Mark Chapter 8

1. Mark Chapter 8 1-10 The Feeding of the 4,000 11-13 The Pharisees Want a Sign 14-21 The Dull 12 22-26 The Blind See 27-33 Peter Confesses The Christ 34-38 The Cost of Discipleship

2. The Dull 1214 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them.15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod’ Jesus uses their discussion for an important lesson: What do you think the leaven (yeast) stands for?... Influence, most often the evil influence of sin What is the leaven of the Pharisees?.. In their unbelief, they sought a sign What do you think is the leaven of Herod?... In his unbelief, he sought a sign

3. 16 They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.  Do you think the boys have any clue what He is discussing?

4. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said* to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? 18 “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, There are five questions here: • Do you not understand? • Is your heart hardened? • Can’t you see? • Can’t you hear? • Don’t you remember? The problem isn’t faith but a lack of focus!!!

5. 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.”20 “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.”21 And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” Where is the focus of the disciples?.. On the things of the world Where does Jesus want their focus to be?.. On the things of the spirit Are we guilty of the same?... Is our number one concern on the things of the spirit or the things of the world?

6. Do you not understand? The disciples couldn’t understand the living “Word” of God even though He was in their presence Over and over they discussed, reasoned, debated and even argued among themselves when standing there with them was the living Word How often are we caught up in this cycle when we have the completed work of God at our fingertips? Matt. 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” As we discussed last week, where should our focus be?.. On God’s word Matt 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

7. Can’t you see? They watched miracle after miracle and still couldn’t grasp the fact of “God among us” How often are we blinded by the things of the world to the point of no longer being able to see? Matt 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  23 “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! What goes in your eye that lights your body? Books, magazines, TV, films…God’s word Anything wrong with this list? The list is fine, it is the balance that is off center!

8. Can’t you hear? Better, who are we listening to?... The voice of the things of the world or: 1John 4:5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.  6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

9. Don’t you remember? Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, How many blessings do we forget?

10. Natural Beauty

11. Natural Resources

12. Income

13. Recreation

14. Precious Gifts

15. Family

16. Food Sorry Chet, this isn’t edible

17. Good Health!!!

18. Salvation

19. Fellowship

20. Guidance and Direction

21. Is your heart hardened? 1John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Consistent flirting with the world will harden our heart toward God

22. The Blind See8:22 And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. It is interesting that He just finishes talking about the blindness of the 12 and when He reaches the shore, here is a physically blind man!! This is the final step in the awakening of the disciples as presented by Mark Who do you think brought him to the Lord?.. Probably friends Were they passive or aggressive?... Aggressive How can we be a friend to others like this today?.. Prayer How should we pray for them?... Passive or aggressive?

23. 8:23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” Notice He lead him “out of the village”, why?... This is a very personal and private healing Based on the teaching in Mark, how many people did Jesus heal that either they, or the ones who brought them didn’t have faith?... None This healing is different than most in that it is progressive, not instant. Jesus is God, He is all powerful and is the Creator of all things, why not an instant healing?.... Faith Jesus chose to work through the faith of the people, watch how that develops:

24. 8:23 Continued:and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” That is a good lesson for us because it shows the importance of having the private or quiet time with God Just like in certain healings, Jesus used the opportunity of being alone with the men to help grow up their faith He will do the same with you; do you have a quiet time with Him?

25. 8:23 Continued:and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” Like the healing of the deaf mute, Jesus chooses to use saliva to either prepare him for what was to happen or to emphasize the source Why does God ask “Do you see anything, wouldn’t He know?.. This is a strong indication that the man’s faith was not complete. Jesus decided to gradually heal the man giving him time to respond with increased faith. Remember, without faith there is no healing!!!!!!! Do you ever wonder why certain things come slowly to you?.. Maybe God is allowing your faith to grow by slowly responding to certain needs???

26. 8:24 And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” He is beginning to respond. It is like the person you witness to, slowly and gradually starting to see or understand the truth The other point is that Jesus is allowing the blessing to slowly soak in. He is giving him time to enjoy what is happening Do you take time to enjoy the blessings of God?... As I prepare this note I wonder how many of us truly enjoy the work God is doing in our life or are we too impatient for it to be over or to preoccupied to even notice?

27. 8:25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” Jesus touches him a second time and the restoration is complete Again Jesus seeks to avoid attention by diverting the man away from the village. At least the healing is not lost on His disciples as we are about to see….

28. 8:27 Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?”

