Mark 8 - Are you hungry?

Jesus asks you: 'who do you say I am?' Your answer is found in what you're hungering for.

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Mark 8 (ESV)

1 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,

2 “I have compassion on the crowd,
because they
have been with me now three days
and have nothing to eat.
3 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.”
4 And his disciples answered him,
“How can one feed these people
with bread
here in this desolate place?”
5 And he asked them,
“How many loaves do you have?”
They said, “Seven.”
6 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.
7 And they had a few small fish.
And having blessed them,
he said that these also should be set before them.
8 And they ate and were satisfied.
And they took up the broken pieces left over,
seven baskets full.
9 And there were about four thousand people.
And he sent them away.

10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
12 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.”
13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread,

and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
15 And he cautioned them, saying,
“Watch out;
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”
16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.
17 And 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?
18 Having eyes do you not see,
and having ears do you not hear?
And do you not remember?
19 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.”
20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?”
And they said to him, “Seven.”
21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.

23 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?”
24 And he looked up and said,
“I see people,
but they look like trees, walking.”
25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes,
his sight was restored,
and he saw everything clearly.
26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

27 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?”
28 And they told him,
“John the Baptist;
and others say, Elijah;
and others, one of the prophets.”
29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered him,
“You are the Christ.”
30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
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.
32 And he said this plainly.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 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.”
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them,
“If anyone would come after me,
let him deny himself
and take up his cross
and follow me.
35 For
whoever
would save his life
will lose it,
but whoever
loses his life
for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
36 For what does it profit a man
to gain the whole
world and forfeit his soul?
37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
38 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.”

Watch / Listen to the DIG DEEPER video:

Mark 8 Summary

v1-9 - Once again, Jesus feeds a giant crowd with next to nothing and has more left over than what He started with.
v10-13 - Jesus visits a remote town, only to be met by the establishment who only want to argue with Him. Instead, Jesus immediately leaves.
v14-21 - In the boat yet again, Jesus teaches a lesson using yeast as a metaphor, but all the disciples can think about is food.
v22-26 - Jesus heals a blind man. Unlike other healings, the man's blindness is not cured instantly. This can be a metaphor for some people who move in very slow stages to accept the gospel. John Calvin comments here, "And so the grace of Christ, which had formerly been poured out suddenly on others, flowed by drops, as it were, on this man.”
v27-38 - This discussion between Jesus & the disciples as to His identity is perhaps the most important passage in Mark's gospel. It's literally right in the middle, and you will notice the tone of the gospel change in the chapters to come. Instead of miracles and healings, we'll be reading about what it really means to take up our cross and follow Christ.

Dig Deeper

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. - v2-3

What an amazing statement. Hearing Jesus speak and teach was so attractive to these people that they put every aspect of their life on hold - even eating and drinking - to listen.

Are you experiencing that kind of hunger to hear God's Word? Make it your prayer that your appetite for the Bread of life will not be hemmed in by your hunger for ordinary bread in life.

AAA Prayer:

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father God, who has compassion for His people (v2)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God that your appetite to hear and share God's Word will grow.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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