Mark
Memory Verse: “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.”(Mark 6:50)
Facts about Mark
Author:
Mark, also known as John Mark
Written
to: Roman or Gentile Christians
Main
Theme: “Christ, the Tireless Servant of God and Man”
Features:
Shortest of the four Gospels; 19 miracles are recorded in this book
Location:
Second book of the New Testament
Overview
Lesson
#1 Jesus the Healer Mark 1:29-45
Lesson
#2 Jesus Feeds the 5000 Mark 6:30-44;
8:1-10
Lesson
#3 Jesus as a Servant Mark 10: 35-45
Lesson
#4 He Died for Us Mark
15:21-41
Lesson
#5 He is Risen Mark
16:1-13
Lesson #1 Jesus the Healer, Read
Mark 1:29-45
“As
soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of
Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law
was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped
her up. The fever left her and she began
to wait on them.
That
evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and
Jesus healed many who had various diseases.
He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak
because they knew who he was.
Very
early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him,
they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’
Jesus
replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach
there also. That is why I have
home.’ So he traveled throughout
A
man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, ‘If you are willing,
you can make me clean.’
Filled
with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am
willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’
Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
Jesus
sent him away at once with a strong warning: ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer
the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to
them.’ Instead he went out and began to
talk freely, spreading the news. As a
result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely
places. Yet the people still came to him
from everywhere.”
Questions:
- What types of healing did
Jesus do in this chapter? (Healed people with fevers, diseases, possessed,
leper, vs. 31,34,41)
- When did Jesus pray? (Early in
the morning, vs. 35)
- How did he pray? (He was
alone, vs. 35)
- Why is it important that
Jesus prayed alone? (He needed to get wisdom and strength from his
Father).
- What about us? Should we
pray alone? (Yes, for the same reason as Jesus)
- Jesus touched and healed a
man who had leprosy. Ask the
children if they know what leprosy is? (Disease that leaves sores on the
skin; highly contagious, people with leprosy were isolated from the rest
of their family so that it would not spread)
- Why was it important that Jesus
healed this man by touching him? (No one would go near this man, but Jesus
did. He not only went near him,
Jesus touched him; Jesus heals anyone with an open heart).
Summary:
Jesus healed people in the New Testament times, and he still heals today. God calls us to pray for the sick, to lay
hands on them, and to pray in the name of Jesus for healing.
Lesson #2 Jesus Feeds the 5000,
Read Mark 6:30-44
“The
apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and
taught. Then, because so many people
were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to
them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’
So
they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them
and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he
had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
By
this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. ‘This is a
remote place,’ they said, ‘and it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the
surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’
But
he answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’
They
said to him, ‘That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and
spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’
‘How
many loaves do you have?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’
When
they found out, they said, ‘Five – and two fish.’
Then
Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green
grass. So they sat down in groups of
hundreds and fifties. Taking the five
loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the
loaves. Then he gave them to his
disciples to set before the people. He
also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve
basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.
The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.”
Questions:
1.
Why
were so many people gathered around Jesus? (He was teaching them, vs. 34).
2.
How
long did the people listen to Jesus? (All day, vs. 35)
3.
At
the end of the day, what did his disciples want Jesus to tell the people? (They
wanted to send them away to find food in the nearby villages, v. 36).
4.
What
was Jesus’ response? (“Give them food to eat”, vs. 37).
5.
How
did Jesus feed the 5000? (He took five loaves and two fishes, prayed, and broke
the bread).
6.
How
much food was left over? (12 baskets of bread/fish, vs. 43)
7.
The
same thing happened in chapter 8. The
disciples had seen Jesus feed the 5000, and yet they doubted in 8:4. Why do you think they questioned Jesus?
8.
Why
do people doubt Jesus today? (answers will vary)
Summary:
Jesus is our provider. He
provides food, shelter, resources for all of us. We need to trust in His ability to take care
of us.
Lesson #3: Jesus the Servant,
Read Mark 10:35-45
“Then
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we
want you to do for us whatever we ask.’
‘What
do you want me to do for you?’ he asked.
They
replied, ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your
glory.’
‘You
don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said. ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or
be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?’
‘We
can,’ they answered.
Jesus
said to them, ‘You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism
I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they
have been prepared.
