Welcome to 00:00:24.15\00:00:24.52 Timeless Healing Insights. 00:00:24.79\00:00:25.65 I'm Dr. David DeRose. 00:00:25.65\00:00:27.26 We're on a journey 00:00:27.26\00:00:28.36 through the Gospel of Mark. 00:00:28.36\00:00:29.56 We call it Healing Insights 00:00:29.56\00:00:30.96 From The Gospel of Mark. 00:00:30.96\00:00:32.49 And we're looking for things 00:00:32.49\00:00:34.20 in God's Word 00:00:34.20\00:00:35.36 that have practical 00:00:35.36\00:00:36.50 healing significance today. 00:00:36.50\00:00:37.93 I've been blessed 00:00:37.93\00:00:39.10 as we've been on our journey 00:00:39.10\00:00:40.14 together. 00:00:40.14\00:00:40.80 I invite you to journey 00:00:40.80\00:00:42.44 with me 00:00:42.44\00:00:43.44 as I bring you 00:00:43.44\00:00:44.24 to our live venue 00:00:44.24\00:00:45.34 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 00:00:45.34\00:00:46.84 for today's presentation. 00:00:46.84\00:00:48.48 Father in Heaven, 00:00:51.05\00:00:52.85 we thank you so much. 00:00:53.15\00:00:54.58 You know, our deepest needs 00:00:54.58\00:00:56.65 may boil down 00:00:57.85\00:00:58.62 to just connecting with you, 00:00:58.62\00:01:00.12 hearing your voice, 00:01:00.12\00:01:01.42 speaking to us. 00:01:01.42\00:01:02.46 Please do that again today. 00:01:02.46\00:01:04.53 You know, 00:01:04.86\00:01:05.19 I need to hear you 00:01:05.36\00:01:06.49 speaking to me. 00:01:06.49\00:01:08.16 I pray that you'd help 00:01:08.16\00:01:09.20 each one of us 00:01:09.20\00:01:10.57 in the congregation, 00:01:10.57\00:01:11.77 each one tuning in 00:01:11.77\00:01:13.74 to hear your words 00:01:13.74\00:01:14.94 of encouragement, 00:01:14.94\00:01:15.90 guidance, comfort. 00:01:15.90\00:01:18.24 Thank you. 00:01:18.24\00:01:18.64 That we can trust you 00:01:18.81\00:01:19.41 to do that. 00:01:19.41\00:01:20.51 For we ask it in 00:01:20.51\00:01:21.44 Jesus name, Amen. 00:01:21.44\00:01:25.38 Sometimes you 00:01:28.98\00:01:29.78 just have these 00:01:29.78\00:01:30.35 memorable conversations. 00:01:30.35\00:01:32.49 And I had one of them 00:01:32.79\00:01:33.96 this week. 00:01:33.96\00:01:35.36 I was dealing with a fellow 00:01:35.36\00:01:36.69 that I'll call Richard, 00:01:36.69\00:01:38.43 patient of mine. 00:01:38.43\00:01:40.36 Richard had 00:01:40.36\00:01:42.26 been in my virtual office 00:01:42.40\00:01:44.13 doing Tele Medicine 00:01:44.13\00:01:45.20 about four months ago. 00:01:45.20\00:01:47.30 He had been started on 00:01:47.30\00:01:48.70 a very common medication. 00:01:48.70\00:01:50.87 There is a good likelihood 00:01:50.91\00:01:52.07 that probably half of you 00:01:52.07\00:01:53.34 in this room 00:01:53.34\00:01:53.94 have taken this particular drug 00:01:54.04\00:01:56.08 at some point in your life. 00:01:56.08\00:01:58.08 But he had an unusual reaction 00:01:58.08\00:02:00.05 to it. 00:02:00.05\00:02:00.95 His bone marrow 00:02:01.78\00:02:03.18 literally shut down. 00:02:03.18\00:02:04.65 Well, 00:02:04.65\00:02:05.05 not completely, 00:02:05.05\00:02:06.05 but his bone 00:02:06.05\00:02:07.32 marrow was in bad shape. 00:02:07.32\00:02:09.02 He had a condition that we call 00:02:09.02\00:02:11.19 Pancytopenia, Pancytopenia. 00:02:11.83\00:02:15.83 And that is a condition 00:02:16.50\00:02:17.60 where basically 00:02:17.60\00:02:19.33 all of your main 00:02:19.33\00:02:20.37 cell lines, 00:02:20.37\00:02:21.44 your white blood 00:02:21.44\00:02:22.74 cells, your red blood cells 00:02:22.74\00:02:25.11 and your platelets, 00:02:25.11\00:02:26.01 which are actually fragments 00:02:26.01\00:02:27.51 of cells involved in clotting, 00:02:27.51\00:02:29.38 all of 00:02:29.38\00:02:29.88 them had taken a severe hit. 00:02:30.05\00:02:33.98 I shared with Richard 00:02:37.35\00:02:39.22 that all of the evidence 00:02:39.22\00:02:40.36 pointed to the problem 00:02:40.36\00:02:41.79 being with this 00:02:41.79\00:02:42.29 particular medication. 00:02:42.29\00:02:44.13 And so we instructed Richard 00:02:44.13\00:02:45.63 to stop the medicine. 00:02:45.63\00:02:47.46 He ended up working 00:02:47.46\00:02:48.33 with the specialists in blood. 00:02:48.33\00:02:50.60 We call them hematologists. 00:02:50.60\00:02:52.83 He made things more dramatic 00:02:52.83\00:02:54.24 for us. 00:02:54.24\00:02:55.17 Some of you 00:02:55.17\00:02:55.70 that are health professionals, 00:02:55.84\00:02:56.81 just to help 00:02:56.81\00:02:57.41 you understand 00:02:57.41\00:02:58.11 the gravity 00:02:58.11\00:02:58.81 of Richard's situation, 00:02:58.81\00:03:00.84 we had gotten a complete blood 00:03:00.84\00:03:02.88 count on him 00:03:02.88\00:03:03.75 and I looked at his 00:03:03.75\00:03:04.71 neutrophil count. 00:03:04.71\00:03:05.78 Those are special 00:03:05.78\00:03:06.51 white blood cells 00:03:06.51\00:03:07.85 that you need to fight 00:03:07.85\00:03:08.75 bacterial infection. 00:03:08.75\00:03:10.52 And the count showed zero. 00:03:10.52\00:03:13.82 Okay, Absolutely zero. 00:03:13.82\00:03:15.52 Now, of course, 00:03:15.52\00:03:16.29 the folks in the lab 00:03:16.29\00:03:17.73 got worried about that, too. 00:03:17.73\00:03:19.09 And they looked 00:03:19.09\00:03:19.59 under the microscope 00:03:19.59\00:03:20.56 and they found 00:03:20.56\00:03:21.00 a few neutrophils 00:03:21.00\00:03:22.46 every now and then. 00:03:22.46\00:03:23.83 But this was like really bad. 00:03:23.83\00:03:25.03 And then on top of it, 00:03:25.03\00:03:26.37 Richard got an infection. 00:03:26.37\00:03:27.74 So for those of you 00:03:27.74\00:03:28.94 that are connecting the dots, 00:03:28.94\00:03:30.01 he was just in a really, 00:03:30.01\00:03:31.27 really bad situation. 00:03:31.27\00:03:33.31 But, instructed 00:03:33.71\00:03:34.81 to stop the medicine. 00:03:34.81\00:03:35.88 He does it. 00:03:35.88\00:03:36.95 He's working 00:03:36.95\00:03:37.45 with the hematologist. 00:03:37.45\00:03:38.58 The good news is, 00:03:38.58\00:03:39.58 over the course 00:03:39.58\00:03:40.15 of the last four months, 00:03:40.15\00:03:41.25 the Lord blessed him 00:03:41.25\00:03:42.95 and his blood counts are 00:03:42.95\00:03:44.42 essentially normal now. 00:03:44.42\00:03:45.62 You say, Well, what 00:03:46.89\00:03:47.49 was so shocking 00:03:47.49\00:03:48.76 about the communication? 00:03:48.76\00:03:52.19 It's because when I talked 00:03:54.20\00:03:55.43 with Richard, 00:03:55.43\00:03:56.83 he had absolutely no insight 00:03:56.83\00:03:59.03 into the fact 00:03:59.03\00:03:59.93 that the medication 00:03:59.93\00:04:01.50 had caused his problems. 