29. Caesara-Phillipi is at the foot of Mt. Hermon on a shelf about 1,150 feet above sea level It was built by Herod and named for the ruler of Rome and himself It contained a shrine to the god Pan

30. Peter Confesses The Christat Caesarea-Philippi Pagan Temple Area

31. Caesarea-PhilippiPagan Temple Area Close-up

32. Sacred Cave

33. 8:27 Continued:…and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” So here is Jesus and His disciples in this very pagan setting and He asks the question – “Who am I?” First He wants to know what the people say

34. 28 They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” Notice the progression here from John to Elijah to simply one of the prophets Also notice that no one says He is the Messiah

35. 29 And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” Eureka, Eureka, Eureka, Eureka, Eureka!!!!!!!!! Peter, speaking for the group says they finally get the point, Jesus is Messiah!! Do you realize that in a way, everyone will be asked that question at one point and their eternal destiny depends on the answer Matt. 16:17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.  19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

36. Mark 8:30 And He warned them to tell no one about Him. Why this warning?.. They still didn’t truly understand the concept of Messiah and Jesus wanted to complete their education before they could proclaim it Now comes the polishing of their knowledge and major turning point in the ministry of Jesus Here He would as Luke puts it: “set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) This is hard for the Jewish men to understand because they were ALL looking for a different person From this point in the gospel to its end we will be Geographically and spiritually working our way to Jerusalem while Jesus is teaching what the Messiah will do and what is expected of His followers

37. 31 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. “Son of Man” used 81 times in the gospels and only by Jesus referring to Himself (the only two exceptions are both in Mark, were he used it as editorial comments) Why do you think He uses this term?... First to associate Himself with mankind and second as a direct reference to:

38. Daniel 7:13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

39. Verse 31 continued: 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. Here is the prophecy of exactly what will take place leading to the cross, a prophecy that can only fit Messiah, The Son of Man What are the many things?… All of the suffering that leads to the cross, the beatings, illegal trials the scourging culminating on the cross itself Why does He mention the three groups?.. They constitute the Sanhedrin The word rejected = “fail to pass the scrutiny” can you imagine that Jesus failed the test of any man let alone the religious leaders of the day! Notice that the disciples do not comment on the resurrection, why?.. Either they didn’t believe Him, understand Him or they attributed the resurrection He speaks of as the resurrection of the last days Did you notice that Jesus says “must suffer”, why must?.. He is telling us that this is a cup that He must drink, there is no choice in the matter. It is God’s Divine will that Jesus suffer and die

40. 8:32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. What does Mark mean He was stating the matter plainly?.. It was not veiled, no parable here The word here for rebuke is the same one used for the silencing of the demons in 1:35 and 3:12!!! Can you imagine the boldness or maybe the dumbness of Peter?

41. 8:33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Peter’s rebuke shows that he clearly understood what Jesus said but that he didn’t understand what it meant Why was Peter’s rebuke met with such a sharp response by Jesus?.. Because Peter was looking for a Messiah who would defeat the Romans Why is this such a big issue with Jesus?.. Because the gospel IS the cross of Christ! Salvation comes ONLY through His substitutionary death! Why does He turn to the disciples with the rebuke?.. Because Peter is their spokesman and was probably acting accordingly Why does He refer to Satan?… Peter is attempting to direct Him away from the cross. That is Satan’s plan and a temptation that Jesus had dealt with in the desert when Satan offered worldly substitutes for the cross (worldly kingdoms)

42. 8:34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. Why does Jesus decide to include the crowd in this statement?.. This teaching is for all of us What does “come after me” mean?.. To follow Jesus What is the self denial Jesus is referring to, is he saying that we must give our self up for Him?... No, although there may be times that we need to sacrifice for Him, the point He is making is that we must realize that God is the center of our life not our self.

43. 8:34 Continued:and take up his cross and follow Me. What does “take up his cross” mean?… The Christian life WILL come with suffering and just like Jesus we will carry the cross if we truly seek to follow Him. In essence as believers we will endure suffering and eventually death While this message is specifically intended for the Roman Christians who were suffering and dying, it also has significant meaning for us Name some ways that we suffer for our belief: How do we deny self to make Christ the center of our life?... Summary; to be a true disciple of Jesus we are required to do two things: To deny self To carry our cross daily Does this mean that we can leave our cross at home sometimes?

44. 35 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. What does this verse mean? … In this life, you can either deny your self and accept Jesus as the Lord of your life OR, deny Jesus and Be the lord of your own life If you chose Christ, what will your priorities be: First, my life will be lived for the sake of Christ. Second, my life will be lived for the sake of the Gospel How do you live for the sake of the gospel?.. You give it out as a priority! How do you live for the sake of Christ?.. By making Him your first priority!

45. 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?37 “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Why is this verse here?.. Because it shows the result of denying Christ in your life We can obtain the entire world, just like Mr. Microsoft has but if we deny Jesus we literally lose our soul to Satan How valuable is a soul? Notice the worldly terms, profit – gain – forfeit – exchange The person who denies Christ accepts the world in trade!

46. 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Here is the final result of the decision: Accept Christ now and He will proudly proclaim you to His Father Reject Him now and He will reject you before the Father The result is, as John points out; John 1:12, and Paul says; Romans 10:9-10: The advantage is that with Christ you will NOT face judgment What choice have you made?... Does it show by your lifestyle? Is Christ first? Is the gospel foremost?

47. What do we take home? • Beware of the leaven (influence) of the world. • Do you: understand, see, hear, remember and if so, is your heart hardened or fertile ground for the Lord? • How is you daily quiet time? • Who is the Messiah to you? • Remember, God may be working slowly to help your faith increase! • Are you taking up your cross daily?