Introduction: There are miracles and then there are
miracles! Recall our study two weeks ago when Jesus healed
the paralyzed guy to prove that He could forgive sin?
Miracles like that invite charges that they might be faked.
What about miracles that cannot be faked? Miracles showing
that the fundamentals of nature are under Jesus’ control?
That is part of Mark’s continuing proof that Jesus is God.
Let’s jump into our study of the Bible and learn more!
I. Sleeping Through the Storm
A. Read Mark 4:35-38. Do you love sleeping during a
storm? Listening to the rain coming down is
soothing. What is different here? (The boat is
being swamped and professional boatmen think they
are about to die.)
1. What do you think about the way the disciples
awake Jesus and ask for His help? Is this how
you would do it? (This is a typical human
reaction, they are concerned about themselves
and they want to know if Jesus is also
concerned about them.)
2. If Jesus is the Messiah, shouldn’t their first
concern be over His survival? His welfare?
3. What do you think the disciples had in mind?
Would it be sufficient if Jesus said, “Yes, I
care about you. Row harder! Bail faster!”
B. Read Mark 4:39-41. What does this suggest the
disciples had in mind? (They did not have Jesus’
solution in mind. They were simply frightened and
called out to Jesus.)
1. Did Jesus want the disciples to have a plan of
action?
2. Think about this a moment. The disciples were
professional boat handlers. They had dealt
with many storms in the past. What does this
teach us when we face serious problems in
life? (There are some problems that we cannot
solve on our own. We need to remain calm and
trust God.)
3. It appears that appealing to Jesus was the
last thing they did. Should appealing to Jesus
be our first reaction to every problem? Even
if we are subject matter experts?
C. Look again at Mark 4:41. What do you think Mark
wants us to learn from this story? (Jesus is God.
Who can call the wind and the sea, fundamental
forces of nature, to obedience?)
II. The Maniac
A. Read Mark 5:1-4 and Mark 5:6. The picture I have is
that this maniac runs towards Jesus and the
disciples just after they land after surviving the
storm. Should the disciples apply for a different
job?
1. Where would you guess the disciples are?
(Running in the opposite direction.)
B. Read Mark 5:7-8. Whose name do these demons invoke
for protection? (God! What excuse can we have for
trying to solve problems on our own?)
C. Read Mark 5:9-13. Tell me what this scene teaches
us about our choice between good and evil? What
does evil have in mind for us?
D. Skip down and read Mark 5:18-20. We have repeatedly
seen where Jesus tells the beneficiaries of
miracles to be quiet about it. Why does Jesus give
just the opposite instruction here?
III. Faith Waits
A. Read Mark 5:21-23. As you read the request of
Jairus, the father, how urgent is this situation?
(It is life and death. She is “at the point of
death.”)
B. Read Mark 5:24. Has Jesus agreed to help?
C. Read Mark 5:25-26. How would you characterize this
woman’s health problem? (It was chronic, not an
emergency.)
D. Read Mark 5:27-30. How do you feel when you are in
a hurry and you get into a traffic jam? Is this
woman an unnecessary delay in an emergency?
E. Look again at Mark 5:30. Why does Mark tell us that
power went out of Jesus? (This is further proof
that Jesus is God.)
F. Read Mark 5:34-35. What are your thoughts if you
are Jairus?
1. This is a beautiful and touching story about
the woman, but does it prove that Jesus has no
sense of priorities?
2. This week former President Trump was wounded
and another man killed at a political rally.
Trump supporters say God saved his life and
Trump detractors argue God would not save one
life and let another die. Is this the question
in Jairus’s mind – why does one live and
another die?
a. Is the question even more challenging
because the woman was in no immediate
danger of dying?
G. Read Mark 5:36-37. Jesus now controls the crowd.
Why not earlier?
H. Read Mark 5:40-42. Does the delay and Jesus’
apparent lack of priorities make any difference to
Jairus and his wife at this moment? (This answers
all of the critical questions. The delay is
absolutely no problem.)
1. Apply the teaching of this story to every
situation in which one person lives and
another dies. What is the lesson? (Faith
waits. Jesus will heal all who choose Him. The
timing of the healing will vary, but when we
are in heaven and all are healed, the delay
will not matter anymore.)
IV. Faith Eats
A. Read Mark 6:30-32. Jesus is concerned that His
disciples are not getting sufficient rest. Is that
a concern in your life? Or are you not working hard
enough?
B. Read Mark 6:32-34. Would you have Jesus’ attitude?
Or would you be upset that they were interfering
with your rest?
C. Read Mark 6:35-37. Is this fair? Jesus just agreed
that the disciples needed rest, and now He is
giving them the huge job of feeding the people who
deliberately interfered with their rest!
1. How would you view this if you were a
disciple? (I would think this is a problem
created by the crowd and they can cure their
own problem.)
2. What do you think about the attitude of the
disciples? (Why are they telling Jesus what to
do? If they learned the lesson of trust, they
would say, “What would you like us to do?”)
D. Read Mark 6:38 and John 6:8-9. In this entire crowd
there is only enough for one person to eat! Are
these completely irresponsible people? Don’t they
deserve to go hungry?
E. Read Mark 6:39-42. The Finis Dake Commentary says
that Jesus multiplied the bread to equal perhaps
twenty-thousand loaves! What does this suggest that
Jesus wanted His disciples to do when He told them
in Mark 6:37 to give the people something to eat?
1. Recall that the disciples told Jesus it would
cost too much. When you are confronted with
people in need, do you pull back because you
are concerned about the cost?
2. Like calming the storm, this is a miracle that
could not be faked. Why did Jesus decide to
perform a massive miracle when the people
could have enjoyed the spiritual blessings of
fasting? (We must not miss that Jesus is
willing to perform a miracle even over small
things. Yes, you can pray for help to find
your car keys!)
F. Read Mark 6:43-44. Why would Jesus make too much
food?
1. Are your views of what Jesus can do too small?
2. Think back to John 6:8-9. Can you be like that
boy? If you are willing to share, can your
small contribution end up being a huge miracle
in the hands of God?
G. Friend, we have skipped over several stories in
Mark 4-6. What do the stories that we studied teach
us? They teach us to trust God. Trust Him when we
think we might die, trust Him when He seems to act
illogically, and trust Him to help with even small
things in life. Will you decide, right now, to
trust Jesus?
V. Next week: Inside Out.
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
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but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.