Mark
Chap 1
Jesus opening with a BANG - Messianic proofs from every source, from everywhere: Heaven and Hell, men, disciples, demons, and disease all testifying that He is the King over ALL
v41: I AM WILLING! He continues to cry this out down through history, it is our Hope, our Anchor in all the storms, our battle cry of defiance we scream out with joy and brilliantly clear auuarance against the hellish forces of darkness that always seek to crush us into despair: HE IS WILLING; HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SO, SINCE ETERNITY BEGAN, AND HE REMAINS SO FOREVER! To ALL who come to Him and cry out in their fear and despair and grief and terror and shame and bone deep weary fatigue, IF YOU ARE WILLING, YOU CAN MAKE ME CLEAN, He has but ONE answer: I AM WILLING. And He cries this out to ALL of us, Believers and Lost alike - for we NEVER out grow the need to hear Him say such potent and earth-shattering words; we ALL will need to hear them FOREVER; to feel again the reassuring tender compassionate touch of His hand upon our bitter, confused, and troubled brow, to feel Him lift from us the burden of our guilt and shame, to remind us again and again that He has once and forever freed us from the impossibly heavy burden of our own inadequacies, of our inability to cope, to conqure ALL that life thrusts upon us, 
v42 unlike the gods of this world, who may promise much but are utterly incapable to answer the truly great needs of our life, HE DELIVERS; For, you see, He is not only willing, HE IS ABLE. Human history is filled with the wreckage of the pathetic attempts of man to make good on simple human good intentions, to try to somehow ammeliorate the monstrous suffering our own kind inflict upon one another - at best it is noteworthy, but it is always characterized by one sad truth: IT IS NEVER ENOUGH. So often we are left with only empty words of sad comfort, made all the more bitter because of the sheer helplessness that drives us to speak them, reduced to the sad utterance of  hollow platitudes in the face of the hugeness of our inadequacies; BUT NOT JESUS; HE IS ABLE WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS AROUND US; HE IS ABLE WHEN ALL HUMANITY FALLS TO ITS KNEES IN DESPAIR, IN HOPELESS RECOGNITION OF OUR INABILITY TO DELIVER WHAT IS TRULY NEEDED; BUT NOT SO OUR LORD -  His willingness is the SAME as ACTION; His "Will" is ALL that is needed - the Roman Centurian intuitively recognized this when he told the Lord, YOU don't "need" to move an INCH - JUST SAY THE WORD AND IT WILL BE SO; perhaps yet them unable to understand or comprehend the salvation that lay within the One whom he sought out for help, he yet grasped the POWER of that Saviour to Whom he cried out for help; And to him, Jesus had the SAME ANSWER: I AM WILLING AND AS IT WAS FOR THE LEPER, SO WAS IT TOO FOR THE CENTURIAN: IT WAS SO; 
V 44  Jesus, even in His greatest acts of compassion, STILL had a larger purpose to His actions: To declare Himself  Messiah to the Leaders of Israel; 
v45 alas! how often our own misguided enthusiams can be as big an interference to the Gospel as we hoped and meant it would be a help; 
Chap 2: Religious Opposition to the King
v1-2 Jesus did this on purpose! He deliberately forgave FIRST, KNOWING that it would beg the proper question the scribes ask in vs 7, "...except God alone?"
	THEN He healed him to ANSWER the question - YES! ONLY God ALONE can do ANY of this , THEREFORE I AM GOD!! It CAN'T be blasphemy IF IT IS TRUE!
	See the pattern to ch 2? Jesus acts as the Lord, the scribes are horrified and scandalized, Jesus answers their accusations in such a way as to inescapably and undeniably FURTHER establish His Lordship, at least to those willing to listen with honest and open minds and hearts;

Chap 3: Apostles Appointed; Family Foes 

Chap 4: Plant Parable; Sowing and Sea Speaking; Storm Silenceing; Sowing Speeches and Storm Stilling
	For the disciples in the boat, many of whom were fishermen or were raised by the sea, THIS WAS A "REAL" MIRACLE; I mean, disease and all, who can know about that? They are terrible, but in a vague and unknowable way; BUT THE SEA! Now THERE was something they knew a lot about! Jesus was Lord of the terrible things of which they were familiar; Disease was small and individual and isolated to one unfortunate person, BUT A STORM?! THAT was ALL AROUND THEM; BIGGER than they were, a MASSIVE force of nature, and here He goes and handles it as casually as if it were but another broken man, another crippled limb! He was in THEIR element now, and He simply "shushed" it like an unruly child!! WHO WAS THIS MAN, INDEED!! Jesus is always at home EVERYWHERE, even in the places where WE think WE are more familiar, that are OUR "home turf", even there HE IS LORD; 

