Review in Class: Mark 16:1-8. Ask the class if they notice anything this time they did not notice the first time they read this?
Study: How did the women first respond to what happened?
Apply: Why must we not keep silent about Jesus and what He has done? Who can you tell today about Jesus and the plan of salvation?
Share: Your friend asks you why the angel singles Peter while mentioning the message to the disciples? What do you tell your friend? Your friend also mentiones the women being concerned about the stone, only to find it already rolled away when they got there. Your friend asks if you have ever worried about something in the future, only to find God had already taken care of it by the time you got there? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 16:9-20. Have the class sunmarraize this passage.
Study: What do these verses add to the Resurrection story?
Apply: How can we protect ourselves from falling into the spiritual trap of doubt and unbelief? Why must we daily link ourselves to the risen Christ?
Share: Your friend asks you if God has ever done anything in your life or in your family’s life that you did not believe was possible or you had trouble beleving at first? What do you tell your friend?
Review in Class: Mark 16:14-20. Ask the class if they notice anything this time they did not notice the first time they read this?
Study: What did Jesus say to His disciples when He appeared to them, and what do these words mean to us today?
Apply: Read Matthew 28:19-20. What words of comfort can and should we take from Jesus’ words?
Share: What specific good news from this week’s lesson will you be sharing with a friend this week?
Main Theme: In Mark 15 we see the plan of Salvation being perfectly carried out for you and me.
Read in Class:Mark 15:1-20. Have the class define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What kind of ironic situations occur here?
Apply: How hard is it to go against the crowd and majority opinion in any given situation? Is it hard to go against the flow?
Share: Your friend says, “Many of these people who were crying out “crucify Him” were ignorant and surely God will not judge them.” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 15:21-38. Have the class share the main idea from this passage.
Study: What painful ironies appear in these passages?
Apply: Would you sacrifice yourself for people who cursed you, spit on you, mocked you, maimed you, and beat you half to death? Why didn’t Jesus just say, ‘forget it, you don’t deserve my love and efforts.’?
Share: Your friend asks, “Why did Jesus have to die in our place in order for us to be saved? Did God just have to see someone suffer for our sin? Why couldn’t God just forgive wihtout a sacrifice?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 15:33-41. Have the class define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What are Jesus’ words on the cross in Mark? How do you understand why He said them?
Apply: How can we learn that regardless of what happens around us or to us, that we can trust God and know that He will prevail?
Share: You friend says he heard that Jesus died the second death for us? What does that mean and how do we know? What do you tell your friend? See The God-forsaken God.
Read in Class:Mark 15:42-47. Ask the class to share the main point of this passage.
Study: What was the importance of Joseph’s intervention, since all the disciples were nowhere to be seen?
Apply: How can we be sure that when in crucial times, we are not missing in action?
Share: Can you think of one friend who may benefit from hearing the plan of salvation this week? What can you do to share it with them?
Main Theme: Throughout the narrative, two contrasting story plots march hand in hand. In a crisp style, Mark sets before the reader these clashing plots while revealing the triumph of Jesus.
Study: What two stories are intertwined here, and how do they play off of one another? What great significance to the Christian faith is found in this account of the latter passage?
Apply: What can you learn from whatever times you promised God that you would or would not do something and ended up doing or not doing it anyway?
Share: Your friend asks you if we should still be observing Passover? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 14:32-42. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What did Jesus pray in Gethsemane, and how was the prayer answered?
Apply: What is the closest you have ever come to experiencing what Jesus experienced in Gethsemane?
Share: Your friend asks why was Jesus seeking assistance from His disciples? Since He was God why couldn’t He just make it on His own? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 14:43-52. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What happens here that is so crucial to the plan of salvation?
Apply: Think about the fearful idea that being a slave of only one vice led Judas to do what he did. What should this tell us about hating sin and, by God’s grace, overcoming it?
Share: Your friend points out that in Matthew 26:50 Jesus calls Judas “friend,” when He is being betrayed. Your friend asks why Jesus called Judas “friend.” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 14:60-72. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: Compare how Jesus responded to events in contrast to how Peter did. What lessons can we learn from the differences?