00:04:01.50\00:04:03.94 Now, why would that be 00:04:04.14\00:04:04.91 so worrisome to me? 00:04:04.91\00:04:07.08 Well, 00:04:07.14\00:04:07.38 I don't want him taking that 00:04:07.81\00:04:08.44 medication again. 00:04:08.44\00:04:09.44 You could say, oh, well, 00:04:09.44\00:04:10.11 it's on his chart 00:04:10.11\00:04:11.05 now and everything. 00:04:11.05\00:04:12.38 But you want someone 00:04:12.38\00:04:13.48 to connect all the dots. 00:04:13.48\00:04:14.75 And here 00:04:14.75\00:04:15.55 I thought everyone 00:04:15.55\00:04:16.69 had communicated very clearly 00:04:16.69\00:04:18.69 to Richard 00:04:18.69\00:04:19.45 what his problem was. 00:04:19.45\00:04:22.59 Communication. 00:04:22.59\00:04:24.63 Sometimes we think 00:04:24.63\00:04:25.69 we are being very clear, but 00:04:25.69\00:04:28.73 our message is not 00:04:29.96\00:04:32.37 getting through. 00:04:32.67\00:04:35.37 gracious folks, 00:04:35.37\00:04:36.34 and you say, well, 00:04:36.34\00:04:37.64 what was his hemoglobin 00:04:37.64\00:04:39.11 when you explained to him 00:04:39.11\00:04:40.34 his diagnosis? It's true. 00:04:40.34\00:04:42.18 Even with his transfusions, 00:04:42.18\00:04:43.55 it was running around 00:04:43.55\00:04:44.35 seven back four months ago. 00:04:44.35\00:04:46.61 And if any of you have 00:04:47.02\00:04:47.85 been really anemic, 00:04:47.85\00:04:48.82 you understand 00:04:48.82\00:04:49.48 your brain doesn't work 00:04:49.48\00:04:50.65 all that 00:04:50.65\00:04:51.09 well when you're that anemic. 00:04:51.35\00:04:52.45 Okay. 00:04:52.45\00:04:53.39 So granted, 00:04:53.39\00:04:54.06 there were some reasons 00:04:54.06\00:04:55.06 why Richard 00:04:55.06\00:04:55.76 may not have remembered 00:04:55.76\00:04:56.86 all that well, but still, 00:04:56.86\00:04:57.99 it was shocking to me. 00:04:57.99\00:04:59.16 Clear communication, I thought. 00:04:59.16\00:05:01.73 But the message 00:05:01.73\00:05:03.67 had not sunk in. 00:05:03.67\00:05:05.03 Well, 00:05:06.74\00:05:07.14 if this is important 00:05:07.27\00:05:08.34 in medical circles 00:05:08.34\00:05:10.24 where doctors are dealing 00:05:10.24\00:05:11.71 with often life 00:05:11.71\00:05:12.74 and death situations, 00:05:12.74\00:05:14.51 how important 00:05:14.51\00:05:15.38 do you think it might be 00:05:15.38\00:05:17.01 when it comes 00:05:17.01\00:05:17.61 to a Bible writer like 00:05:17.61\00:05:19.98 John Mark? 00:05:21.35\00:05:22.35 We simply usually refer to him 00:05:22.35\00:05:23.85 as Mark. 00:05:23.85\00:05:24.99 How important was it to Mark 00:05:24.99\00:05:27.12 that he communicate accurately? 00:05:27.32\00:05:29.26 If a medication may have life 00:05:29.26\00:05:32.09 or death consequences, 00:05:32.09\00:05:33.36 what about the 00:05:33.36\00:05:34.00 words of the Bible? 00:05:34.00\00:05:35.86 You would say 00:05:35.86\00:05:36.30 even more so, right? 00:05:36.40\00:05:38.10 Even more important 00:05:38.10\00:05:39.63 as far as whole person health 00:05:39.63\00:05:41.24 than any medication 00:05:41.24\00:05:42.90 is God's revelation. 00:05:42.90\00:05:44.74 So how important to Mark 00:05:44.74\00:05:47.31 were His words? 00:05:47.71\00:05:50.21 Well, 00:05:50.21\00:05:50.51 put yourself in this situation. 00:05:50.91\00:05:52.25 If you were a Bible writer 00:05:52.25\00:05:53.92 and you were trying 00:05:53.92\00:05:54.58 to communicate 00:05:54.58\00:05:55.48 the greatest of news, 00:05:55.48\00:05:56.52 he begins his Bible, 00:05:56.52\00:06:00.06 his Bible book, 00:06:00.06\00:06:01.82 by calling it the Good News. 00:06:01.82\00:06:04.06 It's the most important thing 00:06:04.53\00:06:05.79 that Mark's 00:06:05.79\00:06:06.23 ever going to write. 00:06:06.33\00:06:07.66 So you can be sure 00:06:07.66\00:06:09.03 that he was concerned 00:06:09.03\00:06:10.27 about communicating 00:06:10.27\00:06:12.20 accurately with 00:06:12.20\00:06:13.80 his intended audience. 00:06:13.80\00:06:15.14 Of course, that all begs the 00:06:16.14\00:06:17.07 question, doesn't it? 00:06:17.07\00:06:18.94 Who was 00:06:18.94\00:06:19.97 Mark's intended audience? 00:06:19.97\00:06:21.68 Who was he 00:06:21.68\00:06:22.31 especially thinking of 00:06:22.31\00:06:23.91 when he wrote his gospel? 00:06:23.91\00:06:26.08 Well, 00:06:26.08\00:06:26.88 the evidence suggests 00:06:27.65\00:06:28.78 that he was especially 00:06:28.78\00:06:29.78 thinking of Gentile Christians, 00:06:29.78\00:06:32.59 likely, especially those 00:06:33.79\00:06:35.89 in that great 00:06:35.89\00:06:36.96 cosmopolitan chief 00:06:36.96\00:06:39.03 city of the day, Rome. 00:06:39.06\00:06:41.73 And why do we piece those 00:06:42.80\00:06:45.33 puzzle pieces together 00:06:46.30\00:06:47.64 and come up with that 00:06:47.64\00:06:49.14 that conjecture or that 00:06:49.14\00:06:51.47 that theory? 00:06:51.47\00:06:52.41 Because Mark doesn't 00:06:52.41\00:06:53.78 say, hey, I'm writing this 00:06:53.78\00:06:54.81 especially for 00:06:54.81\00:06:55.44 Gentile Christians in Rome. 00:06:55.44\00:06:57.35 Well, 00:06:57.35\00:06:57.95 some of the things 00:06:57.95\00:06:58.61 we've already observed. 00:06:58.61\00:07:00.82 We saw that Mark was closely 00:07:00.82\00:07:02.88 connected with both Paul 00:07:02.88\00:07:04.35 and Peter. 00:07:04.35\00:07:05.89 And later in their lives, 00:07:06.02\00:07:07.26 both of those two individuals 00:07:07.26\00:07:09.49 were in the city of Rome. 00:07:09.49\00:07:15.30 If you're to read 00:07:15.30\00:07:15.93 Bible commentaries, 00:07:15.93\00:07:17.00 you'd read things like 00:07:17.00\00:07:18.00 this that are found in a 00:07:18.00\00:07:19.47 particular commentary 00:07:20.97\00:07:22.20 I was reading this week. 00:07:22.20\00:07:23.44 The tradition 00:07:23.44\00:07:24.74 of the early church 00:07:24.74\00:07:26.14 affirms consistently 00:07:26.14\00:07:28.34 that this gospel 00:07:28.51\00:07:29.38 was written by Mark 00:07:29.38\00:07:31.18 in Rome 00:07:31.18\00:07:32.75 as a record of Peter's 00:07:32.75\00:07:34.35 teachings, 00:07:34.35\00:07:35.22 most probably 00:07:35.22\00:07:36.58 while Peter was still alive. 00:07:36.58\00:07:38.92 And to give you 00:07:38.92\00:07:39.32 a little bit more background 00:07:39.59\00:07:40.92 in the cultural context, 00:07:40.92\00:07:42.09 put very nicely in the book 00:07:42.09\00:07:43.59 Acts of the Apostles. 