Chap 5: Legion Lifting and Death Defeating

Chap 6: Nazareth's Nay, Apostles Assigned,  Baptiser Beheaded, 5000 fed, storm stilled;
v1-6  Nazareth had known Him all his earthly life (almost), they would NOT have had any reason to accuse Him - ie, they KNEW of His impecable life up TO that point; they were UNABLE to see Him as He really IS/WAS, ONLY as THEY HAD known Him - the really nice devout serious boy of Joseph's.
	Their image of Jesus was pathetically too SMALL; how we ALL suffer from this "vision" problem, unable or ?unwilling? to CONSIDER what His claims and proofs REALLY imply regarding WHO He REALLY is; 
	He DID do some miracles - yet that was inadequate for a people ALREADY DECIDED on WHO He was to them; 

CHAP 6: WHO IS THIS MAN?
	EACH group had a chance to see and decide - each group had to, was COMPELLED to, ask AND answer this question
	v1-6: to Nazareth? Only Joseph's kid putting on airs
	v7-29: to Herod? Johm the Baptist come to HAUNT him from the dead
	v30-44: to the crowd? A cosmic caterer;
		to the Disciples? A miraculous Provider; 
	v45-52: to the Disciples? A Pwoerful yet Inigmatic Rescuer
	v53-56: to the Gennesarets? A healing Messiah! They had decided Who He was for THEM; the question was ANSWERED AND it was that faith response that led them to find the healing tthey sought, the healing the Nazarenes had failed to find for themselves save for just a few...
	v53-56 combined: the disciples remained confused as to WHO He was:
		Powerful yet personal
		Terrible in the storm, yet tender
		A puzzling Provider
		A man, yet also Master
		Commanding yet compassionate
	to some - a fake, unworthy, blowhard claiming to be what He doesn't deserve (Nazareth v1-6)
	to some - a threat, a puzzle, a source of guilt and fear and frustration (Herod, v14-29)
	to some - a miracle worker, a wonder, an inigma, hard to understand but Wonderful and terrible to behold (disciples, v7-13, 30-44, 45-52, 53-56)
	to some - A King, A Messiah, the Provider of all their needs, fulfiller of all their hopes, the defeater of all their fears, a healing Messiah (the people, v30-44, 53-56)

	Did ANY of them see Him clearly? Understand WHO He was then? NO! Not even the disciples who saw it ALL (v52). Yet throughout this entire chapter, EACH one who met Him HAD to answer for themselves: WHO IS THIS MAN?? He canNOT be considered WITHOUT being confronted with this question and until we EACH answer this question, ALL OTHER QUESTIONS ARE POINTLESS, lacking any adequate frame of reference; I think back on my friends in the past (RAMs) struggling with issues of where to go, what to do, WHY and HOW should they act and order their lives, asking WHAT REALLY MATTERS? Finding no clear answer in religions or philosophies; 
	How EACH of the groups in ch 6 answered this question revealed more about themselves than about Him; for HE was always the same TO each, He never waivered, He remained eternally AND internally consistant; 
	He allowed each to make up their own minds, but His very person and works COMPELLED THEM TO ASK, either themselves, each other....or Him; 
	MOST of ALL - it is a question WE who know Him should NEVER stop asking EITHER; AND WE CAN ask Him ourselves; 

Chap 7: Tradition vs the Kingdom; The Children starve at the table and the Dogs feast on the scraps; Deaf and Dumb Cries Out with Joy; Clean vs Unclean
v6 ALAS! A terrible threat for us ALL! To say the words ABOUT Him but AVOID the intimacy WITH Him! 
v9 By focusing to the microscopic on ACTS ABOUT God's Law (ie, their traditions); they fail to see the TRUTH of God's Commands regarding their hearts; 
	Contrast the utter failure (v1-23) Refusal of "the Children" to sup at the table vs the dogs BEGGING for scraps (v24-30)

Chap 8: "Who Am I?"; 4000 Fed vs Pharisee's Bread; (The First Happy Meal Extravaganza); Saving vs Losing; "What does it profit...?"

