Hi friend! Welcome to episode 80 of the Tending Your Soul podcast, where we invite God to tend to our souls with the refreshment of His Word like a gardener tends to her garden. I’m Mariel and I’m so glad you’re here.
As we have been tending our souls through the gospel of Mark these last few weeks, I hope you are getting to know the character of Jesus a little more. As we see the heart of Jesus it enables us to trust Him more and love Him more as we respond to His Word.
Today we will work through a few verses from Mark 3 using the TEND method of bible study. If you are new to the TEND method, I encourage you to download the free guide at marieldavenport.com/start. The TEND method is a simple and effective induct method that slows us down to know God through His Word in just a few minutes a day.
If you have not been tending through the gospel of Mark, you can lean in today and then read over the previous couple chapters of Mark for context. We are looking at more of the gospel of Mark here with reading plans and monthly videos so I invite you to check that out. There are links in the show notes.
But for today let’s begin with the T in the TEND acronym that stands for take time to pray. So pray with me and let’s ask God to speak to us through His Word.
Lord we thank you that your word is alive and active. Thank you that you reveal yourself to us through it. I pray you would help us know you more through what you reveal today and help us to live in response to that. In Jesus’ name. amen.
After we have taken time to pray we want to move to E for examine the Scripture. This is where I usually write down the verses I am tending through that day. But for our purposes here we will simply read the verses.
Today we are going to tend through Mark 3:7-12. So let’s examine the verses.
The ESV translation says:
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
In examining the verses we want to put ourselves in the scene and be sure we know the context here. This is why I tend through a whole book of the bible verse by verse over the course of several weeks or months. So it would be helpful for you to read over Mark 1-3.
We see Jesus being followed by a crowd, as He has been for a while now. Here we see Him being followed by people from various areas of the region. In previous passages we see that these crowds are following Him because of what they did for Him. He had healed then, taught them and released them from demonic activity. In this passage we see that Jesus silences the demons who were falling down before Him crying out “You are the Son of God.”
It is important to note they did not worship Him but rather their response was out of fear rather than reverence. These demons did not submit to Jesus but they had no doubt Jesus is God and so they had no choice but to fall prostrate before Him.
As we move to N in TEND and notice the lessons here, we want to begin with what is being taught about God. It is clear here that Jesus is God and demons are subject to Him as such. What else do we learn here in this passage might also be that Jesus was intentional to withdraw with His disciples. The withdrawing with them was His idea, not theirs. Jesus initiated it.
We also see that in this passage crowds follow Jesus for what He did for them, not for who He is. We will see in coming verses that there is a clear difference in those who follow Jesus for Who He is and those that follow for what He can do for them.
We also see in these verses that Jesus had authority, He is the Son of God and He orders unclean spirits.
We also can note that it can be easier to seek Jesus for what He does for us than for simply who He is. But we see throughout the Bible that seeking Jesus for what He does over who He is is NOT what He came for. Jesus initiates relationship with His disciples here because He wants them to know Him as their God and their Savior.
As we then consider how we will move to D in TEND and do what it says, we want to ask ourselves how will I respond to this today?
Am I seeking to just get Jesus to do what I want? Do I want to check the box of bible study and prayer in an effort to twist Jesus’ arm to have favor on me or to answer my prayers a certain way? Or do I want to lean in to know the heart of my Maker who loves me and gave himself for me?
Another question that seems to rise up here from these lessons is how often am I intentional to withdraw with Jesus? Just as He desired to withdraw with His disciples so they might better know Him, He desires for you and I to withdraw from our distractions to know Him. We see the example even of Jesus withdrawing with the father in the book of Mark, as well. How are you and I responding to this invitation from the heart of God?
How today can you lean in and allow God to tend your soul by His Word as you withdraw for a few minutes with Him? In just about every instance of Jesus withdrawing in Scripture, we see it isn’t for long. The crowds sought Him and the ministry demanded He keep going. But He was intentional to spend time with God…are you?
Also are you seeking to know Him for Him? How today can you slow down to notice the character of God and even thank Him for who He is?
As we slow down enough to know Him through His Word, friend, we will love Him and trust Him more and even the desire to lean into His Word will increase. I invite you to know Him more as you continue to tend to your soul here and join me for more tools to tending your soul and grow in confidence as you get to know God through His Word for yourself.
Until next time, friend, keep tending your soul.
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