Apply: What words of hope would you give to someone who, though wanting to follow Jesus, fails at times to do so? Who of us has not, at times, failed to follow what we know Jesus wants?
Share: Can you think of a friend who may feel like they are on trial right now? How can you support them this week?
Main Theme: Jesus not only predicts the future but also instructs His disciples both then and now in how to prepare for the coming trials.
Read in Class:Mark 12:41-13:13. Have the class summarize these passages.
Study: How much did the widow give, and what did Jesus have to say about that? How did the disciples respond to Jesus’ statement about the temple, and what is the significance of Jesus’ answer to them?
Apply: What do these passages teach us about being faithful in giving our offerings as well as our entire selves for the Lord’s work?
Share: Your friend tells you she gets scared just thinking about the time or trouble in the last days. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 13:14-18. Ask class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What clue does Jesus give in figuring out what the “abomination of desolation” refers to?
Apply: Read Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11. What event are these passages applied to? What was the abomination of desolation during the days of the Roman empire? What event in the last days could be the abomination of desolation? Hint from Tuesday’s lesson: The abomination likely refers to the planting of the Roman pagan standards in Israel during the siege of Jerusalem in the late A.D. 60s. This was the sign for the Christians to flee, which they did.
Share: Your friend asks you why you trust the Bible? What predictions of Jesus have already been fulfilled? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 13:19-23. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What does verse 19 refer to?
Apply: What hope do you find in Mark 13:20-23 for God’s people during the time of persecution, and what warning does He give them as it closes?
Share: Your friend asks, who are the false Christ’s Jesus warned us about? Can a false Christ also be a false idea or misconception about Christ? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 13:24-32. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What great event is described here?
Apply: Is it possible for us to believe Jesus is coming soon but still plan like He is not coming in our lifetime? Why or why not is this a good idea?
Share: Can you think of some friends who would be encouraged to be reminded Jesus is coming again? How can you share this hope with them this week?
Main Theme: While the religious leaders tried to defeat Jesus they never could. Jesus’ teaching and examples will help truth to be victorious in our day as well.
Read in Class:Mark 11:12-26. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passages.
Study: What is the significance of the events depicted here?
Apply: What things in your life do you need Jesus to clean? How does this happen?
Share: Your friend asks you, what if Jesus came into our church today? What signs of irreverance might He find? What do you tell your friend? What solutions might you share with your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 11:27-33. Ask the class the define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What challenge did the religious leaders bring to Jesus, and how did He respond?
Apply: Read Mark 12:1-12. How did this story apply to those accusing Jesus?
Share: Your friend tells you she has been trying to share with her inlaws Bible truths she has been learning in the Adventist Church. However, one of her inlaws is a pastor of another denomination. Her inlaws tell her they will listen to their relative pastor, but not to her because she is not a pastor, and has no authority to be trying to teach the Bible to them. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 12:13-27. Ask the class to summarize this passage.
Study: What is going on here, and what truths does Jesus teach?
Apply: If someone were to ask you, “Do you know the power of God?” what would you reply, and why?
Share: Your friend asks what Jesus meant when He said, “But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.” Your friend asks you if this means Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still alive right now? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 12:28-34. Ask the class to summarize this passage.
Study: What deep question did the friendly scribe ask, and what double response did Jesus give?
Apply: How do we learn to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves? Why is the Cross the key to following these commands?
Share: At the end of Mark 12:28-34 it says “no one dared ask Him any questions after that.” Your friend asks you what it was about that teaching that made them stop asking Jesus questions? What do you tell your friend?
Study: How did the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with their question? What did Jesus teach in these passages about the sacredness of marriage and family, including children?
Apply: How does your church family encourage and mentor married couples and their children?
Share: Your friend says she would love to work with the kids in Adventurers, but with so much in the media today concerning teachers and kids, she does not want to be falsely accused of anything, so she has decided not to participate. What do you tell your friend? See Coaching and Mentoring Vs. Grooming.
Read in Class:Mark 10:17-31. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What crucial lessons about faith and the cost of discipleship—for anyone, rich or poor—is revealed here?
Apply: Read Romans 6:1-11. How do these verses describe the reality of letting go of selfish ambition and following Jesus.
