Mark 8

Mark 8:1

For three days, the multitude had hung on His every word. They had stayed at His side, taking in His teaching, receiving His ministry. And because they had done so, Jesus wanted to feed them lest, without nourishment, they be unable to return to their homes. It is my opinion that this understanding has been somewhat lost. All too often, it seems, the church feels a responsibility to feed people physically before she can impact them spiritually. Scripture, however, gives us no such precedent. Jesus always fed those who were already being taught and instructed. And Paul says, “Do good to all menbut especially, particularly to those of the household of faith” (see Gal_6:10). “Silver and gold have I none,” said Peter to the beggar asking for alms (see Act_3:6). Yet because just a few verses earlier, we read that everyone in the early church sold all of their goods and laid the money at the apostles’ feet, it is highly likely that Peter and John had access to a great deal of money. Why, then, would Peter say, “Silver and gold have I none”? It is my belief that he was saying to the beggar, “For you, we have neither silver nor gold. Your need is not silver and gold. Your need is to stand up and walk.” And a great miracle followed. So, too, sometimes we feel the need, or others ask us to pray on their behalf for a physical solution to a physical need. But what will it profit us if we gain the whole world but lose our soul (Mat_16:26)? Because the fundamental issue is to be able to stand strong in the Lord and walk with Him, any other answer to prayer pales in comparison.

Mark 8:4

There’s a remarkable similarity between this story and the one that took place in chapter 6, where we read that Jesus had miraculously fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. Yet here we see the disciples say to Jesus, “How are You going to satisfy these men?” Were the disciples that forgetful? I believe the answer lies in the term “these men"the men of Decapolis. Decapolis was comprised of ten cities on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. The people of Decapolis had their own government, had adopted Greek culture, and willingly lived under Roman authority. This would mean that this crowd of four thousandunlike the previous crowd of five thousandwas primarily Gentiles.

And perhaps this explains the disciples’ question when they said to Jesus, “How will You feed these men? We can see You doing a miracle for our people, the Jews, but not these guys!” The Lord has a wonderful way of working through, working with, working on all kinds of people. Jesus, the Bread of Life, was given to the five thousand, to the Jews first, just as the promises were given to them when the covenant was established in the days of Abraham. But then, beginning with the Incarnation and into the birth of the church, the Bread of Life was made available to the four thousand, to the Gentiles, to us.

Mark 8:9

Four being the number of the earth, this speaks further of the Gentiles.

Mark 8:10

Jesus had just fed four men. Before that, he had opened blind eyes, healed lepers, worked powerfully. Yet the Pharisees had the audacity to say, “Show us a sign to establish Your validity.” No wonder He sighed deeply. Signs do not produce faith. They only produce a craving for more signs. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom_10:17). How does your faith grow? Not by seeing miracles, but by studying the Word.

Mark 8:13

The leaven of the Pharisees speaks of legalism. The leaven of Herod refers to the Herodians who were trying to bring about righteousness through political rule. Jesus would also speak of the leaven of the Sadducees, which is liberal theology. Legalism, politics, liberal theologylike leaven, each of these tendencies can start small and innocently, but grow to impact the entire Body.

Mark 8:16

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,” James tells us (see Jas_1:5). Instead, these disciples reasoned among themselves, and came up with the wrong answer.

Mark 8:17

Jesus makes it clear that there is a direct correlation between a hardening of heart and a failing of memory. When does my heart become hardened toward the Lord? When does my heart begin to lack the fire of faith? When I forget the bread the Lord provides for me every day. My faith is strengthened and my heart softened not only through an awareness of the daily bread He provides for me but also through the broken bread of His Body. “Do this in remembrance of Me,” Jesus said (see Luk_22:19). Consequently, whenever I partake of the broken body, the bread of the Eucharist, the table of Communion, I am reminded once again of the Lord’s provision for the greatest need I will ever havethe need of salvation.

Mark 8:22

Like this man, we were once blind spiritually. Blinded by Satan, the god of this age, we could not see. Church seemed weird to us, the Bible incomprehensible, Christians bizarre. But then someone extended an invitation to us to come to Jesusand a miracle was set in motion.

Mark 8:23

As noted previously, I believe one of the main reasons Jesus led the man out of town was to avoid the frenzied atmosphere often associated with healing ministries. In the Hebrew culture and much of the ancient world at this time, spit was thought to contain medicinal value. Therefore, in applying spit to this man’s eyes, Jesus seems to be putting His seal of approval on the use of the medical technology of any given day. Sometimes when I cut my finger and watch the blood coagulate, I marvel at the ability of my body to seemingly heal itself. Other times, when I have a pounding headache and down a couple of aspirin, I marvel at modern medicine. Still other times, when I’m hurting physically, a couple of brothers will lay hands on me and prayand I marvel at the power of prayer. But it is not prayer that heals. It is not medicine that heals. It is not our own body processes that heal. It is God who heals. And as God, He can utilize prayer, medicine, and our natural body processesor any combination of the three.

