The Way of a Disciple

Mark 8:34-38


And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would 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 life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Jesus openly rebukes peter, to Peter’s embarrassment. Not to demean Peter, rather to reprove for the sake of improvement. Peter confesses Christ, and then Peter must also profess the gospel as well. Confession without profession is pointless; however confession without possession is even more so. What do I mean by that? We can never just get by with a personal conviction that Jesus is who He say’s He is, and never profess the gospel Jesus professed, or even worse deny the gospel Jesus professed. Peter tried and wanted to spare Jesus of His suffering and ultimately his own as well. This is where the text takes a very interesting turn….since you’re so mindful of the things of man…here goes… This in a sense Jesus is saying, and if you seem to be so concerned about my suffering, then you are in for a big surprise, for my suffering includes yours as well.

Calling

And he called to him the crowd with his disciples (also) and said to them… It all starts with a call, the effectual calling of the gospel message. Peter tried to privatize his concerns, Jesus publicized them. Jesus seems to never allow any privacy and personalization when it comes to the gospel, it is all or nothing, it must be made public, or it is nothing. His calling is our calling as well. His demands become our responsibilities, His commands become our charge. What Jesus had to say was for all, then and now! He had asked the disciples what the people thought about Him, then what they thought about Him, when confession was made and safety preserved, He dismantled the notion of self preservation. With a calling and assembling of the crowds, everyone would hear this and every one would be responsible for the way he hears and the way he walks for now on. When the calling comes, and it will come for every Christ follower, we must respond. No one can ever pretend he did not hear this calling to the cross, this need for embracing the things of God, and letting go of the things of this world. This calling is different than our initial call to walk behind Jesus and learn from Him, the call to follow and be led by the savior. That call consists of a surrendering and an accepting, as well as our acceptance into the beloved. To the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6) That call comes with a voice louder than the worlds so we are sure to hear and respond. This new call to radical obedience comes suddenly and unexpectedly, as well as a nagging tension in the core of our bellies, screaming at times there must be more too this gospel. As Jesus gathered the crowds the disciples knew they were in for something different than what they had encountered before hand, they knew this just by the very nature of Jesus’ gospel proclamation and His stern rebuking of satan. This would be something most profound.

The way of the Cross

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me… These words must have taken the very breath out of the people. It would be one thing for Jesus to suffer the cross, but all of us? They were all too familiar with the roman crucifixions of the day and the scattering of them along road sides. At the entry way of gospel proclamation, there is a cross assigned at the door for each of us with our names stamped at the top. The road to salvation is a bloody road, paved by the prophets before hand and fulfilled in Christ; however, Jesus paved the way that we must now walk. There are no empty handed disciples in the kingdom, all must carry his cross. Jesus preached the gospel in a clear and concise way, indicating to them all, that He must suffer. What Jesus now does is include them in on this suffering. If He was going to the cross, and we are followers, then we will be going where He is.

Let’s look at this statement in more detail.

1. Come after
If anyone would come after me… Jesus begins this statement with a preposition, “if.” This is key in understanding where He is going. Not everyone will, and surely not everyone will want to follow after this statement. He is setting a standard and a condition to following Him now. Jesus had initially invited many to follow, now He is upping the ante, that is, He is demanding more in an extraordinary way. If we are followers, then we must go where He goes, and do what He does. Most “Christians” do not have that understanding or mind set. “If” there is a desire for Him, a longing for Him, an inclination to come after and follow hard…then we must… We are not given the luxury of believing in Jesus and not following Him.

2. Deny
Let him deny himself… The way of the cross is a road of self denial. It is a disciplined road, a hard road. Peter had tried to preserve Jesus from such hardship and Jesus called him out on it. The kingdom way is “not my will, but your will be done.” (Matthew 26:39) The only way we can ever enter into resurrection life is by death. There must be a death of our wills in order for the mind of God to become our mind. To be mindful of the things of men is to love our comfort and security more than we love God. Where Jesus went, we have to go, if we are ever to rise in newness of life and be seated with Him in heavenly places. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4) He raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6) The cross is the only way. Jesus died for the sins of the world; we die in order to live in that reality. Titus 1:16 shows us people who profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. When we refuse to deny ourselves we ultimately deny Him.

3. Take up and follow
Take up his cross and follow me. There must be proof of such denial. The cross is that proof. This is not just allegorical and just a romanciful idealism, it has rubber to the road. This is our part, not in atonement or propitiation, rather in appropriation. This is a faith walk, a lifestyle. A real disciple has scares and splinters in his hands. We are not allowed to ever call ourselves disciples if there is no indication of a cross on our shoulders. The first step in following this new command is in the act of taking up. It starts with identifying our personal cross and through grace finding the strength to carry it. There is no prim-rose path to living as a disciple who follows Christ. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. (Philippians 1:29) This cross is a gift, a key to the kingdom. …Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)

Our ministries are that of the cross. We all have a different one to carry, and just as Jesus had help in carrying His, we too must have help in carrying ours. There is a purpose in the cross; it is a purpose of divine order and divine results. We carry it to life, not death. Death is just the door way. What lay at the other side is abundance, power, and glory…the outstretched hands of a savior, the firstborn of many brethren. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:18) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29) We are not just randomly suffering for the sake of suffering; we are hard pressed on either side for an intended purpose, God’s Glory! Where we are following Christ is too a land of promise, our destination is the New Jerusalem.

