Introduction: Mark gives us proof after proof that Jesus is
the Messiah. He is God. Now Mark changes his focus. His goal
now is to teach us that God came to die. That seems so
outrageous that the disciples could not believe it. We have
a phrase in English, “He could not wrap his mind around it.”
That is the situation here: the disciples could not come to
terms with Jesus dying. Are we like the disciples? Are there
aspects of our Christian understanding that need to be
changed in ways we can hardly believe? If so, we need to
walk with the disciples as they come to realize the
incomprehensible. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible
and learn more!
I. If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again
A. Read Mark 8:22. Who is asking for the healing?
(“Some people” who brought the blind man to Jesus.)
B. Read Mark 8:23-24. Jesus leads the blind man out of
the village. Why? (Perhaps this requires a level of
trust by the blind man. Recall it was the people
around him who called for healing, and not him.)
1. Why does Jesus spit on his eyes and lay hands
on him? We have not seen a miracle where Jesus
spits on the person.
C. Read 2 Kings 5:9-11. What did Naaman expect for his
healing? (He wanted a show.)
1. Why do you think he expected a show? (Whatever
reason you give, is the reason why Jesus was
giving this blind man a bit of a show.)
D. Look again at Mark 8:24. Who understands what the
blind man is describing? (I used to have poor
vision. Anyone with poor distance vision
understands this – people look like walking trees
at a distance. This tells us the man’s blindness
has not been completely cured.)
E. Read Mark 8:25. Why did Jesus fail to get the
miracle right the first time? Is it because He
lacked the power? (Jesus had the power. Mark does
not give us the answer. Perhaps Jesus is building
the faith of the blind man.)
F. Read Mark 8:26. Do we now know why Jesus led this
man out of the village? (We previously discussed
this issue of Jesus telling those He healed to keep
it secret. This verse gives us the answer as to why
Jesus walked him outside the village. Jesus wanted
to avoid stirring up the people in that village.)
II. Confession
A. Read Mark 8:27-28. How much do the opinions of
others shape your opinion?
1. Do you find that no one you know has the same
opinion as you? (That would be very unusual.)
2. In light of these answers, is it troubling
that none of the disciples know anyone outside
their group who thought Jesus was the Messiah?
B. Read Mark 8:29-30. Do you think Peter is answering
for the other disciples, or just himself? (If Peter
is not answering for the others, the fact that
Jesus instructs them not to tell reveals that Jesus
approves of Peter’s answer that He is God.)
1. One of the most important things that I have
learned from studying the Bible is that the
Holy Spirit does not inspire a bunch of random
stories and statements. Context is a great
help in understanding. Is the two-stage
healing relevant to this discussion of who
Jesus is? (It is a mirror. The opinion of
others showed that Jesus was considered to be
an important person. But like people who look
like trees, this was not correct. When Jesus
asks what the disciples think, this second
stage question gets the answer right. Just
like the second stage of the healing of the
blind man.)
III. The Incomprehensible
A. Read Mark 8:31-33. Let’s discuss this verse by
verse. Would you consider the message of verse 31
to be a problem if you were a disciple? Jesus will
be back in three days! His conflict with the Jewish
leaders is not surprising news.
1. Why did Peter think he had the authority to
rebuke Jesus? (He was still feeling charged up
by his identification of Jesus as the Christ.)
2. Notice that Mark 8:33 says “seeing His
disciples.” What do you think that means?
(Peter may have taken Jesus aside, but the
disciples were listening. This was, after all,
astonishing news.)
3. Ponder Jesus’ charge that Peter was thinking
of human things and not God things. Isn’t this
just the opposite of what Peter thought he was
doing? How could the Messiah die?
a. If this is a “human thing,” is not love
the best of the human emotions? Peter
loved Jesus!
b. What possible “human thing” could Peter
have in mind that would be Satanic? (We
will discuss this in connection with the
verses that follow.)
4. Before we leave verse 33, can a person speak
for God one minute and for Satan the next?
(Read James 3:10-12. James says it should not
happen.)
B. Read Mark 8:34. What does this have to do, if
anything, with Jesus telling Peter he has human
things in mind? (Read Acts 1:6. Peter undoubtedly
loved Jesus, but he also loved his future role in
the Messiah’s new kingdom on earth. Jesus being
killed, and rising after three days, did not fit
Peter’s view of the future.)
1. This is an issue every Christian should
consider. “Am I doing good things to glorify
myself, or to glorify God?” (In 1 Timothy 5:17
we are told that those who teach and preach
should be honored. But taking up the cross
means that duty comes before honor.)
C. Read Mark 8:35-37. What practical argument does
Jesus make? (We are all going to die. We are wise
to die in a way that gives us life again.)
D. Read Mark 8:38. What should we do in the midst of
an evil world? (Stand up!)
IV. It is Hard to be Humble
A. Let’s skip ahead and read Mark 9:30-32. In the
prior chapter Jesus “plainly” told them He would
die and be raised to life. Peter “rebuked” Jesus
for saying this. Now Jesus says this again and the
disciples do not understand and are afraid to ask.
Have you ever seen something like this? People
cannot understand bad news? (I have with medical
matters.)
B. Read Mark 9:33-34. What do the disciples
understand? (They are destined for greatness!)
1. Is this why they cannot understand Jesus’
statement that He will die?
2. What other aspects of the Christian life fall
in this category? The truth is so contrary to
our plans and expectations that we simply
cannot understand and do not want to ask?
C. Read Mark 9:35. Does Jesus rebuke them for wanting
to be the greatest? (No. Instead, He tells them how
it is done.)
1. If a person achieves greatness this way, does
it feel great? (That is the issue. A person
wants to become great so that they are served.
Jesus takes the pride out of being great.)
D. Read Mark 9:36-37. How is “receiving” a child an
example of serving? (I don’t think this has
anything to do with the personality of children,
rather this has to do with whether the child can
advance your fortunes. If you help someone who
cannot help you in return, that is true service.)
E. Read Mark 9:38-40. Is this a pride problem? Is Mark
staying on that topic? (Yes. The disciples think
they have an exclusive franchise in sharing the
gospel.)
1. Is this a problem today? (Yes. When I became
an adult and started sharing with members of
other churches, I realized that they, too, had
thought growing up their church was the only
“right” church. The remnant in Revelation is
defined by what the people believe and do, not
by a denominational name. “The one who is not
against us is for us.”)
F. Read Mark 9:41. The issue before was casting out
demons, this is giving a cup of water to drink.
What point is Jesus making? (Anything done to
advance Christianity, no matter how small, will be
rewarded.)
G. Friend, does your pride get in the way of a full
understanding of the gospel? The gospel is about
service, and even the most basic service is
rewarded. Why not ask the Holy Spirit, right now,
to give you power over pride?
V. Next week: Teaching Disciples: Part II.
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
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but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