Mark 8:24

I love this man’s honesty with Jesus. He saw the Lord, but he didn’t yet have an ability to see people properly. And therein is a lesson. When you and I were touched by the Lord and saved, our eyes were opened. And yet even though we were now able to see Him, our healing was not complete until we could also see people clearly, for if we love God but hate our brother, we miss the mark entirely (1Jn_4:20). Many of us have no problem loving God. But there are some people who seem like trees to us. They “stump” us. We wish they would “leave.” We try to cut them down. It might be a father who ignored you. It might be a husband who divorced you. It might be a boss who fired you. It might be a friend who deserted you. “What is the greatest commandment?” they asked Jesus. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength,” He answered. “And the second is like unto it,” or literally, “There’s a second part to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (see Mat_22:35-40). Loving God and loving our neighbor are inextricably linked. But how are we to love those we see only as trees? Read on.

Mark 8:25

The fact that this man needed to be touched twice encourages me in my own areas of need. Be it with regard to physical healing, spiritual help, material provisionsometimes we need to pray for a second touch, a third touch, a tenth touch. Sometimes we must keep coming back to the Lord over and over and over again. You might have been doing well physically as a result of the Lord’s help and healing touch. But then the difficulty returned. Seek Him again and continue on until you’re totally healedeven if that total healing won’t take place until you get to heaven. When did the man see not only Jesus but also every man clearly? When Jesus lifted his head toward heaven in the posture of prayer. That’s the key. Jesus told us to pray for our enemiesthe people who bug us, bother us, or hurt usto pray for those who despitefully use us (Mat_5:44). I have found that when I pray for people, something begins to happen miraculously. My feelings towards them change. No longer can I hold a grudge against them. No longer can I get upset with them. When I’m lifting my head toward the heavens and communing with the Father, it’s impossible for me to be bitter. Pray for the people who bug you. While they might not change, you definitely will! Will we be able to love people perfectly? No, for although we are to look up in prayer, it is not until we are called up to heaven at the moment of the Rapture that we will see perfectly the things that presently confuse and perplex us (1Co_13:12). What a day that will be!

Mark 8:27

“Christ” is the Greek word; “Messiah,” the Hebrew word. They both mean “Anointed One.”

Mark 8:30

Matthew tells us that Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah. Flesh and blood have not revealed this unto you, but My Father which is in heaven. And upon the rock of your confessionthe revelation that I am MessiahI will build My church” (see Mat_16:17-18).

Mark 8:31

Jesus didn’t begin to teach His disciples about rejection, suffering, or the Cross until it was first revealed to them that He is the Christ. So, too, in my opinion, it is a mistake to try to explain the necessity of the Cross to those who don’t first understand that Jesus is the Christ. Our first objective in sharing with people must be that they understand who Jesus is.

Mark 8:32

The original language makes it clear that Peter continually rebuked Him. “Come on, Lord,” Peter could have said, “cut out this talk about crucifixion and rejection, suffering and pain. You’re the Christ. Let’s talk about health and wealth, prosperity and the kingdom!” But there is no crown without the Cross. Jesus knew the Cross was part of the plan from the beginning of the world to provide for our redemption. Jesus always sees the big picture.

Mark 8:33

“You’ve got it all wrong, Peter… Men are concerned about the material. God is concerned about the eternal. Men are concerned about prosperity. God is concerned about sanctity. Men are concerned about power. God is concerned about purity.” Only moments earlier, Peter had been a heavyweight prophet, having been given revelation so substantial that the entire church would be built upon it. But here, he’s totally off the wall. This encourages me greatly because sometimes I share things I believe are truly the heart of the Lordonly to turn around and say something else that makes me wonder why I even said it. Do you think the Father said, “Oh no! If I had known Peter would say that, I would have given revelation to James or John!”? No, He knew Peter. But because God the Father wasn’t taken aback by Peter’s mistake, I understand He makes room for our humanity. Peter would still go on. God was far from finished with him.

