Mark 8
-Jesus does yet another miracle of multiplication with a
large crowd of 4,000. They had been with Him for three days in a desolate place,
and the Christ had compassion on them since they had nothing left to eat and, for
some of them, had a long journey back. The disciples were slow. They had not
yet grasped the concept that the Lord could provide something out of nothing,
or very little in this instance. Jesus took seven loaves of bread and a few
small fish, gave thanks to the Father, and then had His disciples once again
distribute the food until all ate and were satisfied. Once again there were left
overs. This time seven large baskets were used to full capacity to gather the
scraps. After this Jesus sent the crowd away and entered the boat with His
disciples to come into the district of Dalmanutha, which is on the western side
of the Sea of Galilee. Here, the Pharisees came out to begin arguing with Him
seeking a sign in order to test Him. This affected a deep sigh in the Spirit of
the Messiah and a pertinent question, “Why does this generation seek for a
sign?” Then He went on, “Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this
generation.” He left them at that point, embarking to the other side of the sea
(Mark 8:1-13). On this journey, the disciples had forgotten to bring along
bread for sustenance. Only one loaf of bread was with them when Jesus
commented, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of
Herod.” The disciples were slow to understand His point, and began to discuss
the fact that they had not brought enough bread. The Lord rebuked them here for
not understanding what He was trying to teach them and for hardening their
heart. They had been short to remember that He was “Jehovah Jireh (God will provide)” and could easily feed them. He
recounted His two great miracles of multiplication, and ended the lesson with a
rhetorical question, “Do you not yet understand (Mark 8:14-21)?” One day they
would get it, but it had not yet occurred to them, even though they had seen
incredible things, that this Man was God in the flesh. He and the Father were
One, and soon the Lord would probe them some more to draw their attention to
this fact.
-A blind man was healed as they came to Bethsaida on the
north side of the Sea of Galilee. On this occasion, He brought the man outside
the village by the hand, spit on his eyes, and laid His Hands on him. The first
sight this man saw was what appeared to him to be men as big as trees walking
around. Jesus quickly laid His Hands on his eyes again to completely restore
the blind man’s sight. He then sent him home telling him not to even enter the
village (Mark 8:22-26). Again the Lord was trying not to gain a popular
following preceding His crucifixion. This would have created a civil disturbance
that was definitely not the Lord’s will. He came to bring peace, not war, with
His first incarnation. The other interpretive issue here in this section deals
with what the blind man saw when he was first regaining his eyesight. Did he
have spiritual insight into another realm? Or, was he just foggy in his
perception of his surroundings? This we may never know until we can ask in
Heaven, but it is an intriguing part of the text.
-Jesus now went north probably along some of the feeder
springs, creeks, and rivers that feed the Sea of Galilee up to the village of
Caesarea Philippi. This was a very pagan area full of demonic sacrifice and
polytheistic worship of the Hellenistic gods. Along the way, Jesus took the
opportunity to question His disciples further in regards to who He was. His
pointed question, “Who do people say that I am?” began the discussion in the
text. They were giving the common answers such as: John the Baptist, Elijah, or
maybe one of the other prophets of old. The Lord continued though, “But who do
you say that I am?” Peter, the budding leader of the group, spoke up, “You are
the Christ (anointed Messiah).” Again Jesus warned them not to tell anyone what
they were discovering about Him (Mark 8:27-30). This was an important event,
the acknowledgement of the Divine. This was truly a marker in the development
of the Lord’s disciples, but they would see more and learn more as the saga
continued.
-God began to teach them at this point that the Son of Man
must suffer many things and be rejected by the establishment in Israel. He
prophesied that He would be killed, and after three day He would rise again.
This He was stating plaining as the gospel writer goes back and recalls.
Because of this negative word, Peter pulls the Lord aside and tries to rebuke
Him. Jesus’ response is classic as He turns and sees the disciples, “Get behind
Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” At
that point He gathers everyone who was following Him and said these powerful
words, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up
his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does
it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a
man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of
him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels (Mark
8:31-38).”
-*Application* Have we acknowledged the Christ for who He
really is in our own hearts? This is truly the decisive question now, isn’t it?
The Word says that we should sanctify (set Him apart as Divine) Him in our
hearts, and be ready to defend our faith and hope with gentleness and reference
(1 Peter 3:15). It is important to note that Peter, under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, penned those Words of God at a more mature point in his life. Like
the disciples, we sometimes are slow to grasp these spiritual concepts and
lessons that God is trying to teach us. Often we are hard hearted and need to
be chiseled at to refine our thinking and spiritual response. Are we really
ready to lose our lives today for His sake so that we can gain everything in eternity?
True relationship with the King involves sacrifice and confidence before Him in
a marred world. Faith is the key to these vital things and what it all boils
down to. Is it easy to give it all away for life in Jesus? No, not at all. But,
is it worth it in the end? Absolutely, no doubt about it. We who have believed
in the Son of God and given up our lives for Him will ultimately find His favor
forevermore.
Verses to Memorize:
Mark 8:25, 33-36
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