Mark 8:1-4

Passage

While Jesus was still in Gentile land, another great crowd gathered around Jesus.  Once more this crowd has nothing to eat.  So Jesus tells His disciples that He has compassion on them because they’ve been patiently listening to Him for three days without something to eat.  He also knows that if he sends them away now, they just won’t have the strength to make it home.  Once more His disciples ask how it is that Jesus plans to feed all of these people with only a small amount of bread.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

This is another great “feeding” miracle.  What is cool about this miracle is that it happens in largely Gentile controlled land.  The feeding of the 5,000 was primarily Jews.  This story is going to involve primarily Gentiles.  I say this primarily to set up several points that I will make tomorrow.  But for today, know that Jesus continues to not be afraid of being “defiled” by the people with whom He comes in contact.  Here is another story where Jesus continues to demonstrate that it is not what is on the outside that defiles!

Do you think you are getting Jesus’ point with respect to interacting with people who are different than you?  Are you getting ready to live out the reality that we are defiled by what is within us not by what is outside?

Second Thought:

Jesus has compassion on the crowd.  They’ve been listening to Him preach for three days.  What I love about this is that Jesus mixed the spiritual with the physical.  Jesus doesn’t go all holier-than-thou and say, “If they were really into God, they would be satisfied with my teaching.”  Instead, Jesus says, “They need substantive food in addition to spiritual food.”  There is a physical and a spiritual compassion at work here in Jesus.

How good are you at recognizing people’s physical and spiritual needs?  How good are you at trying to meet those needs when you see them?

Third Thought:

From time to time, the disciples seem rather dull.  They’ve already experienced one miraculous feeding.  You wouldn’t think that it would take a brain surgeon to think that God might just be able to do it a second time.  But, this is me being able to speak from the vantage point of knowing history.  The truth is that just about everything that God does in my life He has done in the lives of others – many of whom I know!  So you would think that I would be able to tune into God’s plan before it happens.  But the reality is that it just isn’t in the cards for us.  God is so incredible that even knowing how He worked in the past doesn’t really help us figure out how He is planning on working in the future.  He surprises us each and every time.  We’re not really that dull – well, maybe we are.  But really, He is just that amazing.

Do you think if you were in the disciples’ shoes you would have known what Jesus was about to do in this story?  What comfort can you get in your life seeing how the disciples missed Jesus’ plan in this story?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 8:5-10

Mark 7:34-37

Passage

Jesus looks up to heaven.  He sighs.  He then commands the man’s ears and mouth to be open.  The man was immediately healed.  Jesus commanded the people to tell nobody, but the more the people saw the miracle the less they could possibly keep quiet about it.  The people were astonished by what they saw.  They were especially astonished that He could make the deaf hear and the mute to speak.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus looks up to heaven and then sighs.  This word in the Greek doesn’t simply mean to exhale; it means to sigh out of a deep emotional or spiritual concern.  Look at the sequence of events that happen in this story.  First, Jesus sees the crowd put this man before him as though they want a spectacle.  Jesus pulls him away from the people and moves to heal him.  Then He looks up into heaven and can see the contrast between the Father’s will and the will of the people around Him.  No wonder He sighs.  Jesus has a deep concern for humanity and how easily we ignore the agenda of the Father and choose our own agenda.

How often are you guilty of missing what God is doing in your life because you are too busy doing what you want to do?  Why is it so easy to get distracted from the work of God?

Second Thought:

Again we see Jesus commanding the people to not make a big deal about what has happened.  As I have taught in other places where this has happened, Jesus is no doubt concerned that the more people talk about what He’s doing the closer the crucifixion will draw as the Jewish leaders will want to get rid of Him sooner.  But I think here there is an additional comment being made.  Jesus knows that these people wanted to see a spectacle.  They don’t want to talk about Jesus because of their belief; they want to talk about the spectacle because it will increase their own 15 minutes of fame since they were actually there to see it.  They aren’t genuinely spreading the Word of God and telling people about Jesus.  They are glory seeking.  There is no motivation of humbleness in their testimony.

Does it make sense at first read why Jesus would be telling people not to talk about Him?  What does this story tell us about God’s concern not just for what happens but also for the motivation behind what happens?

Third Thought:

The people were nonetheless astonished by what they saw.  A man who could not hear and could also not speak properly was now functioning completely normally.  That doesn’t happen just every day.  Jesus is an astonishing man.  There is reason to be in awe over what He can accomplish because He is God.

