Day 291  Reading Schedule: Mark 4-6

Mark 4: Parables about the Kingdom of God

[Summary]

Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower in front of many people, and when he was with his disciples, he explained the interpretation of the parable (verses 1-20). He also told the Parable of the Lamp on the Stand (verses 21-25), the Parable of the Seed That Grows by Itself (verses 26-29), and the Parable of the Mustard Seed (verses 30-32). Jesus spoke all his teachings only in parables, and later, during a quiet time, he explained all the parables to his disciples (verses 33-34). One evening, when Jesus and his disciples were going to cross the lake in a boat, a great storm arose and the boat was in danger of sinking, but Jesus calmed the sea and the wind with his words (verses 35-41).

Mark 5: Healing the Sick

[Summary]

Jesus goes to the Gerasene region, a Gentile land across the Sea of ​​Galilee. There, he meets a demon-possessed man living in a tomb and casts out the demon. Many people come to believe in Jesus because of the testimony of the man who was healed after being possessed by a demon (verses 1-20). He crosses the Sea of ​​Galilee again and goes to heal the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader. On his way, he heals a woman who has suffered from bleeding for twelve years. When he arrives at the synagogue leader’s house, Jairus’ daughter is already dead, but Jesus raises her from the dead with amazing power (verses 21-43).

Mark 6: Jesus’ Missionary Journey

[Summary]

Jesus goes to his hometown and teaches the word of God in the synagogue on the Sabbath, but the people reject him when they learn that he is the son of Joseph, a carpenter. Because of their unbelief, Jesus did not perform any miracles in his hometown and only healed a few sick people (vv. 1-6). Meanwhile, Jesus sent out the disciples he had trained to spread the gospel (vv. 7-13). As many miracles were performed by Jesus and his disciples, Jesus became famous and people began to say that a prophet had risen and that John the Baptist had come back from the dead. Then, the writer of the Gospel of Mark naturally introduces the story of John the Baptist’s death (vv. 14-29). Next comes the famous incident of the five loaves and two fish (vv. 30-44), and after that, the incident of Jesus walking on the sea (vv. 45-52). When Jesus arrived at the land of Gennesaret, many people who heard about him came to him and were healed of their diseases.