The paradox of the cross

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. I have reiterated throughout this book that self preservation is an enemy to the cross. Not for some self imposed religious pietism, nor for some sadistically demented love for suffering, but for the Glory of God and His ultimate plan of redemption through human history. When we try and cling to our safety, we will surely find greater harm. We are not told to die for death’s sake, rather for life’s sake. Death is conquered through the believers embracing of a raised savior. To try and “save” our lives is to actually destroy our lives. Losing our lives for His sake is the only way to ever really have life because of His sake. The truth is, if really wanted to preserve our lives we would whole heartily embrace the cross of Christ and cling to His life and resurrecting power. Notice we must not only lose our lives for His sake, but for that of the gospels also. In losing our will, we embrace His, and that is to spread the gospel to the nations. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19) The gospel will require of our lives the entirety of our lives. Like Peter, we are not allowed to just profess, but are commanded to proclaim what we really possess. The cross on our shoulders will be a sign to the world that we believe what we preach, that we have what we preach, and that we really know the one whom we preach. The cross is an identifier of our allegiance to the one who hung on it, and triumphed over it. We must always remember the cross is a means to an end, not the end in and of itself. Christ is not returning on a cross nor are we, but in Glory.

The cost of Glory

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." We could deny the cross and gain a rich pleasure filled life here, refusing the one to come. Like the rich young ruler who with his lips wanted to eternal life yet could not come to grips with the reality of letting go of his riches in this life. This is a tragedy. The worse thing to ever happen to us is to become successful in something God never intended us to become successful in. This young leader was a good moral man from his youth and this was not enough, nor will it ever be enough for any of us. Looking at what Jesus said to him should be a stern warning to us all. Jesus, beholding him, loved him and said to him, one thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven. And come, take up the cross and follow Me. (Mark 10:21) In this companion text to the one we are examining, this is startling, and illuminating. Notice Jesus looks at him, as to observe his heart and then it tells us that He loved him. Jesus was not unsympathetic to his emotions or even his willingness to live uprightly. The problem was he did not love God more than he loved his comfort and possessions. He had an opportunity to follow Jesus in a great company of cross carrying disciples yet refused to count the cost. The treasures of heaven did not appeal to his fleshly appetite, or his love of earthly riches. Look at his response to Jesus’ words. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:22) What did this man exchange for his own soul? The shame of the cross will separate you either from the Father or from the world. To be ashamed of Jesus is to deny the cross, and to forfeit your eternal treasures for earthly pleasures. The greater reward of the Fathers Glory in the presence of holy angels will far surpass any temporary fleeting rewards this world could ever offer.

Suffering and the Mind of God

Mark 8:31-33

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) Great words from not so great a man, great truths revealed to such a sinful heart. This is all who believe and utter such divine words of ageless splendor. Words of such magnitude must only come by way of the Spirit. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3) This verse will prove paramount as we move further into the text. So it is as Peter spoke at first, so it will be as peter speaks again, one or the other, but never at the same time.

A revelation of suffering

Since Peter and now the rest of the disciples publicly confessed Jesus to be the Christ. (Israel’s Messiah) Jesus begins to teach them openly about an aspect of the Messiah that Israel failed to comprehend, that of a suffering servant, rather than a triumphant King. Although Christ is both, He first must suffer in order to make the other aspect possible. He would have to conquer the sin of mankind, in order to be a triumphant reigning King. This is a concept foreign to the Jews at this point in time. Jesus preaches the gospel to His disciples. This side of the cross it all makes perfect sense. The gospel really is good news. For the disciples they could not see past death for it had not yet been conquered. How could this possibly be good new? Jesus has to this point alluded to on several occasions to His death, burial and resurrection, but not yet in this detail.

The Suffering Servant

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes…Jesus uses the Son of man title to display this unfathomable truth. Indicating that the title reveals Gods intentions, for His Son was given, given to serve man, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28) It is hard to image, the Son of the living God, suffering as the Son of man. This truth had to be if mankind was to ever rise again in newness of life. Romans 6:4 makes this clear to us. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. This teaching was hard for them to comprehend, yet necessary for them to understand. Jesus declares to them that He would suffer many great hardships and be rejected. Isaiah the prophet seen this and prophesied these tragic events.

• Jesus lived in eternal glory with the father, in perfect peace and all beauty. Yet, He willingly surrendered that Glory, for the Glory of redemption. A hidden glory, without any man desiring him.
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2)

• Jesus left perfect peace and subjected Himself to human turmoil. Lived among us while we rejected Him and subjected Him to our sorrows. We hid our faces from the face of God, despising that very face, the face of love.
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)

• Jesus bore our grief, and carried our sorrows, yet we cast Him away, and refused His divine intervention. He did what we could not do, yet we continued to try anyway. God imputes our punishment to His own Son.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4)

• Jesus took what we could not ever handle, His suffering was for an intended purpose and we often fail to recognize the implications of the gospel. Transgressions removed, iniquities abolished, chastisement replaced with peace, healing instead of death.
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

If the rejection was hard enough to hear, the teaching continues to get harder. For they had already witnessed the elders, chief priest, and the scribes reject Christ on a regular basis, but would we inflict the same suffering and rejection? Jesus goes on and says and be killed…This was unspeakable! Jesus, the one who raises the dead could die! The one who calms storms with one word, the one who walks on water and commands evil spirits to obey, never! Isaiah also prophesied this. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:8-9) Jesus truly is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. (1Peter 2:8)

The Resurrected Servant

This is the gospel, in it is the worst news ever, God suffers and dies for mankind. However the full gospel continues because He rises again! As Jesus continued to say…and after three days rise again. The disciples could not get their minds around this, for they were still stuck on Him dying. The suffering would be pointless if this would be the whole story, however it is not. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1Timothy 3:16) The vindication of the Spirit is the resurrection. Romans 8:11 sheds some light. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Jesus preached all of this openly and very plainly. The resurrection vindicates His purposeful death, for it was not a meaningless death, not at all.

