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Mark 8:22-26: Lessons from a blind man’s healing.

^“22-23 They arrived at Bethsaida. Some people brought a sightless man and begged Jesus to give him a healing touch. Taking him by the hand, he led him out of the village. He put spit in the man’s eyes, laid hands on him, and asked, “Do you see anything?”  ^24-26 He looked up. “I see men. They look like walking trees.” So Jesus laid hands on his eyes again. The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight, saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus. Jesus sent him straight home, telling him, “Don’t enter the village.” NIV UK

The opening of someone’s eyes often begins with earnest prayer on their behalf (22). You have family, friends, colleagues, neighbours who are spiritually blind. It is obvious to you if not to them. ‘’The god of this age has blinded’’ their ‘’minds’’…so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). But things can change. God can ‘’make his light shine’’ in hearts to give ‘’the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’’ (2 Corinthians 4:6). So, don’t lose heart. Pray on. ‘’Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’’ (Hebrews 13:8).

But even as a believer, you may not see truth as clearly as you want or need to. You too may ask for the light of understanding. The context for this short story is telling. It comes between the disciples still failing to fully understand (18), and Peter’s wonderful confession (29; see Matthew 16:17), all-be-it a still imperfect one (32-33). The truth is that we disciples are a work in progress. We are not yet the finished article. One day, however, we will see ‘’everything clearly’’ (19; see 1 Corinthians 13:12). God has started His work in us, and He will certainly finish (Philippians 1:6).

Mark 8:14-21: Small group discussions.

^“14 The 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.’ ¹⁶ They discussed this with one another and said, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ ¹⁷ Aware 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? ¹⁸ Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When 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.’ ²¹ He said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’ “NIV UK

Some people think small groups are the answer to the church’s problems. Well, there is no doubt at all that much good can be done in a small group, if well-led. But I do wonder if some of our discussions in small groups might run into the dangers of (16): ‘’They discussed this with one another and said…’’ Are we just talking to ourselves, or will we let the Lord in on the discussion? If we want to understand what Jesus has said, let’s ask Him. We need to ensure that we involve ourselves in prayer-filled discussions. Okay, it’s interesting to know what you think about what Jesus said, but what does He think about what He said? What does He have to say about it? Prayer-less discussions do not edify. In fact, they can be like those smoke machines, creating a veritable fog on the stage.

I wonder if Jesus, aware of our discussions (17a) is sometimes saying: ‘’Why are you talking about..? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?’’ (17b, 18).

Yes, another problem we face is having a short term memory. Not only do we suffer from ignorance, but also from a lack of remembrance.

May God have mercy on us. We think we know so much, when in fact we still have lots to learn. Thankfully, Jesus is willing to teach us – more willing to instruct than we are to be educated by Him.

PRAYER: Lord forgive us for any proud discussions and debates we have about your Word, without consulting the One who gave us that Word in the first place.

Mark 8: 11-13: None so blind.

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

There is something very human, don’t you think, in the comment that Jesus ‘’sighed deeply’’. Have you ever got to that point with certain people? I know I have. It regularly occurs with those who are just not going to change. You want to help them. They seem to want to be helped. But nothing you say or do brings about change because really they intend to stay put right where they are.  I think we are meant to understand that the Pharisees knew about the feeding of the four thousand, and many other miracles of Jesus, but still they asked for ‘’a miraculous sign.’’ There is irony in that. Jesus had just performed a remarkable miracle, but I believe they were saying, ‘Yes, but, we want a bigger and better one. Give us absolute proof that you are the Son of God, the Messiah. Show us evidence that will blow away all doubt.’ Of course, no such thing could happen in their case because they had already determined not to believe. Their unbelief was entrenched. Their vehicle was stuck in the mud of unbelief and it would stay there. In fact, it was going to sink deeper and deeper. This was not a sincere request. They had already made their minds up about Jesus.

It was never Jesus’ intention to provide a sign that would rule out the necessity of faith. ‘’Faith can only exist when the object of our faith is something beyond our finite knowledge.’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied New Testament Commentary,’p.242. We have to relate to God by faith, or not at all (Hebrews 11:6).

