Daily Devotions
Mark
1 Peter 3:21-22 "Jesus Christ... at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him."
Day 103 – Mark 4
ONE OF THE FRUITS OF KNOWLEDGE
What would be one of the desired fruits that would come from knowledge? Sometimes, we fail to understand and appreciate that faith ought to arise from our knowledge of God. The greater the knowledge acquired, the greater the faith.
THE PRIVILEGE OF KNOWLEDGE
The Disciples of Jesus were privileged indeed. The two statements below bear this out.
“To you it has been given to know the mystery of
the kingdom of God;”
MARK 4:11
“And when they were alone, He explained all things
to His disciples.”
MARK 4:34
The knowledge that Jesus imparted to His disciples were meant to create faith in the heart! Did they understand how they could convert that knowledge to faith?
LEAVING THE MULTITUDE
Mark noted that this was a typical plan of Jesus. He would minister for a while, and then minister elsewhere. The following texts demonstrate this strategy of Jesus.
“But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.
And a great multitude from Galilee followed Himâ?¦”
MARK 3:7
“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them,
‘Let us cross over to the other side.’
Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along
in the boat as He was.”
MARK 4:35-36
1. The principle of “withdrawing”
a) A natural principle
It is natural to take a break from teaching. The Teacher needs a break, and so do the hearers. It is always refreshing to have a bit of a break.
b) Other duties
The multitudes need to give attention to the mundane duties of life. It would be great to be able to listen to Jesus the whole day through. But that would not be very responsible!
2. Time with the Lord Jesus
Jesus needed some time out with His disciples. They too needed time out for themselves, and especially to spend that time with the Lord Jesus!