Chap 9: Transfiguration vs Crucifixion; Who's the Greaetest? First and Last; For Me and Against Me; Crippled in the Kingdom or Whole in Hell;
v9: 1st mention of His death! And it's to declare His resurrection! Again in vs31; 
v18 See AMP, NOT just the convulsions, the demon is WASTING away the Child - with absolute hatred and loathing for those who God loves, this craven foul ex-angel seeks the destruction of his "host";
v21: WHY did it matter "how long"? Was the duration of the possession especially in a child what required the extra criteria in v29?
v22: "if" - the man confused the inadequacy of the disciples as indicative of the limits of the Savior;
v23 Jesus said thid to focus the man's eyes away from the child and on to HIM! Away from the gift yearned for and onto the GIVER;
v24 the heart-broken cry of a man crushed by terrible circumstances beyond his control, and not to himself, but to his SON, his child...and for SUCH a terribly long time...

"Glory and Death"
Always on amidst the other! Not apart but inter-twined! 
v1-13: Amidst te glory of the transfiguration, His own death
v14-29: Amidst the Death wasting away at the child, Jesus glory of deliverance
v30-50: Amidst the Death awaiting Him, hanging over Him standing among selfish boneheaded disciples, the glory of the kingdom, the glory of His teaching about the kingdom; 
	Death cannot diminsh or pollute the awesome brilliance of the glory of Who Jesus is, of what He does BECAUSE of Who He is...just as light consumes darkness, so HIS glory inexorably comsumes utterly death and it's despair; 
	Picture a dark night time church - all lights are out, suddenly at the pulpit a man holds one of those million candle-power spot lights over his head and turns it on...
	BAM!! The place is bathed in radiant blinding glory, all except the man under the light, holding it up, himself lost in the stark brilliance over him; THAT'S how our lives can and should be - holding out the actinic glory of Jesus, blazing so bright all that people can see is HIM, not me; 

chap 10: Worthless and Worthy; family in the kingdom...; divorce and marriage; children - their worth and value to the Lord; giving up family for Him;
v17ff  the fact that this very good young man ASKS this question reveals that even HE somehow senses the ultimate inadequacy of his own acts of righteousness, the insufficiency of his efforts - genuine ones - to obey the law;
	But like Saul (Paul), there is always going to be SOMETHING we can't/won't/don't accomplish - always SOMEwhere where we ARE going to FAIL (this man's failure was his inability to give up the $s, to DEPEND upon God ALONE, rather than on his $'s; Saul's point of failure was "covetousness" cf Rm 7:7-8)
	Ironic, eh? his OWN efforts again NOW PREVENT him from achieving what he KNEW somehow he lacked - TRUE righteousness before a PERFECT God;
v18: Does Jesus say this because He wanted to point out to the young man that since he did not believe Jesus was God, he should not try to impute divine perfection to Him? 
v21: I think Jesus saw that this guy was sincere; he MEANT what he said and, in fact, WAS trying the best he could to be "worthy" and "righteous" according to the teaching of the day - Jesus does respond to genuine yearnings in peoples hearts, even when we are so far from making the impossible happen; 

