This is our sixth time through Mark’s Gospel, so my hope is you don’t need me to comment on chapters 1-4. You know without looking that Mark 1 tells us about John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, and the start of Jesus’ ministry. Mark 2 tells us about the healing of the paralytic, which leads to Jesus’ first run in with the religious leaders. We also find the call of Levi, and another run in with the Pharisees when Jesus’ disciples pick heads of grain on the Sabbath. Mark 3 offers us more examples of Jesus’ run ins with the religious leaders and of their decision to get rid of Him. Jesus also calls the twelve disciples to be with Him, and to be equipped to carry His ministry to the nations. Mark 4 offers us the first extended teaching section in Mark’s gospel, and Jesus offers us the Parable of the Sower (or the Parable of the Soils), and other parables of God’s Kingdom. If you have questions about any of these chapters, you can go back through the posts from this year, or by this time you might have notes in your own Bible to which you can refer. (As we read through Mark this time, you might want to read it in a different translation than the one you’ve been using. It’s helpful to see how the English translators translated the Greek into our language. The nuances and differences can sometimes add extra insights to our understanding.)