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June 2025 Bible News Roundup

Bible Gateway
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June 2025 Bible News Roundup

Here it is, your source for all the latest Bible-related and Bible-adjacent news from the month of June 2025 — from archaeological discoveries and academic research to cultural events and conversations, developments in the global church, and more.

Updated throughout the month.

Week of June 15

  • June 17 — The American Bible Society’s latest chapter of its “State of the Bible 2025” report found a strong link between Bible engagement and flourishing, particularly among Gen Z and millennials. Daily Bible readers scored 7.9 on the Human Flourishing Index, compared to 6.8 for non-readers. Gen Zers showed improved social relationships, with scores rising from 6.6 in 2024 to 7.0. Bible engagement also increased nationwide for the first time in four years. (Christianity Daily)
  • June 16 — A new study of U.S. churchgoers reveals a complex picture. Since 2020, 38% joined new churches, mostly converts or returning from years away. Three-quarters prefer in-person worship over online, especially Catholics and Orthodox, while evangelicals are more likely to participate virtually. Black churchgoers, though less likely to attend in person, are more likely to participate in church activities. And mainline Protestants show high levels of community engagement. (RNS)
  • June 16 — Other insights from the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations project: 46% of U.S. churchgoers engage with more than one congregation. Ten percent attend a church led by a woman, 20% are members of an interracial congregation, and 37% are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Just over half (51%) identified as leaning Republican, while 34% leaned Democrat. And 87% said their faith is “very important” to them. (Religion Unplugged)
  • June 16 — Recent excavations of the Cave of Salome in Israel have reignited debate over its origins. While Byzantine Christians revered it as the burial site of Salome, a disciple of Jesus, archaeologists now propose it belonged to Salome I, Herod the Great’s sister and advisor. The tomb’s monumental size and craftsmanship, along with its proximity to Maresha, suggest it was built for a wealthy, royal figure. (Biblical Archaeology Society)
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Week of June 8

  • June 14 — A report revealed severe persecution of evangelical Christians in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, with 47 church leaders killed, many more imprisoned and tortured, and over 650 religious sites damaged, including Kyiv’s Holy Wisdom Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and symbol of Christian unity. This strategy of targeting faith communities echoes earlier Soviet-era oppression. (Christian Daily / Aleteia)
  • June 12 — The History Channel is launching a new 10-part docuseries, The Bible Revealed, which will explore major biblical events such as the Great Flood, the ten plagues, and the Garden of Eden. The series will combine insights from scholars, theologians, and scientists, in an effort to provide a blend of historical, scientific, and theological perspectives. No word yet on a release date. (RELEVANT)
  • June 12 — The 14th-century Shem Tov Bible was sold for $6.9 million in 2024 and is now on display at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. Created by Rabbi Shem Tov ben Abraham Ibn Gaon in 1312, the Bible spent centuries traveling across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. It references the lost Hilleli Codex of 600 AD, offering insights into medieval biblical and kabbalistic traditions, and is celebrated for its artistic, cultural, and historical significance. (Christianity Daily)
  • June 12 — The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) wrapped up its annual meeting in Dallas with no major reforms enacted. Proposals to abolish the ERLC, amend the constitution to bar churches with women pastors, and adopt new requirements for financial transparency all failed to pass. The SBC did, however, pass resolutions denouncing sports betting, pornography, abortion, and same-sex marriage, and reelected Clint Pressley as president, all by wide margins. (Christianity Today)
  • June 11 — The Dead Sea Scrolls are being exhibited in the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, CA, through September 2, 2025. This exhibit features two dozen scrolls, including the Great Psalms Scroll, alongside over 200 artifacts from the Second Temple period, such as the Magdala Stone and a reconstructed Sea of Galilee Boat, providing a rare glimpse into Jewish life at the time of Jesus. (Biblical Archaeology Society)
  • June 11 — Among evangelical pastors, 20% take the Bible completely literally, while 70% believe it is inspired and without errors but includes symbolic elements. Similarly, 67% of Black Protestant clergy favor the inspired-but-symbolic interpretation. In contrast, 70% of mainline pastors say the Bible is inspired but contains culturally bound or historically inaccurate material. Catholic priests are evenly split between these two perspectives. Virtually no mainline or Catholic clergy take a literalist view. (Christianity Daily)
  • June 11 — A recent analysis of the National Survey of Religious Leaders reveals varying levels of certainty in faith among clergy. While 98% of Black Protestant and 89% of evangelical pastors express unwavering belief in God, 26% of mainline and 15% of Catholic clergy said they believe in God but experience occasional doubt. Virtually none expressed being agnostic or atheist, though. These findings suggest varying levels of comfort with doubt in various traditions. (Religion Unplugged)
  • June 11 — China’s state-sanctioned churches are now required to sing Chinese Communist Party anthems before worshiping Jesus, as part of the government’s “2025 Church Music Ministry Blueprint.” Churches must also use government-approved worship songs via a designated app. Yet despite these restrictions, underground efforts like radio broadcasts continue to provide access to traditional hymns and the Gospel, offering hope to Chinese Christians. (Christian Daily)
  • June 10 — The Asian Evangelical Leadership Forum (AELF), themed “Disciple or Die 2.0,” has opened in South Korea, uniting leaders to accelerate discipleship across Asia. Organized by the Asia Evangelical Alliance, the forum focuses on a ten-year plan to double Asia’s mission force by 2035. Priorities include family discipleship, youth empowerment, mission mobilization, and leveraging AI for evangelism. (Christian Daily)
  • June 9 — Gen Z is driving a surge in Bible sales, which were up 22% in the U.S. in 2024 and nearly doubled in the UK since 2019, as young people turn to the Bible for answers amid global instability and mental health struggles. Social media influencers and hashtags like #Bible amplify the trend. But while curiosity is high, only 4% of Gen Z holds a traditional biblical worldview, highlighting a gap between curiosity and commitment. (RELEVANT)
  • June 9 — A new Pew Research report shows Islam as the fastest-growing religion globally, driven by high fertility rates and younger populations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Christianity, though still the largest religion, experienced the sharpest decline due to lower fertility rates and religious switching. The religiously unaffiliated, or “nones,” have grown to 24% of the global population, predominantly in China. (RNS / Religion Unplugged)
  • June 9 — A Church of England survey found that the Lord’s Prayer is slightly more recognizable than the iconic Star Wars phrase, “May the Force be with you.” The survey asked 2,000 people if they could match famous lines from film, literature, and history with their source. Among that group, 80.3% identified lines from the Lord’s Prayer, compared to 79.9% for the Star Wars quote. (Christian Today)
  • June 9 — The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is holding its annual meeting in Dallas this week to address several challenges. Delegates will vote on proposals allocating $3 million for abuse-related legal fees, requiring additional financial disclosures, and defunding the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). The SBC will also vote once again on whether to require affiliated churches to appoint only male pastors, in line with its doctrinal stance. (Christianity Today)