Are you ever in awe of God?  What usually leads to you being in awe of God?  What things about God do you typically find awe-inspiring?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 8:1-4

Mark 7:31-33

Passage

Jesus comes back from Tyre, passes through Sidon, and goes to the region of the Decapolis (Ten Cities).  The people around Him (not His disciples) bring a man before Jesus who was deaf and who had a speech impediment.  They asked Jesus to lay hands upon Him.  Jesus took Him aside away from the crowds.  Jesus placed His fingers into the man’s ears.  Then He spat and touched the man’s tongue.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus continues to be in Gentile territory.  He had come from Tyre and Sidon, which was largely Gentile.  One of the 10 cities of the Decapolis was Gerasa, from which the Gerasenes come.  You’ll remember the Gerasenes as the people with the man out of whom Jesus drove a legion of demons into a herd of pigs.  So we see that Jesus continues to practice what He preached.  It is not what is outside that defiles us.  He is quite comfortable doing ministry among the Gentiles and in Gentile controlled land.

What do you think about Jesus’ focus on the Gentiles immediately after teaching about not being defiled by what is on the outside?  Why is it important to practice what we preach?

Second Thought:

Jesus meets a man who is deaf.  This man could neither hear Jesus nor even hear about Jesus.  Furthermore, he had a speech impediment.  Could this man talk, he couldn’t even have said anything meaningful about Jesus, either!  Here is perhaps the most pitiable of people.  A blind man could at least hear Jesus.  A paralytic can at least see and hear Jesus.  This man cannot even hear the good news.  Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing.  In that light, this man is in a world of hurt.  Here is someone who needs Jesus to touch His life before He can even receive the good news about Jesus!

What is so significant about hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  What is so powerful about hearing someone else talk about faith and God’s Word?

Third Thought:

Jesus takes the man away privately.  I believe this is a commentary upon the nature of the townsfolk around Him.  Jesus doesn’t want this man to become a spectacle.  Jesus doesn’t desire this town to turn Himself or this man into a sideshow.  The work of God is not at the beck and call of the crowd.  We’ll talk a bit about this tomorrow, but I believe this is Jesus’ point in removing the man.  This man is not a show; He is an individual.  Jesus treats him as such.

What do you think about the crowd dragging this deaf man before Jesus?  What does it seem like their motivation is?  How can you make the conclusion that you make about the crowd’s motivation?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 7:34-37

Mark 7:27-30

Passage

In response to the woman’s begging, Jesus tells her that it is not fair to feed the dogs out of the food that is intended to feed children.  The woman responds by reminding Jesus that dogs willingly feed off of the food that falls from the children’s plate.  Jesus is pleased with her rebuttal, and Jesus confirms that the daughter has been freed from her demon.  The woman went home and found that Jesus kept His word.  The demon was gone.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I don’t believe for a moment that Jesus was insulting this woman.  Yes, He calls her a dog.  Yes, the Jews used the word dog as a very pejorative word for “Gentile.”  Yes, out of any other Jew this would have been an insult.  But I don’t believe for a second that it is an insult here.  First, this is Jesus speaking.  He already knows her heart.  Second, Jesus just finished telling the disciples that it is not what is outside of a person that defiles them.  Therefore, Jesus does not believe that this Gentile woman can defile Him or any of His disciples.  In fact, in this line of thinking I think we find out what Jesus is really up to in this passage.  I believe Jesus is condemning the Jews and their application of the Law.  Through the Jews’ understanding of the Law they arrive at the conclusion that this woman is a “dog.”  But to Jesus, she is a potential contact for grace, love, and mercy.  To the Jews, this woman was a threat to their purity as is any dog.  To Jesus, this woman was a mission field.  In using the word “dog,” Jesus is not insulting the woman but rather condemning the Jewish application of God’s Law.

Why do we as human people tend to evaluate others based on their appearance, nationality, manner of dressing, and other outward signs?  How should we be evaluating people?  What does Jesus teach us in this passage about how He evaluates people?

Second Thought:

This passage also contains a huge point of theology.  Jesus tells the woman “Let the children be fed first.”  This is Jesus explaining why He is spending so much time among the Jews.  They are being fed first by Jesus.  However, in using the word “first” He is throwing the door wide open for this Gentile woman.  He could have said “only” instead of “first.”  But in using the word “first,” He’s tossing her the proverbial softball pitch and she turns around and hits it out of the park.  She essentially tells Jesus, “Fine, feed the children first.  But where there is a first there is also a second.  So I’m going to know that there are going to eventually be scraps from what trickles through the children to me.”  The theology in this passage absolutely plays out.  After Jesus dies, is resurrected, and the Jews persecute His followers in Jerusalem then the Samaritans begin to be fed.  Then, the Gentiles are fed through the story with Peter and Cornelius.  Then, through Paul and his disciples, virtually the whole Roman Empire is exposed to Christianity.  It starts with the children (the Jews), but the dogs (Gentiles) are eventually fed by what trickles through the hands of the children.  I love this theological presentation of Christ’s work here on earth.

