Mark 8 Three Views

Three Views of Christ

Mark 8

Who Jesus appears to be depends greatly upon the one doing the looking. He is God; he therefore cannot be fully comprehended by mortal man. But, as has been said, the whole human being is the proper instrument for seeing God. We shall see three views here.

¹During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ²“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. ³If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

⁵“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

⁶He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. ⁷They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. ⁸The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ⁹About four thousand men were present. And having sent them away, ¹⁰he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. ¹²He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it.” ¹³Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

¹⁴The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ¹⁵“Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

¹⁶They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

¹⁷Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

²⁰“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

²¹He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

²²They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.^£”

²⁷Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Christ.^£”

³⁰Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. ³²He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

³⁴Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life^£ will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

The view from the Pharisees

“Show us a sign”

It is the demand of the cynic in every generation. In essence, the cynic tells God to put up or shut up. But can you not see that such an argument has effect only between equals? If a little child makes that statement to me, I am not very inclined to produce what he demands. Who, indeed, are we to give orders to God? But isn’t that just what this is?

Such a demand conveys a complete misunderstanding of God. It also lights up the issue of faith. The cynic says, show me the miracles and then I’ll believe. He wants a relationship where trust is not needed, and a god who is not personal – but can be manipulated. God is not a trained monkey to perform at our command.

Indeed, God’s miracles are for God’s purposes. He chooses when and where, at his pleasure. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

“Sighed deeply”

The phrase is often translated, “groaned.” It’s Christ’s reaction to the Pharisees and their hardened hearts. His reaction is different to different people:

	For hypocrites like these, he uses shock tactics. He calls them hypocrites to their faces, shows them how the exasperate God.
	For the skeptical, he issues a challenge. Note that he does not cater to the skeptics every whim; but he does tell him to seek, so that he might find.
	For the tender hearted, he issues the soft and gentle invitation.

Leaven of the Pharisees

You’ve heard the parable of how one bad apple can ruin the whole barrel. I’ve never seen a barrel of apples, so I couldn’t say. But I’m told it’s true.

A more contemporary example might be this: how many parts have to be broken before your car won’t run? Not very many; sometimes it takes only one. And when one breaks, it often stresses the next one so that it, too, breaks.

That’s what the doctrine of the hypocrite does to the church, and why Jesus is so strict about this. It’s that creeping disease of “almost the right thing.” It spreads far too quickly and is difficult to wipe out.

Leaving it uncorrected

One thing you should note: Jesus leaves these people in their sins. Why?

	First, because they are adept at halfway measures. Jesus wants all of you, and will take nothing less.
	Also, because of the hardness of their hearts. Some molds have to be broken.

View of the halfhearted

It’s tragic how many people stick one foot into the kingdom of God. God is nice on Sundays, but the rest of the week he’s a nuisance. If you’ll look at this second feeding, you’ll note that Jesus does not rebuke his disciples for their lack of faith – but for their lack of understanding. That’s typical. Faith cannot be forced upon anyone, for faith is a trust relationship – and that implies risk. All Christ can do is provide the evidence; the disciples then must decide what to do about it.

So many baskets

Jesus makes a point of asking them how many baskets they took up – both this time and at the prior one. Why? Why did he ask that question?

	Some hold that the number of baskets has significance. Twelve is the number of the tribes of Israel; seven is the number of perfection.
	Others hold that this is simply the number of baskets they had with them. Remember Elijah and the oil that wouldn’t stop flowing until they ran out of containers?
	One thing is clear – the disciples just didn’t get it. Truth sometimes must be taught in its own order, and they weren’t ready yet (as Peter shows).

Get behind me, Satan

Remember that the word “Satan” can also be translated, “accuser.” Peter here is doing something that many of us love to do: giving God directions. How we love to tell God how to do something! But stop and think:

	Jesus here connects this as being a work of the devil. It is just that; for the devil’s sin is pride. His fall came when he decided that he would be like God.
	More commonly, it is a sign of an immature understanding of the faith. We need to go on from the simple into the mature.

Questions to ask

Look at the questions Christ asks here – they are instructive as well as being good for self-examination.

	“Don’t you understand?” – have you used your brains lately? So often we hear that the church wants us to check our brains at the door. But it is not so.
	“Are your hearts hardened?” – is it just a case that you don’t want to understand? Because you already have another answer?
	“Do you have eyes to see?” - how many times have you told your children to pay attention? Listen to the echo here.
	“Don’t you remember?” – how often our faith would be strengthened if we would remember all the things he has done for us.

View of the disciple

OK, let’s get past the cynic and the immature disciple. Suppose you are one who is mature in the faith; is there anything to learn in this passage? Perhaps we can learn by asking questions. Here are four:

Why didn’t he heal the blind man on the first try?

Some will tell you that Jesus power was limited, so he had to do it twice. But I think there is an easier explanation – or two.

	It is most likely that this is a reflection of the lack of faith found in his village. This is sufficient to explain all.
	It is also just possible that our Lord is telling us something here. We are so impatient with him; we ask for healing and when it isn’t complete instantly, we despair. We should remember this man.

Why did he send the blind man home?

	Perhaps it’s a case of not wanting popular acclaim. He is already troubled by the crowds around him. They make it difficult for him to properly instruct his disciples.
	More likely, it is to avoid upsetting the timetable of God. He must die as the Passover lamb, not be rushed into becoming King immediately.
	There is also a personal issue. This man’s faith is weak. To send him into the village to explain all might have been cruel.

In all this we see one principle: It’s important to follow God’s directions as accurately as possible. God has his purposes, but does not reveal them to us.

Who do you say I am?

Compared to this, there is no other question. There are only three answers possible to anyone who studies the Scriptures: liar, lunatic or Lord. The world would like to see him as one of the prophets, a great man – but he did not offer them that choice.

What should we do?

I submit there are four lessons for us here:

	First, we must be on our guard for those minor heresies that so destroy a church. Study the Scriptures diligently – so you can correct my mistakes.
	Next, we must deny ourselves. We must give up the right to “be me.” In return, we get the privilege of “being in Him.”
	That means that we must take up the Cross. God has some burden for each of us to bear; just because it’s not particularly convenient doesn’t mean it’s not yours. Take it up, willingly.
	And above all: follow Jesus. Let your love for Him abound, follow where he leads, fearing no evil.