Peters Private Rebuke

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Out of concern and out of ignorance to be sure, satan manipulates peters emotions to curtail the power of the suffering servant. On Peters side genuine concern, even humanly. On satans side, diabolic and divisive. Coming from a human perspective he would want Jesus to be kept from harm, even would try and protect Him at all cost. The sinister side, the enemy of mans souls would try and persuade an easy passage of kingship, one without suffering. This is antichrist. By the Spirit and revelation from the Father, Peter say’s He is the Christ, now in the flesh he denies the Christ by refusing to believe His word. No one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" To deny Jesus His suffering would be to curse His very purpose and appearing. To deny His suffering is to ultimate deny His coming in the flesh. This is antichrist.
• 1John 2:22, who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
• 1John 4:3, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
• 2John 1:7, for many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
Peter moments earlier spoke by the Spirit and affirmed Jesus as the Christ, now by satanic influence speaks against such claims. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:10) What is this satanic influence and how do we avoid such speaking. Jesus rebukes and discloses the answer for us all.

Jesus rebukes openly

But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Peter wanted this little occasion to be a private matter; however Jesus refuses to let such a moment to remain private. He looks to all the disciples and openly calls Peter satan. What a crushing blow to the disciple’s ego. Earlier, he spoke and received accolades, now speaking again, receives shame. The Lord has His ways of humbling us, and will hurt us to heal us often times. No big headed disciples permitted. This statement is very reminiscent to Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The temptation for Jesus would be to conquer without suffering, to reign without triumph.

Easy believism teaches such apostasy, Christianity without suffering. There is no such thing. Satan tried this tactic one time before only to be called out on it again. For, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" (Matthew 4:8-10) Christ would ultimately face this temptation once more in the garden. "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." (Luke 22:42) Jesus was familiar with this temptation and called it out on Peter…"Get behind me, Satan! I’m sure peter did not perceive himself to be satan or even satans mouthpiece, however when we are not mindful of the things of God, we remain earthly and sensual. John 3:31 say’s, He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. We are also told to set out mind on things above.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:2)

Peter was only concerned with the flesh, the preservation of it, and the protection of it. This is natural, however not spiritual. How many of us want and long for God to do great and mighty exploits among us and even through us, yet refuse and even deny the suffering required of it. Before there can ever be a resurrection there has to be a crucifixion. This is the great truth of the Gospel Jesus was preaching to his disciples. There is no easy way to the kingdom. Philippians 1:29 shows us this, For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. Jesus suffered once for our sakes. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. (1Peter 3:18) His suffering is a guarantee of ours. Not that by suffering we make atonement for our sins, or even that through suffering some sort of restitution is made. No, only the mediatory work of the Cross has provided sufficient payment for our sin debt. However, we now suffer with Christ in the sense of appropriating the kingdom of God and making manifest His righteousness on the earth. So then we must ask ourselves the question… are we setting our minds on the things of God, or on the things of man?"

Who do you say I am?

Mark 8:27-30

And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus restores sight to a blind man, and is simultaneously restoring sight to a blind world. He now takes His disciples away to another village as the preaching circuit continues. So along the way He begins to ask a series of questions. These are not just any questions, rather the most important questions one could ever be asked. All who would ever come to the faith would also be asked such a question, including you and me. What we do with such a demanding and exacting question as this one will determine how we live and function, as well as our eternal futures. I am not sure the disciples took the question as serious as we do or at least should on this side of Calvary. However, they were forced to reconcile to themselves just who this Jesus was they had been following for quite some time now.

Who do men say I am?

He asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Jesus inquired of them what the popular opinions were that was going around. Not that it mattered, Jesus was not moved by the opinions of others as we are moved and many times brought to overwhelming trouble over. Christ knew who He was and what His mission was, therefore living in confidence as the Son of God, sent as the Son of man. Matthews account adds this in the question. …He asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" (Matthew 16:13) The Son of man is a Messianic term used by David. But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! (Psalms 80:17) Today there are plenty of ideas about who Jesus is, and what Jesus was all about. The answer they gave can be very similar to the answers given today.

And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." Herod had a sneaking suspicion that Jesus was John the Baptist, and had risen from the dead. King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." (Mark 6:14) Also, when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." (Mark 6:16) The evident power at work by Christ’ hand had many wondering just who He was. Verse 15 gives us the other answer that the disciples had given. But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." (Mark 6:15)

Were the disciples just parroting the chatter of the streets, or was there more to this answer for some of them still. Perhaps some were feeling out the response Jesus would give, or His body language might give a certain reaction to one of the titles used, thereby giving them some indication on how to respond. Before we get to Peter’s answer, lets look at this for a moment. The masses were forced to deal with Jesus, whether they liked it or not. As a matter of fact, the whole world is forced to deal with Jesus, whether they like it or not. It is easy to define Jesus to people we already know, or who have come before, thus giving us a reference point. Jesus cannot be defined by any reference point in time. There has never been a man born before or since from a Virgin. We like to be able to define what we do not understand. Jesus defies definemeant. This was the problem the Pharisees and Sadducees encountered. The world and the world’s ways are simply stupefied and perplexed by Jesus. This Galilean peasant just won’t seem to go away. In fact, the more you try and eradicate His name and His followers, they seem to multiply. World religions will even acknowledge Jesus as a prophet or a good man, but can’t seem to get a handle on the fact that He is God. The fact that man could not get to God, or ever become God, so God came to man, as a man. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1Timothy 3:16) Call Jesus what they may, one day, they will call Him Lord. "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." (Romans 14:11) No matter what every one else may call Jesus, we now must answer ourselves.

Who do you say I am?

He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Jesus takes the question from the peripheral to the personal. This happens to us all. We all are forced up against the wall of eternity with this question. How we answer will change our lives forever. You can almost feel the intensity in the air, with breath held and all movement ceased, stillness permeating the atmosphere. All eye’s are on Peter, since he seems to be the first to always speak, let him answer first, and we will follow. One can imagine all of heaven was even silenced, listing in and waiting for their responses. The moment the Father had been waiting for. The response to John 3:16, the giving of the Son not in vain, the believing and receiving of eternal life.

Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) Peter had answered correctly and an intense sigh of relief can almost be felt when reading that text. Yes, Jesus is the Christ! He is the Son of the living God! Jesus demands an answer; we must all answer the question. In his famous book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis makes this statement, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg--or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”

Who did Jesus say He was?