How cool is it that Jesus gives us this moment as a foreshadowing of the coming Kingdom of God?  What do you think of God’s plan to work through the Jews first and then trickle through to the Gentiles?

Third Thought:

I love the humbleness of this woman.  She could have been insulted when Jesus called her a dog.  She could have gotten up in His face and told Him off.  But what would that have proven?  No, instead she embraces her position.  After all, she is a dog.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Next to Jesus, she is – and we are all – a dog!  So she embraces her position and works through it.  She doesn’t deny the Jews their place.  She accepts the place Christ has for her and allows God to present grace into her life wherever God sees fit to do so.  What an incredible testimony of faith this woman displays.  She is wise, humble, patient, and accepting of whatever God has planned for her.

Are you as content as this woman is with being a “dog” fed at the table of Christ?  What does it say when we aren’t content being the role that Christ has given to us?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 7:31-33

Mark 7:24-26

Passage

Jesus and His disciples now head to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  These are ancient Phoenician cities, in modern geography they are in the south of Lebanon.  Jesus came to the house of an unknown person, and He did not want it to be known that He was there.  However, the word got out and soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Jesus and came looking for Him.  She was a Gentile, of a Syrophoenician heritage.  She begged Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus heads out of the lands that are predominantly filled with Hebrews.  Not only does He go there, but we get the impression that this is some secret kind of mission.  Jesus doesn’t want word getting around that He is there.  Of course, there is the possibility that Jesus is afraid that if the word gets out that He is hanging out in Gentile land that His ministry among the Jews would be compromised.  Considering that Jesus is God and He later tells Peter to go to a Gentile’s house and minister to them, I personally don’t buy into this explanation at all.  When is Jesus ever afraid?

Truthfully, I think there are two legitimate reasons for Jesus to go to Tyre and Sidon and keep it silent.  First, I think Jesus is looking for rest.  I think He wants some time alone with His disciples.  Remember that He’s been looking for some respite with His disciples for a long time and has been unable to find it.  The second reason that I think Jesus goes is that Jesus is trying to make a point to the disciples that it is okay to teach some things in private.  It is okay to have an “inner cadre” of disciples.  It’s okay to minister to the masses but also have some people that get special attention.  It’s just a part of the discipleship process.

Does it make sense that Jesus is still looking for respite?  Think about all the stories that have happened since Jesus began looking for some time away with His disciples.  What can you learn about life with respect to all that Jesus does while looking for respite?  How does it make you feel to see again that Jesus is intentional about spending time away from the crowd and with His disciples?

Second Thought:

The word got out anyway.  People know that Jesus has come.  Even Jesus cannot hide from the masses.  When we are devoted to ministry, the calling will follow us around everywhere we go.

Is there anything scary about realizing that even the Son of God couldn’t escape His reputation?  Why do you think the crowds pursued Him wherever He went?  What can those of us who desire to devote our life to God’s work learn from this dynamic of Jesus’ life?

Third Thought:

The woman begs Him to help her.  She’s not stupid.  She knows Jesus isn’t “one of her people.”  We’ll get into this more tomorrow, but it is necessary to talk about today because she begs Jesus to help.  She is desperate for the sake of her daughter.  Her love for her daughter is so sacrificial that she is willing to cross a social barrier and beg from someone who by all rights shouldn’t even be in her presence.

What can we see in the example of the depth of this woman’s love?  What do you think it means to love sacrificially?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 7:27-30

Mark 7:20-23

Passage

Jesus clearly teaches the disciples again that what defiles a person is what comes out of them.  It is out of our own hearts that evil comes.  Jesus gives the following examples of evil: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.  All of these things come from within, and it is this that defiles a person.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus is clear in that it is our own hearts that defile us.  It points us back to Genesis.  We are sinful beings to the core.  God gives us all we need; yet we are not satisfied with what God gives us.  God is gracious to us; yet we are not gracious to one another.  The problem really does lie within us.