Share: Your friend asks, why did Jesus ask the young ruler to sell all that he had? Why not just some of what he had or even just half? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 10:32-45. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: How do these verses reveal the continued ignorance of the disciples regarding not only Jesus’ mission but what it means to follow Him?
Apply: What does it mean as a Christian to be a “servant” to others? That is, how do you manifest this principle in your daily interaction with people?
Share: Your friend asks you if you can name a leader who has led with a servant’s heart? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 10:46-52. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: How did Bartimaeus react to Jesus’ passing by?
Apply: In what ways have you at times cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”? What happened, and what did you learn from this experience?
Share: Can you think of someone who could use Jesus’ help this week? How can you be the hands of Jesus in helping that person this week?
Main Theme: This section of the second Gospel is marked off by the healing of two different blind men, one at the middle of Mark 8:1-38 and the other at the end of Mark 10:1-52. These miracle “bookends” illustrate dramatically how discipleship includes spiritual insight regarding who Jesus is and where He is going. As His teachings challenged the twelve disciples about two thousand years ago, so they continue to confront disciples today with the deep cost, and benefit, of following Jesus.
Read in Class: Mark 8:22-30. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: Why did it take Jesus two touches to heal the blind man, and what lessons came out of this account?
Apply: What does this story teach us about times when it’s important not to say some things, however true they might be?
Share: Your friend asks you if it has ever taken you a while to understand something in Scripture. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 8:31-38. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What does Jesus teach here about the cost of following Christ?
Apply: “ ‘He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life’ ” (John 12:25). How have you experienced the reality of these words?
Share: Your friend asks you if there was ever a time when you had to make a public stand or confession for Jesus, maybe even when no one else was standing up for Jesus? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What did Peter, James, and John see one night with Jesus?
Apply: In what situations, if any, have you had to cry out, “ ‘I believe; help my unbelief’ ”? What did you learn from those experiences?
Share: Your friend asks what led to the disciples lack of faith in this story. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 9:30-41. Define the main idea in this passage.
Study: What is different about Jesus’ second prediction of His death and resurrection (compare with Mark 8:31)? Also, what do the disciples argue about, and what instruction does Jesus give?
Apply: What is the biblical idea of greatness in contrast to the world’s idea? Which one are you striving for?
Share: Your friend says, we may not come right out and say we are the greatest, but in what ways or actions do people try to say they are the greatest today?
Main Theme: In Jesus’ teachings He put the Scriptures above man made traditions.
Read in Class: Mark 7:1-23. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: What relevant truths are presented here? What did Jesus say causes contamination of a person?
Apply: Might we have some “traditions” that perhaps conflict with the principles of God’s law? If so, what might they be?
Share: Your friend says that according to this story we have just read, that it is okay to eat pork? What do you tell you your friend? How might Matthew 15:20 help clarify things for your friend? See also, Does Mark 7 Tell us it is Okay to eat Pork?
Read in Class: Mark 7:24-30. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: What important lessons are found in this story?
Apply: Why is prejudice against other races and nationalities contrary to the teaching of Jesus? How can we seek to be purged of this evil?
Share: Your friend says that Jesus appears to be a little prejudice Himself in this story? Your friend asks why He was acting the way He was. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 7:31-37. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: Who was brought to Jesus, and what did Jesus do for him?
Apply: What do you do with the gifts you have been given regarding hearing and speaking (for they are gifts)? How are you using them?
Share: Your friend asks why Jesus told people not to tell about the wonderful things he did for them. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 8:11-21. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What approach by the Pharisees deeply disappointed Jesus? What had the disciples forgotten, and what point did Jesus make from this?
Apply: How can we learn to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality of God and to His love? Dwell on all the evidence that we have been given for God and for His love. At times, though, why does it seem so easy to doubt?
Share: What portion of this week’s Bible study do you think may be important to share with someone this week? How might you share this teaching with someone this week?
Read in Class:Mark 5:21-43. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What characteristics particularly stand out about Jairus? What interrupts the progress toward Jairus’s house?
Apply: The disciples asked Jesus how He knew someone touched him, while so many people were incidentally running into Him in the crowd. What is the difference between brushing up against Jesus and reaching out to touch Him? How can we apply incidentally running into Jesus or actually touching Him in our prayer and devotional life?