Let’s look at who Jesus said He was with His own words.

• Jesus said He was without sin
So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him." (John 8:28-29)
Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." (John 8:46-47)
• He said He was the only way to God
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)
• He said that He shared Glory with the Father in heaven
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (John 17:5)
• Jesus said He could forgive sins
And when he saw their faith, he said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." (Luke 5:20)
And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (Luke 7:48)
• Jesus said He was a king
But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God." (Luke 22:69)
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." (John 18:36)
• Jesus said He could give eternal life
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, (John 11:25)
• Jesus said He would die and rise again
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. (John 10:17)
"A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me." (John 16:16)
• Jesus said He was returning
And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:62)

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:27-30)

These are just a sampling of the radical claims Jesus made about Himself and who He was.

Why we answer…you are the Christ

Marks account does not give us the details so we turn to Mathews and see the “how come” of this passage. Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17) Flesh and blood cannot perceive righteousness, and cannot discern truth apart from the source supplying us with the truth. Since the Father breathed into us His very breath at creation, it is also the Father that has to breathe into us this very special revelation at re-creation. To Peter He simply spoke out of His own observation, yet Jesus refuses to let Him think that away. On our side it may be a choice, on Heavens side, God has revealed Himself to us through His Son. The right of determination is His, always! Peter did not belong to himself. He may have though he did, however, all along, he in reality belonged to the Father. This is all of us who believe. This is nowhere more clearly than in Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, where Jesus prays for His disciples. "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. (John 17:6) Peter as well as the rest of the disciples were given to Jesus by the Father, you and I are given to Jesus by the Father, all those whom God elects for Salvation. We cannot decide to believe on Jesus at will, rather only by His will. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

The revelation

When we come to the revelation that Christ is the Son of the living God, our lives change, they must change. We cannot ever go on with our lives as if this could have no effect on our daily living. Peters name was Simon, and is a Hebrew word that means, “one who hears” and we no for certain that Peter heard the voice of God that day, as his spirit received the revelation of the Father concerning His Son. Jesus tells Simon that He is changing His name to Peter, meaning “Rock” and that upon this revelation, which is the understanding or the hearing, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, He is going to establish His Church. Hell will never topple such revelation, cannot ever overcome the ones whom the Father has revealed such understanding. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) Christ’ church is built upon the revelatory knowledge that He is God, nothing short of this will do.

The Keys

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19) This is what the revelation of Christ brings to the world. Open doors and shut doors. Heavens kingdom advancing and overturning entire civilizations all because the Gospel of Jesus and the Truth of Christ is being made known by the will of the Father. All who posses Christ, posses these keys, what doors are you opening, what doors are you closing? What are you binding, what are you losing? The truth you now have and hold is a divine truth that has the power of transforming lives, cities, and the world. What are you doing with it?

“Blinding sight and the gift of faith”

(Mark 8:22-27)
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village." And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi…


Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? (Mark 8:18) This is the question Jesus asks His disciples, for they had no real sense of spiritual sight. Their eyes were spiritually dim and their ears were spiritually dull. Jesus continually had to remove scales from their eyes so they could see the real significance of the moment. Many times we get so caught up in what we see that we fall to really see! He also asks us if we remember. Why? So often we tend to forget what magnificent things He has wrought in our lives. So with this we come, not by accident rather with intentionality, to the healing of a blind man. The eighth chapter by in large deals with spiritual sight and foresight, and that of blindness, first spiritual, then the physical.

Throughout the New Testament we have individual faith reaching out to Jesus to receive, and we have the faith of others reaching out to Jesus on behalf of others. This seems to be how it works, a supernatural touch or the supernatural touch on someone else wanting others to experience a supernatural touch. When we encounter Jesus we invariably will want to share with other what Jesus has done for us, and what Jesus can do for you! So throughout this passage of scripture we will look at this taking place, and its spiritual significance and meaning for us right now.

And they came to Bethsaida. The city of Andrew, Peter, and Philip, a fishing town, which was situated by the sea of Galilee. John 1:44 tells us this, Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. They left the predominantly gentile region of Dalmanutha, and now are on more familiar shores. Christ had frequented this area and brought the kingdom to them on more than one occasion.

Introducing need to the Solution

Some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. If you can see Jesus, it is because He has opened your eyes. Without Christ we live in perpetual darkness and are eternally hopeless. Colossians 1:13 shows us this great miracle, He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…So it is that perhaps these people who brought this desperate man to Jesus had experienced a similar encounter, or had witnessed His healing power at work. Either way, they believed that Jesus could heal this man, so they brought him to Jesus and begged Him to touch him. The Greek word for begged or besought is Parakaleo and means, summoned, called to one’s side, especially called to one’s aid and is closely related to the word that Jesus used for the Holy Spirit, which is Parakletos and means, one who pleads another’s cause with one, an intercessor or comforter. Notice the similarity between the two. The Holy Spirit pleads our cause and intercedes for us and was summoned to come to our aid at the ascension of Christ. (John 15 and Acts 1, 2)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26) These friends of the blind man stood in for him and used their faith and expectations for him. By bringing him to Jesus, they understood that it was Jesus who alone could heal this mans blindness. Their begging shows us the heart behind the request. This wasn’t to prove something or to see some miraculous display of power. Rather this was a real genuine heartfelt desire for the afflicted. This is what faith does. The real power is in the intercession, where the need is introduced to the solution. When we intercede for others we are bringing our request before Christ, the great intercessor. Our intercession is never selfish and one dimensional, but selfless and multidimensional. Take a close look at the great biblical truth that is before us. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25) What we have seen here is the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us, (Romans 8:26) and Christ who lives to make intercession for us as well. This mans physical blindness is a type and shadow of the spiritual blindness of men everywhere. If our eyes have been opened to see, we then must bring others to the light as well. You may know some who seem to have no faith, it then “may be” your job to pray and step in between their unbelief with your faith. For it could be the very way they will be introduced to Jesus.