Mark 8:34

Jesus spoke not of self-denial, but of denying oneself. And between the two lies a monumental difference. The more you live for yourself, the more miserable you’ll be. We have all found this to be true to one degree or another. If you want to feel miserable, start thinking about yourself. Wonder how you’re coming across, how you’re doing, how you’re feeling. When we take the temperature of how we’re doing, what we’re feeling, what we’re thinking, we lose the very essence of what it means to truly live. It’s in saving others that we so often save ourselves. It’s in helping others that we help ourselves. It’s in giving to others that we get ourselves. It’s when we die to self that we find life. Self-Denial or Denying Self? A Topical Study of Mar_8:34-35 Jesus would have been a political campaign manager’s nightmare. After all, because the common people heard Him gladly (Mar_12:37), thousands thronged around Him; thousands listened to Him; thousands loved to be with Him. Yet when told all men were seeking Him, what did Jesus say? “Let’s depart” (see Mar_1:38). When told the masses wanted to make Him king, what did He say? “Unless you eat of My body and drink of My blood, you can have no part with Me” (see Joh_6:53). When it was revealed to Peter that He was indeed Messiah, what did Jesus say? “The Son of man must suffer many things and be killed” (see Mat_16:21). When the multitude gathered around Him, what did Jesus propose? “If any of you intend to come after Me, you must deny yourself, take up your Cross, and follow Me” (see Mat_16:24). So it is that we see an apparent contradiction, a seeming tendency in Jesus to draw people to Himself and then repel them from Himself. This is why Jesus would drive the advisors crazy. He wasn’t a politician. There’s a difference between a politician and a statesman. A politician looks toward the next election. A statesman looks toward the next generation. The latter is what Jesus does. He doesn’t seize the moment politically. He doesn’t use Peter’s revelation as a new campaign slogan. Instead, He looks down the road at you and me and says, “Let the chips fall where they may. This is truth. The Son of man came not to set up a material, political kingdom, but to suffer and die in order to provide mankind with salvation. “Whoever will come after Me,” He continued, “let him deny himself, take up his Cross and follow Me.” We have sanitized the Cross. We imprint it on our Bibles, wear it on gold chains around our necks, and stamp it on our bulletins. The Cross is a very important and beautiful emblem to us now. But it wasn’t in Jesus’ day. Jesus’ declaration concerning the Cross would be equivalent in our day to someone standing up in a political rally and saying, “If anyone wants to vote for me, grab your hypodermic needle with a lethal injection and follow me,” or, “Put a noose around your neck and follow me,” or, “Bring your gas chamber and follow me.” “Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his Cross, and follow Me.” You may have heard numerous sermons on this well-known, powerful proclamation of Christ. But all too often they are preached from a perspective of self-denial: Do this and don’t do that. Give up this and forsake that. However, I don’t believe that is what Jesus is teaching. His call is not to self-denial. It’s to deny self. Our Lord never asks, expects, or desires us to do anything He hasn’t done first. Therefore, when He asks us to take up our cross, it means He took up the Cross as wellwhich He did. But how did He take it up? As He bore the Cross on His bruised, lacerated, beaten shoulders, the burden caused Him to fall on His face. A Roman soldier leading the procession stopped, placed the flat part of his spearhead on the shoulders of a man named Simon, and ordered him to carry the Cross. Thus, because Jesus could not carry His own Cross, He would never tell me to carry mine. As Jesus bore His Cross, it brought Him to the place of collapse where He could no longer make it in His own strength. And such is the meaning of denying self. It means coming to the place where we say, “I can’t make it, Lord. The loneliness I’m feeling, the misunderstanding hurled in my direction, the pain of separation, the tension I’m experiencing is more than I can bear.” It’s my love for Jesus that drives me to my kneesbut it’s the cross I bear that brings me to my face. No matter how smart, clever, or capable I think I might be, the burdens, anxieties, worries, and fears I bear show me I’m not any of those things. The temptation, however, is for us to stand up and keep going. But that’s not denying ourselves. That’s glorifying ourselves and our ability to keep pressing on. It’s when we say, “Lord, I want to follow Youbut I can’t,” that we are denying any ability in ourselves to bring this to pass. When Jesus collapsed under the weight of the Cross He carried, there was someone there for Him. The Father had already orchestrated that Simon be there. We don’t have a Simon. We have Someone infinitely better. We have a Savior. “Two are better than one,” Solomon writes, “because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up” (see Ecc_4:9-10). Our “Other” is Christ Jesus. If you want to have lifereal life, abundant life, eternal life the way it was meant to be liveddeny yourself as you take up your cross and follow Jesus. And when the Cross brings you, as it did our Savior, to your face, you will see standing next to you, standing available to you, standing ready to help you Jesus Christ Himself.

Mark 8:36

We wouldn’t sell our soul to Satan for a billion dollars. And yet in actuality, we often give it away whenever we allow some cheap trinket, momentary pleasure, or earthly relationship to come between the Lord and us.

Mark 8:37

There is no such thing as closet Christians, secret saints, disguised disciples. It’s always been this way… “Where are you?” God called to Adamnot because He couldn’t find Adam, but because He wanted Adam to come forward to admit his sin and his need to get right (see Gen_3:9). “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Moses asked the Israelites. The sons of Levi stood with Moses publicly, even though to do so was out of sync with the rest of the tribes (see Exo_32:26). “Who is on the Lord’s side?” asked Joshua as the people were challenged publicly to make a stand (see Jos_24:15). “How long will you halt between two opinions?” asked Elijah. “If Baal be god, serve him. But if Jehovah be God, serve ye Him,” calling people to make a public decision (see 1Ki_18:21). Every man Jesus called, He called publicly. And He does the same today.