The Gospel of Mark - Following the Master XIII
Mark 8:1-26
John Ryan
04/01/2007

"If there is one thing I can't stand, it’s not being able to understand what you guys understand – do you understand?"
Joey to Ross and Chandler – "Friends"

Mark 8:1 - In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered ...
Again, the crowds come. Do you think Jesus ever got tired of the crowds? The pressing, the hurting, the wounded, the smelly, the poor, the rich - they all kept coming and coming and coming. And again, they are hungry.

Mark 8:2-3 - 2 "I have compassion on the crowd," ...
It is apparent all through the scripture that Jesus got tired. He had to rest and get alone. He pulled away to pray and rest often. However, we never see Jesus "tired" of the crowd. What we see is "compassion". His gut was moved (the literal translation of this word) by their condition. Matthew 15:32-39 tells us he healed many with every kind of condition imaginable. For three days, this continued and no doubt the crowds grew each day. Jesus did not grow "tired" of them; rather, He wanted to feed them.

Seriously, do you think Jesus' gut is moved by your condition? Do you think Jesus, God in the flesh, who is now seated in heaven, is moved by your current situation? We may think He feels pity, frustration, or even contempt - but, Jesus' gut moved because of me? We may even think He doesn't consider me. He does.

Mark 8:4- "How can one feed these people" ...
The disciples asked a simple yet profoundly revealing question - can anyone feed these people? They questioned more than the logistics of where they were and how many people are there. They questioned the ability of anyone to meet this need. What is really strange in this whole conversation is that Jesus did not ask them to feed the disciples like last time. He just commented that He did not want to send them home hungry. The response - no one can feed them.

Questions don't hurt God or make Him hate us. However, they do reveal the place of our heart. They were overwhelmed by the crowd and the situation. The things of life blinded them to God's presence in their midst. Maybe, they didn't fully get it yet. Maybe they did, and like us, situations often seem bigger than God no matter how many times He has come through. The great thing ... Jesus did not stop to rebuke the disciples right here. He went straight to meeting the need.

Mark 8:5-10 - 5 And he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"
Could Jesus have manufactured bread from nothing or from dirt? You bet! He did not. Why? Who really knows? But, here is an observation that is true throughout the gospels and especially Mark - Jesus always uses who or what is available to meet the need at hand. Whether spit, or mud, or seven loaves, or a
tax collector. Jesus uses the ordinary to do His extraordinary work in a life.

God's reasons are usually way beyond us. God's methods usually involve us. The question isn't - What will happen if you don't allow yourself to be used? The question is - Will you miss out on being used by the God of the entire universe? Even though the disciples didn't get it - Jesus still allowed them to be a part of the miracle. How often do you and I get to be a part of God's amazing work when we truly began the process with no faith, no desire, and or no thought that God was even at work?

Mark 8:11 - The Pharisees came and began to argue with him ...
The "sign from heaven" was an old phrase that meant - "we need validation of your words that they are from God." A miracle amongst men was one thing. We need proof from heaven. Jesus refused. Why? Again, questions reveal the heart. They came to argue not to seek answers. They came and argued and argued and argued. The heart of the Pharisees was contempt for Jesus and love of themselves. They were testing to catch, to punish, and to kill.

What do the questions you are asking reveal about you?

Mark 8:12-13 - 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit ...
Jesus sighed like this at the end of chapter 8 when healing the deaf and mute man. This was a sign of deep grief and pain. Here again - deep grief and pain echo through Jesus' deep sigh. He was grieved over their hatred and most of all that their sin led many others away from God. So he left.

Do you understand that your sin grieves the heart of God? (Ephesians 4:29-32) Our God created emotions and has them Himself. He is holy in His emotions, but nevertheless, He has them. He does hurt when we sin and not for selfish reasons, but because He knows the consequence of sin.

Mark 8:14-21 - 17 Do you not yet perceive or understand?
As they cross over Galilee again, the disciples realized they forgot to bring food.
Jesus is teaching about the evil intentions and fruit of the Pharisees and those that follow Herod. Leaven was long associated with sin. It is small and a little affects the whole loaf. Such is sin and now Jesus is saying such are these.
The disciples miss the point and are focused on - no food! Their mind and their hearts did not yet fully understand who Jesus was and therefore what He could do. They had been around Jesus, learned about Jesus, and even witnessed the effects of Jesus on others. Somehow - all this had not yet fully penetrated their hearts and minds.

Following the things of Jesus does not put the life of Christ into our lives. Attending church, hearing truths, watching others, and even seeing God work in others does not equal Christ in you - changing your life. They were still blind, dull, and without understanding. This would come. But, it had not yet come. The evidence Jesus spoke to - they were consumed with the temporal - Jesus was focused on the eternal. They were focused on how big their problem was - Jesus was focused on how big God is!

Mark 8:22 - And they came to Bethsaida.
Bethsaida had already been condemned by Jesus for its unbelief (Matt 11:21-24). This was a wicked, evil, and cold hearted area on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is on His way north to Caesarea Philippi for a specific purpose that we will see next week. However, even in this evil and unbelieving place - Jesus changes one man forever that was brought to Him.

Again, we see people bringing a man to Jesus. Can we? Yes! How can we?

Mark 8:23 - And he took the blind man by the hand ...
Jesus' method can often be troubling to our minds and hearts.
1) Here he leads a man away from city that needed Him (Bethsaida).
2) He spits in the man's eyes!
3) He seemingly only half cures the man? Could God not cure eyes He made?

1) God is holy is perfect of His judgment. Obviously Bethsaida had been judged. However, God is also perfect in His love. Jesus gets this man alone. The God of all creation alone with one of His creation. Jesus answers our first question - He does care about our (my) condition.

2) His methods should never be the issue. It Jesus and His love and rule of us that is the issue. Spitting in the face of another was demeaning yet Jesus used this to bring healing. Why? Why do we live in the realm of trying to determine why God did a certain thing a certain way? We do because we want to know the formula. We believe there has to be a pattern we can follow to get what we need from God. We can do it. God rarely works by formulas; rather, He works by His goodness and always with the greater good of His glory and your transformation in mind.

Can you imagine the shock and confusion in the man when Jesus spat on him? Ultimately, the man had to submit to what Christ was doing even if he did not understand. Will you submit to Him even when you don't understand? His greater good is first about His glory (the fullness of His greatness being shown). Second, it is about transforming you into His image. That requires your complete obedience to trust and follow Him as He does this. Often confusing methods are about teaching submission.

3) God's power is never thwarted by man. God chooses when and where His power will be displayed. This could have been a parable for His disciples on spiritual blindness. This could have been one more step in submission for the man. Either or, the man was healed who had not seen family or friend in some time and God's glory was shown.

When we long for formulas we long for control. When we surrender to Jesus Christ we submit to His love, His ways, His rule - even when it doesn't make sense. Ultimately, we will learn to trust that His greater good is at work - His glory and our transformation.