. They did not doubt His ability to heal, yet they chose to oppose Jesus instead of marvel at God’s power. Jesus tested the Pharisees by asking them whether it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Legalistic pharisaic tradition allowed for the saving a life on the Sabbath, but if it were not life-threatening, then doing good would be breaking the Law, and ought to be postponed to the next day. Jesus was showing the Pharisees the inconsistency in such legalistic teachings. To demonstrate once more that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28), Jesus healed the man with a withered hand. Instead of praising God for His mercy and power, the Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus. This was the culmination of the objections they brought against Jesus in Mark 2, and the antagonism grew from this moment.

2. Appointment of the Apostles. In contrast to the Pharisees, the Apostles (except Judas) were true followers of Jesus. Mark 3:13 clearly shows that it is God’s sovereignty over who He chooses. After appointing the Twelve Apostles, Jesus also gave them authority to cast out demons. To those who are obedient to God, more will be given to them for the purpose of serving Him.

Praying the Scripture

1. Just as Jesus was angered by the Pharisees’ hardness of heart (Mark 3:5), God is angry with sinners, “who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). We should not think of ourselves as better than the Pharisees, but learn from their negative example. Are we holding on to any legalistic beliefs? Let us pray that we will submit to Jesus and His teachings, with love and compassion for others, rather than laying a burden on others that we ourselves cannot bear.

2. God equips those whom He chooses to serve Him. If we obey God and serve Him faithfully, He will give us even more to serve Him more effectively (Matthew 25:29). But this is not a promise of financial gain, a false-teaching made popular by the health-and-wealth-gospel. Let us pray that we are willing to serve God.

经文：马可福音3:1-20

主题：友与敌（一）