Week of June 1

  • June 7 — CURE International and Biblica have partnered to distribute over 87,000 Bibles in 22 languages to families of children receiving surgical care at CURE’s hospitals across Africa and the Philippines. These hospitals integrate spiritual ministry with treatment for complex disabilities, helping children and families experience healing and embrace faith. Funded by donors, the initiative also connects patients to Bible studies and local pastors post-treatment. (Christianity Daily)
  • June 7 — The Free Church tradition, once a persecuted minority and now the largest Protestant stream globally, celebrated its 500th anniversary in Amsterdam. Originating in 1525 in Switzerland with an emphasis on believer’s baptisms and the separation of church and state, the movement faced severe persecution but spread rapidly across Europe. Today, encompassing Baptists, Mennonites, Pentecostals, and others, it counts nearly a billion adherents worldwide. (Christian Daily)
  • June 7 — Over 10 million pilgrims have visited Rome since the start of the Jubilee Year on December 24, 2024, with numbers expected to exceed 30 million by its conclusion on January 6, 2026. Upcoming events include the Jubilee of Movements, Associations, and New Communities (June 7–8), the Jubilee of Priests (June 25–27), and the Jubilee of Youth, (July 28 to August 3), which could bring in over a million young people. (Aleteia)
  • June 6 — Brazil’s 2022 census reveals a significant religious shift, with Catholics now comprising 56.7% of the population, down from 82.9% three decades ago. Evangelicals have surged from 9% to 26.9% in the same period, especially among women and racial minorities, though growth now appears to be slowing. The census also shows a rise in the religiously unaffiliated, now at 9.3%, and growth in Afro-Brazilian religions. (Christianity Today)
  • June 5 — Influential biblical scholar and theologian Walter Brueggemann died age 92. Known for his work on the Hebrew Bible, particularly the prophets, Brueggemann authored over 100 books, including the seminal “The Prophetic Imagination.” A revered preacher and mentor, especially among mainline Protestants, Brueggemann resisted dominant scholarship trends that distanced the reader from the Bible, seeking instead to help pastors hear God’s voice within it. (RNS)
  • June 5 — In Japan’s remote Nagasaki islands, the unique traditions of Hidden Christians, who preserved their faith in secrecy during centuries of persecution as portrayed in the book and movie Silence, are nearing extinction. With most practitioners now elderly, younger generations moving away, and persecution no longer a concern, the rituals and communal bonds that sustained this faith are fading. But efforts to document and preserve its heritage are underway. (RNS)
  • June 5 — In Nigeria’s Benue state, Fulani herdsmen have killed at least 86 Christians in recent weeks, prompting calls for a military emergency. The attacks have left villages devastated, with homes burned and residents displaced. Local leaders accuse security forces of inaction, despite military checkpoints near attack sites. Nigeria remains extremely dangerous for Christians, with thousands killed annually, as highlighted by the 2025 World Watch List. (Christian Daily)
  • June 4 — Cambridge University Press is celebrating 100 years of its iconic KJV Cameo Bible with a Centenary Edition featuring luxurious golden brown calfskin leather, which will develop a unique patina over time. Known for its elegant design and practical reference tools, the Cameo Bible was first released in 1925 for the casual sum of £2,297 (roughly £130,000 or $175,000 today). The Centenary Edition will debut at a rather more modest £235 / $350. (Christian Today)
  • June 4 — Together with other religious minorities, Christians in India are rallying against rising violence and discrimination under the Hindu-nationalist BJP government. The Christian Rohingya community in Delhi, for example, has been facing a severe crackdown, with refugees detained and deported under harsh conditions. The “show of unity,” which has received support from Muslim and other tribe and caste groups, will be held nationwide June 9. (Christian Today / Christianity Today)
  • June 4 — With up to 100,000 U.S. houses of worship at risk of closure in the next decade, some suggest social enterprise as a solution. By generating revenue and reducing costs, faith institutions can repurpose underused spaces like sanctuaries, halls, and kitchens for community services or rentals such as preschools, pickleball courts, or food businesses. Larger projects, like mixed-use developments, are also gaining traction. (Religion Unplugged)
  • June 3 — Get ready for a new kind of Bible influencer. AI “filmmaker” PJ Accetturo has ignited controversy with viral AI-generated videos reimagining Bible characters as modern influencers, such as Jonah vlogging (video blogging) from inside a whale. While some praise the creative attempt to engage with younger audiences, others criticize it as “cringey” and sacrilegious. Either way, this is surely just the beginning of AI’s influence on faith-based storytelling. (RELEVANT)
  • June 3 — A report by the Evangelical Alliance, based on 280 UK adults who became Christians in the last five years, found that a welcoming church (59%) and Bible reading (47%) were the key factors in helping them explore Christianity. Other influences included spiritual experiences (39%), small groups (42%), and the actions of Christians (38%). Many began exploring faith due to dissatisfaction with life (37%) or seeking meaning (34%). (Christian Today)
  • June 3 — In other pastor research news, a Lifeway Research study found that only 1.2% of evangelical and Black Protestant pastors leave ministry annually, a rate unchanged over the past decade. Most departures are due to a change in calling (37%), but burnout (22%) and church conflict (23%) also play a part. Despite often feeling overwhelmed (57%) or isolated (34%), 91% of pastors believe they can stay in their current roles as long as they wish. (Christianity Today)
  • June 3 — Recent studies of U.S. churches reveal a paradox: While 70% of U.S. congregations have 100 or fewer attendees, the largest 9% of churches account for half of all churchgoers. Similarly, while the average church has 70 active members, the average churchgoer worships in a congregation of 360. Despite higher per capita giving and volunteerism, small churches face financial instability and aging memberships. Many expect to close within 10 years. (Lifeway Research)
  • June 2 — American football team the New York Jets’ head coach introduced Bible study sessions as part of the team’s training program. The initiative was revealed through one player’s Instagram post sharing his 5-question worksheet on 1 Timothy 1:12-20. The post generated mixed reactions online, with some fans and players praising the spiritual focus, while others raised concerns about its appropriateness in a professional sports setting. (RELEVANT)
  • June 2 — A recent study led by Dr. Will Gervais of Brunel University London suggests that even in secular societies, atheists may intuitively favor religion over atheism. The research, which involved placing 3,800 participants from eight low-religiosity countries into moral judgment scenarios, found participants were 40% more likely to view actions leading to atheism as intentional harm compared to those promoting religion. This bias persisted even among atheists. (Christian Today)
  • June 2 — Churches across the UK are gearing up for a 36-hour prayer marathon over Pentecost weekend (June 6-8), as part of the Shine Your Light 2025 evangelism initiative. Organized by the National Day of Prayer and Worship (NDOPW), the event aims to unite believers in prayer and outreach amidst national division. The prayer session will include both online gatherings and activities hosted by local churches. (Christian Today)
  • June 1 — A new pope was elected, old graves were exhumed, and old controversies are new again in the World Evangelical Alliance. It was the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, and there were gatherings and conferences of the African church, Chinese church in diaspora, Evangelical Press, and more. All that, plus the world’s largest Bible page — catch up on the biggest, strangest, and most inspiring Bible and church news stories of May!