Share: Your friend asks why Jesus said the girl was not dead but sleeping, when it says He raised her from the dead? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 6:1-6. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: Why did Jesus’ hometown people reject Him?
Apply: Have you ever experienced rejection by your own friends, family or even church? Did this expereince draw you closer to Jesus? How did it help you mature in your faith?
Share: Your friend asks why Jesus’ own family and townfolks rejected Him? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 6:34-52. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What was the problem Jesus and His disciples confronted, and how was it solved?
Apply: What should this story tell us about why a correct understanding of prophecy is important? If a false understanding of Christ’s first coming led to disaster for some, how much more so could a false understanding do the same for some in regard to His second?
Share: Can you share a time when you thought you may not have enough and God still worked a miracle to provide for you?
Something always bothered me about the story about Jesus calming the storm, and why Jesus asked His disciples where their faith was? I thought they were showing faith when they asked Him to calm the storm. Then one day it finally dawned on me. Let’s look.
As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So, they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Mark 4:35-40 NLT
First it is important to notice that it was Jesus’ idea to cross the lake. Many times, we are following Jesus’ leading, but when things start to go wrong and we run into problems we start doubting our calling. I remember when I was living in Texas and got the call to be a Bible Worker in Florida. Everything seemed to be working out perfectly so I felt it was God’s will to go. While I was in the middle of what I considered to be a smooth transition, my aunt said something that surprised me. She said, “You are going to run into problems in Florida. But God will still be with you.” Her words proved true. Without going into detail not everything went as smooth at first as I thought it would. But God was with me and got me through those storms, until finally I was sailing on peaceful seas. When Jesus calls us, He is aware of the storms ahead. Sometimes He calls us into the storm. The question we need to ask ourselves, is not “Will everything work out smoothly?” The only question we need to ask ourselves is, “Did Jesus call me?”
This leads me to why Jesus asked the disciples about their faith after He calmed the storm. I always thought He was questioning if He could calm the storm but that clearly was not the case. They knew He could calm the storm. That is why they were calling on Him. I believe what Jesus was really asking was, “Don’t you have any faith? Why did you need me to calm this storm? Why couldn’t you just ride this storm out with me?”
If Joseph had never been sold and betrayed by his family, his dream of being a ruler never would have come true. If Naomi’s husband and sons had never died, she never would have gone back to her homeland with Ruth, where Ruth became an important role in the lineage of the Savior. If the early church had never been persecuted it never would have had to flee to spread the Gospel in foreign lands. It is often the storms of life that get us to where we need to be. Sailboats move by the wind, and if there is no wind there is no progress. Instead of asking Jesus to calm every storm our way, we need to have the faith to ride out the storm with Jesus and have enough faith to let Jesus take us wherever the storm needs to take us.
A while back a friend shared with me an experience where his family abandoned him as a very small child by the side of the road. It was heartbreaking. As an adult my friend asked Jesus where He was when his family abandoned him at such an early age. He told me God opened his eyes, and immediately he relived the scene where He was abandoned, except this time He saw Jesus walking beside him on the side of the road, smiling at him with love. Not too long after that I went through a stressful situation, nothing like being abandoned by family or friends, but to me a storm, nonetheless. As I prayed about my “storm” one morning, I remembered my friend’s testimony. This may sound silly, but I just spent a few moments imagining myself in the boat with Jesus in the middle of the storm. I imagined Jesus and me just sitting together in the bottom of the boat smiling at each other, while the boat was tossed about on the waves and the disciples were all freaking out. I imagined Jesus smiling and winking at me assuring me everything was going to be okay, and there was no reason to freak out with the disciples. This gave me peace in the middle of the storm and of course everything worked out fine in the end.
Recently I was on an airplane that hit some turbulence. I and many of the other passengers have experienced turbulence on a plane before so it did not alarm any of us. We just kept listening to our music and reading our books. I reminded myself I should stay just as calm when life hits turbulence. I should remain calm, and just ride out the storm with Jesus. Having enough faith to believe Jesus can calm the storm is one thing. Having enough faith to not ask Jesus to calm the storm, and just ride it out with Him is even greater.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
In Light of The Cross 