A Second Chance
Dr. Mark Foster
Part of The Gospel of Mark
October 29, 2023

He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. —Mark 6:1-3

Mark is the shortest and the first Gospel written in roughly 70 A.D. following the destruction of Jerusalem.

The

will finally and utterly defeat the Jewish uprising in 73 at Masada.

Into this world Mark writes “The beginning of the

of Jesus Christ.” (Mark 1:1)

The end” is the establishment of the

of Jesus Christ, where nothing is missing or broken and God rules.

In the middle, there is

.

“For ancient Israel, salvation did not mean an eternal blessed afterlife. It meant salvation from this-worldly dangers: slavery, illness, war, famine, or drought. Salvation was palpable…the message of salvation, the good news, must be more than a postmortem fate. Salvation also occurs in the here-and-now.” —Dr. Amy-Jill Levine

A Beginner’s Guide to Following Jesus

It won’t be

; most of the people in Jesus’ hometown failed to him. (Mark 6:3-6) The Message

The first rule Jesus gives you is to travel with a

. (Mark 6:7)

A companion makes you less vulnerable to

.

A companion can help with

when things don’t go as planned.

A companion eases the loneliness, can encourage, creates accountability, and can serve as a

witness. (Mark 6:8-12)

“Repent” means restoring broken relationships, changing your thinking and way of life to restore

.

“I can imagine young adults telling their parents with whom they worked, ‘I’m going with Peter and Andrew to go fish for people.’ I can imagine the parents having some choice words for Peter and Andrew.” —Dr. Amy-Jill Levine

Followers of Jesus voluntarily make themselves vulnerable and

, and God makes them . (Mark 6:13)

To follow Jesus is to find ourselves face to face with the

of the world and the evils of the world.

“If we have not met the devil face to face, we may be walking in the same direction.” —Rev. Dr. Zan Holmes Jr.

Like the disciples, we half-understand or misunderstand or

to understand what Jesus requires of us. (Mark 6:30-32)

Notice the rhythm of ministry action, debrief, and

. (Mark 6:33-36)

“The line between miracle and martyrdom, discipleship and death, is very thin.” —Dr. Amy-Jill Levine

Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ request surprised and

them. (Mark 6:37-38)

Jesus

the disciples at every step: 1. Sit them down in groups, 2. Feed them, 3. Pick up what’s left. (Mark 6:39-44)

“A follower of Jesus is one who seeks to actualize the will of God in concrete actions.” —Ben Johnson

The way of Jesus every day is 1.

, 2. , 3. .

Prayer is

to God directly in silence, through scripture, through others, and through nature.

Action is

what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do in the Spirit’s timing, power, and way, which includes waiting.

Reflection is where

happens. Reflect on God’s actions in, around, and through you.

To follow Jesus is to be

with him in meeting the needs of the people in the world.

The Test (Mark 6:45-46)

Jesus sends the disciples away to the other side while he stays back to pray and

them. (Mark 6:47-48)

“A faith that has not been tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.” —Rev. Dr. Zan Holmes Jr.

The disciples

the test, and Jesus comes to them anyway! (Mark 6:49-52)

“The Christian life is never spoken of in the Bible as a bed of roses. It is uphill, because society is coming one way and the Christian is going the opposite way. But Jesus said that in the midst of your problems, in the midst of your difficulties, he will be there to give you grace and peace.” —Billy Graham

If we don’t

through what we’re going through, the Holy Spirit will send us back to repeat the lesson.

“It is never too late; it is always the right time to repent; we live as if what we do matters. And it does.” —Dr. Amy-Jill Levine

The good news is that Jesus keeps on

back to us where we are, and will never let us down and never let us go.

Action Steps:

Step 1: What does

want me to do?

Step 2: What did I do in

to Jesus’ call?

Step 3: What did I learn from the action to inform my

action as a follower of Jesus?

My additional notes:

”.