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Mark 7 concludes with the words of Gentiles and half-breed Jews living in an area east of the Jordan River, across from Samaria (called the Decapolis). Their assessment of His mighty works? “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak” (ESV). The Decapolis was initially a province of ten cities built by Alexander the Great and modeled on Athens. They were originally populated with retired Greek soldiers and their families, and were…

The shortest of the four records of the life of Jesus, the book of Mark was evidently written for a mainly Roman audience. It presents Jesus as a grown man, focusing primarily on the things He did and said, with considerable emphasis on the miracles He performed. Mark’s account moves rapidly, as would befit a Roman military report. Brother Johnny Ramsey used to say that we should “obey now what you know now.” This is a quaint way of stating…

The parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-31 teaches a crucially important lesson about the nature of repentance. The very idea of “repenting” offends many folks today; every imaginable form of sin and perversion is practiced and defended openly. Much of Christendom embraces the idea that “sin” is not really connected to morality, and for most people repenting simply means offering a truculent “sorry” when they are caught in a sin. Jesus’ words, however, show clearly that there is…

The transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17 was surely one of the most extraordinary events any of the apostles would ever experience. It appears that this event occurred somewhere on the slopes of Mt. Hermon, one of the highest points in Palestine. Jesus and the disciples had previously been in the region of Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of the mountain, according to chapter 16:13. Only three apostles were with Jesus on this occasion (Peter, James and John), and He…