Mark 8  

Verses 1-10  A multitude of people.. 4000 men plus women and children stayed with Jesus for 3 days.. listening to His words.  Feeling compassion for them.. Jesus again provides food, miraculously multiplying the bread and fish so that all are fed and "satisfied".  7 loaves of bread.. fed the multitude and left 7 baskets of leftovers!   Jesus provides more than enough to meet the need.  That is a truth we need to ponder!

Verses 11-21 The Pharisees track Jesus down so that they can argue with Him.. they want a sign.. "to test Him."  The miracles are not enough. The wisdom and understanding that He has displayed.. are not enough. They want to dictate the "sign" so that they can be convinced.. without having to have faith.  Jesus calls their teaching...  "leaven".. false teaching and tells His disciples to beware of it. But, the disciples miss the point and start worrying about not having enough to eat!  Jesus reminded them of the times He multiplied the bread and fish..and all that was left over.. why should they worry about bread? The reality is that they need to have faith.. to trust Him to meet every need.. physically and spiritually. "Do you not yet understand?"  Do we?

Verses 22-26  Jesus went to Bethsaida and a blind man came to Him.  Jesus did something different for this man.  He took him outside the village, touched his eyes.. twice.. because the first time some of his sight was restored but not totally.  It took time for clarity to come...

Verses 27-38  All this leads up to a very important moment... when Jesus asked His disciples who others thought He was.. and who they think He is.  It is the most important question we need to ask ourselves, isn't it?

The multitude who ate the bread and fish might say that Jesus was a prophet. The Pharisees wanted to call Him much worse. The blind man would call Him a healer. But, the disciples knew that He was so much more.. "Thou art the Christ." Peter said.. speaking for all of them.  It is at this point that Jesus began to teach them what that actually meant... 

"And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."  Peter did not want to accept that message at all! But, Jesus rebuked him.. for that response was not from God but from Satan.

Jesus talks about "God's interests".. so different from man's interests.. The KJV says it this way " for thou savourest not the things of God, but the things that be of men."  To "savourest" - to exercise the mind.. to interest oneself in...  to go in a certain direction.  Jesus then goes on to preach, "if anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  

It is in God's interests... it is when we set our mind on the things of God and not man's..  that we stop trying to save ourselves.. but instead disown ourselves for His sake.  

It is in God's interests.. when we set our mind on Him and what He wants for us...  that we take a stand for Jesus.. not being ashamed of Him or His message, but are willing to take up our own crosses for Him.  

It is in God's interest ... that we follow Jesus.. walk the same road as He did.. losing our lives for His sake so that we might be saved. 

Father in heaven, You have called us to Yourself that we might know Jesus, the Christ.. Your anointed Servant who came to be rejected, killed, and raised again.. that we might be saved from the consequences of sin. It is in Christ that we can have life.. not by trying to save ourselves, but in denying ourselves.  It is in Christ that we take our stand.. our cross.. and follow Him. We desire Your will to be done.. Your kingdom to come.. and for Your Name to be exalted.  Holy Spirit complete Your work in us today as we choose to savor the things of God and not the things of this world. Help us we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.