Do you think this is an important understanding with respect to what it means to follow God?  Why might this point be fundamental to our faith?

Second Thought:

Jesus makes a very subtle point, but I think it is also profound.  There is no “Devil made me do it.”  There is no “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”  If a person has an evil thought, it is because somewhere along the line they have given that thought a place to reside in their mind.  If some is sexually immoral, they have made some decisions that lead to it.  If someone covets, they have allowed themselves to see more importance in their neighbor’s possessions than in the neighbor themselves.  If someone steals, they have allowed themselves to care more about their own desires than righteous behavior.  If someone murders, they allowed passion to rule their soul and not cared for the well-being of their neighbor.  If someone adulterates they have allowed passion to rule their soul and not loved their spouse as they should.  If someone is wicked they have allowed themselves to harbor ill thoughts and have them fruit into ill intent.  If someone is deceitful, they have allowed a desire to misrepresent truth to come into their way of living.  If someone lives sensuously they have allowed a desire to live licentiously enter their life.  If someone envies, they have allowed themselves to live in a way that is not content with what God has provided.  If someone slanders, they have allowed themselves to learn how to speak ill of others.  If someone is proud, they have allowed themselves to think more highly of their own work than they should.  If someone is foolish, they have allowed themselves to become lazy with respect to thinking through their actions.  None of these behaviors are “accidental.”  Sure, many of them are thoughtless.  But all of them come from lapses in righteous living.  All of them come because at the very least we have let our guard down and allowed evil to take up residence within.

How often do we like to think of our evil as accidents?  Do you think God buys our rationalization that it is only an accident? 

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 7:24-26

Mark 7:14-19

Passage

Jesus calls out to the gathered crowds to draw them back into the conversation.  Again He gives them another parable.  He tells them that there is absolutely nothing outside of a person that can defile them.  Rather, it is the things that come out from within us that defile us.  He left the crowd after teaching this and went into a house with the disciples.  Again, once they are in private, the disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable.  Jesus asks His disciples if they still are without understanding.  Jesus speaks specifically about food.  Nothing we eat can defile us because when we eat it goes in to the stomach and passes through our body completely.  Since it does not go to our heart, it does not defile us.  Rather, it is what is in our heart that can defile us as it comes out in our thoughts and deeds.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Here we have Jesus continuing the teaching, but now he is teaching the crowd.  Notice what Jesus does here.  He takes a conversation that is with the Pharisees and largely above the people and intentionally brings it to the people.  Now Jesus is not just teaching contrary to the Pharisees but He is also teaching in opposition to the Pharisees publically.  The conflict between the Pharisees and Jesus is now one of a public matter.  Jesus knows the Pharisees will not turn, so it has come time to speak out against their system of legal oppression.

Is there a time to speak out publically against leadership that is not following God’s ways?  Should that be the first step?  How do we know when it is the right time to speak out against bad and ungodly leadership?

Second Thought:

However, also notice that when Jesus does speak to the crowd He continues to speak in parables.  His disciples have to ask Him privately what exactly Jesus is talking about.  Again we see the reality that surrounds Jesus.  Jesus teaches publically, but He knows those who are His disciples because they are the ones who are coming to Him for deeper understanding (or even just understanding to begin with).  There are those who hear Jesus and then go on with life.  There are others who hear Jesus and who pursue Him for greater understanding.  Jesus doesn’t have to chase them, His disciples chase Him.

What does it mean to you to realize that most of the growth of the disciples happened in the small group or individual conversations with Jesus?  Do you think this dynamic of learning is present in your experience of the modern church?  If you were to define discipleship in Jesus day based on this story and stories like it, how would you define discipleship?

Third Thought:

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the disciples actually get what Jesus is saying at this moment.  In fact, we know that they don’t.  Jesus is teaching the disciples that they can eat anything they want and it will not make them unclean.  Peter is there, learning this lesson.  However, we know that in Acts 10 God has to give Peter a vision to convince him that he can eat anything.  Of course, there is an additional lesson in the Acts 10 story regarding the inclusion of the Gentiles.  But the reality is that Peter (and the rest of the disciples, too) don’t really get this lesson here.  The lesson is that it takes time to learn.  It takes time to apply lessons learned.  It takes time to step out in faith.  This should bring comfort to us.  There could easily be a decade and maybe even two between this moment and the story in Acts 10.  Sometimes even great disciples take a long time to learn and apply.  That’s okay.

How can this story help you understand that the discipleship process takes time?  How can this story help to bring you comfort as a disciple?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 7:20-23