Memory Text: Mark 2:27-28 KJV “27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”

Sunday, April 10 - Made for Man
Mark 2:23-28 NLT “23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of wheat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, "They shouldn’t be doing that! It’s against the law to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath." 25 But Jesus replied, "Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what King David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest), ate the special bread reserved for the priests alone, and then gave some to his companions. That was breaking the law, too." 27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath. 28 And I, the Son of Man, am master even of the Sabbath!"”
Mark 2:27 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES The sabbath was made for man. For his rest from toil, his rest from the cares and anxieties of the world, to give an opportunity to call off his attention from earthly concerns, and to direct it to the affairs of eternity. It was a kind provision for man that he might refresh his body by relaxing his labours; that he might have undisturbed time to seek the consolations of religion to cheer him in the anxieties and sorrows of a troubled world; and that he might render to God that homage which is most justly due to him as the Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Redeemer of the world.

Monday, April 11 - The Man with the Withered Hand
Mark 3:1-6 MKJV “1 ¶ And He again entered into the synagogue. And a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 And they watched Him to see if He would heal him on the sabbath day, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, Arise! Come into the middle. 4 And He said to them, [Is it] lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they were silent. 5 And looking around on them with anger, being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, Stretch out your hand! And he stretched [it] out. And his hand was restored whole, like the other. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.”
Mark 3:2 COMMENTARY THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL They sought to accuse him before the local judges or officers of the synagogue; that is, before a body of which they themselves were members. John 11:48 NKJV “"If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."”
John 11:48 COMMENTARY ROBERTSON’S NT WORD PICTURES This is a curious muddle for the rulers knew that Jesus did not claim to be a political Messiah and would not be a rival to Caesar. And yet they use this fear (their own belief about the Messiah) to stir themselves to frenzy as they will use it with Pilate later.
Acts 17:6 NKJV “But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”
Mark 3:4 NRSV “Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.”

Tuesday, April 12 - The Twelve Apostles
Mark 3:7-14 KJ21 “7 But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan. And those from around Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him. 9 And He spoke to His disciples that a small boat should await Him because of the multitude, lest they should throng Him. 10 For He had healed many, insomuch that they pressed upon Him to touch Him, as many as had plagues. 11 And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried, saying, "Thou art the Son of God!" 12 And He strictly charged them that they should not make Him known. 13 ¶ And He went up onto a mountain, and called unto Him whom He would have, and they came unto Him. 14 And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach”
Mark 3:14 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES The reason why twelve were chosen was, probably, that such a number would be deemed competent witnesses of what they saw; that so many could not be supposed to be imposed upon; that they could not be easily charged with being excited by sympathy, or being deluded, as a multitude might; and that, being destined to go into all the world, a considerable number seemed indispensable. Perhaps, also, there was some reference to the fact that twelve was the number of the tribes of Israel.
Mark 3:13-19 ESV “13 ¶ And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”
Mark 3:18 COMMENTARY THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL Simon the Cananaean. "Cananaean" means the same as zealot. It comes from the Hebrew word kana, which means "zealous." They were zealous for the Jewish law, and citing Phinehas (Nu 25:7,8), and Elijah (1Ki 18:40) as their examples, they took justice in their own hands and punished offenders much after the manner lynchers. It is thought that they derived their name from the dying charge of the Asmonaean Mattathias when he said, "Be ye zealous for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of your fathers" (1 Mac. 2:50). Whatever they were at first, it is certain that their later course was marked by frightful excesses, and they are charged with having been the human instrument which brought about the destruction of Jerusalem.
Matthew 10:5-15 God’s Word “5 ¶ Jesus sent these twelve out with the following instructions: "Don’t go among people who are not Jewish or into any Samaritan city. 6 Instead, go to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel. 7 As you go, spread this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8 Cure the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse those with skin diseases, and force demons out of people. Give these things without charging, since you received them without paying. 9 "Don’t take any gold, silver, or even copper coins in your pockets. 10 Don’t take a traveling bag for the trip, a change of clothes, sandals, or a walking stick. After all, the worker deserves to have his needs met. 11 "When you go into a city or village, look for people who will listen to you there. Stay with them until you leave that place. 12 When you go into a house, greet the family. 13 If it is a family that listens to you, allow your greeting to stand. But if it is not receptive, take back your greeting. 14 If anyone doesn’t welcome you or listen to what you say, leave that house or city, and shake its dust off your feet. 15 I can guarantee this truth: Judgment day will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city.”
Mark 16:15 ASV “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.”

Wednesday, April 13 - Jesus and Beelzebub
Mark 3:22-27 KJ21 “22 ¶ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils he casteth out devils." 23 And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise up against himself and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house and despoil his goods, unless he will first bind the strong man; and then he will despoil his house.”
Mark 3:22 COMMENTARY BY MATTHEW HENRY they insinuated that he had Beelzebub on his side, was in league with him, and by the prince of the devils cast out devils. There is a trick in the case; Satan is not cast out, he only goes out by consent.

Thursday, April 14 - Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
Mark 3:20-21 NKJV “20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard [about this], they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."”
Mark 3:31-34 NRSV “31 ¶ Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." 33 And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!”
Mark 3:34 COMMENTARY WESLEY’S NOTES In this preference of his true disciples even to the Virgin Mary, considered merely as his mother after the flesh, he not only shows his high and tender affection for them, but seems designedly to guard against those excessive and idolatrous honours, which he foresaw would in after ages be paid to her.
Deuteronomy 30:20 MKJV “so that you may love the LORD your God, [and] that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him. For He is your life and the length of your days, so that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Matthew 7:21 ESV ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
John 15:14 ESV “You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
1 John 5:3 KJ21 “For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous.”

Friday, April 15 - Further Study
Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 283 – “In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.