Well, hello friends, and thank you for joining me in our daily reading from God's holy word. Today we're reading Mark 8, and in this lesson we are invited to think about how we see Jesus and seeing Him how we see ourselves. Before we read let's pray, our Father in Heaven give us eyes to see. In Jesus' name I ask.
Amen. Mark 8. 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 had given thanks, he broke them and gave them two 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 4,000 people and he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmunutha. 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. 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 to them saying, watch out, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 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?
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 5,000, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up? They said to him, 12, and they're seven for the 4,000. 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 understand? And they came to Bethsaida and some people brought to him a blind man and begging him to touch him. And he took a blind man by the hand and let 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 people but they look like trees walking. Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. And he up and 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. And all the way he asked his disciples, who do people say that I am? And they told him, John the Baptist.
Another say, Elijah, another is 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.
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 those tribes 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. 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. For whoever would save his life will lose it.
But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words and 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.
Amen. This is God's word. Jesus here again feeds the hungry thousands and again gives sight to the blind. How kind is his compassion?
He meets our needs. How great is his power? Nothing is too hard for him. Yet how hard-hearted are the Pharisees.
They won't trust him. They won't believe he is who he is. Even the disciples are slow to understand their endanger of getting infected so to speak with the unbelief of the Pharisees. Like a whole loaf of bread gets leavened.
Leaven is what makes bread dough rise. It involves a chemical reactions with yeast or gluten or baking soda that spreads around the whole bread dough causing little gas bubbles and as it bakes the gas gets hot and expands and causes the bread to rise much like air blows up a balloon. Jesus warns us the Pharisees have 11 of unbelief. They want Jesus to prove himself to be the Messiah by doing miracles or signs like a circus monkey performing tricks to entertain.
Yet Jesus did do miracles and he fed 4,000 and he healed the blind man yet they won't believe. That last miracle is interesting. It was done in stages, not all at once but over time and as a kind of parable for us. This is how people come to believe Jesus is the Messiah.
This is how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. First we are blind. Then we begin to see but not distinctly and then we have greater clarity and see Jesus for who he really is and in heaven we'll see him even better. Peter began to see and said you are the Christ, the Messiah.
Now how did Peter get eyes to see Jesus correctly? Well the gospel of Matthew tells us. Jesus said to Peter blessed are you Simon Barjona for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven. Peter got eyes to see just like the blind man did.
He got them from God. God the Son gave the blind man sight. God the Father revealed Peter. God the Son.
And so it is with us. When we finally see that Jesus is the Messiah it is because God the Holy Spirit gives us eyes to see. So Jesus says now that you know who I am let me tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to suffer, be rejected, die and rise again.
Now Peter shows that he sees but not clearly enough for he rebukes Jesus privately saying to him never Lord you're the Messiah so you must not die. And Jesus says I'm the Messiah and so I must and to say I must not is to think like Satan not like God. Get behind me he says for I must die because that is how I will rescue my people from their sins. Now if we have come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that Jesus has died for our sins and God raised him from the dead how should we see ourselves?
Jesus says follow me deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me. Someone carrying a cross upon which a person would be crucified was someone whose life as they knew it was over. We are to take up the cross and consider ourselves dead to this world but alive to Christ dead to our old way of living but now to walk in newness of life with Christ and to serve Christ. Why would we not?
What is there left for us in the old life? Nothing Jesus says for whoever would save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake and the dostals will save it. So don't be a fool and reject Jesus and think you'll end up with anything here or imagine that you could buy your soul out of hell if you end up there for what is a prophet a man says Jesus to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul for what can a man give in exchange or in return for his soul. No the thing to do is to embrace Jesus as your Messiah and then begin to live for him even if others won't for whoever is ashamed of me says Jesus and of my words in this adult or 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.
As another said he who he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Let's pray Father in heaven thank you for Jesus the Messiah upon his life a life that he lived and upon his death a death that he died we stake our holy eternity help us then to live for him who died for us in Jesus name. Amen. Well thank you for listening in and I hope you'll join me next time.