Taken by the hand

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Jesus accepted their offer and stepped in to comfort and aid this mans desperate need. Taking him by the hand was such a gentle gesture of leading and consolation. He could not see Jesus, but he felt His hand in his. It is amazing how God designed the gospel. He gave us the command of introducing people to Jesus, until Jesus takes them out of your hand into His and begins leading them away, out of the village. This is the process of discipleship. We bring them to Jesus, beg and plead for them until they have a personal hand in hand relationship, until ultimately they see clearly! I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. (Job 29:15)

Do you see anything?

When he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" Perhaps the spit was an impartation of faith, for there was no indication he had any on his own. It is not clear, and has had scholars perplexed for centuries as to why. One thing is clear and that is why Jesus came, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18) Mankind is poor, held captive, blind and oppressed. Jesus is the answer for every malady, (a condition or situation that is problematic and requires a remedy) He brings good news to the poor, the proclamation of liberty to the captive, the recovery of sight to the blind, and liberty for the oppressed. We know faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) When Jesus asks what we see, He invariably is asking about what we see in faith. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) When Jesus speaks, faith will respond.

Men walking as trees

And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." Something strange happens here. His eyes are not instantly healed. Jesus has rebuked storms in there tracks, opened blind eyes more than once, walked on water, and has raised men from the dead, yet his eyes were not opened completely. This is you and I at times as well. Jesus opens our eyes of faith to see, and we squint just to peak at the things of the kingdom, things we see dimly. We must never stop short of the vision Christ gives, He was sent to restore sight to the blind. How many times do we look at men and see trees? We judge the fruit, or lack thereof. We also see how they are rooted and grounded. Are they planted by the water? Are they of knowledge or are they of life. Which do they belong? The restoration of sight may not be immediate or complete all at once. We grow in understanding and our spiritual eyes see more clearly with age rather than more dimly, as in the natural. When we first encounter Jesus and He lovingly applies eye salve to us we are opened to a whole new world, just not a clear world at first. The book of Job brings comfort to some and trouble to others; however Jobs conclusion is really the whole purpose and intention of God. This is what He say’s, I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. (Job 42:5) Job had heard of God and maintained a relationship with Him on that basis alone, now He sees God and knows fully the God he worships.

Seeing clearly

Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. The Spirit of the Lord in Christ Jesus brought restoration to completion and he looked and saw…clearly. Jesus longs to open the blind spots we have and bring clearer perspective to our faith. Jesus will touch us as many times as it takes, till we see. When He takes our hand into His, leads us away from familiarity, He intends to do a thorough work of restoration. The Father specializes is restoration. All creation even longs for such restoration. The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:21-22) The freer we become the freer the Earth becomes. This is an amazing reality. If we seek clarity, we must be honest with ourselves and with Jesus. How many settle for a little relief when Jesus wants us to be totally free. If this man settled for an improved ability to see, (for surely it’s better than before) yet never spoke plainly and honestly about his condition, he wouldn’t have been completely restored. How many of us stop short of total restoration because of an obvious improved life. Jesus wants us to have an abundant life, not just a better life. I do not mean this in the monetary sense, rather in the spiritual sense, which in any case will become positively impacted by the quality of restored sight. When Jesus leads us it is with an intended purpose. It never will be just random and without direction, thus the need for sight, complete vision.

Don’t tell everything you can see

And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village." And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi… Jesus led him out of the village, restores his sight and tells him not to go back. Why? Sometimes we should not return from where Christ has taken us. The old nature or village can represent our past and keep us from going forward with a new set of eyes. His destination was home, not the village. Family not familiarity was need, for this new way of seeing. He wanted him to see his family, not feel his way through the village. How many of us get a new vision and tend to feel our way through it with familiar surroundings? "Do not even enter the village." The masses cannot relate the way those who know you can. Jesus leaves the man after sending him home, only to go Himself to the villages. Undoubtedly this miracle would have brought undue attention on Jesus making it difficult for Him to navigate His way though out this region. The demanding crowds could easily become hostile, and it was not yet His time. So this formerly blind man now has blinding sight, vision with limits, yet clarity without obstruction. Christ opens our eyes to a world of possibilities, and then gives us precise directions and orders to be carried out. He has a plan for every individual He restores sight to. Listen carefully to His directions and follow closely His Word, for in it you will discover why you see what you see.

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (Revelation 3:18)

Blind Eyes & Bad Doctrine

Mark 8:11-21

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."

Religious people love to argue. It seems to be their favorite pass time. These Pharisees came arguing and sign seeking all at once, which tells us they really were not interested in Jesus proving to them His identity, rather they wanted to prove theirs. Jesus just finished displaying to the gentile crowd He truly is the bread of life and the ones who claimed to want it the most missed it. Seven large baskets remained of miracle loaves and fish, could this prove, or be a sufficient sign? Jesus thinks so!

These religious self reliant Jews did not approach Jesus as if He could teach or help them in any way; rather they wanted to contend with Him over who He claimed to be. Jesus sighed deeply in His Spirit, for this was very grievous to Him, these generational sign seekers had already killed the prophets sent by God all throughout history, and He would be no different. Jesus witness extraordinary faith of alien gentile people, foreign to the common wealth of the house of Israel, trust wholeheartedly when His own people reject Him, what a travesty. Jesus asks a question, and follows it up with a very disparaging answer.

"Why does this generation seek a sign?

Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."

Jesus meant what He said, and while hanging between earth and sky on a wooden cross, He refused to give them a sign!

• Matthew 27:39-40, And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

• Matthew 27:41-42, So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

• Matthew 27:43, He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

• Matthew 27:44, And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Through all of this He refused to show them a sign. The reality was the cross was the sign, and His suffering the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? (Isaiah 53:7-8) Jesus Himself could have refused such a love offering of Himself, yet knew the will of the Father must take place for the Glory of the Lord. He said these powerful words and if He wanted to give a sign this one would do it, I’m sure. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53)

In Matthews account we have this statement from Jesus when they petition Him for a sign. He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed. (Matthew 16:2-4) What did He mean by signs of the times, and what is the sign of Jonah?

