Blog #1: MIRACLES OF HEALING IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK

Posted by John I. Penn on 6th Jan 2022

John I. Penn, D.Min.

January 6, 2022

Perhaps you are looking for a New Testament Bible study to begin the New Year. Let me recommend my book, Miracles of Healing in the Gospel of Mark. I have always been fascinated by the healing miracles of Jesus. Healing interests me because this is my primary spiritual gift. This may be your gift, also. Mark showed me something about the healing miracles of Jesus that I had never seen before.

What was significant to Mark and what captured my spiritual imagination was his interpretation of the healing miracles. He made it clear to the readers that Jesus clearly understood the redemptive implications of his mission as the Jewish healer-redeemer. Jesus fully embraced his Messianic mission to bring salvation to the Hebrew people, and through them, to the world. He would become the perfect sacrificial lamb of God to bring about the restoration of fallen humanity. In and through him, God’s good creation would be restored.

Now, if that did not whet your spiritual appetite, read on. Mark further shows that through Jesus' sacrificial death, God would create a new covenant of grace, which could be acceptable to both Jews and Gentiles. The healing miracles demonstrated the defeat of sin, sickness, death, and the evil influence of Satan's demonic forces. Jesus did this by removing our sins and taking the consequences of our sins upon himself, nailing them to the cross. All of Jesus' healing miracles were interpreted similarly. I found Mark's gospel both inspiring and informative, allowing me to see the heart, love, compassion, and mind of God for His creation.

Miracles of Healing in the Gospel of Mark opens up a brand-new world of understanding why God made healing central to the mission and kingdom work of Jesus and the early Christian church. I designed a study of sixteen Healing Moments for individual or small groups in my book. Each of the sixteen Healing Moments looks at one of the healing passages of Jesus recorded in Mark's gospel. I have also written a Leader's Guide to help you get the best experience in using this resource.

A must-read in the book is my interpretation of why Mark left the first mission field of Paul and Barnabas. Mark left the mission field not because he was a mommy's boy or because the mission was too complex and dangerous for young Mark, as some scholars would have us believe. He left the missionary journey because he had an epiphany while on the mission field.

Go online and read inside the book on Amazon.com. In the Introduction and in Healing Moment One, why Jesus' first public ministry task was to confront and defeat the demonic activity of Satan's demons. In discovering this, you will learn why healing is central to Jesus' mission and ministry and the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Everyone who registers on my website (below) or purchases Miracles of Healing in the Gospel of Mark will receive a 20% discount on both the book and the Leader's Guide. Used the CODE: Guide.

Until next week, Happy New Year! Next week, I will provide an excerpt from Healing Moment One, THE HEALING POWER OF JESUS' WORDS. To buy my books, go to: https://www.my-book-store.com/.