View news archives here.

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What Is the Gospel? Five Views in Conversation

Michael F. Bird and Jason Maston
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What Is the Gospel? Five Views in Conversation

The gospel is something that every Christian should know, understand, and be able to articulate on the spot.

We are baptized in the story of the gospel, and the Lord’s Supper is a regular celebration of the gospel. We habitually read from books called “Gospels.” We are told that we should support evangelism — that is, the active promotion of the gospel. Our churches sponsor missionaries and parachurch ministries whose primary business is the advancement of the gospel. There is even a broad Protestant coalition called “Evangelicalism.” The evangel, the gospel, is so ubiquitous that its content and concerns should be self-evident to all people of Christian faith.

What Is There to Debate?

And yet the topic of the gospel, what one might think is undebatable, is debated. Yes, we all agree that the gospel has something to do with God and Jesus, salvation, and faith, but after that it can get contentious and confusing. Theologians and pastors disagree on what the gospel is in essence, what to emphasize in the gospel, what problem the gospel is trying to rectify or remedy, how we should respond to the gospel, and what the implications of the gospel are for the church, mission, individual piety, and everyday life.

No wonder there is an industry of books trying to clarify the substance of the gospel, its meaning, and entailments for contemporary audiences.

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The complexity over defining the gospel is not merely a result of our unsanctified souls, a deficiency in religious education, or even a creeping worldliness in the church. Discussion over the gospel is generated by the very necessity of articulating it for diverse audiences.

The gospel is not a mathematical formula. It is more like the performance of a dramatic story about God and his Son, and all performances have to be scripted, interpreted, translated, and communicated to audiences.

Facilitating the Conversation

In this article, and the book (Five Views on the Gospel) on which it’s based, we are pursuing a multi-perspectival exploration of the gospel: its biblical foundations, its meaning, and its various entailments.

We have assembled a fantastic and diverse collection of authors, each of whom have a deep love for God, an abiding faith in Christ, a commitment to advance the gospel, and a history of Christian service. They are at the top of their respective fields when it comes to scholarship, and they hail from diverse traditions and contexts. Now, we are bringing them all together to explain and explore the gospel both individually and as part of an ongoing conversation.

Obviously, we have not been able to incorporate every single perspective, tradition, and theology into this discussion. But what we have included is, we think, a diverse sample of views that will speak to churches, mainly Protestant churches in the Anglophone world, and help them think evangelically about the gospel.

The views included in this discussion are:

  • King Jesus: A view of the gospel rooted in Scripture’s storyline that places an emphasis on the identity of Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
  • Reformation: A view of the gospel indebted to the legacy of the Reformation that places emphasis on God’s grace, justification by faith, and union with Christ.
  • Wesleyan: A view of the gospel that accents the free offer of grace and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.
  • Pentecostal: A view of the gospel that focuses on Jesus and the Spirit as the power for faith, forgiveness, and freedom.
  • Liberation: A view of the gospel that centers on the holistic redeeming and liberating work of the gospel and how it addresses the entire human condition.

A Summary of Five Gospel Perspectives

Following is a summary of the five different perspectives on the gospel explored in this discussion.

King Jesus Gospel

According to Scot McKnight, the New Testament gospel is indebted to the storyline of Scripture, a story that climaxes in the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, the king, who rescues his people and makes them his royal subjects. What is more, the gospel is something that Jesus preached, it was a gospel about a kingdom, and a kingdom is a people ruled by a king.

The context for understanding the gospel is the intrusion of evil into the world, the eschatological promises for redemption given in Scripture, and the empires of the ages that represent the sum of anti-God forces in our world. McKnight believes that the gospel calls for people to surrender to God in faith, embrace the lordship of Jesus, and live out the gospel story of healing and hope in our own everyday lives.

The biblical texts that McKnight regards as paramount for understanding the gospel are Isaiah 40:3, Mark 1:15, Acts 2:36, 38, 13:38–39, and 1 Corinthians 15:3–5. The impact that the gospel makes is for believers to submit to Christ by adopting a pattern of life typified by Christoformity with cruciformity.

Reformation Gospel

Expounding the Reformation Gospel position indicative of the Calvinistic and Westminster tradition, Michael Horton takes as central Jesus’s work as prophet, priest, and king, who imputes righteousness to believers, taking them from condemnation to righteousness. He closely coordinates the gospel with a forensic understanding of justification by faith.

Viewed this way, the context of the gospel is the biblical narrative of plight and solution, with the plight construed as curse and condemnation, and the solution construed as righteousness and eternal life.

The texts that Horton regards as the most salient for his case are Luke 18:9–16, Acts 15:8–11, and Romans 4:3–6, with manifold references to Romans and Galatians along the way. For Horton, the gospel demands faith, not a passive faith but a faith that yields holiness and obedience. To live a life worthy of the gospel means, under Horton’s Reformed perspective, to ensure that faith operates in, through, and for love.

Wesleyan Gospel

The Wesleyan Gospel as articulated by David A. deSilva is the one that has currency in Methodist circles and various holiness movements influenced by John and Charles Wesley. For deSilva, the gospel is the story of how God’s grace undoes the penalty and power of sin and concurrently draws us into a life of holiness.

The context for the gospel is the conviction that human beings have failed to worship God and need a change of heart to render to God the holy worship due to God as our Creator and Redeemer.

Several texts are central in that articulation for deSilva, including John 3:3, Romans 6:1–11, 13:11, and Hebrews 12:14. He sees the gospel calling people to faith, the experience of new birth, a sense of assurance, with the Spirit given as a power toward perfection. Believing the gospel should result in intentional discipleship, a reliance on the Holy Spirit, divesting oneself of sin, and investing in a Christian community.

Pentecostal Gospel

Julie Ma advocates for a Pentecostal Gospel shaped by her Asian heritage and ministry experience and resourced from the Pentecostal tradition. Ma contends that the gospel is principally concerned with the liberating work of the Holy Spirit.

The gospel meets our need to escape marginalization and to receive blessings. Human beings are alienated from God and need to return to the abundant, precious blessings that God designed us to enjoy. What stands in the way is not only our sin but the sinful institutions and structures around us.