The coming of the Kingdom

In answering the first question posed lets look at what was proclaimed by John the immerser.

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."… This is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." (John 1:29-34)

John was seen as a prophet to Israel and the people gathered together unto him in the wilderness as the Spirit and curiosity led them. He paved the way, and was himself a sign and a testimony to them, for all those who had ears to hear and eye’s to see. Israel’s time and season had come and the kingdom was before them, and they knew it not. Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. (Jude 1:5) Faith believes and signs follow, doubt ignores and seeks, and will see no sign given. This is the way of the Kingdom.

The sign of Jonah

Luke 11:30 say’s, for as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

Jesus had already performed a sufficient amount of miracles to more than prove He was the “One to come.” Here we have just one remaining. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

In this He was referring to His death, burial, and resurrection. Just has He told Pilate concerning His life, No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." (John 10:18) The only sign that would be given would prove once and for all that He is God! Sodoms generation as well as Jonah’s generation, will stand in better judgment than this evil adulteress generation, for a greater than Jonah was there and had appeared to them, and they repented not.

So he left them and departed. (Matthew 16:4) Sign seekers often ignore the greatest sign available to them, because perhaps it is just too plain to see. Jesus turns and walks away, this is what He does to unbelieving men and woman who refuse to trust and believe and will only believe if you can prove something to them. "The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17) This is the Christians mantra for life. The walk of faith is truly just trusting Jesus at His word.

Forgetful disciples

And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." (Mark 8:13-15)

Did the disciples who just had seven large baskets of leftovers leave them on the shore? How did they forget? Whatever the case may be, they only had one loaf with them to eat and that shouldn’t be a problem since Jesus has repeatedly showed them He is a multiplier of bread. Jesus exhorts them and admonishes them to beware of leaven; by doing this He is exposing the Pharisees as well as the unbelief of His very disciples. Hard headed disciples have been given Jesus trouble since the apostles, so don’t feel so bad about your self. I say that only to reveal they were just like you and I, and Jesus used them in extraordinary ways.

And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. (Mark 8:16) They were tying the two together in their minds; they somehow left a lot of bread behind and Jesus is warning them about leaven, must be for a reason. Jesus perceives their thoughts and counter acts this argument among them. Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? (Mark 8:17) He was looking through them, piercing their souls and still finding stone. Are your hearts still hardened? Had the gospel of the kingdom not taken away your stony hearts? Since the “just shall live by faith." What then are they living by? Like Lazarus lying dead in a tomb, the stone must be removed, in order for the living to emerge in response to the cry and command of Jesus’ beckoning.

Faithless hearts

One theme that repeats throughout the gospels is the response of faith to a faithful Savior, it gets His divine attention every time, but then again, so does unfaithfulness. "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? (Matthew 16:8) Little faith will leave a heart hard and unmoved by the Words of Jesus. What is amazing for us is Jesus is not talking to the Pharisees, but His disciples. This leads us to why He here is warning them of the leaven they somehow infect and infiltrate people with. Hardness of heart is a wall of self reliance and identity. Repentance to faith is a surrendering of the two into the arms of our great rescuer. Jesus deconstructs our hard impenetrable hearts and re-builds them with a heart of flesh by the Spirit through faith. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

Bad doctrine

Bad teaching leaves its students energized with the wrong information. This is a danger for us all. We invariably cling to error with clinched fist, fighting for what we wrongly perceive to be right. We must admit there is error in all our schools of thought and doctrine. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1Corinthians 13:12)

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?" (Mark 8:18-21) Jesus wants them to understand He does not perform miracles haphazardly; they are always for a lesson displaying who He is and what He is up to. The feeding of the multitudes was more for the disciples than for the people, the crowds were feed, but the disciples had to learn.

How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:11) The Pharisees in essence were asking for the sign of a prophet, like Moses, Joshua, and the list goes on and on. That bad teaching was like cancer to the good of the miraculous instruction they just witnessed in that wilderness classroom. It must be disregarded.

So it is with this they conclude after a softening blow to their hard hearts by the words of Jesus, that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:12)


Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1John 5:21)

The bread of Compassion

Mark 8:1-10


In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away." And his disciples answered him, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" And he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.


Still in the region of Decapolis, Jesus now has amassed a crowd of four thousand men, not counting woman and children. So we see a very large crowd and a three day crusade that would forever change the lives of all who believe on this Jesus; this Jewish Messiah. We have before us a similar, yet different miracle. The feeding of the five thousand and now the feeding of four thousand are both lessons that the Holy Spirit through the pen of John Mark wanted to convey to the Church. The feeding of the five thousand was for Israel, while this great display of multiplying power is demonstrated primarily in Pagan territory. What is Mark trying to tell us? It has been said that repetition is the mother of all teachers; could this be for us a pattern to Kingdom expansion, the glory of God in all nations?

Let’s look first at the stark differences to these two similar yet very different occurrences.

• The first time is a primarily Jewish audience, here it is primarily Gentile.
• The five thousand were with Jesus only one day; here they have been with Him three days.
• The disciples had no bread and very little money, here they have seven loaves.
• The first miracle had five loaves and two fish which fed more; here we have more bread and a few fish, which feeds less.
• Jesus ordered the crowd to sit in groups the first time, this time no ordering is mentioned.
• Jesus prays one prayer over the first miracle, here He offers two prayers.
• Twelve small baskets are taken up the first time, this time seven very large baskets are taken up.

There is a plethora of revelation that can be extracted from this if we were to take the time and pray our way through this text. So much can be gleamed from scripture if we simply really read it and allow it to really read us. Jesus later on in chapter eight uses both examples for the disciples and questions them about the various details looking to see what they learned from these miraculous events. I have stated before that every miracle has a lesson attached. Let’s examine this one.