00:07:43.59\00:07:45.43 In the Providence of God, Peter 00:07:45.43\00:07:47.60 was permitted 00:07:47.60\00:07:48.50 to close his ministry in Rome, 00:07:48.50\00:07:50.60 where his imprisonment 00:07:51.40\00:07:52.50 was ordered by none 00:07:52.50\00:07:53.67 other than the Emperor Nero. 00:07:53.67\00:07:59.04 And it happened 00:07:59.04\00:08:00.04 about the time of Paul's 00:08:00.04\00:08:02.54 final arrest. 00:08:02.54\00:08:04.58 Are you putting the 00:08:04.58\00:08:05.11 pieces together? 00:08:05.11\00:08:06.95 Thus the two veteran 00:08:06.95\00:08:08.25 apostles, Peter and Paul, 00:08:08.25\00:08:10.09 who for many years 00:08:10.09\00:08:11.05 had been widely 00:08:11.05\00:08:11.89 separated in their labors, 00:08:11.89\00:08:13.56 were to bear their last witness 00:08:13.56\00:08:15.79 for Christ 00:08:15.79\00:08:16.96 in the world's Metropolis. 00:08:16.96\00:08:19.69 God had providentially 00:08:19.69\00:08:21.00 through circumstances 00:08:21.00\00:08:22.60 that we probably wouldn't 00:08:22.60\00:08:23.80 have chosen. 00:08:23.80\00:08:24.63 But in His Divine providence, 00:08:24.63\00:08:26.40 Peter and Paul there in Rome 00:08:26.40\00:08:28.00 and one of the people there 00:08:28.00\00:08:29.77 in Rome 00:08:29.77\00:08:30.57 for with Peter for 00:08:32.44\00:08:33.31 sure, is John Mark, 00:08:33.31\00:08:35.54 the writer 00:08:36.41\00:08:36.88 of the Gospel of Mark. 00:08:36.95\00:08:40.98 As we think about 00:08:40.98\00:08:42.58 this audience, 00:08:42.58\00:08:44.59 we realize that 00:08:44.59\00:08:45.89 throughout the book, 00:08:45.89\00:08:47.19 as Mark is writing, 00:08:47.19\00:08:48.12 he's not thinking 00:08:48.12\00:08:49.72 of a Jewish audience. 00:08:49.72\00:08:51.29 It becomes very clear. 00:08:51.29\00:08:52.43 Here's 00:08:52.43\00:08:52.59 just a few of the insights 00:08:53.06\00:08:54.73 that have led 00:08:54.73\00:08:55.80 many Bible students to say, 00:08:55.80\00:08:57.57 No way, 00:08:57.57\00:08:58.03 He was not writing 00:08:58.03\00:08:58.90 this book for Jews 00:08:58.90\00:09:00.64 because throughout his book 00:09:00.64\00:09:01.74 he takes pains to explain 00:09:01.74\00:09:03.94 Jewish customs, says 00:09:03.94\00:09:05.01 it would be totally unnecessary 00:09:05.01\00:09:06.91 if his audience were Jews. 00:09:06.91\00:09:09.11 Second, he 00:09:09.11\00:09:09.88 translates Aramaic phrases 00:09:09.88\00:09:12.58 into Greek. 00:09:12.58\00:09:14.02 So, for example, 00:09:14.02\00:09:14.65 when Jesus is on the cross, 00:09:14.65\00:09:15.98 you may remember Mark records 00:09:15.98\00:09:17.42 Jesus saying, Eloi, Eloi, 00:09:17.42\00:09:19.42 Lama Sabachthani, 00:09:19.42\00:09:20.32 that's Aramaic for what? 00:09:20.32\00:09:22.99 My God, my God, 00:09:22.99\00:09:24.03 why have You forsaken Me? 00:09:24.03\00:09:25.13 It's translated 00:09:25.13\00:09:26.13 into Greek by Mark. 00:09:26.13\00:09:27.96 He's assuming 00:09:27.96\00:09:28.86 the people are not Jews 00:09:28.86\00:09:30.97 speaking Aramaic in Israel. 00:09:30.97\00:09:33.94 And then Mark often provides 00:09:34.80\00:09:36.37 geographic details, things 00:09:36.37\00:09:38.51 that would be unnecessary 00:09:38.51\00:09:39.91 if you were a Jew living 00:09:39.91\00:09:41.88 in the area of Jerusalem. 00:09:41.88\00:09:43.24 So the point is 00:09:44.35\00:09:45.81 simply this 00:09:45.81\00:09:46.48 and here is a very good example 00:09:46.48\00:09:48.48 of this one. 00:09:48.48\00:09:49.12 Speaking about Jewish 00:09:49.12\00:09:50.02 customs, we'll study 00:09:50.02\00:09:50.89 this in some detail, 00:09:50.89\00:09:51.85 the Lord willing, 00:09:51.85\00:09:52.49 as we go through our series. 00:09:52.49\00:09:53.92 But in Math, excuse me, 00:09:53.92\00:09:55.19 in Mark 7:3 - 4, we read this. 00:09:55.19\00:09:58.53 The Pharisees 00:09:58.76\00:09:59.76 and all the Jews do not eat 00:09:59.76\00:10:01.53 unless they give their hands 00:10:01.53\00:10:02.80 a ceremonial washing, 00:10:02.80\00:10:04.50 holding to the tradition 00:10:04.50\00:10:05.87 of the elders 00:10:05.87\00:10:07.14 when they come 00:10:07.14\00:10:07.60 from the marketplaces, 00:10:07.67\00:10:08.70 they do not eat 00:10:08.70\00:10:09.87 unless they wash 00:10:09.87\00:10:12.07 and they observe 00:10:12.21\00:10:12.87 many other traditions, 00:10:12.87\00:10:14.21 such as the washing 00:10:14.21\00:10:15.18 of cups, pitchers and kettles. 00:10:15.18\00:10:18.18 Would 00:10:18.18\00:10:18.38 you need to tell a Jew this? 00:10:18.85\00:10:20.55 No, he's not writing 00:10:20.55\00:10:21.78 for a Jewish audience. 00:10:21.78\00:10:23.05 So the evidence is 00:10:23.05\00:10:24.42 that Mark 00:10:24.42\00:10:25.42 is writing 00:10:25.42\00:10:26.19 to Gentile Christians. 00:10:26.19\00:10:28.76 They've already come to faith 00:10:28.99\00:10:30.19 in Jesus, 00:10:30.19\00:10:31.69 likely many of them in Rome. 00:10:31.69\00:10:33.86 And what are they dealing with? 00:10:34.13\00:10:36.56 Well, what is their identity? 00:10:36.56\00:10:38.60 If you're a Gentile 00:10:38.60\00:10:39.80 believer in the days of 00:10:39.80\00:10:41.30 Jesus early church, 00:10:42.27\00:10:43.51 what would you be thinking 00:10:43.51\00:10:44.91 about yourself? 00:10:44.91\00:10:45.44 Now a lot of Christians 00:10:45.44\00:10:46.34 have the idea, Oh, well, 00:10:46.34\00:10:47.44 if they're Gentile believers, 00:10:47.44\00:10:48.64 they just know about Jesus. 00:10:48.64\00:10:49.81 They don't know 00:10:49.81\00:10:50.18 about the Old Testament. 00:10:50.41\00:10:51.41 That is absolutely wrong. 00:10:51.41\00:10:53.05 You do not have to look 00:10:53.05\00:10:54.05 far in the Bible 00:10:54.05\00:10:54.72 to realize 00:10:54.72\00:10:55.88 that the early church, 00:10:55.88\00:10:56.95 even the Gentiles, 00:10:56.95\00:10:57.95 were firmly grounded 00:10:57.95\00:10:59.15 in the Old Testament. 00:10:59.15\00:11:00.56 Jesus, think about it, 00:11:00.56\00:11:01.99 turn to Luke 24 if you want. 00:11:01.99\00:11:03.99 If you get 00:11:03.99\00:11:04.53 bored at 00:11:04.53\00:11:05.26 any time in the message 00:11:05.26\00:11:06.59 and look at Jesus. 00:11:06.59\00:11:08.33 Because what Jesus did 00:11:08.33\00:11:09.50 with the disciples 00:11:09.50\00:11:10.47 is He anchored their faith 00:11:10.47\00:11:12.57 in the Old Testament. 00:11:12.57\00:11:15.00 He pointed out all the things 00:11:15.14\00:11:16.44 that were in the Scriptures. 00:11:16.44\00:11:17.27 This is to the disciples 00:11:17.27\00:11:19.67 as they're going to go out 00:11:19.67\00:11:20.91 and teach all nations 00:11:20.91\00:11:22.94 anchoring them 00:11:22.94\00:11:23.65 in the Old Testament. 