Biblical texts that strike Ma as important include Luke 4:18–19, Acts 1:8, 2:1–12, and 1 Corinthians 12:7–9. The benefits that the gospel confers are empowerment for our own participation in the mission of God in our world. The result of our gospel-experience should be, argues Ma, a holistic spirituality where we seek to care for each other in body, mind, and spirit.

Liberation Gospel

Shively T. J. Smith presents a Liberation Gospel in the tradition of African-American experience and religious testimony. For Smith, the fact that Jesus died a slave’s death means that the gospel is concerned with liberation, both spiritual and social, to set people free from the forces of death and exploitation.

The context for the gospel is the human experience of depravation caused by our own sinning and deprivation caused by the sinful behavior of others. Manifold texts speak about the human experience of illness, poverty, ethnic and racial discrimination, gender bias, social-class stratification, dispossession, disinheritance, and marginalization. Thus, for Smith, biblical texts that she finds important are stories like the good Samaritan from Luke 10:25–37 and others that speak about and emphasize human dignity and accompaniment as a necessity for resolving human misery, exploitation, and struggle.

The gospel, then, should drive persons toward caring for others and dismantling systems that harm people and even creation itself. Smith believes that when the gospel is practiced, it results in the witness of inclusion, equality, and freedom. An essential benefit of the liberation gospel, in Smith’s mind, is championing our moral responsibility to each other.

The Goal Is Knowing God Better

The aim of this conversation is not to problematize the gospel, not to make the gospel opaque or obtuse by inundating readers with a myriad of perspectives or by burying them in scholarly details. Quite the opposite.

The objective of this conversation is to help readers appreciate the richness and depth of the gospel, to grasp the different ways the gospel can be proclaimed and applied, to notice diverse scriptural witness to the gospel, to exhort the churches to attain clarity and conviction about the gospel, and to consider the ministry of the gospel as a task that the entire church, both lay people and clergy, have responsibility to undertake.

The gospel requires knowing, teaching, preaching, guarding, going, giving, living, and loving in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Accordingly, the objective we are pursuing is that readers may come away from our book knowing God better (see Eph. 1:17) by wrestling with the manifold wisdom of God as it is given to us in the gospel, so that we might better delight in the gospel, live a life worthy of it, and carry it with us in our life, work, and service.

Cover of "Five Views of the Gospel"

Adapted from Five Views on the Gospel, edited by Michael F. Bird and Jason Maston.

Presenting a variety of contemporary and tradition-based perspectives, each contributor in Five Views on the Gospel answers key questions about the nature of the gospel. The CounterPoints format provides a unique opportunity for each contributor to set forth their own understanding of the gospel, to interact with competing perspectives, and for the editors to sum up points of agreement and disagreement and a path forward in the debate.

Why Does Jesus Pray? And What Can We Learn From the Way He Prays?

Sam Storms
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Why Does Jesus Pray? And What Can We Learn From the Way He Prays?

There’s something extraordinarily mysterious about the prayer life of Jesus. Although fully human (John 1:14), Jesus is simultaneously the second person of the triune Godhead. He is in perfect fellowship with the Father and the Spirit. What they know and do, he knows and does.

So, why then does he so often pray to the Father? What need is there for this? We know that Jesus came to accomplish the Father’s will (John 5:30; 6:38–40) and always does what the Father desires and never sins. So, what possible reason could he have for praying to the Father?  

Why Does Jesus Pray to the Father?

The answer to this question is found in the truth that although he was fully divine during his earthly sojourn, Jesus lived and taught and served others as a man, depending on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Although still omniscient as the Son of God, he suspended the exercise of this divine attribute so that he might live a fully human life, operating within the same limitations that we do as humans. He, therefore, would naturally seek wisdom from the Father (Luke 2:40, 52) and insight into what the Father is doing.  

When people ask, “Since Jesus was God, what can I possibly learn from his prayer life?” I remind them that in his self-renunciation (Phil. 2:6–11), he voluntarily suspended the exercise of whatever divine attributes that were inconsistent with living as a human being. He didn’t lose or forfeit or divest himself of any divine attribute. When the Son of God became incarnate as a man (John 1:14), he didn’t commit divine suicide. But he did resolve to live and minister as a man in constant dependence upon the presence and power of the Holy Spirit with whom he was filled (Luke 4:1, 14, 18–19; John 3:34).

We know that before he chose the twelve disciples, he withdrew to a mountain, “and all night he continued in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12 ESV). But why? What could he possibly be asking from the Father? Could it be that he sought wisdom and guidance in knowing whom to choose to be his apostles? Undoubtedly, yes! Following his long night of prayer, the first thing he did was to choose twelve from his disciples, “whom he named apostles” (Luke 6:13).  

You might be inclined to wonder what possible relevance all of this has for us. Jesus is Jesus, after all, and we are not. He was both God and man, and we are but men and women. His example is designed to encourage us as we pray. In his prayers, we see a human seeking guidance, power, insight, and sustaining strength from the Father. Jesus models how to pray for all we need to carry out God’s calling on our lives. Just as Jesus drew strength from the Holy Spirit, so should we. Just as Jesus sought his Father’s input, counsel, and guidance, so should we.  

For What Does Jesus Instruct Us to Pray?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed his followers to love their enemies and to “pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44; see Rom. 12:14). You might think that the prayer would be for them to cease their persecution, but I suspect that Jesus had something more redemptive in mind.

For Our Enemies

Certainly, he wants us to pray for the conversion of our enemies. Our fleshly temptation is to summarily dispense them into hell, that they might suffer for their sins. But we who ourselves deserved to suffer in this way have been mercifully forgiven. Similarly, we should pray that the Spirit regenerates their hearts and leads them to faith and repentance. Whatever Jesus had in mind when he issued this exhortation, I’m certain he envisioned our prayers for their spiritual welfare. 

For More Holy Spirit

Jesus also encouraged us to pray for more of the Holy Spirit, for more of his work in our hearts, for more of his power for ministry, for more of his enlightenment that we might more clearly see and understand the blessings that are ours, that we might be ever more progressively conformed to the image of Jesus (Luke 11:13). The striking thing about this prayer is that it is the one example given of what happens when we continue to ask and to seek and to knock in prayer. Our “heavenly Father” is infinitely good and generous and knows how to give good gifts to his children, preeminent among which is the Holy Spirit. 

For ‘Good Things’

The somewhat surprising thing about this prayer in Luke 11 is that it is repeated in Matthew 7, but with one remarkable difference. While Luke assures us that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask, Matthew says he will grant us “good things” (Matt. 7:11). He doesn’t specify what “things” he has in mind, but I can well imagine it would include whatever we need to resist sin, seek Christ, enjoy his presence, grow in intimacy, ward off the fiery missiles of the enemy, love others with the love with which we have been loved, and the list could go on endlessly.