According to Matthew 16:4, Jesus said that no sign would be given ‘’except the sign of Jonah.’’ In the same way that Jonah spent three days in the stomach of the ‘’great fish’’ (Jonah 1:17), so Jesus would be killed and spend three days buried in the earth and then rise from the dead. But when it happened, the Jews, generally speaking, still did not believe (see Matthew 12:38-41).

For those with open, believing hearts, Jesus had shown more than enough ‘’signs’’ that He was God’s Son. But the Pharisees were not going to believe, no matter what Jesus did (John 10:24, 25).

It is a sobering thought that you can, by a rebellious, unbelieving attitude send Jesus away (13).

Mark 8:1-10: Learning from the past.

“During 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. ³ If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.’ ⁴ His 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. ⁶ He 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 distribute to the people, and they did so. ⁷ They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. ⁸ The people ate and were satisfied. Afterwards the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ⁹ About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, ¹⁰ he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.” NIV UK

This is not the same story we have read before (6:30-44), but it is similar. If you take time to compare and contrast you will see where they come together and where they diverge. There is a difference in some of the details. Here, then, is the point: do we learn from the past? We are used to the idea of learning from our mistakes, but will we learn from our successes? The disciples had been here before and Jesus had used them as ‘distributors’ of abundant blessing. Could He not do the same again?

It seems they had short-term memories. But not to be overly critical, of whom do they remind you?!

Mark 7: 31- 37: Going Private.

^“31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. ³² There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. ³³ After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spat and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means ‘Be opened!’). ³⁵ At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed and he began to speak plainly. ³⁶ Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. ³⁷ People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’” NIV UK

Jesus wants personal time with us. Our condition is such that we are so damaged by sin (32) that we need to ‘go private.’ Jesus performs many of His most effective surgical procedures in the privacy of His ‘theatre’, and not while you are still on the ‘ward’ (or in the hospital cafeteria for that matter!) Don’t you feel the need to ‘go private’? I know I do. I’ve got stuff in me that could spread and do a lot of damage if I don’t regularly book in for the ‘private treatment’ Jesus offers. He is the great Physician. Why, He doesn’t even charge!! He gets great reviews (37). Beyond doubt, He comes highly recommended.

Sometimes, when we pray, we think we know how Jesus should work, and we tell Him (32). Perhaps we can say too much, but the Lord understands our ignorance and frailty, and He is merciful. He didn’t exactly answer their prayer in the way they suggested (33b-35), but He did answer their prayer. Jesus responds to the heart of the prayer, even if not all the words we use are bang on.

Hebrews 11:3 says: ‘’By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.’’ (See also Psalm 33:6 and 9). Whenever we see Jesus giving a command, and then the thing commanded happens, we are being a big clue as to His identity.

He is Lord. Don’t be afraid to place yourself into the Hands of this Surgeon.

Mark 7:31-33a: Personal dealings.

^“31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.  ³² There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. ³³ After he took him aside, away from the crowd, ” NIV UK

David Watson told a story in one of his books about a bank somewhere writing to a student and saying something like this in the letter: ‘’Dear 11085743, we have a personal interest in you!’’ There can be no doubt that the Lord Jesus has a personal interest in you.

He wants time alone with you, ‘’away from the crowd’’, as it were. Make sure you give Him His heart’s desire. When I was a student, in college, I would have considered it an honour if the Principal had indicated that he wanted to spend time with me. If he just stopped momentarily to say a few words I was thrilled. Now Jesus is the most important Person in the universe, and He wants time with little old me. Surely I can feel the privilege in that and respond well?

But note that with regard to the man in our story, Jesus ‘’took him aside’’. I believe there are times when Jesus orders our circumstances in such away that time with Him is virtually enforced. These opportunities often come in packaging that doesn’t much look like gift wrap. But whether welcome or unwelcome, seize every opportunity to be alone with Jesus. Cultivate the one relationship which matters most.

The ‘’crowd’’ may be composed of people. It may also take some other form. It may be a ‘crowd’ of distractions. Determine to come away from them in order to spend time with Jesus.

