Helpfinder Sampler - Flipbook - Page 27
MAR K 1 1
whoever wants to be first among you must be
the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve others
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus
46 Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and
his disciples left town, a large crowd followed
him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of
Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When
Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was
nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at
him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David,
have mercy on me!”
49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and
said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,”
they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and
came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus
asked.
“My Rabbi,*” the blind man said, “I want
to see!”
52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith
has healed you.” Instantly the man could see,
and he followed Jesus down the road.*
Jesus’ Triumphant Entry
As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives.
Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into that
village over there,” he told them. “As soon as
you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied
there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and
bring it here. 3 If anyone asks, ‘What are you
doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’”
4 The two disciples left and found the colt
standing in the street, tied outside the front
door. 5 As they were untying it, some bystanders
demanded, “What are you doing, untying that
colt?” 6 They said what Jesus had told them to
say, and they were permitted to take it. 7 Then
they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their
garments over it, and he sat on it.
8 Many in the crowd spread their garments on
the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy
branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Jesus was
in the center of the procession, and the people
all around him were shouting,
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10
“Praise God!*
Blessings on the one who comes in the
name of the Lord!
Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our
ancestor David!
Praise God in highest heaven!”*
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11 So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into
the Temple. After looking around carefully at
everything, he left because it was late in the
afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with
the twelve disciples.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
12 The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He noticed a fig tree
in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to
see if he could find any figs. But there were only
leaves because it was too early in the season for
fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one
ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples
heard him say it.
Jesus Clears the Temple
15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus
entered the Temple and began to drive out the
people buying and selling animals for sacrifices.
He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and
he stopped everyone from using the Temple as
a marketplace.* 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house
of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it
into a den of thieves.”*
18 When the leading priests and teachers
of religious law heard what Jesus had done,
they began planning how to kill him. But they
were afraid of him because the people were so
amazed at his teaching.
19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left*
the city.
20 The next morning as they passed by the fig
tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had
withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered
what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous
day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree
you cursed has withered and died!”
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith
in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this
mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown
into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must
really believe it will happen and have no doubt
in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received
it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying,
first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge
against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.*”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 Again they entered Jerusalem. As Jesus was
walking through the Temple area, the leading
priests, the teachers of religious law, and the
10:51 Greek uses the Hebrew term Rabboni. 10:52 Or on
the way. 11:9 Greek Hosanna, an exclamation of praise that
literally means “save now”; also in 11:10. 11:9-10 Pss
118:25-26; 148:1. 11:16 Or from carrying merchandise through
the Temple. 11:17 Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11. 11:19 Greek they left;
other manuscripts read he left. 11:25 Some manuscripts add
verse 26, But if you refuse to forgive, your Father in heaven will
not forgive your sins. Compare Matt 6:15.
MARK 12
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elders came up to him. 28 They demanded, “By
what authority are you doing all these things?
Who gave you the right to do them?”
29 “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these
things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied.
30 “Did John’s authority to baptize come from
heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”
31 They talked it over among themselves. “If
we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we
didn’t believe John. 32 But do we dare say it was
merely human?” For they were afraid of what
the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet. 33 So they finally
replied, “We don’t know.”
And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you
by what authority I do these things.”
Parable of the Evil Farmers
Then Jesus began teaching them with
stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He
built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing
out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower.
Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2 At the
time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his
servants to collect his share of the crop. 3 But
the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up,
and sent him back empty-handed. 4 The owner
then sent another servant, but they insulted
him and beat him over the head. 5 The next
servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were
either beaten or killed, 6 until there was only
one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The
owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they
will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to one another,
‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill
him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 8 So they
grabbed him and murdered him and threw his
body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will
come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. 10 Didn’t you ever read this in the
Scriptures?
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‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’*”
12 The religious leaders* wanted to arrest
Jesus because they realized he was telling the
story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they
left him and went away.
Taxes for Caesar
13 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and
supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying
something for which he could be arrested.
12:10-11 Ps 118:22-23. 12:12 Greek They. 12:15 Greek
a denarius. 12:19 See Deut 25:5-6.
14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest
you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now
tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said,
“Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a
Roman coin,* and I’ll tell you.” 16 When they
handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and
title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar
what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what
belongs to God.”
His reply completely amazed them.
Discussion about Resurrection
18 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no
resurrection from the dead. They posed this
question: 19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that
if a man dies, leaving a wife without children,
his brother should marry the widow and have
a child who will carry on the brother’s name.*
20 Well, suppose there were seven brothers.
The oldest one married and then died without
children. 21 So the second brother married the
widow, but he also died without children. Then
the third brother married her. 22 This continued
with all seven of them, and still there were no
children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So
tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you
don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know
the power of God. 25 For when the dead rise,
• Prayer
M ARK 11: 22-23
These words of Jesus do not mean we
can automatically obtain anything we
want if we just think positively. Prayer
is not some sort of cosmic blank check
from God to us. Jesus meant that anything is possible with faith because
nothing is impossible for God. To pray
a mountain into the sea has nothing
to do with God’s will, but Jesus used
that picture to say that it is possible for
God to do the impossible. God answers
prayer but not as a result of a positive
mental attitude on our part. To be in a
position for God to answer our prayers,
(1) we must be believers, (2) we must
not hold a grudge against another,
and (3) we must not pray with selfish
motives.