The apostle Paul asked this glorious rhetorical question in Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (ESV). These “things” that come with faith in Christ are not earthly fame or fortune but whatever is needed to enhance our delight in God and to empower us in our war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

You Must Ask

Whatever “things” you most desperately need to sustain your walk with God and your ever-increasing joy in Jesus, the Father will supply abundantly. But you must ask! You have to pray! We can never expect God to do for us apart from prayer what he has said he will do only in response to our prayer. 

Cover of "Understanding Prayer" by Sam Storms

Excerpted from Understanding Prayer: Biblical Foundations and Practical Guidance for Seeking God by Sam Storms. 

Understanding Prayer is an indispensable resource, serving as both a comprehensive analysis and a practical guide for those seeking God through prayer. It offers a journey into the heart of prayer, transforming it from a mere ritual to a deeply personal spiritual experience that develops and grows our knowledge, understanding, and hunger for God. 

June 2025 Bible Verse Calendar

Bible Gateway
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June 2025 Bible Verse Calendar

Here’s your daily Bible Gateway verse calendar for the month of June! Click each link below to read the verse in your preferred translation — or download the image (or PDF) of all verse references.

God’s Word for June

Get the most out of your Bible reading — including each of the above verses — with a free trial of Bible Gateway Plus. Access dozens of Study Bibles, dictionaries, commentaries, and other resources to go deeper into every aspect of God’s Word. Try it today!

Calendar of Bible verses for June 2025

Look at the Book: 1 Timothy [Infographic]

Chris Fann
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Look at the Book: 1 Timothy [Infographic]

“Look at the Book” is Bible Gateway’s series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. In the First Letter to Timothy, Paul instructs his young representative on how to appoint godly teachers and strengthen the church in Ephesus. 

Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below. 

Summary 

In this letter Paul gives Timothy instructions for supervising the church, refutes false teachings, and guides Timothy in dealing with different groups of people in the congregation. 

  • Category: Epistle 
  • Theme: Instruction 
  • Timeline: Written around AD 62 

Key Verse 

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,” — 1 Timothy 2:5 (NIV) 

Practical and Theological

Paul gave Timothy instructions for the appointment of godly leaders and conduct in Christian worship. Timothy would also have to consider how to provide care for church members such as widows. 

Paul expresses many important theological truths, such as the proper function of the law; salvation; the attributes of God; the Fall; the person of Christ; election; and the second coming of Christ. 

7 Day Reading Guide

(See 30-day guide below.) 

Assistant to the Apostle

Paul often sent Timothy to churches as his representative, and 1 Timothy finds him on another assignment, serving as pastor of the church of Ephesus.

Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference. 

Infographic depicting major themes and content from 1 Timothy

Of Arguments About Origins: The Point of the Creation Story

Aaron Armstrong
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Of Arguments About Origins: The Point of the Creation Story

Few portions of the Bible have been as hotly debated as the creation story, which is a shame, because its message is beautiful. But this beauty gets lost in how we approach the creation narrative. At least, it gets lost in the way many Western evangelical Christians do.

When we read this passage, we tend to try to settle specific debates, and therefore focus on certain questions: Are the first chapters of Genesis recording historic events or are they akin to other ancient creation tales such as the Enuma Elish of the ancient Babylonians, or the Atrahasis Epic of the ancient Mesopotamians? Does “day” mean day as we understand it (24 hours), is it figurative language, or something else altogether? How old is the earth? And for some reason we ask, Did the first people have belly buttons?

We approach the creation account from a specific kind of apologetics standpoint. We make arguments against competing perspectives and ideologies, particularly those that reject the idea of a creator God altogether and view all life as the result of a process of ongoing, incremental changes and mutations successfully occurring over millennia, and all governed, essentially, by chance. We focus on fossil records and offer alternative explanations of current scientific perspectives. We talk about dinosaurs, make replica arks, and fund institutes that explore the evidence that this world was purposefully made.

But too often, we approach these topics defensively. We attempt to counter a narrative born from the Enlightenment Movement of the eighteenth century, a narrative that attempts to pit faith against reason, or science against Scripture. It’s a narrative that claims that reasonable people don’t believe in fanciful creation stories like what we see in the Bible. A narrative that creates a conflict out of nothing, because it’s a conflict that doesn’t exist.

Reject Red Herrings Around the Creation Story

There are reasonable discussions to be had about the relationship between science and Scripture. For those of us who grew up assuming the Enlightenment’s “faith versus reason” narrative is true, we need to have those conversations. But the debate, as it is commonly framed, is also a red herring.

After all, there is no genuine conflict between the two. Untold hundreds of scientists throughout the centuries were (and are) committed Christians. Isaac Newton, Blaise Pascal, and George Washington Carver are just a few worth mentioning. They recognized what we need to as well: Rather than faith being a barrier to scientific inquiry, faith is fuel for it — a desire to understand the world God made.

That is why I don’t buy the common framing. The faith versus reason, or science versus Scripture, dichotomy is a distraction from a much more significant issue. Or rather, a more significant conflict that revolves around the Bible’s central plot, and its central character.

The Creator and His Creation

Go back and read Genesis 1:1. Who is the first character introduced in this story? It is God, the Lord of all things. Already present; already existing. Outside of all that is. By introducing God as the preexistent Creator of everything, the Bible reveals a profound truth: All creation belongs to him. It is his.

Because he made everything, God has the right to determine how everything works. To say what is right and what is wrong. To say what is good, beautiful, and true — and what is not — in every area of existence. The flow of time. The speed at which every planet in our solar system orbits around the sun. What humans are, and what we are not. No area of creation is outside of his authority.

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And that authority isn’t limited to one person of the Trinity either. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equally in total authority over everything because all were present and involved at the beginning. The Father and the Spirit are the most apparent, with God the Father the declared creator of all things, and the Spirit of God moving, preparing for the work of creation to begin (Genesis 1:1-2).

But what about the Son? Where was he in the beginning?

John’s Gospel provides the answer as its first verse calls back to the opening line of the Bible: “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1 NIV). The Word who was with God and was God, and came into the world as the man Jesus Christ. Jesus, God the Son, “was in the beginning with God” (verse 2 NKJV), and all things were created by him, for him, and through him (verses 3, 14, 17). He sustains everything, holding all things together, with the same authority that the Father and Spirit have over creation (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3).