00:11:23.65\00:11:24.68 And then you read 00:11:24.68\00:11:25.71 as Paul reaches out 00:11:25.71\00:11:26.98 to the Romans 00:11:26.98\00:11:27.78 in the book of Romans, 00:11:27.78\00:11:28.85 or he reaches out to 00:11:28.85\00:11:30.12 the Philippians in the letter 00:11:30.12\00:11:32.75 to the Philippians, 00:11:32.75\00:11:33.76 or as he writes 00:11:33.76\00:11:34.52 to the Thessalonicans, 00:11:34.52\00:11:36.06 or you go on 00:11:36.06\00:11:36.96 and on the Ephesians, 00:11:36.96\00:11:37.99 all of these 00:11:37.99\00:11:38.59 these are people living in 00:11:38.59\00:11:41.06 what we would call 00:11:41.23\00:11:41.80 today, Israel. 00:11:41.80\00:11:43.06 They were in Gentile regions 00:11:43.06\00:11:45.30 and what does he do? 00:11:45.37\00:11:46.53 As you read 00:11:46.53\00:11:47.14 through those books, 00:11:47.14\00:11:47.84 he connects them 00:11:47.84\00:11:49.07 with the Old Testament 00:11:49.07\00:11:50.04 scriptures. 00:11:50.04\00:11:50.87 He connects them 00:11:50.87\00:11:51.64 with the line of Abraham. 00:11:51.64\00:11:52.74 He connects them 00:11:52.74\00:11:53.54 with the prophecies 00:11:53.54\00:11:54.74 of the only Bible 00:11:54.74\00:11:56.28 that they actually had 00:11:56.28\00:11:57.28 in that era, 00:11:57.28\00:11:57.95 which was what we call today, 00:11:57.95\00:11:59.51 the Old Testament. 00:11:59.51\00:12:01.18 So this is the mindset 00:12:01.18\00:12:03.08 of the Gentile Christian. 00:12:03.08\00:12:04.35 But there's more 00:12:04.35\00:12:05.05 to their mindset 00:12:05.05\00:12:06.76 because they were living 00:12:06.76\00:12:08.86 likely around 00:12:09.16\00:12:11.19 somewhere around 66 A.D. 00:12:11.19\00:12:13.13 That's the best guess 00:12:13.13\00:12:14.63 as to 00:12:14.63\00:12:15.06 when Mark wrote his gospel. 00:12:15.30\00:12:17.17 Now, today, 00:12:17.27\00:12:17.80 when you write something, 00:12:17.90\00:12:18.70 what do you do? 00:12:18.70\00:12:19.77 I mean, if you're writing 00:12:19.97\00:12:20.87 something that you 00:12:20.87\00:12:21.47 want someone to 00:12:21.47\00:12:22.47 to look at and retain, usually 00:12:23.51\00:12:26.24 at least 00:12:26.31\00:12:26.84 I put a date on it, right? 00:12:26.94\00:12:29.51 Well, typically 00:12:30.58\00:12:31.41 we don't have that 00:12:31.41\00:12:33.15 in the documents 00:12:33.15\00:12:34.05 that we have in the Bible. 00:12:34.05\00:12:34.68 We don't have people typically 00:12:34.68\00:12:36.18 dating the documents. 00:12:36.18\00:12:37.49 There's nothing 00:12:37.49\00:12:38.32 where Mark says, Hey, 00:12:38.32\00:12:39.12 I'm writing this, you know, 00:12:39.12\00:12:41.19 NISAN 14 A.D. 00:12:41.19\00:12:43.76 66, nothing like that. 00:12:43.76\00:12:46.29 But the best evidence 00:12:46.29\00:12:47.46 as we piece things together 00:12:47.46\00:12:49.43 is that 00:12:49.43\00:12:49.80 this is when it was written 00:12:50.10\00:12:51.63 right around this time. 00:12:51.63\00:12:53.17 Nero is still on the throne. 00:12:53.17\00:12:54.57 He's going to reign 00:12:54.57\00:12:55.17 for another couple of years. 00:12:55.24\00:12:56.77 Christians are 00:12:56.77\00:12:57.51 being persecuted. 00:12:57.51\00:12:59.14 The city of Jerusalem 00:12:59.14\00:13:00.44 is going to be destroyed 00:13:00.44\00:13:02.44 in 70 A.D. 00:13:02.44\00:13:03.81 And the reason we know 00:13:03.81\00:13:05.11 it didn't happen after 70 A.D. 00:13:05.11\00:13:07.15 with pretty good confidence 00:13:07.25\00:13:08.98 as we read through Mark 13. 00:13:08.98\00:13:12.25 Mark 13 is parallel 00:13:12.45\00:13:13.96 by Matthew 24. 00:13:13.96\00:13:15.29 You know where Jesus is 00:13:15.29\00:13:16.06 speaking about things 00:13:16.06\00:13:17.36 that are going to 00:13:17.36\00:13:17.73 happen even in our day. 00:13:17.93\00:13:19.19 It speaks very clearly in Mark, 00:13:20.20\00:13:22.63 he's giving a message 00:13:22.80\00:13:24.07 to the readers 00:13:24.07\00:13:24.87 or to the listeners, 00:13:24.87\00:13:26.07 pay special attention to this. 00:13:26.07\00:13:28.60 The implications are 00:13:28.84\00:13:30.47 Jerusalem has not yet fallen. 00:13:30.47\00:13:32.17 Listen to this 00:13:32.17\00:13:32.91 message from Jesus 00:13:32.91\00:13:34.24 and you 00:13:34.24\00:13:35.04 are going to save your lives. 00:13:35.04\00:13:36.31 And that's exactly 00:13:36.31\00:13:37.01 what happened. 00:13:37.01\00:13:37.48 Those who listened to Mark 13, 00:13:37.68\00:13:39.45 their lives were spared 00:13:39.45\00:13:40.82 when Jerusalem was surrounded 00:13:40.82\00:13:43.02 by armies a few years later. 00:13:43.02\00:13:45.42 So all of these things 00:13:45.42\00:13:46.39 put us in a context. 00:13:46.39\00:13:47.49 Gentile believers, 00:13:47.49\00:13:48.79 many of them are 00:13:48.79\00:13:49.46 being persecuted. 00:13:49.46\00:13:50.83 What kind of message 00:13:50.83\00:13:52.66 then, is Mark 00:13:52.66\00:13:53.83 going to give them? 00:13:53.83\00:13:54.56 How is he going 00:13:54.56\00:13:55.16 to start his gospel? 00:13:55.16\00:13:56.67 It's a very 00:13:56.67\00:13:57.13 interesting contrast 00:13:57.20\00:13:58.17 because most of you, well, 00:13:58.17\00:14:00.57 open your Bibles. 00:14:00.57\00:14:01.60 I just want you to notice 00:14:01.60\00:14:02.90 the very first few words 00:14:02.90\00:14:05.07 of Mark's gospel. 00:14:05.07\00:14:06.68 Mark 1. 00:14:06.68\00:14:08.18 Mark 1, the very first verse. 00:14:09.24\00:14:12.35 And I'm reading 00:14:12.51\00:14:13.15 from the New King 00:14:13.15\00:14:13.95 James version. 00:14:13.95\00:14:15.05 Mark 1:1. 00:14:15.05\00:14:17.09 The very first few words, 00:14:17.09\00:14:19.19 the beginning 00:14:19.19\00:14:20.79 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:14:20.79\00:14:23.46 And you hear those words, 00:14:23.46\00:14:24.56 the beginning of the good news 00:14:24.56\00:14:26.26 about Jesus Christ. 00:14:26.26\00:14:27.96 And what are you thinking? 00:14:27.96\00:14:29.06 If I just told you 00:14:29.06\00:14:29.80 I want to tell somebody 00:14:29.80\00:14:30.77 about the good news of 00:14:30.77\00:14:31.67 Jesus Christ, 00:14:31.67\00:14:32.33 you might be thinking, 00:14:32.33\00:14:33.03 Wow, maybe 00:14:33.03\00:14:35.14 he's going to connect them 00:14:35.14\00:14:35.97 all the way back 00:14:35.97\00:14:36.94 with antiquity. 00:14:36.94\00:14:37.84 Jesus as the Creator 00:14:37.84\00:14:39.37 in the very beginning. 00:14:39.37\00:14:40.48 By the way, 00:14:40.48\00:14:41.11 John does that 00:14:41.11\00:14:41.88 in his gospel, right? 