Mark Twenty Questions

 1. How would you define the “good news” in Mark 1:1 and 1:15?

2. What do you suppose made men like Simon, Andrew, James, John, and Levi leave everything and follow Jesus?

3. Does it surprise you that the Son of God did not fit the expectations of the religious scribes and Pharisees in Mark 2?  Is there a word of warning there for us in terms of our expectations of God?

4. In the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4, Jesus talks about four different kinds of soil.  Which kind do you think is most prevalent in our society today?  Which one do you find yourself to often be?

5. How do we know Jesus is full of spiritual power, based on Mark 5?

6. What offense got John the Baptist in trouble and eventually executed?

7. Have you ever witnessed God miraculously provide for a need like when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish to feed a crowd?

8. Which does Jesus say it is that defiles a person – what goes into them or what comes out of them?  Why?

9. In what ways do you suppose the “yeast” of the Pharisees and of Herod stands in opposition to the way of Jesus?

10. What is the contrast between what the people were expecting in their Messiah, and what Jesus says is going to happen to Him?

11. Mark contains many miracle stories, including the supernatural experience of the Transfiguration.  Do you think it is possible to follow Jesus without believing in miracles?  Why or why not?

12. What would you tell a Christian who wants to pluck out his eye rather than be led into sin by what he looks at?

13. In Mark 10, does Jesus say it is easy or hard to enter the kingdom of heaven? Assuming you agree with Him, why do you think that is so?

14. What was the immediate fall-out of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple?

15. Where did Jesus come up with the greatest commandment(s)?  What does this show us about the continuity between the Testaments?

16. How much do you think Christians should study and reflect upon the endtimes teaching in the Bible, such as in Mark 13?  Why?

17. Who was right: the woman who anointed Jesus with a costly perfume in Mark 14, or those who criticized her?  Are there any implications from this story for the practice of our faith today?

18. Why was Peter so sure that he would not disown Christ?  Why was he so badly mistaken?

19. What do you suppose is the meaning of the temple curtain being torn in two from top to bottom at the moment that Jesus died?

20. Some churches practice “snake handling” based on Jesus’ prophecy in Mark 16:17-18.  Should we start doing that at Science Hill?  Why or why not?