The Scandal of the Creation Story

That is the real scandal of the creation story. And that is exactly why people are desperate to debunk it. Or, at least, try to put those who do believe it on the defensive. People don’t object to the creation narrative because it’s ludicrous or intellectually dishonest. In truth, it is no more or less intellectually credible than the belief that the universe as we know it exists, effectively, by accident. They object because, if there is a Creator who made everything, we are not autonomous beings. If we came into the world as the result of the equation of time plus matter plus chance successfully adding up again and again and again, we are beholden to no one. We don’t have to worship, and more pointedly, obey God, because that God isn’t real.

But if the creation narrative is true, and so is the rest of the Bible’s narrative for that matter, it’s a different story. It means the God who made everything is in authority over everything — including us. He is not a distant deity content to let us run amok, doing whatever pleases us. God has a plan for his creation, a design for how it works, and a purpose he is working toward. He is so personally invested in his creation that when we tried to deviate from his plan — to do our own thing — he revealed himself to the world by entering into it as the man Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus put his authority over all creation on display with signs and wonders, forgiving sins, refuting human tradition, and even overcoming death itself. And to him, as Lord over all creation, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess his authority, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

Behold the Beauty of the Story

That is the point of the creation story. That is the point of the entire Bible: All authority belongs to Jesus. It is beautiful and scandalous. And this is what we need to remember whenever we find ourselves drawn into discussions and debates about faith and reason, or science and Scripture. There are honest discussions to be had, and we should want to have them. But they aren’t really about faith and reason. They’re about how the world works and how we were meant to live.

The story we’re told by the culture around us (and what it wants us to believe) is that we are entirely self-autonomous. That we are masters of our fates, free to define ourselves and to do as we please. It promises a kind of freedom it cannot deliver; and instead of freeing us, it stifles us.

But the story of Scripture invites us to embrace a view of the world that is bigger and brighter and more wondrous than anything mankind can imagine. One that welcomes questions and exploration, because by exploring the world we come to know better the One who made it all, the One who is in authority over all things (Psalm 8:1; Romans 1:19-20). We are meant to live under God’s authority, not our own. Under his rule, we find the freedom we seek. And our hearts will remain unfulfilled until we finally yield to him.

Excerpted with permission from Faith Simplified by Aaron Armstrong, published by Harvest House Publishers. Copyright 2025, Aaron Armstrong.

With abundant insights and engaging discussion questions in every chapter, Faith Simplified will inspire both individuals and groups to embrace faith in fresh, compelling ways. This accessible guide will help you take these truths to heart so you can understand and experience the blessings of Christianity at their fullest.

The Creator Is More Mesmerizing Than Creation: A Commentary on Genesis 1–2

Harrison Perkins
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The Creator Is More Mesmerizing Than Creation: A Commentary on Genesis 1–2

Scripture’s first words tell us what the Bible’s main point is: “In the beginning, God…” (Gen. 1:1; all quotations are from the ESV). Much of the Bible’s unfolding story is about how we, as sinners, lose sight of that main point. Our gaze quickly drifts from our Creator’s majesty to the creation’s mundaneness. Yet, we make them trade places concerning which we find more captivating. Our sin-tinted vision reverses the order of importance so that we are more amazed by the things of the world than by the things of God.

Christians have long found Genesis 1–2 to be some of the most fascinating portions of God’s Word. In our fascination, we have developed a few talking points that have become our first points of interest in this passage. We often ask things like, “How long were these days?” or “How long ago did these events happen?” Those questions are certainly important. Scripture may well have many things to say in answer to them. Nevertheless, they are not the most important questions that Genesis 1–2 should raise for us.

Our attention ought to be rapt by God himself. Scripture aims to enthrall us more with the Creator than with curiosity about the creation. Creation is good and worth consideration. But it is still less mesmerizing than the One who created it. Even in our Bible reading, we ought not give into the distraction to focus more on what was made than the One who made it. As I argue in my book, Created for Communion with God: The Promise of Genesis 1–2, these reflections aim to show us that the opening chapters of Genesis are primarily about our relationship with God.

The Refrain of Genesis 1

Repetition can turn into white noise if we hear something too much. Still, sometimes we have to rehearse things over and over to make sure they stick in our attention and in our memory. Repetition can be an effective way to emphasize some of the main notes that we want to stand out among all the others.

In the same way that Genesis 1 starts with God in central focus, the note that resounds time and again throughout this passage is about God himself. Especially if you were to read this chapter out loud, you would come away realizing that God’s actions are the plain emphasis of this account of creation.

Within the span of these thirty-one verses in Genesis 1, there are thirty-three instances of God performing an astounding action. The first event is, “God created.” (Gen. 1:1) Even then, the most prominent events that structure the development of the whole creation week are marked with, “And God said…” Ten times, this narrative’s drumbeat moves forward as God speaks (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29). God’s acts of speaking get the spotlight as the driving force of the creation week.

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Packed in between when God spoke instructions to create or to order various features of the universe, our attention is kept on God as he acts in other ways. He creates and makes (Gen. 1:1, 7, 16, 21, 25, 27). He sees, separates, and sets in place (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 17, 18, 21, 25, 31). He names and blesses (Gen. 1:5, 8, 10, 22, 28). Although creation is importantly involved in this narrative, the thirty-three events where God is repeatedly in focus show where our reflections are meant to be concentrated.

Throughout Genesis 1, God is wonderful, and creation is just his work. Creation is the effect. God is what should amaze us. Even as the creation week spills into Genesis 2:1–3, the pattern continues as God performs three more actions in completing his work, resting, and blessing. The Worker, not the work, should mesmerize us in this passage. As the beginning of Genesis pounds forward, it will not let us forget that God is the main point of this story.

Genesis 2 and the Reason We Exist

Genesis 2 blessedly gives no reprieve from reminding us that God ought to be our central consideration as we think about the creation narratives. The contours of these events are again framed by what God does. First, “the Lord God formed the man” (Gen. 2:7). Then, “the Lord God planted a garden in Eden” (Gen. 2:8). Further, “the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Gen. 2:9). Seven times in this chapter, the Lord God acts to develop the human race and how we are meant to live within the created world.

The new pieces of the story added in Genesis 2 zoom in more closely on God creating humanity and making a place for us to live. Nevertheless, God remains the main character throughout all these events. He is the one who provides for us in all things.

Genesis 2 also connects certain dots concerning the purpose of these opening chapters. On the one hand, Genesis 1 described a universal perspective on cosmic scale events. On the other hand, we readers come to God’s Word because we know it is profitable for our hearts and minds.

The more detailed account in Genesis 2 about how God made humanity as his image bearers shows how we are fashioned for a relationship with him. The “wide-angle” lens of Genesis 1 presents God in such grand majesty that it might leave us with that resounding question of Psalm 8:4, “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” God may appear in Genesis 1 so transcendent that we could doubt that he has special affection for us.