00:14:41.88\00:14:42.98 In the beginning was the Word, 00:14:42.98\00:14:44.68 and the Word was with God. 00:14:44.68\00:14:46.51 When you say no, 00:14:46.51\00:14:47.35 I mean at least 00:14:47.35\00:14:47.98 if you're going to tell someone 00:14:48.05\00:14:48.78 the story of Jesus, 00:14:48.78\00:14:49.55 the good news of Jesus, 00:14:49.55\00:14:50.65 you've got to start out 00:14:50.65\00:14:52.32 with maybe 00:14:52.32\00:14:53.49 Jesus birth 00:14:53.49\00:14:54.42 or maybe the angel, 00:14:54.42\00:14:55.82 appearing to Mary. 00:14:55.82\00:14:57.43 Well, 00:14:57.43\00:14:58.26 you can read 00:14:58.46\00:14:58.89 Matthew, you can read Luke, 00:14:59.13\00:15:00.53 and they'll talk about 00:15:00.53\00:15:01.33 all those things. 00:15:01.33\00:15:02.96 They're especially 00:15:02.96\00:15:04.03 writing to who? 00:15:04.03\00:15:04.90 Matthew and Luke. 00:15:04.90\00:15:05.97 They're writing to people 00:15:05.97\00:15:07.87 who they want to see this, 00:15:07.87\00:15:09.60 this, this Jewish connection. 00:15:09.60\00:15:11.01 Many people believe, 00:15:11.01\00:15:11.97 Matthew clearly is 00:15:11.97\00:15:13.17 especially writing 00:15:13.17\00:15:14.08 to a Jewish audience. 00:15:14.08\00:15:15.31 And Luke, 00:15:15.31\00:15:15.91 as he tells 00:15:15.91\00:15:16.48 the story, 00:15:16.48\00:15:16.91 is clearly connecting 00:15:17.05\00:15:18.05 with how Jesus 00:15:18.05\00:15:19.88 and God the Father 00:15:19.88\00:15:20.85 first reached out 00:15:20.85\00:15:22.22 to the Jewish nation. 00:15:22.22\00:15:23.99 But if you're writing 00:15:23.99\00:15:24.79 to Gentile believers, 00:15:24.79\00:15:26.15 as Mark was, 00:15:26.15\00:15:27.06 where does Mark start? 00:15:27.06\00:15:29.26 And some of you are saying, 00:15:29.26\00:15:30.03 Well, wait a minute, John, 00:15:30.03\00:15:30.86 if he started all the way 00:15:30.86\00:15:31.66 at the beginning, 00:15:31.66\00:15:32.19 who is he writing to? 00:15:32.19\00:15:33.63 Well, 00:15:33.63\00:15:34.30 if you look at the closing 00:15:34.46\00:15:36.67 chapters of John's gospel, 00:15:36.67\00:15:38.53 you'll see that it seems John's 00:15:38.53\00:15:39.90 special emphasis 00:15:39.90\00:15:41.07 was on nonbelievers. 00:15:41.07\00:15:42.07 Look with me at John 20:31. 00:15:42.07\00:15:44.77 But these are written, 00:15:45.14\00:15:46.34 John said, that you may what? 00:15:46.34\00:15:48.31 Believe that 00:15:48.31\00:15:49.18 Jesus is the Messiah, 00:15:49.18\00:15:50.65 the Son of God, 00:15:50.65\00:15:51.48 and that by believing 00:15:51.48\00:15:52.68 you may have life in His name. 00:15:52.68\00:15:57.72 Mark, 00:15:57.72\00:15:58.92 when he writes, 00:15:58.92\00:16:00.29 he writes 00:16:00.29\00:16:00.76 from a very 00:16:00.76\00:16:01.72 different perspective. 00:16:01.72\00:16:03.53 It is stark. 00:16:03.53\00:16:04.56 Look at this. 00:16:04.56\00:16:05.79 As you start reading 00:16:05.79\00:16:07.73 Mark's gospel. 00:16:07.73\00:16:09.06 No, Jesus was alive from times 00:16:09.06\00:16:12.87 ages past, 00:16:13.17\00:16:14.37 no reading about his birth, 00:16:14.37\00:16:16.07 no reading about his childhood. 00:16:16.07\00:16:18.11 It just starts bam. 00:16:18.11\00:16:20.58 My messenger starts 00:16:20.58\00:16:22.08 with John the Baptist 00:16:22.08\00:16:23.41 and then Jesus, 00:16:23.41\00:16:24.75 you say, What's going on? 00:16:24.75\00:16:27.58 I would suggest to you 00:16:28.28\00:16:29.32 this is the most authentic 00:16:29.32\00:16:31.65 gospel written for Gentiles, 00:16:31.65\00:16:33.15 because that's what 00:16:33.15\00:16:34.62 the Galilean 00:16:34.62\00:16:35.56 Gentiles experienced. 00:16:35.56\00:16:37.49 They didn't know 00:16:37.49\00:16:38.13 about all the Old Testament. 00:16:38.13\00:16:40.36 And all of a sudden 00:16:40.36\00:16:41.36 you're hearing, 00:16:41.36\00:16:41.96 hey, do you hear 00:16:41.96\00:16:42.83 what's going on? What? What? 00:16:42.83\00:16:44.40 There's somebody out 00:16:44.40\00:16:45.00 in the wilderness. 00:16:45.00\00:16:45.63 They're preaching 00:16:45.63\00:16:46.43 and there's 00:16:46.43\00:16:46.74 somebody here nearby, 00:16:47.00\00:16:48.10 and they're doing all kinds 00:16:48.10\00:16:48.94 of miracles. Like what? 00:16:48.94\00:16:50.27 You know, what's going on? 00:16:50.27\00:16:51.54 Well, there's a lot more 00:16:52.64\00:16:53.61 to the background than this. 00:16:53.61\00:16:54.64 And I want you to see this 00:16:54.64\00:16:55.51 because we're going to dive 00:16:55.51\00:16:56.38 into the first chapter 00:16:56.38\00:16:57.85 of Mark here shortly. 00:16:57.85\00:16:59.41 But I want you to realize 00:16:59.41\00:17:01.32 that this Greco 00:17:01.32\00:17:02.45 Greco-Roman perspective 00:17:02.45\00:17:05.09 that the believers in Mark's 00:17:05.45\00:17:08.42 day had primed them 00:17:08.42\00:17:10.63 for a couple of things. 00:17:10.63\00:17:11.79 One, many of you realize 00:17:11.79\00:17:13.26 the Greek influence was one 00:17:13.26\00:17:14.60 that was very focused 00:17:14.60\00:17:15.66 on knowledge and 00:17:15.66\00:17:17.13 and and knowing 00:17:17.13\00:17:18.47 all the aspects of things 00:17:18.47\00:17:19.87 and debating 00:17:19.87\00:17:20.97 and having all the details 00:17:20.97\00:17:22.80 being logically consistent, 00:17:22.80\00:17:24.71 we read about that in Acts 17. 00:17:24.71\00:17:26.98 You remember 00:17:26.98\00:17:28.18 as we're reading 00:17:28.74\00:17:29.71 Luke's account, 00:17:29.71\00:17:30.41 Luke is the writer 00:17:30.41\00:17:31.41 of the Gospel of Luke, 00:17:31.41\00:17:33.11 as well as the Book of Acts. 00:17:33.11\00:17:34.65 He says this about 00:17:34.65\00:17:35.65 the Athenians, 00:17:35.65\00:17:36.45 the Greeks, 00:17:36.45\00:17:37.22 all the Athenians 00:17:37.22\00:17:38.25 and the foreigners 00:17:38.25\00:17:39.15 who live there 00:17:39.15\00:17:39.72 spent their time doing nothing 00:17:39.82\00:17:41.32 but talking 00:17:41.32\00:17:42.12 about and listening 00:17:42.12\00:17:44.19 to the latest ideas. 00:17:44.29\00:17:46.03 They like to cogitate, 00:17:46.03\00:17:47.50 they like to 00:17:47.50\00:17:48.16 wrestle with issues. 00:17:48.16\00:17:50.63 So if you're going to appeal 00:17:50.63\00:17:51.60 to the Greek influence, 00:17:51.60\00:17:53.67 you've got to be 00:17:53.77\00:17:54.50 logically consistent. 00:17:54.50\00:17:56.50 It has to have 00:17:56.50\00:17:56.97 the ring of truth. 