EmmDev 2026-05-13 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #5 Parables about the Kingdom

Concluding Mark #5 Parables about the Kingdom

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come. (Mark4:26-29)

Mark recounts Jesus' parables.
Most of these parables are about the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God grows quietly but powerfully
-Seeds.
-Lamps.
-Mustard trees.
-Soil.

Mark's parables remind us that God's Kingdom often looks small, hidden and unimpressive at first.
-But the seed is powerful.
-The gospel changes lives.
-Truth grows.
-Love multiplies.
-Grace bears fruit.
-And often the growth happens quietly:

"All by itself the soil produces grain..."
God is at work even when we cannot see it.

In my life God worked like that:
- I was baptised by believing parents
- I had a Sunday School teacher in a conservative Afrikaans church whose sincerity impressed me
- I heard our high school Students' Christian Association (SCA) singing worship songs and it drew me
- I joined the music team
- I went on a camp
- I started reading the Bible
- I started helping out at a youth group
- And the rest is history

There's a lot of "I's" there, but I was just responding, God made all the first moves.

How has He been at work in you??

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EmmDev 2026-05-12 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #4 Movement, Trust and Surrender

Concluding Mark #4 Movement, Trust and Surrender

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of people." At once they left their nets and followed Him. (Mark1:17)

Mark's gospel is a gospel of movement and calling.
Jesus is portrayed as "the One who came to serve and not be served."
He is constantly on the move: teaching, healing, praying and calling.

When it comes to calling, the first disciples quickly learned that following Jesus means movement, trust and surrender.

In Mark, discipleship is never passive.

Again and again people must:
- leave their nets
- leave comfort
- leave pride
- leave old identities
- leave fear

When you add people to a quiet life, it stops being quiet. Jesus called the disciples to be fishers of people. Previously they would have talked about nets, techniques and the best way to cook a fish. Now they would talk about connection, contact and their need for God. Their lives would be filled with:
- jostling crowds,
- moms bringing snotty babies,
- hungry crowds,
- and going wherever Jesus took them.

And the disciples often fail spectacularly.
- They misunderstand.
- They argue.
- They panic.
- They sleep in Gethsemane.
- Peter denies Jesus.

And yet Jesus keeps calling them back.

That is deeply encouraging.
Mark reminds us that discipleship is not about flawless performance, but about continuing to follow Jesus in the helter-skelter --> even after failure.

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EmmDev 2026-05-08 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #3 More on "Son of Man"

Concluding Mark #3 More on "Son of Man"

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans5:7)

The Biblical Book that uses the phrase "Son of Man" even more than the gospels do is Ezekiel. There it means "Mortal Man" as some of the older translations put it. I think this is part of the reason that Jesus used the phrase. He was emphasising the incarnation. He was the "Word made Flesh".

But in His trial Jesus brings another emphasis when He quotes from Daniel 7: "You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." This powerfully brings together the idea of "Mortal Man" and "Messiah"

Other Messianic titles like Messiah, King, Son of David were politically loaded - Jesus chooses a title that is Messianic, but conveys His mission. "The Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom to many."

Paul develops a similar thought using a different analogy. He talks about Jesus as a kind of "Second Adam" and in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 he talks about how Jesus' death and resurrection open a new way for us.

When we combine this with John's idea of the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us" we start to see the huge significance of the Incarnation.

We have a God who came to live among us and rescue us.
HALLELUJAH!

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EmmDev 2026-05-07 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #2 Son of God, Son of Man

Concluding Mark #2 Son of God, Son of Man

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark1:1)

Mark explores a profound contrast in his gospel.
He identifies Jesus as the "Son of God."
But He also calls Him the "Son of Man."

Interestingly, Mark uses "Son of God" three times.
- At the opening of the Gospel
- In the mouth of the demons in ch.3 so that even ultimate evil knows His authority
- In the mouth of the Centurion at His death

We see glimpses of His glory:
-Demons recognise Him.
-Storms obey Him.
-Disease flees from Him.
-Food multiplies
-Fig trees wither
-Death is defeated (but in Mark's ending we get just a glimpse of resurrection)


But for Mark the "Son of God" reveals His glory through servanthood.
He uses "Son of Man" fourteen times.
Jesus truly is a "man of the people" and His glory is often hidden beneath humility.
He walks dusty roads, touches lepers, eats with sinners, grows tired, sleeps in boats and finally hangs on a cross.

