Grace to You :: esp Unleashing God's Truth, One Verse at a Time

MacArthur Daily Bible

Reading for Today:

-Leviticus 14:1–57
-Psalm 26:1-5
-Proverbs 10:6-7
-Mark 3:20-35

Notes:

Leviticus 14:18 put on the head. This would not have been understood as an anointing for entry into
an office, but rather as a symbolic gesture of cleansing and healing. There could be a connection
with the New Testament directive to anoint the sick for healing (Mark 6:13; 16:18; James 5:14).

Psalm 26:1 Vindicate me. Literally, “Judge me!” This refers to exoneration of some false accusations
and/or charges under the protection of the covenant stipulations of the theocratic law (see Pss. 7:8;
35:24; 43:1). my integrity. Again, this is not a claim to perfection, but of innocence, particularly as
viewed within the context of ungrounded “legal” charges (see Ps. 7:8; Prov. 10:9; 19:1; 20:7; 28:6).

Mark 3:21 His own people. In Greek, this expression was used in various ways to describe
someone’s friends or close associates. In the strictest sense, it meant family, which is probably the
best understanding here. lay hold of Him. Mark used this same term elsewhere to mean the arrest of
a person (6:17; 12:12; 14:1, 44, 46, 51). Jesus’ relatives evidently heard the report of v. 20 and came
to Capernaum to restrain Him from His many activities and bring Him under their care and control, all
supposedly for His own good. out of His mind. Jesus’ family could only explain His unconventional
lifestyle, with its willingness for others always to impose on Him, by saying He was irrational or had
lost His mind.

Mark 3:35 Jesus made a decisive and comprehensive statement on true Christian discipleship. Such
discipleship involves a spiritual relationship that transcends the physical family and is open to all who
are empowered by the Spirit of God to come to Christ in repentance and faith and enabled to live a
life of obedience to God’s Word.

DAY 22: How did Mark come to write one of the gospels if he wasn’t one of the original disciples?

Although Mark was not one of the original apostles of Jesus, he was involved in many of the events
recorded in the New Testament. He traveled as a close companion of the apostle Peter and appears
repeatedly throughout the Book of Acts, where he is known as “John whose surname was Mark”
(Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37, 39). When Peter was miraculously freed from prison, his first action was to go
to Mark’s mother’s home in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12).
John Mark was also a cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10), and he joined Paul and Barnabas on their first
missionary journey (Acts 12:25; 13:5). But Mark deserted the mission team while in Perga and
returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Later, when Barnabas wanted to give Mark another opportunity
to travel with Paul’s second missionary team, Paul refused. The resulting friction between Paul and
Barnabas led to their separation (Acts 15:38-40).

Eventually, Mark’s youthful vacillation gave way to great strength and maturity. In time, he proved
himself even to the apostle Paul. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he told them that if John Mark
came, they were to welcome him (Col. 4:10). Paul even listed Mark as a fellow worker (Philem. 24).
Later, Paul told Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Tim.
4:11).

John Mark’s restoration to useful ministry and preparation for writing his Gospel was due, in part, to
his extended close relationship with Peter (1 Pet. 5:13). The older apostle was no stranger to failure,
and his influence on the younger man was no doubt instrumental. Mark grew out of the instability of
his youth and into the strength and maturity he would need for the work to which God had called him.
Mark’s Gospel represents primarily Peter's version of the life of Jesus.

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