00:17:56.97\00:17:58.54 And then the Roman influence, 00:17:58.54\00:18:01.01 as this commentary put it. 00:18:01.21\00:18:03.38 Romans were concerned 00:18:03.85\00:18:05.65 with a person's production, 00:18:05.65\00:18:07.75 not his works. 00:18:08.08\00:18:09.25 You couldn't 00:18:09.25\00:18:09.68 just say something. 00:18:09.78\00:18:10.79 You had to back it 00:18:10.79\00:18:11.59 up with activity. 00:18:11.59\00:18:12.79 So the mindset of these Gentile 00:18:12.79\00:18:15.39 believers, 00:18:15.56\00:18:16.69 they're influenced 00:18:16.69\00:18:17.53 by their culture. 00:18:17.53\00:18:18.89 Things have to be 00:18:18.89\00:18:19.66 logically consistent. 00:18:19.66\00:18:21.60 People have to show 00:18:21.60\00:18:23.73 they have to 00:18:23.73\00:18:24.10 demonstrate things, 00:18:24.27\00:18:25.40 not just talk about them. 00:18:25.40\00:18:27.67 So how does Mark 00:18:27.67\00:18:28.57 speak to this type of audience? 00:18:29.97\00:18:32.41 Is he going to show us 00:18:32.71\00:18:33.78 something 00:18:33.78\00:18:34.11 that's logically consistent, 00:18:34.44\00:18:35.54 that appeals to reason? 00:18:35.54\00:18:36.61 It appeals 00:18:36.61\00:18:37.35 to these Gentile Christians 00:18:37.35\00:18:38.51 who've been brought 00:18:38.51\00:18:39.05 into a church 00:18:39.05\00:18:39.78 that's connected 00:18:39.78\00:18:40.32 with the Old Testament. 00:18:40.32\00:18:41.52 What is he going to do now? 00:18:41.52\00:18:43.62 Let me just observe 00:18:43.69\00:18:44.55 something for you. 00:18:44.55\00:18:46.05 You do the same thing. 00:18:46.05\00:18:49.69 You do. 00:18:49.69\00:18:49.82 How do I know what you do? 00:18:50.36\00:18:51.39 It's because I do it 00:18:51.39\00:18:52.96 and you seem enough like me 00:18:52.96\00:18:54.83 and you're living 00:18:54.83\00:18:55.30 in the same place 00:18:55.30\00:18:56.83 that I'm living that 00:18:56.83\00:18:57.70 I think you do the same thing. 00:18:57.70\00:18:59.13 And I was reminded of it 00:18:59.13\00:19:00.24 by another patient this week 00:19:00.24\00:19:01.80 because they were telling me 00:19:01.80\00:19:02.74 about a doctor 00:19:02.74\00:19:03.57 that they went in 00:19:03.57\00:19:04.14 to see for the first time, 00:19:04.21\00:19:05.57 and they decided, 00:19:05.57\00:19:06.41 I am not going back 00:19:06.41\00:19:07.74 to see that physician. 00:19:07.74\00:19:09.24 And I was wondering why. 00:19:09.24\00:19:10.61 And they basically said 00:19:10.61\00:19:11.78 they didn't 00:19:11.78\00:19:12.51 they didn't use these words, 00:19:12.51\00:19:13.72 but they basically said, 00:19:13.72\00:19:14.72 I don't 00:19:14.72\00:19:15.08 think I can trust that doctor. 00:19:15.38\00:19:18.89 Some of you may know 00:19:18.89\00:19:19.59 the name of Dr. 00:19:19.59\00:19:20.96 David Levy. 00:19:20.96\00:19:22.69 Dr. 00:19:22.69\00:19:23.12 Levy is a neurosurgeon. 00:19:23.26\00:19:25.63 He wrote a book 00:19:26.13\00:19:27.23 called Gray Matter. 00:19:27.23\00:19:29.10 Levy wrote this. 00:19:30.37\00:19:31.50 So much of a 00:19:31.50\00:19:32.93 doctor's 00:19:32.93\00:19:33.50 job is in not just diagnosis, 00:19:33.64\00:19:36.57 but in demeanor 00:19:36.94\00:19:38.37 and presentation as well. 00:19:38.37\00:19:40.51 The way you come across 00:19:40.51\00:19:41.94 as you speak, 00:19:41.94\00:19:42.78 the way you comport yourself, 00:19:42.78\00:19:44.78 the way you relate to patients. 00:19:44.98\00:19:48.18 And what is happening 00:19:48.18\00:19:49.52 in that initial visit. 00:19:49.52\00:19:50.72 When you see a new provider 00:19:50.72\00:19:51.95 you're trying to size up, 00:19:51.95\00:19:52.99 do you want to let this person 00:19:52.99\00:19:54.79 be responsible 00:19:54.79\00:19:55.66 for whatever 00:19:55.66\00:19:56.16 area of your health 00:19:56.16\00:19:57.03 you have concerns with? Right. 00:19:57.03\00:19:59.13 And part of it is deciding 00:19:59.13\00:20:01.20 whether that health care 00:20:01.20\00:20:02.43 provider is trustworthy. 00:20:02.43\00:20:04.70 Now, think about it. 00:20:05.67\00:20:07.14 If Mark's 00:20:07.14\00:20:07.77 gospel is going to have 00:20:07.77\00:20:09.04 healing efficacy, 00:20:09.04\00:20:11.01 what do you think? 00:20:11.01\00:20:12.11 Do you think it must emerge 00:20:12.11\00:20:13.88 as a trustworthy 00:20:13.88\00:20:15.18 account as well? 00:20:15.18\00:20:16.01 What do you think? Yes. 00:20:16.01\00:20:17.78 If he's 00:20:17.78\00:20:18.18 if he's wanting people 00:20:18.31\00:20:19.11 to connect with his gospel, 00:20:19.11\00:20:20.32 he's got to from the beginning, 00:20:20.32\00:20:21.98 establish 00:20:21.98\00:20:23.45 something that they can trust. 00:20:23.85\00:20:26.29 So how does Mark do it? 00:20:26.29\00:20:27.42 He does it in three ways. 00:20:27.42\00:20:28.72 He he under 00:20:28.72\00:20:29.59 he relates to his audience 00:20:29.59\00:20:31.49 in at least three ways. 00:20:31.49\00:20:32.63 I want you to think about this. 00:20:32.63\00:20:33.70 First of all, 00:20:33.70\00:20:34.60 he shows 00:20:34.60\00:20:35.76 that God is faithful, 00:20:35.76\00:20:37.87 that God is consistent, 00:20:37.87\00:20:39.53 and that his gospel 00:20:39.53\00:20:40.50 is going to be consistent 00:20:40.50\00:20:41.94 to God's past revelation. 00:20:41.94\00:20:43.97 From the very beginning, 00:20:43.97\00:20:45.24 He's establishing 00:20:45.24\00:20:46.27 the trust 00:20:46.27\00:20:47.11 worthiness of his account. 00:20:47.11\00:20:49.68 And but I would suggest to you 00:20:49.68\00:20:52.05 that there's more than just 00:20:52.38\00:20:53.48 trustworthiness involved. 00:20:53.48\00:20:54.95 I mean, think about it. 00:20:54.95\00:20:56.02 You might feel that 00:20:56.02\00:20:56.89 you've got a physician 00:20:56.89\00:20:59.05 who is trustworthy. 00:20:59.12\00:21:00.42 They're going to tell you 00:21:00.42\00:21:00.99 the truth, 00:21:00.99\00:21:01.29 that they don't know something. 00:21:01.69\00:21:02.29 They're going to 00:21:02.29\00:21:02.56 tell it to you. 00:21:02.72\00:21:03.36 And but they 00:21:04.36\00:21:05.73 just give you no hope. 00:21:05.73\00:21:06.59 They say, well, 00:21:06.59\00:21:06.96 I don't know anything 00:21:07.13\00:21:07.66 about your condition. 00:21:07.66\00:21:08.93 I've never treated this before. 00:21:08.93\00:21:10.37 And now you might say, 00:21:10.37\00:21:10.97 well, they're trustworthy, 00:21:10.97\00:21:12.60 but they don't have 00:21:12.60\00:21:13.80 the knowledge base that I need. 00:21:13.80\00:21:15.87 And you might ask 00:21:16.20\00:21:17.04 for a referral 00:21:17.04\00:21:18.01 or you might get 00:21:18.01\00:21:18.57 a second opinion. 