Mark's great revelation is this:
Jesus is not less glorious because He serves and suffers.
His humility is His glory.

Once again we come to one of the major points in the Gospel of Mark:
"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."

Jesus, the Son of God, is also the Son of Man.

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EmmDev 2026-05-06 [Moments with Mark] Concluding Mark #1 Immediately

Concluding Mark #1 Immediately

At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert... (Mark1:12)

Apart from some detours for Month of Mission and Lent, we've been working through Mark since February last year!

For interest, I threw all 115 of my devotions on Mark at an AI and asked it to summarise the key themes.
The results were striking and rang true and so, over the next few days, I'll explore these themes.

The first of these themes is that Mark should not be read without an appreciation of the sense of urgency that permeates the narrative. Mark writes with urgency and simplicity.
Again and again his favourite words appear:
"Immediately..."
"And then..."
"At once..."

This gives Mark's Gospel a sense of breathlessness.
Jesus is always moving:
- Teaching.
- Healing.
- Confronting evil.
- Calling disciples.
- Striding toward the cross.

This links to Jesus' powerful sense of purpose which is expressed so clearly in Mark 10:45.
"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."

What is the "take-home"?
That we are loved.
Fiercely and Urgently.
Jesus came and lived earnestly, urgently, passionately and purposefully.
He came to rescue us and He poured His life into His mission...
... and then He poured His life out on the Cross.
He held nothing back - He gave us His all.
We are fiercely and urgently LOVED.

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EmmDev 2026-05-05 [Moments with Mark] An Early Church Conclusion to Mark

An Early Church Conclusion to Mark

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. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it. (Mark16:9-20)

There are some important textual questions around the last 11 verses of Mark as we have them in our modern Bible Translations.

• The passage is not found in the oldest manuscripts.
• Its language and style differ from the rest of Mark.
• It includes themes that may reflect the early church's mission rather than Jesus' earthly ministry.

The NIV Study Bible says this about today's reading: "Serious doubt exists as to whether these verses belong to the Gospel of Mark. They are absent from important early manuscripts and display certain peculiarities of vocabulary, style and theological content that are unlike the rest of Mark. His Gospel probably ended at 16:8, or its original ending has been lost."

I think that a viable explanation is that while the early church carefully preserved and transmitted what it received, they sometimes included additional material that reflects the early church's witness.. As we discussed in the last devotion, the "abrupt ending" left us contemplating that although the resurrection happened, there were moments of struggle and fear too. It may be possible that Mark left the ending abrupt so that people would think and ask: "So what happened next?" The early church included material that answered the question.

The longer ending may not be Mark's original conclusion, but it powerfully reflects how the early church understood and proclaimed the risen Christ. Here are some of the key lessons:

1. Although the "abrupt ending" reflects some uncertainty and fear, these are explicitly answered in resurrection appearances and by Jesus addressing their fears and doubts. (It must be noted that the line "He rebuked them for their lack of faith and stubborn refusal to believe..." carries a stronger tone than we see elsewhere in the Gospels, and may reflect the early church's emphasis on bold, trusting faith...)
2. The missional nature of the ending certainly reflects the passion and ardour of the early churchh.
3. That same missional focus also reflects in the emphasis on belief and baptism and the consequences of a lack of faith.
4. The promise of "signs and wonders" is a vibrant reflection of the life of the early church. Paul drove out demons, spoke in tongues, healed people and even survived a snake bite. We don't have a Biblical account of a Christian surviving a poisoning attempt but, in the light of all the other miracles, this too is feasible as something that happened in the growth of the church.
5. The Ascension account makes three important points:
   1. Jesus sat down at the right hand of God - speaks of His authority and victory
   2. The disciples went out and preached
   3. The Lord worked with them and confirmed His word miraculously - speaks of the powerful outpouring of the Spirit.

So although it's unlikely that Mark wrote the longer ending, the early church preserved these thoughts, and nothing in this passage stands alone - all of these themes are found elsewhere in the New Testament. And, guided by the Spirit, we can learn from and apply the lessons we learn from this later ending.
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Tomorrow I'll end off this series with a reflection of Mark's "Key Lessons...."

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