‘’I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘Come unto me and rest’…’’

PRAYER: ‘’The greatest thing in all my life is knowing you. I want to know you more.’’

Mark 7:24-30: Faith presses through.

^“24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ ‘First let the children eat all they want,’ he told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’ ²⁸ ‘Lord,’ she replied, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ ²⁹ Then he told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.’ ³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.” NIV UK

It strikes me that if Jesus is in your heart, His presence will become obvious. Why would you want to hide Him anyway? People will be drawn to the Christ in you.

The woman, the lead character in today’s story, was desperate;

Her daughter had a demon;

She, the loving mother, was desperate for deliverance;

Initially, she seemed to meet with a denial……but faith presses through.We have seen this before in the men who carried their friend on a mat to Jesus; in the woman who had suffered with bleeding for twelve years. Even in Jesus’ seemingly unpromising words she found enough promise to cling to. ‘’For without faith it is impossible to please God…’’ (Hebrews 11:6). She held on in belief and pleased the Lord. If she was a Gentile ‘dog’, might there not be at least a scrap under the table for her? For her daughter? The answer was a resounding ‘Yes’ – and so much more than scraps. She found something in Christ’s Word to dig her fingernails into.

PRAYER: Lord, may we, your people, live our lives prayerfully at your feet. Make us a people of earnest prayer and persevering faith, who will not let you go until you bless.

Mark 7:14-23: How’s your heart?

^“14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.’  ¹⁷ After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ¹⁸ ‘Are you so dull?’ he asked. ‘Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.’ (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.’” NIV UK

The Jews, in their traditions, followed strict dietary rules. They believed that certain things you ate could ‘’defile’’ you. ‘Christ the controversialist,’ flatly contradicted that point. The heart of man’s problem is the problem of man’s heart. Jesus showed that we don’t have tummy problems so much as a heart defect. As Proverbs says, above everything you need to guard your heart, for out of it flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

To draw from a picture painted by C.S.Lewis, in my ‘cellar’ I can see lots of ugly ‘creepy-crawlies.’ If I don’t deal with them radically and immediately, they will proliferate, and eventually take over the whole house. I could be overrun and eventually destroyed by them.

Can you see what’s at stake?

You don’t have to be overly concerned today about what’s on the menu today. But it should bother you if you are letting things run riot down in the ‘cellar’ – ‘squatters’ who really don’t belong there.  It is a human trait to get massively worked up over things which don’t really matter, and to neglect the most important issues.

The big New Testament picture would say to those in Christ, ‘Put these things to death, because you can by the power of the Spirit.’ Nail them to the cross; crucify the flesh.

Kill them, before they destroy you. There is a need for spiritual ‘pest control’.

PRAYER: ‘’Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.’’ Psalm 51:10.

Mark 7:1-13:Truth v tradition.

“The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus ² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the market-place they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)  ⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?’  ⁶ He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.’

⁹ And he continued, ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! ¹⁰ For Moses said, “Honour your father and mother,”^[and, “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” ¹¹  But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God) – ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.’ NIV UK 

The concept of ‘’Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,’’ takes a hammering in a passage like this. John Stott wrote a book entitled ‘Christ the controversialist.’ Jesus did not avoid difficult conversations when they were necessary. He was ready to confront wrong believing and faulty practice.

Not all traditions are bad. At best, traditions preserve what is best from the past, and transport it into another age. Good things can get carried forward by traditions. But wherever tradition clashes with truth, the truth must win. Tradition must bow to Biblical revelation. All tradition must be judged at the bar of Scripture. Let it be measured against the plumb line of the Bible (13).

Worship is about more than singing. It concerns living. It’s about obeying ‘’teachings’’ (7). If we follow the ‘’rules’’ of men, rather than the Word of God, our worship is empty (6, 7).

Jesus refers to a practice prevalent in His day where Jews would use a tradition of promising a gift to God as an excuse for not helping their parents. Is that the kind of worship God desires? Of course it isn’t. It’s been pointed out, from this, that we must not use one part of the Bible to avoid obeying another bit. Hold all truth in balance. God does not contradict Himself.

PRAYER: Lord God, I want you to have the final say in my life, and not any tradition.