00:21:18.57\00:21:19.44 Are you following along? 00:21:19.44\00:21:21.41 Now, it's interesting. 00:21:21.48\00:21:23.35 We don't just want a healer. 00:21:23.35\00:21:25.55 We want someone 00:21:25.55\00:21:26.28 who has connection 00:21:26.28\00:21:27.08 with healing power. 00:21:27.08\00:21:28.78 And what's true 00:21:28.78\00:21:29.35 in the medical arena is true 00:21:29.45\00:21:31.02 in the spiritual arena as well. 00:21:31.02\00:21:32.42 Back to Dr. Levy. Dr. 00:21:32.42\00:21:34.79 Levy said it 00:21:34.79\00:21:35.46 this way, 00:21:35.46\00:21:35.86 As I have addressed 00:21:35.99\00:21:36.66 patient spirituality 00:21:36.66\00:21:38.13 and made prayer 00:21:38.13\00:21:39.06 a regular part 00:21:39.06\00:21:40.03 of my patient interactions, 00:21:40.03\00:21:42.00 the response 00:21:42.00\00:21:43.47 has been impressive. 00:21:43.47\00:21:44.43 So this is a physician 00:21:44.43\00:21:46.27 that is praying 00:21:46.27\00:21:47.34 with his patients. 00:21:47.34\00:21:49.10 And he says, 00:21:49.10\00:21:49.57 As I pray with my patients, 00:21:49.77\00:21:51.34 I have seen lives 00:21:51.34\00:21:52.71 brought to a level 00:21:52.71\00:21:53.54 of spiritual, emotional 00:21:53.54\00:21:55.48 and physical health 00:21:55.48\00:21:57.41 that my patients 00:21:57.41\00:21:58.78 had never enjoyed before. 00:21:58.78\00:22:01.28 He's tapping 00:22:01.28\00:22:02.25 into a healing power. 00:22:02.25\00:22:03.39 It's not his healing power. 00:22:03.39\00:22:05.55 Listen to what he says. 00:22:05.55\00:22:07.02 In the process, 00:22:07.02\00:22:07.92 I've learned 00:22:07.92\00:22:08.39 two important things: 00:22:08.49\00:22:09.99 that there is a limit 00:22:09.99\00:22:10.89 to what I can do 00:22:10.89\00:22:11.76 as a highly trained 00:22:11.76\00:22:12.93 and experienced surgeon, 00:22:12.93\00:22:14.93 and that there is 00:22:14.93\00:22:16.06 no limit to what? To what 00:22:16.06\00:22:17.90 God can do to touch a person 00:22:19.20\00:22:21.94 emotionally 00:22:22.14\00:22:23.27 and spiritually, 00:22:23.27\00:22:24.67 not just physically. 00:22:24.67\00:22:26.94 Why am I sharing this? 00:22:26.94\00:22:28.51 I'm sharing it 00:22:28.51\00:22:29.34 because it's not enough 00:22:29.34\00:22:30.61 for Mark 00:22:30.61\00:22:31.11 just to connect people 00:22:31.11\00:22:32.25 with something that they say, 00:22:32.25\00:22:33.08 This is true. 00:22:33.08\00:22:33.98 He has to connect his readers 00:22:33.98\00:22:36.62 with Jesus, 00:22:36.82\00:22:38.05 the source of healing power. 00:22:38.05\00:22:40.39 And so this is 00:22:40.39\00:22:41.02 what Mark is doing. 00:22:41.02\00:22:41.82 He's trying to help 00:22:41.82\00:22:42.39 you see, it's 00:22:42.39\00:22:42.79 not just something 00:22:42.89\00:22:43.26 you could trust. 00:22:43.36\00:22:43.86 It's someone 00:22:43.86\00:22:44.49 not only that is trustworthy, 00:22:44.56\00:22:46.43 but someone that loves you 00:22:46.43\00:22:48.80 and that is active 00:22:48.80\00:22:50.67 and is all-wise. 00:22:50.67\00:22:52.47 Boy, 00:22:52.47\00:22:53.03 this is a good combination. 00:22:53.13\00:22:55.44 Some years ago 00:22:55.44\00:22:56.97 there was a young man 00:22:56.97\00:22:58.47 that didn't have all these 00:22:58.47\00:23:00.78 criteria met. 00:23:00.78\00:23:02.71 We'll call him Willie. 00:23:02.71\00:23:04.48 Willie seemed to be 00:23:04.48\00:23:05.45 a very loving 00:23:05.45\00:23:06.21 and caring person. 00:23:06.21\00:23:07.22 And so one day 00:23:07.22\00:23:07.92 as he was walking down 00:23:07.92\00:23:08.88 the street, he seemed to be 00:23:08.88\00:23:10.85 well headed to a destination. 00:23:11.85\00:23:13.92 He seemed to have quite 00:23:13.92\00:23:14.82 a purpose in his step. 00:23:14.82\00:23:16.39 But, he saw that 00:23:16.39\00:23:17.53 there was someone in need. 00:23:17.53\00:23:18.86 And so Willie stopped 00:23:18.86\00:23:20.20 what he was doing 00:23:20.20\00:23:21.03 to help a poor individual. 00:23:21.03\00:23:23.83 This poor individual 00:23:23.93\00:23:24.97 was obviously 00:23:24.97\00:23:25.97 having car problems 00:23:25.97\00:23:27.60 because he was trying 00:23:27.60\00:23:28.97 to push his car 00:23:28.97\00:23:30.27 up a slight grade. 00:23:30.27\00:23:31.77 Get it off the road, 00:23:31.77\00:23:33.27 up the grade 00:23:33.27\00:23:34.08 and into a parking lot. 00:23:34.08\00:23:36.01 Willie stopped to help. 00:23:36.01\00:23:37.21 How many of you think 00:23:37.21\00:23:37.85 this is sounding good? 00:23:37.85\00:23:39.28 Yeah. Sounded very good. 00:23:39.28\00:23:40.42 Willie gets behind the car 00:23:40.42\00:23:41.85 with the car owner, 00:23:41.85\00:23:42.88 and they are pushing together, 00:23:42.88\00:23:44.45 and the car is going up 00:23:44.45\00:23:45.99 this grade. 00:23:45.99\00:23:46.62 Now, many of you know something 00:23:46.69\00:23:48.02 about geography 00:23:48.02\00:23:49.16 on planet Earth. 00:23:49.16\00:23:50.39 There is absolutely no hill 00:23:50.39\00:23:52.83 on planet earth 00:23:52.83\00:23:53.80 that continues to ascend. 00:23:53.80\00:23:56.23 Sooner or later, 00:23:56.23\00:23:56.97 what happens to every hill? 00:23:56.97\00:23:58.93 Yes, it 00:23:58.93\00:23:59.33 crests and goes 00:23:59.33\00:24:00.34 down the other way. 00:24:00.34\00:24:01.67 And it just so happened 00:24:01.67\00:24:02.67 that this hill crested 00:24:02.67\00:24:04.01 right after it got 00:24:04.01\00:24:05.07 into the parking lot. 00:24:05.07\00:24:07.14 So they are struggling 00:24:07.14\00:24:08.48 and the car is making progress, 00:24:08.48\00:24:10.05 and making more progress. 00:24:10.05\00:24:11.38 He's being active, Willie is. 00:24:11.38\00:24:13.55 He's being compassionate. 00:24:13.68\00:24:15.28 He's trustworthy. 00:24:15.28\00:24:16.35 It seems he's, 00:24:16.35\00:24:17.09 you know, 00:24:17.09\00:24:17.39 just being kind 00:24:17.52\00:24:19.05 and considerate. 00:24:19.05\00:24:20.06 And once they get that car up 00:24:20.06\00:24:21.59 to the top of the parking lot, 00:24:21.59\00:24:23.73 something very 00:24:23.79\00:24:24.53 dramatic changes. 00:24:24.53\00:24:26.76 Now, instead of being difficult 00:24:26.76\00:24:28.50 to push the car up, 00:24:28.50\00:24:29.90 the car starts 00:24:29.90\00:24:30.70 going on its own volition. 