The heart of Jesus

"I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away." Jesus looks to these desperate people who would rather suffer hunger and thirst to be with Him where He is, then where they could be comfortable. A multitude had gathered and spent three days witnessing Jesus usher in the kingdom before their eyes, healing and delivering a lost hurting people created in Gods image and marred beyond recognition. Jesus was washing the dirt and stain of depravity away, by pouring love into their wounded souls. Jesus’ compassion goes deeper than just growling bellies, but rather groaning souls. Jesus was not going to send them away empty, but full. He knows they can not make a long journey on an empty stomach, for their strength would fail them along the way.

This is you and I. We cannot tarry with Jesus any length of time and leave empty, if we would, it is not because He did not feed us, but we refused to eat. Many come to Christ from afar, and must be fed with the living bread of life. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (Acts 2:39) Jesus explicitly refers to the children of Israel in the wilderness and to His self being the manna come down from heaven in John’s gospel; I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (John 6:48-51) Notice He said, “For the life of the world” indicating more than just Israel. Christ looks and longs for the redemption of the world. He has great patience in watching and waiting for the Fathers command to go and gather those whom you have rescued. Jesus looks with great compassion, knowing if we are not feed the bread of life, we will ultimately perish in our sins, starving spiritually forever.

The Task of compassion

His disciples answered him, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" The disciples knew that the last time, Jesus had ask them to provide dinner for the masses, For Jesus had asked Philip to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. (John 6:6) This time He say’s how He longs to feed them. How can one feed? They ask in essence, how can you Jesus being only one, feed four thousand? How soon we forget we serve and undeniably powerful God! They still were not getting it, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. (Mark 6:52)

Ever ask yourself that question? What can I do all by myself? Many followers of Christ wrestle with this and wrangle over the implications of stepping out on Faith. The reality is, we are the hands and feet of the Savior in the world, if we don’t go, who will? Jesus longs to feed the multitudes and will, all the while using what little we have to offer. One being many! The key to this whole event is in the fact that Jesus does not look to the crowds to feed themselves, rather He looks to His disciples to do it. …Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. (Luke 12:48)

Jesus moves with what we have

He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Jesus wasn’t looking for much more than that, He understood that His band of disciples could not possibly have in and of themselves what was needed to feed the multitude. He doesn’t look to us for the answers, He is the answer. He is however interested in what we have though, for this is the place He starts, with our offering. The lesson should impact our reaction. The fist time it was a little boy’s lunch, this time it was what the disciples had remaining. Jesus wasn’t this time looking to the disciples to go and make provision, He just wanted them to tell Him what they had to offer, and He was going to do the rest. What is interesting to note here is that the Jewish feeding was ordered and grouped; where as this gentile feeding was not, they just are directed to sit down on the ground. Glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. (Romans 2:10) It always starts in Israel, then to the nations. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

A disciple’s task

He took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. Jesus takes from our hands the insignificant under resourced offering of what we have and gives the Father in Heaven thanks, breaks it and sets it back in front of us, for the purpose of distribution. Jesus Himself does not do the distribution, the disciples do. Jesus does the multiplying, we do the distributing. I set it before you; you now take the exponentially multiplied bread and set it before them. The task of all disciples is to carry Jesus, the bread of life to a soul starving world, starting wherever we find ourselves first, and move out from there. Starting with Jerusalem then in all Judea and Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth."

A few

They had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. Jesus had told Peter when first invited to follow Him, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17) This was peters school of how to do that. Jesus is the bread of life, we are the fish, He goes before us, and then we being few, become many. What great satisfaction comes from feasting with the Savior, what awe inspiring “soul food.” "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6) Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:35) Do you believe that? Does that affect the way you live and react to the Word? It should! We should never be able to find soul satisfaction in anything other than Christ, yet too often we do. Jesus just wants our few, He will do the rest. Some may ask “just what does Jesus want from me?” He wants all of you, and will stop at nothing until He gets it. We eat the bread of life and are completely satisfied.

Seven Large Baskets

They took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. One day Christ will return and gather from the four corners of the earth His elect. Then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. (Mark 13:27) Looking at the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples gathered twelve smaller baskets, which represent the twelve tribes of Israel and is very governmental in its establishment. This time they take up seven large baskets, which look to the nations or seven continents. The book of Acts shows us this pattern in we start with Twelve Apostles who represent Israel and Abraham's promise, then we see them going throughout the world, saving and establishing Christ’ church in the earth, and advancing the kingdom of God.

This day, many were fed with the Words and healing touches of Jesus, and also had their fill of supernaturally increased bread and fish. Today, we also can experience Jesus’ touch and word, while knowing He will provide food for His children in the wilderness. The church one day will be completely taken care of supernaturally while tarring with Jesus in a desolate place. We are living in the third day and Christ is looking to His church with compassion, because we have been with Him these last three days and are hungry, therefore He must feed us and is going to use His disciples to do so, as long as they rely solely on His multiplying power. We will eat here in the wilderness and be satisfied completely as well as receive the strength necessary to make the journey home.

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. (Revelation 12:1-6)

Be Opened!

Mark 7:31-37

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Jesus left this Gentile land for yet another Greek metropolis, the ten cities of Decapolis. His fame had spread, as should the fame of God’s name be known everywhere. Oh’ that Jesus’ name would be known throughout every tongue and tribe on Earth! May it happen in our lifetime.

The last time Jesus was in this area, it was in one of the ten cities comprising Decapolis, the city of Gadara. It was here Jesus liberated a man from a legion of demons, and turned him into one of the very first evangelist for the kingdom message. Jesus told him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And He listened to Jesus and did what He had told him, if only all would respond like this newly freed man, for he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. (Mark 5:19-20) The proclamation of the gospel does work and should be shouted from upon the house tops for all to hear. It was so here, in this strange land that many would believe on the name of our Lord. The testimony of one would soon become the testimony of many.