In Genesis 2, God is intimately involved in fashioning humanity and our first place to live. The needed implication of this “close angle” lens is God’s painstaking care for his people. He “formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” (Gen. 2:7) God could hardly be more closely involved with Adam than to knit dust particles in the right order to make a human being in the divine image. God personally “made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Gen. 2:9). Although less desirable plants could dot other parts of earth (Gen. 2:5), the Lord gave special attention to ensure that every individual pleasing plant sprouted in the garden that he was crafting for Adam’s home.

God was also relationally involved with humanity. He took special, vocal notice that, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). So, he crafted Eve to be the fitting companion for Adam in all that God called him to do as the first human being. God addressed Adam personally to instruct him about how to walk faithfully with him (Gen. 2:15–17). This communication shows how God was directly involved in Adam’s life, bringing Adam into personal fellowship with him.

Genesis 2 highlights God’s involvement with humanity in our origins and our first calling. God is still the main actor and the main focus of this narrative. Yet, we now have the added detail that we should see God in connection to ourselves as his people.

God Addresses His People

The traditional, conservative view is that Moses, under the Spirit’s inspiration, wrote the book of Genesis. This book was one part of the material revealed to Israel at Mount Sinai as God made a covenant with them to be his treasured people. The purpose of Genesis, therefore, was very specific concerning the first readers to whom God delivered it. God was addressing his covenant people about their relationship with him.

Creation fascinates us both as we investigate it today and as we reflect upon how it came into existence. It is meant to be marvelous. We should be impressed by everything that the universe holds. Still, creation’s majesty is not where we are supposed to stop. As wonderful and captivating as creation is, it ought to direct our eyes — and hearts — higher to the One who made it.

The creation account in Genesis 1–2 is God’s address to his people. That purpose should still be first in our consideration today. God’s Word is living and active. He still uses holy Scripture to address his covenant people today. When we take up the Bible’s opening chapters, let us not be distracted from the main point. Let us not get so fixated on what is made that we forget to contemplate the Maker. Let us remember that God is telling us about himself so that we might know him. So, let us read of creation to be mesmerized by the beauty of the Creator.

The book of Genesis brings us back to beginnings. And in the beginning, we meet God.

In Created for Communion with God, Harrison Perkins explains that the creation account of Genesis 1–2 is primarily about God and his relationship with human beings. These chapters are God’s word for God’s people, to summon us into communion with him. Perkins’s theological reflections reveal God’s glory and goodness, highlight the good news of Jesus, and encourage the soul.

Dive deeper into the many lessons of Genesis 1–2 and every other part of the Bible with Bible Gateway Plus — Bible study, made simple. Start your free trial today!

Look at the Book: 2 Thessalonians [Infographic]

Chris Fann
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Look at the Book: 2 Thessalonians [Infographic]

“Look at the Book” is Bible Gateway’s series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians clarifies some of the points in his first letter and prepares the Thessalonians for a longer wait than they had expected for Jesus to return.

Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below.

Summary

Paul encourages the believers and corrects misunderstandings that had arisen concerning Jesus’ return. He also urges the believers to be steadfast and work for a living.

  • Category: Epistle
  • Theme: Endurance
  • Timeline: Written around AD 52

Key Verse

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” — 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)

Stay the Course

Themes in 2 Thessalonians:

  • Believers will endure suffering for God’s kingdom
  • Believers must be wary of the Enemy’s deceptions
  • Believers need to remain busy doing God’s work

The life of a Christian resembles a marathon more than a sprint. We will experience setbacks, challenges, and trials tempting us to go off course and slow our pace. Paul encourages us to cling to the promises found in God’s Word.

7 Day Reading Guide

(See 30-day guide below.)

Get Right Church

Emphasis is on how to maintain a healthy church with an effective testimony in proper response to sound eschatology and obedience to the truth.

Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference. 

Infographic depicting major themes and content from 2 Thessalonians

Unveiling the Lordship of Jesus: A Bible Study on Mark 4–5

Kevin Harney
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Unveiling the Lordship of Jesus: A Bible Study on Mark 4–5

Even the brightest human minds cannot fully comprehend the universe. Scientists, artists, philosophers, teachers, musicians, and poets touch only the hem of the garment of this universe. Immense. Awe-inspiring. Mysterious. Infinite.

To read any of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) is to get a glimpse into heaven and the glory of God. When we read the Gospel of Mark, we see God on the move, in flesh, in glory.

Yes, the Bible is clear that when Jesus left the glory of heaven and took on human flesh, something was emptied and set aside (see Philippians 2:6–7). But to see Jesus is to see perfect divinity. This is why Jesus told his disciple Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9, NIV).

In chapters four and five of Mark, we see the veil between heaven and earth pulled back and realize that Jesus is truly Lord of creation — and everything in it. 

Lord of Creation

Read Mark 4:35–41.

Original Meaning 

Jesus urges his disciples to set sail for the other side of the lake. Obedience to this command requires them to leave the crowd and join Jesus in the boat. The “fishermen” disciples presumably take the lead in this regard, because they are the expert mariners. Ironically, they are the ones terrified by the unexpected storm while Jesus sleeps serenely.  

It is easy to imagine how, at the end of a long day preaching to hardened hearts, Jesus was physically exhausted. Those attuned to Scripture, however, catch a deeper significance behind his peaceful repose. Jesus’ sleep in the midst of a building and then raging storm that churns the sea all around him and fills the boat with water is a sign of his trust in God. It stands in stark contrast to the terror of the disciples.  

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The disciples do not interpret his untroubled sleep as a sign they can be untroubled as well. They don’t see Jesus’ peaceful slumber as evidence of his trust in God that will also ensure their welfare. Rather, they regard it as a token of Jesus’ indifference to their safety in their hour of need. They awaken Jesus with an indignant wail of complaint, as if he were in some way responsible for their plight. Jesus’ rest is another token of his divine sovereignty the disciples do not yet recognize, and the formidable power of the tempest is promptly overcome when he arises and speaks. Jesus answers their anxious cries by rebuking the wind with a word.  

After calming the sea, Jesus then turns to rebuke the disciples for their hysteria. In this we find that faith is clearly not something that is inborn. It can ebb and flow, depending on circumstances, and is most likely to fizzle in situations of danger. The fear of the disciples, however, does not alleviate after the storm quiets. Instead, it shifts to the person with them in the boat, who has just shown his divine control over the sea. The disciples’ awe is appropriate, but they still have only the vaguest inkling of who this man is in their midst.  

Past to Present: Deliverance Through the Storms

Reading this account of the storm in Mark’s Gospel helps us recognize we must trust in a Savior who does not deliver us from storms but through storms. Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to get out of the boat because he knew a storm was brewing. Rather, he got in the boat with them as they sailed out across the lake. He was there with them in the boat as the water rushed over the sides, but he didn’t react to it as they did.