When
the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, ‘You
know that those who are regarded s rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among
you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be a servant of
all. For even the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Questions:
1.
Which
of the disciples were asking Jesus to sit on His right and left side in heaven?
(James and John, vs. 35)
2.
What
was Jesus’ response? (Jesus said it was not in his authority to seat James and
John beside him in heaven, vs. 40).
3.
Read
vs. 45 again. What do you think Jesus
meant by that? (Jesus came as a servant to minister to all people, and to give
his life so that all may enter the
4.
How
can we follow Jesus’ example and be a servant to those around us? (let the kids
provide examples of being a servant at home, at school, at church).
5.
Being
a servant is to be Christ-like. We are
called to be Christ-like as Christians.
Is there anyone in your life who is a model of being a servant? Who is that? (Let the kids talk about the
people in their lives who exhibit servant-leadership).
Summary:
Jesus came to meet us where we are.
Serving others is a great way to express love. It does not cost anything, but shows Christ’s
love. Help us to think of others before
ourselves and to show servant-leadership in all aspects of our lives.
Lesson #4: He died for Us, Read
15: 22-41
“They
brought Jesus to the place called
It
was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge
against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his
left. Those who passed by hurled insults
at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘So! You who are going to destroy the
temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!’
In
the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among
themselves. ‘He saved others,’ they
said, ‘But he can’t save himself! Let
this Christ, this King of
At
the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a
loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthni?’ – which means, ‘My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me?’
When
some of those standing near heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he’s calling
Elijah.’
One
man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it
to Jesus to drink. ‘Now leave him alone.
Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,’ he said.
With
a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
The
curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front
of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the
Son of God!’
Some
women were watching from a distance.
Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and
of Joses, and Salome. In
Questions:
- What does it mean to be
crucified? (Jesus was nailed to a cross, death came by asphyxiation from
the weight of the body pulling on the lungs)
- People mocked Jesus when he
hung on the cross. What did they
say? (“save thyself, and come down”, vs. 30).
- Jesus had the power to come
down off of that cross. Why do you
think that he did not? (He knew that he was the way for people to have
forgiveness and to have eternal life with God. He needed to be the sacrifice for all of
us. He also needed to die so that
he could be risen from the dead).
- How does it make you feel to
know that Jesus personally died for your sins so that you can have
relationship with God? (answers will vary)
- Jesus make the ultimate
sacrifice for us. In what ways can
we make sacrifices for him? (provide some examples from your own life, let
the kids come up with examples).
Summary:
Jesus died so that we could have eternal life with God. There is no greater sacrifice. We need to acknowledge that sacrifice for the
gift that it was.
Lesson #5: He is Risen, Read
16:1-13
“When
the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome
bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just
after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other,
‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’
But
when the looked up, they was that the stone, which was very large, had been
rolled away. AS they entered the tomb,
they was a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and
they were alarmed.
‘Don’t
be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking
for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.
He has risen! He is not here. See
the place where they laid him. But go,
tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into
Trembling
and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they
were afraid.
When
Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him
and who were mourning and weeping. When
they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe
it.
Afterward
Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in
the country. These returned and reported
it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
Later
Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their
lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after
he had risen.”
Questions:
1.
Mary
Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, were the first to know that Jesus had
risen from the dead. Who did they talk
to at the tomb? (An angel, vs. 5)
2.
What
did the angel tell them? (Do not be afraid, Jesus is risen, go tell the
disciples, vs.6,7)
3.
What
did Jesus tell his disciples? (The great commission, vs. 15-18).
4.
After
he talked to the disciples, where did Jesus go? Tto sit at the right hand of
God, vs. 19).
5.
When
the disciples went to preach the gospel, did they go alone? (No. The Lord was
working with them, vs. 20)
6.
Are
you ever alone after you accept Jesus into your heart? (No – He is with you
always).
7.
Lead
the children in a prayer to accept Jesus into their hearts.
Summary:
The greatest gift we can ever have is to accept Jesus into hearts. He will be with us always – through good
times and difficult times. He will
provide healing, comfort, peace, wisdom to all who ask.
Scripture
was taken from the “NIV Sports Devotional Bible” (2002). Zondervan Publishers:
Posted 1.12.09
