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Mark 3:27 “In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.” (Mark 3:27 NIV) Jesus has been accused of casting out demons by Beelzebul, the Prince of Demons. Jesus points out to His accusers that a kingdom divided against itself cannotContinue reading “The Strong Man”

Mark 3:1-6 At the start of Mark 3 we read that Jesus went into a synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. Some people wanted grounds for accusing Jesus, so the watched him to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. So let’s see how good you are at guessing: wasContinue reading “Whodunnit?”

Mark 1:40-42 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:40-42 NIV)Continue reading “Well, there goes the Prayer Meeting…”

Mark 1:11 ‘At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whomContinue reading “Authorised”

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God (Mark 1:1 NIV) Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ. (Mark 1:1 SBL Greek Testament) Amazing how many questions a short statement can raise, but on this occasion I am not interested in whether we should accept the readings which addContinue reading “Reward”

John 21 I have always loved the afterword to John’s Gospel. There is a clear closing paragraph at the end of John 20, in verses 30-31. So why John 21? The last two verses of 21 (24-25) are apparently in another hand – you would have to be a strange person to say of yourContinue reading “Breakfast at Tiberias’s”

John 20:21-23 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20;21-23 NIV εἶπενContinue reading “If you forgive…”

John 16:33 and John 19:30 Last few weeks I have had several passages I wanted to write on, but haven’t managed to get a space in which to write. In the meantime I have been reading on and have nearly reached the end of John 19. But here is an interesting question which ties someContinue reading “When does Victory happen?”

John 15:1-7 John 15 has always been a favourite chapter for me; apart from anything else, I memorised most of it in French while staying in Provence, among the vineyards of the Vaucluse – a long, long time ago. But there are some things worth noting… Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή, καὶ ὁ πατήρContinue reading “En attendant Godot? Non.”

John 14:29-31 This short passage highlights a principle that Jesus observed all of the time and which we would do well to imitate; namely, that you share information on a need-to-know basis, and that your enemy needs to know nothing. I will confess that when I first heard this principle taught, I thought it wasContinue reading “He gets nothing”