J.      A major task in serving God – bringing the truth to people 

1.       Question & Answer format

 a.      Jesus talks about fasting in Q & A format

 b.      Jesus talks about the truth of Sabbath through Q & A (Mk 2:23-28)

 c.      Jesus shared a private message with His disciples through Q & A. When the disciples learned that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus told them that they should not share this kind of message with others. He then prophesied about His crucifixion and resurrection (Mk 8:30-33).

 d.      Jesus answered the Sadducees’ questions, saying there is no marriage in heaven. Jesus directly told them that they were wrong because they did not understand the scripture (Mk 12:24). (When we speak about the gospel, we should share things concerning the future hope, not only earthly events).

 e.      Jesus preached about the greatest commandment (Mk 12:28-34). So if people asked the right questions, Jesus answered them wonderfully.

2.       Commenting on an event that just occurred

 a.      Jesus preached to the congregation after His Q & A with the disciples. The message was that man should carry his own cross to follow him. Jesus talked about the true life; the different values of this life and the life to come. He said that the decisions of this life affected our reward in the next life. He even prophesied that some of them would see the power of the kingdom of prior to death (Mk 8:34-38) (This is the message concerning life).

 b.      After the rich young man failed to follow Jesus, Jesus preached that it is hard for those who rely on the rich to enter into the kingdom of God. Jesus used the analogy of a camel entering into “the eye of a needle.” (Mk 10:23-31). It seems that Jesus’ message was always related to the event that had just occurred.  

3.       Using parables

 a.      Jesus talked about the parable of sowing seeds. He only explained the parables privately to His disciples (Mk 4:1-12). His preaching was to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies.

 b.      Jesus used the parable of the tenants to preach to the high priest, the scribes, and the elders. The purpose of the parable was to teach that Jesus knew they would kill Him. Yet the Lord would destroy the one who destroys the Lord Jesus (Mk 12:1-12) (Jesus’ sermon described the listeners’ motivation).

4.       Giving warning

 a.      Jesus gave warning concerning certain types of people in His generation (Mk 12:28). He pointed out the mistakes of the Pharisees.

5.       Speaking in a way that people could understand (Mk 4:33)

 a.      Jesus spoke about new clothing and old clothing (Mk 2:21, 22) to explain how one needs to use new concepts to understand Jesus’ teachings.

 b.      He talked about the lamp on the table (Mk 4:22).

6.       Giving spiritual meaning to ordinary events

 a.      Jesus preached about what can defile a person after His discussion with the Pharisees (Mk 7:15-23). This parable was only explained to His disciples (Mk 7:18).  While explaining, Jesus was able to give spiritual meaning to ordinary events (Mk 7:21-23).

7.       Things concerning the kingdom of God

 a.      Like seeds on the ground (Mk 4:26-29).

 a.      Like a mustard seed planted in the ground (Mk 4:31, 32).

8.       Apologetic

 a.      He defended His power to cast out demons (Mk 3:22-27)

9.       With power

10.    All loved to listen to Jesus (Mk 12:37)