Worthless vs Worthy
v1-12: THEY try to confront and entangle Him in nit-noid marginal arguments on divorce; HE re-confronted them with God's word on marriage; They were lost in the underbrush of man's pointless bickering - HE refocused their attention BACK to the TRUTH: God's Worthy and Worthwhile WORD, NOT Man's Worthless TRADITIONS;
v13-16: Children seen as worthless by disciples - NOT "worthy" of Jesus' (or their) time; Jesus declares their worth!
v17-31: Worthless wealth vs worthy wealth; personal monetary wealth is not only pointless, it's a hindrance to seeing that which GID values: SPIRITUAL values - personal ones, too; those of selflessness and self-sacrifice; 
v31-34: a "worthless death" (to the followers) vs a Worthy Sacrifice (unto the Lord);
	They were terrified at what? At the prospect of Jesus slaughter, and their own to follow shortly thereafter? Astonished at His seemingly quiet and calm acceptance of brutal torture, vicious mockery, and violent annihilation? But HE could see beyond that - HE could see it all in its totality, in it's complete perspective: Absolute Salvation for ALL Creation; Redemption on a Galactic scale; Perfect Submission to His Father's Perfect Will; And therefore, IT'S UTTER AND ABSOLUTE WORTH; 
v35-45: Worthless Posturing vs Worthy Position; Selfishness vs Servanthood;
	Poor disciples - once Jesus blasted any hope they may have held for a monetary measure of "greatness" for them in the kingdom, they started competing for Power and Position; They STILL didn't get it...
v46-52: Worthless beggar vs Worthy Messiah; a worthless beggar with a worthwhile faith; no matter WHO is doing it, no matter how noisy the scene may seem, no matter how far in the background the cry may come, Jesus ALWAYS hears and responds to His name being called out to, to ANYone who calls out to Him by NAME; Bartimaeus was declaring his acceptance of the Truth of Jesus' Messianic Authority and Position by crying out to Him as "Son of David"; A blind man will ALWAYS know about ANYone who is said to be able to heal blindness; Who KNEW when Jesus might pass this way again? He was NOT to be denied; he was NOT to be pushed away; He KNEW with Whom he was dealing and was DETERMINED to find Him, to get access to Him, to find that which ONLY Jesus could give - his sight; having ALREADY believed in Jesus Messiah-ship, he KNEW to Whom HE could go for ALL that he needed - The MESSIAH, the SON OF DAVID, the SON OF the MOST HIGH;  and not his blindness nor his worthless state in Jewish society was going to prevent him from going to HIS One True Messiah, even as promised in scripture to all who believed; 
And what prevents us NOW? Is it fear of exposure of one's need? Is it one's TRULY "blind" pride that would hold us back from getting that blessing which we KNOW down deep in our hearts most private place is ONLY to be found in that distant, unseen yet still heard Saviour? Jesus is HERE NOW. He is passing by, He is within reach even NOW, if we would ONLY CRY OUT HIS NAME and in doing so DECLARE that HE is OUR ONLY Hope, our ONE and TRUE Savior; 
What did Jesus say to him? "Your faith" has healed you...NOT that "faith" some how magically alone "makes" anything happen, it is ALWAYS the OBJECT of that Faith that is the KEY. Bartimaeus had faith IN JESUS AS THE MESSIAH - He KNEW exactly WHAT Messiah was supposed to be able to do, exactly WHAT the True Messiah WOULD DO: HEAL THE SICK, and NOT because THEY were somehow "good" and therefore "worth" healing, BUT BECAUSE THE MESSAIH WAS TRUE TO HIS PROMISE, because the Messaih was Good and True and Worthy to DO what he had SAID He would a THOUSAND years before in His WORD to us. And Bart was going to MAKE his request BASED UPON THAT; And Jesus honored that faith by GRANTING his request, by BEING what Bartimaeus KNEW Him to BE - The Messiah. 

Chap 11: "The King's Authority"; Triumphal Entry, Temple Purged, Fig Tree Cursed, Authority Challenged; 
The King's Authority to:
v1-6: command men
 v7-10: be Praised by men/to enter Jerusalem
 v11-18: purge the Temple
 v11-21: work miracles/purge the fig tree-Israel;
 v22-26: answer prayer
 v27-33: deny the authority of men over Him; to be over the authority of men;
The King's Authority:
Displayed (v1-26)
	To disciples (v1-6, 12-14, 20-22)
	To Israel (v7-14)
	To Priests (v15-18)
Denied (v27-33) by the Priests and other Authorities 

Chap 12: The Rejection of the King - by Religious Authorities
v1-11: by all Israel
v12-17: by Pharisee's and Herodians
v18-27: by Sadducees; 
v28-44: by the scribes; Contrast the one "close to the Kingdom" to those who are "far"

chapter 12 - "Render to..."
	"Resurrection/God of the Living..."
	"Most important commandment..."
	Ask Jesus an honest and sincere question and He'll give you above and beyond what you asked; The scribe wanted the 1st and most important commandment and Jesus threw in the 2nd one at NO extra charge; 
	"The Widow's Mite..."

chapter 13 - The Day of the Lord
v30 - "This generation..." NOT naming a >particular< generation, but rather trying to communicate the SPEED with which things will occur - before ANYone has time to grow old and die - POW! things are accomplished;

Chapter 14 - "Betrayal and Denial" - the Religious Rejection of the King
Annointing the Savior - compare the two SImons - Luke &:36-50
Simon of Nain the Pharisee
Mark 14:3-9 - Simon of Bethany the Cleansed Leper

cf the two women
	The 1st did His feet >early< in His ministry
	The 2nd did His head at the >end< of His ministry

Annointed Head
Appointed Upper Room
Announced New Covenant
	Body and Blood
Mount of Olives
Gethsemane
Agony - Cup offered, Cup accepted
Betrayal!
	by Judas
	by Apostles
	by Peter
Trial & Accusation
Declaration - I AM
Condemnation
	Of Jesus by Sanhedron
	Of Peter by himself

Chapter 15 - Crucifixion and Burial
Pilat
Scourging
Mocking
Crucifixion
Forsaken
Death
Burial

Mark Chapter 16 - Resurrection