Brought to Christ

And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. (Mark 7:32) Jesus was sought out, and found, they brought to Him a man…how many do we know that need Jesus, are we bringing them to Christ? There is no situation too hard or too deplorable for our Lord to cure and remedy. He is the answer to every question, He is the sum total of every equation, He is the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6) If He could deliver a man living in the tombs among the dead, a man who could not be chained down, and turn him into a flaming evangelist, certainly He could unstop deaf ears and a tongue that could not speak.

The shame of deafness is a debilitating blow to the human soul. Many say even worse than being blind, at least from a societal stand point. Without ability to communicate thoroughly, his life would be extremely difficult to cope with. The scorn he would have had to endure would be far worse in his day than ours, albeit it is not that much better today, society still imposes a stigma on the disabled. Yet, here he stood, standing in the presence of the Christ, the hope of the world.

Taken aside

And taking him aside from the crowd privately, Jesus empathized in his humiliation. This is Jesus, this is what He does. He feels our pain, for He has felt our pain. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus knows what it feels like to be humiliated, scorned and mocked, for He had to endure such ridicule from His accusers. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3) Jesus took him aside, like he does us, for the very purpose of personally dealing with our need. Jesus is very personal, He is not just someone we can relate to on Sunday, but everyday! He sympathizes with our struggles daily, even minute by minute, second, by second. We should let Jesus take us aside to minister to us, for He has such joy in doing it. Let us look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus looked to a shameful cross, because He seen us and our need there and found Joy in serving humanity with His divine suffering.

Jesus touched him

He put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. Jesus was never some distant superstar, looking for people to touch Him;just the opposite Jesus came to a dying sin sick people, and touched our infirmities. Luke 5:15 say’s, but now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. Jesus never has empathy without touch. Compassion should have accompanying it contact. Sometimes a gentile touch can do more than a million words could ever do. We can give our advice, but better yet, lend a hand. There are many accounts in the scriptures of Jesus touching the untouchable. Some examples:

•Matthew 8:3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
•Matthew 17:7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear."
•Matthew 20:34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
•Luke 22:51 But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him.

Jesus was not afraid to get His hands dirty with the pain and suffering of people. He came for a purpose, and part of that purpose was to restore hope to a hopeless world. This could not have been accomplished from afar.

When Jesus put His fingers in this poor deaf mans ear, He was using sign language to identify with his need and by spitting and touching his tongue, He was showing him what was going to happen. His ears were going to be opened, and his tongue was going to become loosed. This man could not hear Jesus’ words, however, he felt Jesus’ touch fingers in his ears and spit on his tongue.

Looking up

And looking up to heaven, Jesus was showing this man His reliance upon the Father above. Jesus had private communication with the Father, however here was a public need and His Father must become aware and employed, so Jesus looked up! This is a lesson for us all. There is no situation too big or too small that does not require our looking up to the Father for assistance in. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6) This one act or gesture says a mouthful. We must as Jesus did, rely solely upon God in Heaven, creator of the heavens and the earth. He is over all things and by His sovereignty controls all things. Looking to Him shows our dependence on Him, and our absolute need and inability apart from Him. Jesus when instructing His disciples on how to pray, said, Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (Matthew 6:9) Why should this be our first act of petition? The answer is simple, because you need daddy’s permission to do anything.

The word tells us to set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:2) When we do this, as Jesus did, we look away from ourselves and our self-reliance to an outside source for help. Many will argue and say, “You have all you need on the inside” and this lie could not be more damaging to the human need. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17) All we do must be by and through the precious name of Jesus, even to the giving of thanks to our Father in heaven.

He sighed

He sighed, showing by a visible gesture of His sympathy and utter disgust with the condition sin has left creation in. This voluntary deep emotional exhale was to this deaf man, His way of communicating His love and sadness over His situation. Jesus does this over us as well. He weeps over our calamities and maladies. Like when at Lazarus tomb, Jesus wept. (John 11:35) This is the shortest verse in scripture and the most compelling, in that it conveys the Heart of God in the simplest terms. The Greek word for Sigh is sten-ad'-zo, and it means to be in straits, that is, (by implication) to sigh, with grief, or groaning. One example of this words use can be found in 2 Corinthians 5:2, For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. Again it is used two more verses down from this one, For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:4)
Notice the context in which this word is being used, our groaning over our condition while here on earth. Another texts also contains this word and the same implication, And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23) In this life we have trouble, and there will always be trouble, we must long for and wait patiently for our ultimate healing and redemption.

He spoke

He said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." With one word worlds were created, and with one word, this mans entire life would be forever changed. When Jesus speaks, something is going to happen. The text tells us what this ancient Chaldeean word means, and when coming out of Jesus’ mouth that is exactly what happened. It also means to be unbarred or unconstrained. The hindrance to his hearing and speech whether natural or demonic as in some cases, was no match either way to Jesus’ liberating command. He is the Word that is from the beginning. (John 1:1) This desperate soul had no idea to whom he had been brought to, He was no mere magician, or shaman, or village healer, for He was God! Colossians 1:15-16 makes this abundantly clear; He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. Hebrews 1:3 tells us this, He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. If this is true, and it is, then this man was in good hands, for he was in God’s hands, and his condition would have to bow down to the word spoken over it. So the first words this man may have ever heard was "Be opened!" And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Wonder, astonishment, proclamation

Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." A man who may have never spoke, cannot keep quiet, a people, who have just witnessed such a display of God’s divine power, cannot keep quiet. He charged them to tell know one, as He often did, and they responded as all the others have as well, they refuse to remain silent. And you and I should not be able to remain silent either for all He has done in and through our lives. The residual effects of miracles should always be wonder, astonishment, and proclamation. We wonder at Who He is, we are astonished at what He can do, and we proclaim what He has done! For He has done all things well!

A prayer for wonder, astonishment, and proclamation, Now, Lord, look upon their threats (all the enemy is trying to do) and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:29-31)