Stage 1 · Day 1 of 84 · Week 1

Day 1 · One center

Do the 5-minute lesson, then read today's Gospel portion and the bridge.

Today's reading

Mark 1–2 · about 7.4 min · Berean Standard Bible

Mark 1

¹This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.” ³“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” ⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁷And he began to proclaim: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” ¹²At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, ¹³and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him. ¹⁴After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. ¹⁵“The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” ¹⁶As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ¹⁸And at once they left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹Going on a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat, mending their nets. ²⁰Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him. ²¹Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. ²²The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue: ²⁴“What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” ²⁵But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” ²⁶At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek. ²⁷All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!” ²⁸And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee. ²⁹As soon as Jesus and His companions had left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her. ³¹So He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them. ³²That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus all who were sick and demon-possessed, ³³and the whole town gathered at the door. ³⁴And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. ³⁵Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray. ³⁶Simon and his companions went to look for Him, ³⁷and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You!” ³⁸But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.” ³⁹So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. ⁴⁰Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” ⁴²And immediately the leprosy left him, and the man was cleansed. ⁴³Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning: ⁴⁴“See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.

Mark 2

¹A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home, ²they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them. ³Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men. ⁴Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat. ⁵When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” ⁶But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts, ⁷“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked. ⁹“Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? ¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic, ¹¹“I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” ¹²And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” ¹³Once again Jesus went out beside the sea. All the people came to Him, and He taught them there. ¹⁴As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him. ¹⁵While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him. ¹⁶When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” ¹⁸Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were often fasting. So people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t Your disciples fast like John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees?” ¹⁹Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. ²¹No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and a worse tear will result. ²²And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.” ²³One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along. ²⁴So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.” ²⁷Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Public domain (BSB). Printed here for offline use.

Bridge

Mark opens with Jesus as the Son of God. Crowds press in for help. Disciples leave nets to follow him. Religious leaders watch and question. The lesson's law is simple: love God with everything; he is the center.

As you read Mark 1–2, notice who each group puts at the center. The crowds want healing. The disciples follow a person. The leaders guard their place. Jesus claims the right to forgive sins and to call people. The bridge question is not "who is popular" but "who is first."

Where does today's law show up in today's reading?

In Mark 1–2, who claims the right to forgive sins?

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