Mark Devotionals
One for each chapter. Want to test what you read? Take the Mark quizzes.
- Mark 1: As Willing as He Is Able
Mark wastes no time. In a single chapter Jesus is baptized and named by the Father as his beloved Son, tested in the wilderness, and sent out preaching. He calls fishermen from…
- Mark 2: Authority to Forgive
Four men dig through a roof to lower their paralyzed friend in front of Jesus, and the first thing Jesus gives him is not the ability to walk. He tells the man his sins are…
- Mark 3: Stronger Than the Strong Man
Opposition closes in from every side in this chapter. The Pharisees watch Jesus so they can accuse him, and when he restores a man's withered hand on the Sabbath, they leave to…
- Mark 4: Asleep in the Storm
On the same day Jesus teaches that the kingdom grows like seed, by a power the farmer does not supply or understand (4:26-29), his disciples are caught in a storm that is swamping…
- Mark 5: Never Too Late for Jesus
Three people in this chapter are past all human help. A man lives among the tombs, and no chain can hold him and no one is strong enough to subdue him (5:3-4). A woman has bled…
- Mark 6: A Shepherd for the Crowd
Jesus calls his disciples away to rest, but the crowd runs ahead of them and is waiting on the shore. Jesus steps out of the boat and sees sheep with no shepherd, and he has…
- Mark 7: Cleansing From the Inside
The Pharisees are troubled that Jesus' disciples eat without the ceremonial washing their traditions require (7:5). Jesus turns the question inside out. Nothing that enters a…
- Mark 8: The Christ Who Must Suffer
Halfway through Mark's Gospel, Jesus asks the question everything has been building toward: who do his disciples say he is? Peter answers rightly that he is the Christ (8:29). But…
- Mark 9: Help for Faith That Wavers
Mark 9 begins on a mountain. Jesus is transfigured, his clothes shining brighter than any earthly bleach could make them, and the Father's voice calls him his beloved Son and…
- Mark 10: Served by the Son of Man
Much of this chapter is about people jostling for position. The disciples turn away children (10:13). A rich man asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, then walks away sad…
- Mark 11: The King Looks for Fruit
Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt no one has ever sat on, and the crowds spread cloaks and branches on the road and shout blessing on the coming kingdom of David (11:7-10).…
- Mark 12: The Son Sent Last
Jesus tells the religious leaders a story they recognize is about them (12:12). A man plants a vineyard and leases it to tenants. Again and again he sends servants to collect his…
- Mark 13: Words That Outlast Everything
One disciple points out the temple's massive stones, and Jesus answers that every one will be thrown down (13:1-2). What follows is sobering. He warns of deceivers using his name,…
- Mark 14: The Cup He Did Not Refuse
At the table, Jesus hands his disciples bread and a cup and tells them these are his body and his blood of the covenant, given for many (14:22-24). He already knows that one of…
- Mark 15: He Would Not Save Himself
Mark tells the crucifixion with stark restraint. A prisoner held with murderous rebels is released, and Jesus is flogged and handed over to be crucified instead (15:7, 15:15).…
- Mark 16: Word Sent to Peter
The women go to the tomb just after sunrise with spices for a dead body, asking each other who will roll the stone away from the entrance (16:1-3). When they look up, the huge…