00:24:30.70\00:24:32.47 Both of them 00:24:32.47\00:24:33.07 are behind the car. 00:24:33.07\00:24:34.04 That means there is no one 00:24:34.04\00:24:35.37 in the driver's seat. 00:24:35.37\00:24:37.27 And needless to say, 00:24:37.27\00:24:38.47 that car 00:24:38.47\00:24:39.11 came to an abrupt stop, 00:24:39.11\00:24:41.14 unfortunately, at another car 00:24:41.48\00:24:43.91 in the parking lot. 00:24:43.98\00:24:45.88 So you would say, yes, 00:24:45.88\00:24:47.15 Willie's motives were all good. 00:24:47.15\00:24:48.92 But I'm glad we have 00:24:48.92\00:24:50.05 a heavenly Father 00:24:50.05\00:24:51.65 who doesn't make mistakes 00:24:51.65\00:24:52.79 like that. 00:24:52.79\00:24:53.15 Now, some of you 00:24:53.25\00:24:53.62 might be wondering, 00:24:53.79\00:24:54.66 you might say, Well, 00:24:54.66\00:24:55.29 I was following God 00:24:55.29\00:24:56.16 and it looks like 00:24:56.16\00:24:56.79 he got me into a car crash. 00:24:56.79\00:24:58.73 No, but Mark's account, 00:24:58.73\00:25:00.86 as we'll see, shows 00:25:00.86\00:25:02.16 that God is faithful 00:25:02.16\00:25:03.67 and that we can trust Him. 00:25:03.67\00:25:05.03 You see, Mark also presents 00:25:05.03\00:25:07.00 Jesus, yes, He's 00:25:07.00\00:25:08.07 a man of activity like we saw, 00:25:08.07\00:25:10.51 but he's more than that. 00:25:10.74\00:25:12.01 He is an individual. 00:25:12.01\00:25:14.24 Jesus, 00:25:14.24\00:25:14.84 the subject of his gospel, 00:25:14.84\00:25:16.51 is one 00:25:16.51\00:25:17.35 who is being guided 00:25:17.35\00:25:19.05 by the Holy Spirit. 00:25:19.05\00:25:20.38 From the very beginning 00:25:20.38\00:25:21.72 of Mark's Gospel, 00:25:21.72\00:25:23.22 you see the Holy Spirit. 00:25:23.22\00:25:25.05 The Spirit does this. 00:25:25.05\00:25:26.65 The Spirit is there. 00:25:26.65\00:25:28.16 We're going to see it 00:25:28.16\00:25:29.02 as we continue 00:25:29.02\00:25:29.82 to look at Chapter 00:25:29.82\00:25:30.69 1 of Mark's gospel. 00:25:30.69\00:25:32.53 The Holy Spirit 00:25:32.53\00:25:33.73 continues to show up. 00:25:33.73\00:25:34.63 And if you think about it, 00:25:34.63\00:25:36.00 this would relate 00:25:36.00\00:25:36.90 to the Gentile Christians, 00:25:36.90\00:25:38.10 because all of them knew 00:25:38.10\00:25:39.70 the reason 00:25:39.70\00:25:40.47 the Gospel had gone to 00:25:40.47\00:25:41.44 the Gentiles 00:25:41.44\00:25:42.14 is because of what? 00:25:42.14\00:25:43.67 It's because the Holy Spirit, 00:25:43.67\00:25:45.01 on the day of Pentecost 00:25:45.01\00:25:46.07 came down 00:25:46.07\00:25:46.88 and empowered the church 00:25:46.88\00:25:49.14 to bring the Gospel 00:25:49.41\00:25:50.48 to the Gentiles. 00:25:50.48\00:25:51.25 And even when 00:25:51.25\00:25:51.68 they were dragging their feet 00:25:51.95\00:25:53.08 sometime, like Peter, 00:25:53.08\00:25:54.65 remember 00:25:54.65\00:25:55.12 they're in the house of Simon 00:25:55.35\00:25:56.79 the tanner, 00:25:56.79\00:25:57.52 he received that vision 00:25:57.52\00:25:59.22 basically saying, 00:25:59.22\00:26:00.39 Go and minister to Cornelius 00:26:00.39\00:26:03.46 and the Gentiles. 00:26:03.59\00:26:05.26 Well, Mark's gospel 00:26:05.26\00:26:07.30 in it, Jesus emerges 00:26:07.30\00:26:09.13 as trustworthy. 00:26:09.13\00:26:10.53 Jesus emerges 00:26:10.53\00:26:12.00 as all loving, Jesus emerges 00:26:12.00\00:26:14.50 as all intelligent. 00:26:14.57\00:26:16.14 He is the divine 00:26:16.14\00:26:17.51 human, great physician 00:26:17.51\00:26:19.71 who is interested 00:26:19.87\00:26:20.74 in curing your ills 00:26:20.74\00:26:22.44 and curing mine. 00:26:22.44\00:26:23.88 And as we continue 00:26:23.88\00:26:25.08 on this journey 00:26:25.08\00:26:26.05 through Mark's gospel, 00:26:26.05\00:26:27.75 you will see that it is filled 00:26:27.75\00:26:29.95 with healing power. 00:26:30.12\00:26:31.69 It was just 00:26:31.69\00:26:32.45 what the people 00:26:32.45\00:26:33.52 in Mark's day needed. 00:26:33.52\00:26:34.92 It is just 00:26:34.92\00:26:36.12 what you and I need today. 00:26:36.12\00:26:38.46 Thank you 00:26:42.16\00:26:42.63 for engaging with 00:26:42.63\00:26:43.73 Jesus?aling 00:26:43.73\00:26:44.60 ministry as we've been looking 00:26:44.60\00:26:45.87 at healing insights 00:26:45.87\00:26:46.90 from the Gospel of Mark. 00:26:46.90\00:26:48.57 We invite you to be 00:26:48.57\00:26:49.47 a part of the healing 00:26:49.47\00:26:50.87 ministry of Timeless 00:26:50.87\00:26:52.27 Healing Insights. 00:26:52.27\00:26:53.48 There's a number of ways 00:26:53.48\00:26:54.38 you can do it. 00:26:54.38\00:26:55.11 First 00:26:55.11\00:26:55.48 and foremost is continue 00:26:55.71\00:26:56.88 to pray with us 00:26:56.88\00:26:58.28 that God would bless 00:26:58.28\00:26:59.11 this ministry, 00:26:59.11\00:26:59.85 that He would sustain us 00:26:59.85\00:27:01.12 and help us get these messages 00:27:01.12\00:27:03.39 out on a weekly basis 00:27:03.39\00:27:05.25 on the airwaves. 00:27:05.25\00:27:06.25 Whether you're watching on 00:27:06.25\00:27:07.42 a conventional 00:27:07.42\00:27:08.19 television station 00:27:08.19\00:27:09.66 or whether you're 00:27:09.66\00:27:10.49 watching online. 00:27:10.49\00:27:12.29 Another way you can 00:27:12.29\00:27:13.09 partner with us 00:27:13.09\00:27:13.86 is by sharing 00:27:13.86\00:27:14.60 our web site, www. 00:27:14.60\00:27:18.37 TimelessHealingInsights.org 00:27:18.37\00:27:20.30 is the place 00:27:20.30\00:27:20.94 where you can engage 00:27:20.94\00:27:21.74 with our free health materials 00:27:21.74\00:27:23.30 as well as the archives 00:27:23.30\00:27:24.74 of this weekly broadcast. 00:27:24.74\00:27:26.94 You can get free handouts 00:27:27.28\00:27:28.78 and you can share this site 00:27:28.78\00:27:30.51 with your friends and neighbors 00:27:30.51\00:27:32.05 so that they can benefit 00:27:32.05\00:27:33.21 as well. 00:27:33.21\00:27:34.25 And one last way 00:27:34.25\00:27:35.15 that you can help us 00:27:35.15\00:27:36.12 is joining us financially. 00:27:36.12\00:27:38.32 Thank you, for those of you 00:27:38.32\00:27:39.39 that do. 00:27:39.39\00:27:40.02 This as a listener 00:27:40.02\00:27:41.09 and viewer supported ministry 00:27:41.09\00:27:42.92 and there are many costs 00:27:42.92\00:27:44.06 that are associated 00:27:44.06\00:27:44.79 with getting this 00:27:44.79\00:27:46.16 broadcast together 00:27:46.16\00:27:47.40 and sending it out 00:27:47.40\00:27:48.50 throughout the world. 00:27:48.50\00:27:49.53 So join us 00:27:49.53\00:27:50.37 there 00:27:50.37\00:27:50.63 at TimelessHealingInsights.org. 00:27:51.07\00:27:52.53 Thank you 00:27:52.53\00:27:54.37 for your partnership 00:27:54.37\00:27:55.50 in these many ways. 00:27:55.50\00:27:56.94