March 11 – Mark 8

Have you ever been confused about why God allowed a certain situation or event in your life only to realize later that He had a plan in that and meant it for good? Today as we read Mark 8, we see the lesson Jesus taught His Disciple when feeding the 4000, the motive of the Pharisees and cost of following Him. Read text :Mark 8

V1-10

Many times, we cannot see or understand what God is doing. It may even appear that He has been thwarted or defeated. Yet He is the Alpha and the Omega. He knows the end from the beginning. Our simple application is to trust that He knows what He is doing even if we don’t see or understand it right away.

• How is this story similar to the feeding of the five thousand in Mark 6?
• How is it different?
• Are there any additional insights/lessons you can learn from it?
• Compare and contrast the disciples’ attitudes in Mark 6 and here.

Jesus knows our needs. He can abundantly supply our needs. We have a responsibility to obey His commands even when we don’t know why and trust that He has a good reason for them.

V11-21

The Pharisees were still hostile to Jesus’ ministry – Crowds followed Jesus around wherever He went. But not all of the people were welcoming or friendly. Pharisees traveled long distances just to watch Jesus “like a hawk” and find any excuse to blame Him or argue with Him in public. Not everyone goes to church because they want to learn more about God and grow in their relationship with Him.

• What are some poor motivations that might attract certain people to church?
• Evaluate your motivation for going to church. Can it be improved?
•  What may have stimulated Jesus to talk about the “leaven” of the Pharisees and Herod?
• How did the disciples interpret Jesus’ statement?
• What was Jesus’ view of this?
• Why did they keep thinking about the physical things when Jesus was referring to spiritual things?
• What was Jesus’ response this time to their short-term memories?
• How can we move beyond focusing on the things we can see around to the spiritual truths and Christ’s spiritual kingdom?

Discernment is important. We need to look at the things around us with spiritual eyes filled with wisdom from the Lord. We need to keep studying, keep growing, and keep pressing on towards a closer relationship with, a higher understanding of, and a deeper obedience to the Lord.

V22-26

• Is there any special significance in Jesus healing a blind man?
• Why did Jesus ask him not to enter the village?

V27-33

• Why did Jesus ask this question since He already knew the answer?
• How did Jesus get them to think about who He really was?
• What can we learn about Peter from this passage? Do you think the other disciples agreed with Peter?
• Why should they not tell others?
• Why did Jesus tell them about His coming sufferings, crucifixion and resurrection? Did they “get it?” How do you know?
• How did Peter react to Jesus’ statement? What can you learn about Peter from this? Are there any applications for us?
• Why was Jesus so harsh to Peter? Why did He call him Satan?

V34-38

• Who could be Jesus’ disciple? Had the disciples done this?
• List out all the qualifications or signs of being a disciple listed in the gospels you can think of.
• How might we try to “save our life?” What things might we do if we lose our life for His sake?

What will you give in exchange for your soul? Are you for sale? Is there anything which you are not willing to let go of for the sake of following Christ? Is there are anything you are holding onto that you shouldn’t?