Our faith in Jesus is not a promised refuge from the uncertainties and insecurities of the world. The truth is that there are no safe places in life. We can only find security with Jesus and a serenity that this world does not know and cannot give. We can trust that Jesus has beaten down the savage storms and there is no reason to fear anything this life can bring (see Romans 8:31–39). Our role is to get into the boat and trust Jesus to carry us to the other side.

Lord of the Spiritual World

Read Mark 5:1–20.

Original Meaning 

Wherever Jesus goes, his holy presence triggers a reaction from the unholy. The demons in this story do not cower in fear but cause the man to rush at Jesus. No one had the strength to “subdue” him. This Greek word (damazō) is used for taming a wild animal and is better translated, “no one was able to tame him.” People treated him like a wild animal, and he acted like one. He was banished from society and had to dwell with those whose sleep would not be disturbed by his shrieks echoing through the night as he lacerated his body with stones.  

In the demons’ desperate attempt to resist being cast out, they are momentarily successful in creating a standoff. Their evasive tactics consist of having the demonized man prostrating himself before Jesus. Whether this action is counterfeit worship or conniving submission, the evil spirits employ subterfuge to persuade Jesus to leave them alone. They invoke the name of God to keep the Son of God off their back — to protect themselves.  

Jesus asks for the demon’s name. However, the evil spirits evade the question by giving a number instead of a name: “My name is Legion” (verse 9). A legion was the number in a Roman regiment consisting of six thousand foot soldiers and 120 horsemen. Mark reveals to his readers in this way that the man was captive to a host of demons.  

It was popular belief in Mark’s day that evil spirits were not content to wander aimlessly about. They wanted to inhabit something. A human host was best, but wanting that, a bunch of pigs would do. This is what the evil spirits request, and Jesus grants them passage. In this, he might seem too gracious in granting the request, but it leads to the surprise ending. The very thing the demons want to avert happens. From a Jewish perspective, the scene is a joke. Unclean spirits and unclean animals are wiped out in one swoop, and a human is cleansed.

The townspeople do not seem to care that Jesus has such power. They just want him gone. Instead of giving him the key to the city, they give him a cold shoulder. The demons had begged Jesus to let them stay in the region, but the townspeople now beg Jesus to leave. But when Jesus is gone, a man transformed by the power of the Messiah remains as a witness! 

Past to Present: When Community Goes Wrong

Mark’s original readers would have noticed the detail he goes into to describe how people in the man’s community had tried to restrain him. They would also have noticed how members of this same community arrived on the scene after the deliverance to ask Jesus to leave. These details reveal that this story has to do not only with Jesus’ encounter with the demons but also with that community — a community that cracks down on madmen and protects its own. 

In fact, it is striking just how callously indifferent they are to the restoration of this man! They seem fine to have just left that man as he was, tortured and tearing himself up with stones in the graveyard. It is one thing to encounter the impersonal forces of evil in nature that run amok in an individual but quite another to encounter them in a whole community.  

This provokes us to ponder our own motivations and responses when it comes to dealing with people like this man. Are we likewise content to just let them mire in their misery — that if they are out of our sight they are out of our minds? Or do we intentionally make a beeline for their shores like Jesus did? This community opted for violent solutions to problems. We, as followers of Jesus, must opt for solutions that encompass Jesus’ way of compassion and mercy.

Lord of Health and Lord Over the Grave

Read Mark 5:21-43.

Original Meaning 

Mark first presents Jesus’ divine power over the natural world through the story of Jesus speaking to the storm and calming it. He then relates a story of Jesus speaking to a legion of demons and bringing calm to a man by casting out the demons into a herd of pigs. These stories reminded Mark’s readers that Jesus, the one they served, was truly the Lord over nature and over the spiritual world. But there is one more set of stories that Mark wants to tell. 

After Jesus returns from his journey across the lake, a synagogue official falls before his feet and begs him to come to his home and heal his daughter. Jesus agrees, but the rush to the girl’s side is interrupted by an anonymous woman. She is so desperate to be healed from her illness that she sneaks up to touch Jesus’ garments in hopes it will restore her to health.  

This woman also suffers socially and psychologically. As a ritually “unclean” woman, she would have been ostracized from Jewish society. Her plight is further compounded because she has become impoverished by wasting her living on the fruitless cure of physicians. When she touches Jesus, immediately the flow of blood stops. Jesus calls her to step out in faith and be identified. When she does, he blesses her and announces that her faith has made her well.  

One can only guess what the distraught father must be thinking about this delay. He, too, must then publicly demonstrate his trust in Jesus when the worst possible news comes. His daughter is dead. He had shown faith in coming to Jesus in the first place, and now he must continue when Jesus tells him not to fear. He leads Jesus to his house, where his faith is again challenged by the grievous chorus of those already assembled to mourn his little girl’s death.

Their skepticism puts them outside. There will be no miracles for the scornful throng. In private — with only the parents and Peter, James, and John — Jesus grasps the little girl’s hand and raises her up. Jesus does not utter some mysterious mumbo jumbo but an ordinary phrase. The offer of food shows that the child is really alive and not a disembodied spirit. The command to secrecy reveals that Jesus is not interested in turning jeers into cheers.  

Past to Present: Faith Has Many Faces

The miraculous healings in these two scenes reveal the power that comes through faith in Jesus. The synagogue official and the woman came to Jesus for healing because of their faith. They had faith in him before their healing — and that faith led to their being made well. Whether it is halting or imperfect, faith compels us to reach for God when we need healing.  

This occurs regardless of who is exhibiting the faith. The synagogue leader was in a different economic, social, and religious spectrum from the woman. He could openly approach Jesus with a direct request. The woman, however, had to slink around behind the scenes. This is why she felt she must approach Jesus from behind and merely try to touch his garments.

What Mark reveals in this intertwined story is that being female, impure, dishonored, and destitute is no barrier to receiving help. In God’s kingdom, the nobodies become somebody. This is important for us to remember. Regardless of what we think of ourselves, God sees us as his beloved children — and he is ready to help those who have faith.

From Biblical History to Modern Times

Explore the rest of the Gospel of Mark in the Mark Bible Study, based on the NIV Application Commentary series. Each study in the series employs a three-step process to help you understand both the historical meaning of a biblical text and its relevance in modern times:

  1. The original meaning section reveals the questions and concerns the author was addressing.
  2. The past to present section then explains what significance the original audience would have found in the passage and what significance you can find in it today.
  3. Finally, the questions that accompany each section will help you apply the author’s words and teachings to your own life and find meaning in them for what you are facing. 

Go deeper into your Bible Study with the NIV Application Commentary resources, including the NIV Application Bible — also available as part of Bible Gateway Plus. Start your free trial today!

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